T-Ball and other Spring Misceallany

Spring is blooming around here.  Jack started T-Ball on Saturday mornings with buddy, Kayleigh and he seems to really like it...more than soccer I think.  One day I hope to like baseball....  Anyway, it is the quick season with only 6 weeks and a basic introduction to the sport.

I have been sewing more, busy with baby stuff for Dawn (Craig's cousin) and her impending arrival Emerson, but in between that, I have made a few things for Kate and even myself.  

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

We definitely don't need an excuse to party, so we had a half birthday for the kids last night.  Jack turned 4 1/2 on Feb. 20th and Kate turns 2 1/2 on Feb. 28th.  I also had lots of cake mixes and no frosting, so I whipped up some homemade buttercream, that was pretty great and made a half cake (idea from Pinterest).  I also got some hats, plates and a banner from the dollar store and wrapped up some gifts.  The thing about the gifts is that after Christmas each year, we save some gifts and "release" them throughout the year to the kids.  They think it is new and we don't buy more toys.  So I pulled out the box and wrapped a few items and then gave some candy and a couple other dollar store items.  Total cost for 1/2 birthday - $12!  And, it was a fun night.  We made homemade pizzas and had cake and opened the presents.  The kids really enjoyed it and it was fun to hang out and just visit.

A Big Decision and LOVE

HUGE news to report...Jack asked Jesus in his heart!  He has been asking questions lately about God and praying and how we talk to Him and on Thursday, February 9th, he asked on the way to school about how we get to Heaven.  I told him that requires recognizing you make bad choices (sin) and realize that God wants us to make good decisions and He died on the cross so we can go to heaven.  He said he wanted to pray right then the sinner's prayer and we did.  We talked about it more and he seemed to really grasp the concept and I believe he truly made a decision to give his life to Christ.  It is a very overwhelming, amazing feeling when your child decides they want to follow Christ.  We talked about baptism, as he calls "bathtism" and asking God to help us make good choices.  It seems so complex, but is such a simple concept that we make more difficult.  Believe your are a sinner, accept God's unconditional love, recognize He died on the cross and rose again and decide to try and live like Christ.  This is biggest decision of His life and we will continue to help guide and prepare him for his journey in life as a born again believer!  I am still in shock a little bit, but so amazingly happy for Him.  I know angels are rejoicing too!

But Jesus said, "Allow the little children, and don't forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these." - Matthew 19:14

On a side note, not much to report around here in general or for Valentine's day.  Craig actually worked pretty late that night, so the kids and I hung out here and went and grabbed some TexMex for dinner.  I truly LOVE those kids.  They make us laugh all the time.  The kids made some cute Valentine's for us at school to share.  My mom got festive on Sunday night at dinner with heart shaped desserts, some plates and a Valentine's banner and Gramma sent some goodies for the kids.

Snow Day and Girls Weekend

Friday was Snow Day at the kids' school!  70 degrees and fake snow is all it takes to get these southern kids happy.  They had a little snow pile to dig around in and then the snow hill to sled down.  Jack and Kate's classes were back to back, so I stuck around for a bit to see both classes and take some pictures.  Jack loved it all.  Kate liked it, but wasn't super excited about sledding, even though she is my fearless one.  I even attempted a quick trip down the slope.  It was really a fun day!

That night my mom and I took Kate, Paige and Claire to Destin for a quick girls trip for some fun and shopping.  Jack stayed with my dad and did boy things while Craig was in Vegas for a business trip.  We ate dinner at the Back Porch.  Then we went to Wal-Mart and let the girls pick out some candy and headed to our hotel and got a bubble bath.  They settled down around 11.  The next day we did some outlet shopping and then headed home that night.  It was really a lot of fun.  We missed Reese and Kimberly, but we will do it again.  Cousins are so much fun!

January Camera Phone Dump

What have we been doing?  Not much.  This is a transition time for Kate.  She is 3 weeks paci free and doing great!  Hasn't asked for it and we are a non-pacifier home.  Potty training is improving and she is now going at school (thanks to some Starburst coaxing).  It will probably take longer than Jack because I have to send her in pull-ups to school until she is fully day trained.  Today, though, after school, I put her in underwear for about 3 hours and she had one accident.  Not too bad and she told me she had to go #2 and went in the potty!  Apparently after that, it was an underwear party for the little ones, so they played Legos in their underwear...

Today I registered Jack for Kindergarten!  I can't believe it.  I am so excited about it.  We are having a great year this year and I am sure it will be another great year next year.  Kimberly also registered the triplets for VPK and Reese for the 1s for two days.  Next year, all our kids will go to the same school.  That is so neat to me.

I may have also acquired a small addiction to Pinterest and have found some great ideas on there.  I made Gak the other night using Borax, glue and food coloring.  I also have used a shoe holder as cleaning storage on our back laundry room door.  Convenient and a space saver.

Here are some random photos from my phone that I have captured over the last few weeks:

February is upon us!  Can't wait for another great month and hopefully some great potty breakthroughs for Kate!

Hello, January.

I have taken a total of probably 8 pictures since 2012 started.  What have been doing?  We have been living!  Life just keeps rolling and we are making it everyday - and those have been blessed days.  The kids are good.  Jack is growing by leaps and bounds at school coming home with things he learned that day.  Kate is becoming more independent and girly.  Her paci is gone.  We took it away a week ago and she has done pretty good.  There have been times I wanted to give it to her to calm her, but I threw them all away that day as to not succumb to my temptation and be firm.  She has struggled a bit and is napping less, but overall it has been a pretty smooth transition.  The dreaded potty training is around the corner.  I have done it once, so I can do it again, right?

Everything is pretty status quo and I like it that way.  God is working in me and moving and that has been the greatest blessing of this year thus far.  Satan does attack (i.e. when we had our crazy day last week when Kimberly passed out and hit her head and I had to take her to urgent care, only to receive a call while there that Jack needed to be picked up from school due to throwing up).  Everyone was fine and we actually had a good laugh about it later.  The coolest thing I have started to realize is that I am seeing God differently now.  I remember envisioning God and who He was when I was a teenager and felt certain confidences and doubts, but now as an adult and mother, I am seeing Him in a new way.  It is like I am "growing up" in Christ and it is pretty cool.  I have a long journey of still learning more about Him, what He desires of me and how He loves us and I am excited to learn more.  That's all I got now.  I wanted to share that we are alive and doing well just taking it easy in these slow winter months.  See you soon!

A Splash and A Roar!

While visiting family, we made our way to Sea World on Tuesday after Christmas.  I hadn't been in at least 10 years and the kids had never been.  Jack was all about the rides.  He did watch and like the animals, though.  Kate liked the animals, but still isn't old enough to appreciate what they mean or what they can do.

The sea lions were great and we really enjoyed feeding them.  They would bark and beg for fish and even do some tricks to get anything.

 One of the best parts of the day was watching Gramma (Debby) and Jack get soaked by David on Journey to Atlantis.  Jack thought it was hilarious as did everyone else in the boat.  The adults did more rides and some of us headed home about 6pm.  Jack and Craig made it to 11!

We visited and hung out with family.  On Friday, we went to Dinosaur World to check out the "supposed" life-size replicas of dinosaurs.  Jack knew most of them and it was pretty neat to see how big they really were.

Saturday, December 31st we headed home and had a low-key start to a great new year!  2012, here we come!