My very own CHERRY TREE

This TREE is in my front yard. It is one of my MOST FAVORITE things about my house. It is so special because it only blooms like this once a year and it only lasts about 2 weeks. During those two week, every time I  look out my window and see it, it draws me to PRAISE our creator for creating it. He made this tree just for me and my family because HE knew how much we would ALL love it.  I LOVE IT!

ps- these pictures really do not do this tree justice. It is an amazingly beautiful tree

Field Trip to the AMERICAN VILLAGE!

I had the special opportunity of chaperoning Clayton on his field trip to the AMERICAN VILLAGE. This is the NEATEST place. It is an ENTIRE  village created to look just like the Colonial Times. It was AMAZING- I am still wondering who funds this operation.When we drove up to the Village, I felt as if I were really entering into a different period of time. There were colonial houses, a colonial church and court house, and a colonial school building. All of the people who worked there were dressed up in colonial costumes and were in character the ENTIRE time we were there. They even spoke with ENGLISH accents. It was truly amazing and a great way to make history come ALIVE for these 2nd graders. The best part of my day was riding the bus with Clayton.
 I LOVE hanging out with that kid.

Quote From Reese

So, I had to post this for my Mom and Mother in Law b/c it was so funny and I know they will get a kick out of it. As we were driving home from school the other day, Quaid looks at Reese and says "Hey Reese, want to play some basketball?" To which Reese replies, very excitedly, "Yeah, sure". Quaid then in a very big brother manner says "okay, but you have to work on your defense". Reese says in a very sad way "Aw Man, I don't even know what they are and I don't want to work on them".... I just laughed and laughed and laughed.

CRAZY GIRL!!!

School Plays and the Book Fair

Last week, Clayton was in a play at their school. The entire Second grade put on a play for the entire school. It was a MOTHER GOOSE play. So, every character Mother Goose ever wrote about was in the play.  It was Super cute. Clayton played the part of LITTLE BOY BLUE! He did a great job and we were so proud of him. He was pretty proud of himself as well.

On that same night, Liberty Park Elem. had their opening of the BOOK FAIR WEEK. This year, Barnes and Nobles came to the school to host this event for us. BARNES AND NOBLES!!! What kind of neighborhood do I live in??? Anyway, I walk into the library, having already told my children that they would get $20 each to spend on books and that was IT!!! TWENTY BUCKS- that is a ton already, right??!!! I gotta tell ya...I am a SUCKER. They sure know how to get ya don't they. I walked out of there spending $105 ON BOOKS!!! I am pretty aggravated with myself knowing I could have bought ALL of these books on half.com or AMAZON for HALF of what I paid BAM. It really does make me sick to my stomach. My children OH SO LOVE books...all 3 of them...any type! They read constantly. BUT, that is a lot of $ on books. Not sure how much of that money actually goes back to our school but it BETTER be a lot...at least I am going to tell myself that!

Thank you NANA!

On Good Friday- My kiddo's came home to a VERY YUMMY surprise. Waiting for us on the front porch was a fruit bouquet with all kinds of delicious fruit dipped in delicious CHOCOLATE sent to us from Nana & Papaw.  It was such a FUN surprise. We brought it inside and most of it was gone by the time Kristian got home from work. POOR GUY! We did save him a few pieces of fruit but all of the chocolate was gone.  Everyone LOVED it and felt so LOVED by it. Thanks NANA- WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

He is Risen! Eggs and Bunnies and More

The EASTER BUNNY has come and gone! YAY- the kids LOVED it. They went to bed excited and woke up surprised. Their baskets had been filled to the rim with candy, toys, and eggs.
What a great EASTER BUNNY we have :)

 I LOVE the week leading up to Easter. It is truly a HUMBLING and oh so THANKFUL time of year. We try to make everyday leading up to Easter, special in some way. On Monday night, we started the week off with our HOLY WEEK devotional. It was all about THE LAST SUPPER. It was a great night to do that because the day before (SUNDAY) we had communion at Church, so my kids got to see this played out. On Tuesday, we made Resurrection Biscuits. This is something we have been doing for years and it is such a great teaching tool. It is a very visual way to explain the RESURRECTION (and it's YUMMY too).

Wednesday was nothing out of the ordinary. We were so swamped with BASEBALL all afternoon that we did not even have a chance to sit down for dinner. It was dinner on the go! Thursday we picked up our celebration week again with homemade UNLEAVENED BREAD. We ate this with our SEMI-KOSHER dinner in honor of MAUNDY THURSDAY.  It was TOTALLY different and the kids didn't seem to LOVE it. On Friday, we continued our devotional and went for a walk around our neighborhood remembering this very special day and what OUR SAVIOR sacrificed for us. We also dyed our Easter Eggs for our hunt on Sunday.

My Most favorite activity that we did was on Saturday. We made a CROWN OF THORNS out of clay (baker's clay). I got this idea from a very SPECIAL LADY. She did this with her own children. We talked about the cross and what Jesus went through as we made the crown. Sunday was EASTER! HE IS RISEN. We celebrated with a SUNRISE SERVICE followed by a pancake breakfast. My sister and fam came over for Lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt. After they left, our family took the crown of thorns that we made and we smashed it on the ground, representing that DEATH no longer REIGNED!

It was such a special week for us. The kids really grasped how deep the LOVE of OUR FATHER really is through his ULTIMATE SACRIFICE of HIS ONLY SON!

Happy Birthday- Reese!

Reese's birthday was on the 23rd, however, we just celebrated her birthday this past Sunday with a SUPER FUN party! We invited her entire class (16 children) plus a handful of other friends and of course our sweet cousins. We celebrated at a place called STORYVILLE STATION.
This is a secret slide hidden in the "Library" behind the "bookcase" that led down to the PARTY room.

These were such YUMMY cupcakes from SAMS!

Reese got so many GREAT gifts from her friends and cousins

It was a Luau themed party so the kids dressed up in costumes

PS- The BEST part for Kristian and Me is that we did not have to do A THING! We didn't plan anything, bring anything, or make anything. It was the EASIEST party we have ever done. 

Reese has her Momma's dancing abilities! (Elaine from Sienfeld, ANYONE?)

Elegant Tea Party

I know that this may offend some people, but I am going to go ahead and say it anyway. This past Friday, the KINDERGARTEN class at Liberty Park put on an ELEGANT TEA PARTY! You are thinking COOL, right?? Well this Momma didn't think so.  This is an annual thing that this school has been doing for years and I LOVE the idea but not the product. Okay, so here it is...All KINDERGARTENER's have to dress up in their SUNDAY BEST. They have an ELEGANT TEA, where they practice what they have been learning, over the past few weeks, manners and etiquette of all sorts. THIS I LOVE. They have learned how to properly set a table, which silverware to use, how to sit properly, & what to say at the appropriate time. This has been fantastic. Here is the part I HATE... Let me remind you before I start on this rampage that they are in KINDERGARTEN. At the end of the "tea", they have a DANCE. Let me say that again- the KINDERGARTENER's have a DANCE, where they HAVE to dance with their assigned, OPPOSITE SEX partner. Most of the children at this age, hate this anyway...so please tell me WHO this benefits and who is encouraging this??? PARENTS!!! The parents of these children think that this is so cute and sweet and they encourage this interaction with pictures and flowers, etc. They stand on the sidelines snapping pictures of these babies dancing with each. They are ON DISPLAY for our personal amusement and benefit . To me this is so sad. I am saddest for these KINDERGARTENER's.  They are babies. They should ONLY be dancing with their Daddy's, Grandpa's, or brother's. We force things on children so early. We force adult/grownup experiences on our babies. Why??? Why do we have to encourage them to grow up so EARLY. It really bothers me. Needless to say, Reese stayed home from school for the day and hung out with my sweet Sis and her babies, and played all day...Did I tell you that they are in KINDERGARTEN.

PS- I think the teaching part of this activity is FABULOUS. I just think it could be taught in a much better way.

Clayton's Birthday - BIG 8 Year Old

Clayton's birthday was March 16th.  Since we were on Spring Break during his BIG day, we had his party the week earlier. BOY, WAS IT FUN! We had 25 little boys in one place for 2 hours. We rented a Laser Tag place and we TOTALLY got our money's worth. These boys played and played and played the entire time. We had PAPA JOHN's pizza- YUMMY!!! and Clayton wanted a cookie cake- so that is what we had. The little guys did not want to stop playing to eat. We had to make them stop. It was so much fun and Clayton felt so special.

Clayton is my child that REALLY lacks self-confidence. The boy has no idea how COOL he really is and how much people REALLY like him. God LOVE him!!!

Spring Break Baby!

How can I say it LOUD enough how much FUN we had in Pensacola for our Spring Break. We (and I mean all of us) did NOT want to come back. We spent so much time with our families. Oh how we miss them. Unfortunately I LOST every one of my pictures from my camera. UGH!!! So I will have to describe how great our Break was instead of show you.
First, my children had SO much fun playing at Nana Cindy's house. They stayed outside the ENTIRE time. They fished, rode horses, drove the go-carts, and played in the sand pile. They had a BLAST. Reese got to hang with Nana and her horse people the whole time. She LOVED every minute of it.
Tuesday night, we spent the night with my Grandmother. It is always so special for us and them. They truly miss my kids and we all MISS them terribly. We spent time talking and playing games. They are so special to us.
For the rest of the week, we spent time with my parents. It is so relaxing over at their house and my children love being there. We went on a Nature Walk, played chess, and played all sorts of games with Nana and Papa. We also ran errands with my sister and Mom. I Love being with my parentals.
By the end of the week, we were glad to come home and Kristian was ready for us to be home. It was great to see everyone and get to hang out with quality time spent.

Life without Kids

Okay- before I begin to enjoy this TOO much, I better get my children back :)
This past Sunday, My WONDERFUL mother in law, took my children (yes- all 3) to Pensacola with her. Kristian and I had SOOOOOOO much fun! We went out to dinner, played tennis (uninterrupted), watched a TERRIBLE movie (don't recommend "THE BOX") and snuggled (wink, wink) without the fear of someone waking up and knocking on our door.  WHOO! It was a fun night. Then on Monday, I cleaned and I cleaned and I cleaned my entire house. It was so nice to know that in a few hours (when kids get home from school- typically) that it wasn't going to get messy again. IT STAYED CLEAN! It is so peaceful. Then on Monday night, I made a VERY SPECIAL dinner consisting of GRILLED STEAK AND ASPARAGUS, lima beans, and sweet potatoes. YUMMY! Before dinner, Kristian and I went for a run...AT NIGHT ALONE!! Then we caught up on LOST- which is AWESOME and snuggled MORE (wink, wink).
I have to meet up with those little people - who live in my house sometime, right!? So , I guess that will be today. Seriously, I can't wait to see them, but we have had a GREAT time without them. We will be in P'cola until Sunday- YAY!!!
 I Love P'cola and it is STILL HOME!!!

Take me out to the BaLlGaMe...

Baseball season is in full swing around here. IT IS SERIOUS STUFF! I am not talking once a week practices and once a week games. NO SIR! Around here, we are busy 6 days a week with one team or another. We have two - three practices a week on top of two- three games a week. AND THAT IS FOR BOTH BOYS! This year is a little different for us. Both of my boys are playing, which is normal, but they are two different fields this year. These fields are on completely OPPOSITE sides of the city. We are NEVER home.

This past Saturday was opening day for us. It was our first games of the season and the boys had a GREAT time. We aren't sick of baseball yet :)
Each team did GREAT.  My boys LOVE baseball and they really like their Coaches and teammates this year. Here are some pictures from the weekend filled with baseball.