Easter 2016

I'm not sure people realize what a miraculous event it is, to get a self-timer, Sunday morning, no sleep, hurry and get to church, dressed up nicer than usual, 5 coordinated outfits, used the curling wand, Easter picture where everyone looks happy, clothes are in the right place, hair is in the right place, sun is in the right place, PHOTO!  But miracle of miracles, it happened yet again.  I love this picture.  This is not how our family actually looks on a normal day.  But today is special.

After church, we came home to check out what the Easter bunny left us. 

I used this pattern to make the kids these scrap fabric bunnies.  I didn't really know how it would be received....would they be getting too old for this?  Do boys even like bunnies?  Hers is prettier than mine!  Nope!  None of that.  They LOVED their unique bunnies and have carried them everywhere with them.  I found out just now that Levi took his to school today.   :)

After lunch, it was time for the egg hunt!  I love this picture!

Can you spot the Ava?

Which child was supposed to be able to reach this?  

After hunting eggs, I had made a chocolate cake for the family.  I used this recipe.  It was EXTREMELY good....but I have a product review with that edible candy grass you see.  My review: Don't use that stuff.  You can't cut through it.  It's weird to eat.  It makes a big mess.  Cute effect....horrible everything else.

I'm already stressing just a little bit about next Easter.....it's just a few days after Elle and Levi's bday, which means we will be doing L2L, Easter and a 7th and 13th bday in pretty much the same weekend!  Ah, but that is almost 12 months away.  I think I'll just go raid all the candy the Easter bunny brought....which just so happens to be the kinds I like.

Lads to Leaders 2016

This past weekend we participated in Lads to Leaders up in Dallas, a culmination of a years worth of hard work!  The theme this year was from Matthew 6:21.  It was "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." The kids competed in about 15 different categories!  

Ava and Elle both did Oral Bible Reading.

 Paul and Carolyn came with their congregation so the kids got to see them pretty often during the two days we were there.  They even got to eat Oreos in bed while playing on the phone.

Here's our group waiting in the main room for the 1st night's awards!

There were about 1,900 people in attendance this year!  It's growing every year!

Here's our Bible Bowl group.  They studied their hearts out over the book of Matthew and could probably run circles around most of us, with what they now know!

Elle and Ava also competed in song leading for girls.  They both did so great and I was so proud of them for having the courage to do it.

We call these two trouble....though they actually where very good and I was so very thankful she was there because they played together SO well!

Here is every child that participated in L2L this year!  Can't wait to see how many more kids we can have next year!

Victory is Sweet!

Last Road Trip of Spring Break

Today was our last adventure with the youth group.  We took them to Colorado Bend State Park, despite the 80% chance of rain that the weatherman was forecasting.....glad we took the chance since we didn't get a drop of rain!

On our way to the park, we stopped in Lampasas and took a picture with the World's Largest Spur, which was installed last week.  It just so happens that this spur was created by our friend Waylon Dobbs, who works at Camp Blue Haven every summer!

Here's my three kids

We finally made it to the park...still no rain!

Elle has really connected with a girl that is a little newer to our group.  All week they've been having fun together and finding many common interests.  They both showed up today wearing the EXACT same jacket which we all thought was great!

Hiking to the falls

While there, we noticed two of the rangers talking about where exactly to put this sign.  We jumped right in to help them decide and asked if we could help install it!  They were so kind and let us dig the holes, position it, level it and install it!

This will be here for many many years to come, and we had a part in that!

My super man, carrying my baby. lol

We.Were.Tired.  It was a great last trip and I'm so thankful for the van and the kids to fill it up!

She said YES!

That "she" being me!  So...I read an article a while back and it talked about having a "YES!" day once in a while with your kids.  The proposition is that you say yes to everything they ask...with some ground rules.  I told the kids that we would be doing this a few days ahead of time and you would have thought that I'd said the world decided to do Christmas twice a year.  They were thrilled!  So I set three ground rules.  1. It can't cost money.  2.  It can't break rules/laws.  3. We can't leave town to do it.
So Thursday morning I woke up scared.  I felt like I was about to go through the gauntlet or something.  Without further adieu, I give you every single question they asked me from the time they saw me until we tucked them in bed.  I put their initial by the question they asked:
7:54 am
Can I have jelly beans? L
Can I have green Lucky Charms? E
Can we watch Zootopia today? E (I already had tickets and they knew we were going to watch this.)
Are you going to write down every question? E
Will you get me some milk? L
How about apple juice instead? L
Can I have a piece of candy? A
Can I take the phone booth decoration down? E
Can I get the Eiffel Tower decoration down? A
8:15 am
Can I have a piece of candy? L
Can I have all of my Skittles? L
Can I play Elle's marimba? A
Can I get a piece of my gum? E
9:08 am
Can I have icecream? E
Can I have icecream for lunch? A
Will you play Old Maid with us? EandA
12:50pm
Can we go to Blue Hole? A
Can you read a story to me (while on the potty)? L
Can I have candy? E
Can I have jelly beans? EandA
Will you play a game with me? E
3:30ish pm
Can I have a piece of your gum? A
Can I bring my blankie? A
Can you play Led Zeppelin in the car? E
Can we have a caffeine drink? all three
Can I sit in your lap? E

Elle asked me one question at the end of the night that I said no to.  We had a long drive to get home and it had been a LONG day and I was tired and hurting and she asked me to come sit back in the back of the van, squished between both girls for the long drive...and that is when I told her that I hope her day had been fun, and hoped my answer didn't ruin all the fun, but that THAT question had pushed me over the edge.  I wasn't coming back there!  So....I didn't say yes to EVERY question they asked...and yet I feel no guilt over my one well placed no.
So what are my thoughts?  I absolutely can't believe that they were not more opportunistic! I have a feeling that as they get older, they will get smarter about this little day.  But until then, I will enjoy the fact that all they need to be happy is sugar pretty much.  I can truly understand that.
Here are a few pictures from our day.

Here's my St. Patrick's day surprise from Shawn!  He is well aware that my favorite color is green.  :)

Getting down the untouchables.

The Eiffel tower became a refuge for some soldiers trying to escape a T Rex.

Skittles and PJ's

T-Rex ate a soldier.

This was such an exciting thing for Ava since she is usually never allowed to touch Elle's marimba.

Back to St. Patrick's day....the girls and I really like going on http://artforkidshub.com/ and trying out different drawing tutorials.  We drew a leprechaun!

Time to see Zootopia!  We all loved it!

At Blue Hole...and they all were freezing and as happy as could be!

Levi and his Big Blue.  

The Caring Place

Today we took our youth to The Caring Place to volunteer a few hours of their time.  We were able to sort all kinds of linens, baskets, and craft items...and I even scored a craft item that I've been hunting for, for MONTHS!  They all did such a great job and I can't wait for us to go back again this summer and work with them!

This picture cracks me up.  It was a little hard to keep him busy the whole time and sometimes, he just had to find a place to sit and wait.