Spring Break

Nobody was anticipating Spring Break more than me. I was literally counting down the days. While our daily school routine was old hat at this point I was longing for our less complicated, never leave the house days of yesteryear.  I was ready for letting my kids sleep in, being less stringent about bed time, and having all three of kids home to play together!

That being said by nature I am a list maker. I love to get things done. My idea of fun is reorganizing an area of my house. (true story) Than you have my husband. The man is great at playing and spontaneous fun. He is so great about taking time to stop what he is doing and make fun memories with our kiddos. I however have to be a bit more intentional. So, I knew if left to my own devices I would spend Spring Break getting "caught up" around my house and checking things off my never ending "to do" list if I didn't make a plan. So, I set down with the kids and laid out our week. They helped me make a schedule of fun. I'm much better at planned fun. It was a GREAT memory making week. And I love making memories with my kids because that feels like getting something done to me. :)

We......

played with play dough. 

painted with watercolors.

had a movie night.

ate breakfast on the couch in our pajamas!

 had picnic lunches in the backyard and at the park.

 enjoyed time with the newest & hairiest member of our family.

 ate extra cupcakes (it was a busy week for Sweet 2 the Soul).

 went to the park with friends.

 had a fancy family dinner.

 went to meet daddy for a picnic lunch at the park.

 went to visit Gramy & Papa and played at "Papa's Park."

 Hiked the trail to the creek.

 threw LOTS of rocks in the creek.

 went to visit Uncle Cody & Aunt Erin's cows.

 had a weiner roast with family.

 skipped nap time to have fun.

 went to visit Mom-o and Pop-o and Auntie Di.

 hosted our play group's cooking day. Ice cream in a bag and individual cookies- yum!

 had TWO tea parties with friends.

 went to the library.

 and painted our toes pretty.

It was a WONDERFUL Spring Break and we are very sad that there isn't one on next year's school calendar. But, this was one for the Shutterfly history books!

Disciple Now

Our children look forward each March to having "boys in our basement." Jeremy and I love giving them a place to crash, feeding them well, and being a part of them taking a weekend to focus on what God is doing in their lives. One year no one would "take boys" and so I reluctantly agreed to house the wild ones....even though we had only girls back then. To make a long story short I fell in love with their big appetites, good manners, and mischievous smiles and we've kept the boys ever since. Its kind of becoming our family's role.

Here are some pictures from the awards breakfast at the end of the weekend. Our children wore green to fit in with all their green t-shirts.

Big appetite...mischievous smile....good manners (well, maybe we are working on the last one)

I love me my boy!



"Our" boys telling about the service project they did helping an older lady with her yard work. (Picture courtesy of Grace. She loved siting at the table and taking pictures of the different groups.)
We ended up with only 3 boys this year...but they still managed to sneak out and cause plenty of mischief! We also enjoyed getting to know their leader, John. (He is a dad to two year old triplets so our crazy little ones didn't phase him a bit!)
I hope our "big kids" and our little ones associate our home as a welcome place where they are loved, well fed, and sheltered from whatever the world is throwing at them.

V is for Volcano

Our family has been so blessed by all the fun Faith is having at preschool and sharing with us! During "V" week we got in on some of the fun.

A VERY yummy volcano Mrs. Karen made.

We saved a piece for Grace....she was most appreciative!
Yum!
Faith & Wyatt also made a volcano one day. That afternoon Grace got to get in on the painting of the volcano. She felt very special to be included. So when it was finished the Whetstones shared it with us so we could erupt it as a family. Very fun.

Love when school is a family affair!