Images that make my heart SING!

 Maybe it is because I have a degree in Recreational Management or maybe it is the reason I did study recreation, but nothing makes my heart sing like watching kids creating...I sincerely love it.

 I adore the days when we have the time to paint, draw, dress up, color on the driveway, play Legos etc.  At any rate enjoy these photos from the past two weeks. 

 I feel happier just looking at them again. 

 A person done by Gracie. For some reason it doesn't want to rotate, but I am amazed that she is drawing recognizable images already.  She could spend hours drawing or painting.  I love it. 

 I drew the hearts and then Gracie filled them in (actually, Owen may have done a few of the hearts on that day.  Can't remember).  She loves doing that.

 Davis went to a Zorro birthday party and spent several days obsessed with Zorro!

 It doesn't matter if the paint is on paper or our face...we love it!

Had to throw this one in...love the giggle smiles...

Lego Mania Continues...

 

 This is what Gracie was doing this morning when she was supposed to be getting dressed for church...

 Can I see my picture?

 Again this morning...Owen was working on a project, but everyone had to get in on the action...

May they always find joy in Creativity!

This is what we do when we're sick...and when we're not.

I know I mentioned this earlier, but our family was sick for a couple of weeks.  The kids were really resilient to it actually.  Jed and I on the other hand were both wiped out.  I didn't even leave the house for a week.  Thankfully Jed functioned much better than I did.  On the one hand it was refreshing not to have to go anywhere, but on the other hand...

It is all kind of a blur, but while we were down we read, slept, caught up on some T.V., and did this puzzle...again (Jed and I put it together the week before on our weekend away--more on that later).  This time we did it at night with the boys.  I don't know why we don't take the time to do puzzles more often.  It was a hoot!

Thank you to all of my friends who carted my kids around and brought my family food. We wouldn't have made it without you!

Can you tell these two are related?

Two Peas in a Pod--these are the two that I hear look the most alike. Definitely brother and sister.

Gracie's Latest

 

It has been a while since I did a post solely about Gracie. Being the only child not in school, she spends a lot of her time running around taking the other kids to all of their activities.  So this one is just about her and what she loves.  The first thing she loves, this black and white dress in the picture above.  It is her new favorite.  If it is clean, she is wearing it.  She loves skirts, dresses, anything that twirls when she dances, which she does constantly.

She loves this blanket.  She is the first of our children to really be attached to a blanket.  She carries it around the house all day.

 

Gracie still twirls her hair.  Only now she twirls in and sticks it in her ear!  I tried to get a good pic of that, but it didn't really work.  It wouldn't bother me except that now her hair is SIGNIFICANTLY shorter on one side and she is starting to knot it again.  My latest approach is to keep her hair braided at all times. Oh, and to tell her that if she doesn't stop I am going to have her hair cut like the boys....we'll see what happens.

 Barbies.  Gracie is definitely a Barbie girl.  She will play Barbies for hours by herself.  She and Davis are definitely the best at playing on their own.

Other things Gracie loves...

Avacados

Meat

Ice Cream

Painted finger and toe nails

Disney's Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Headbands

Shoes

Dress-ups

Drawing

Potty Talk

Going to the Nursery at Church

Swinging on the Swings

Singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "ABCs"

Princesses

Things that Gracie does NOT love...

Eating Breakfast

Being told to do something that she does not want to do 

(she has perfected the art of acting like she can't hear)

Being picked up by Kate

Getting into her Car Seat

Bread

Naps (she still needs them, but they are few and far between)

Sure love you little Gracie...may you always have that sparkle in your eye!

Chef Owen

For days now Jed and I have been sick...I do not say lightly that we are sicker than we have been in years.  Luckily, Chef Owen has come to the rescue!  He told me that he was going to take care of all of the meals yesterday, so I decided that he might as well kill two birds with one stone...We looked up the  requirements in his scout book for his cooking patch and Owen has taken on all of the meal planning for the past day and a half...going way beyond his requirements. He wrote a menu and really did everything that he could do on his own.  Thank you Owen!  You are a great cook in the making!

 

Field Trip Time

 Last week Kate's preschool went on the favorite field trip of the year...First stop was the music store.  Very fun, even for shy Kate.

 Then on to Papa John's Pizza...notice all of the flour in the kid's hair.  The manager threw flour all over the kids.  You should have seen their shocked faces!

 The kids think it is so fun to pull the large magnets off the wall.  Those magnets are strong!  I guess they have to be to stay on top of the delivery driver's car. 

 Time to make her own pizza....Cheese Only!  She was thrilled.

Kate was so sweet she ate two pieces of her pizza and then saved a piece for Owen, Davis and Gracie.  They sure loved her that afternoon!

I Made My Hair!

 This school year has been a tricky one for me.  It has been hard to balance my time and attention between four kids, a spouse, our home, two schools where I like to be involved, our business, church responsibilities, etc.  I was talking to a good friend of mine about some of the anxiety that I was experiencing and she suggested that one area that I could simplify my life would be to let Kate have more control over getting herself ready...Heaven knows she loves to "make" her own hair and put together her own outfits.  She told me that she doesn't care as much about how her girls (she has 3 of them) look as she does about how they behave.  She said that they feel confident when they make their own choices and she doesn't feel the need to make them appear perfect.  So, I have been taking her advice and it really has been liberating.  Kate does feel more confident when she has done things for herself.  I will admit that I still do her hair on most days, but I don't fight her on the days that she wants to do it herself.  After all, she does a good job, don't you think?  Thank you Jen for helping me let go of the things that really don't matter!