Easter Activities

This morning was a fun one as we did some egg activities at our house. We started with a practice egg hunt. The boys loved it! I thought since they would be hunting eggs with their older and more experienced cousins, then they needed a little practice. It went well. Pax was happy and content with just 1 egg. Holden wanted lots of help in finding the hiding eggs. He asked lots of questions instead of just looking for them. It made me laugh.
Next we made some EASTER EGGS! Such fun! Last year I did this with just Holden during Pax's nap. But I knew they would both be participating this year. And I figured it would get super messy. Jeremy suggested me doing it outside. :) But I opted for the floor of the kitchen and we all stayed pretty clean with some set rules (like no splashing in the dye). If Pax looks teary in any pictures, it's because he didn't like my rules and he didn't want to take turns with Holden. He had a little bit of a harder time with it but ended up having alot of fun. Here they show you their before eggs.
And into the color bath they go.
Then we had to wait a LONG 5 minutes. So we had a snack and sang Jesus Loves Me several times. And after the eggs were dry, the boys applied the silly face stickers. This was a kit. Ashamed to say I probably wouldn't have thought this up on my own. By I sure will next year!And the end result: a dozen colorful, funny-faced eggs!
And 2 happy little boys!
And, with our thoughts turned to Jesus and our hearts reflecting more on the cross during this weekend, I'll share one of my favorite scriptures.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

green thumb?

Last summer our family took a pretty big turn in the way we eat. It's been a process and one that I'm still growing into. I wrote a little bit about it here. But in the middle of last summer, I suddenly wanted my own garden since my eyes were opened about the produce my family had been consuming. I'm not overreacting and saying it's going to kill us. But if I grow it myself, then I know exactly what we are getting. Well, we definitely don't have room for a garden in the backyard. Especially with the little project we have going on right now. More on that next week when it's all completed. (SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!) But I did spend a few dollars on organic potting soil and a few plants that are staples in my fridge. So I'm trying out my green thumb to see if I can be a full-time farmer right in my own backyard. :) So here we have 2 cucumber plants and 2 tomato plants. I would love some sort of fruit tree, a strawberry plant and some herbs. But it's baby steps for now. So this is what I'm beginning with this spring. Once these veggies start growing, I'll easily have my ingredients for this delicious salad!

a carnival.

Our church does some amazing things in the local community and also around the world. They have an incredible ministry for families with special needs children. Each spring, the church hosts a carnival to fundraise for that particular ministry. This weekend was the carnival. So tonight our cell group (plus our friends Noe and Lauren) met up at Fuzzy's Tacos (YUM!), ate dinner and then headed to the carnival. The kids got to ride their little hearts out on so many fun kiddie rides. We didn't know how Holden would do with it all. He's not the bravest little guy in the world. But once he saw some cars that he could "drive" he was sucked in. He absolutely loved the carnival! And Pax did too! Too bad mister Pax was a few inches too short to participate in many of the rides. He's probably the braver of the two boys in some ways. But Pax was a good sport and would watch the bigger kids. He was perfectly content in Lauren's arms much of the evening. Here are a few pictures from our super fun evening. I love this first picture of Holden and Isabella. It looks like they're on a little date and he's showing off for her on his 4-wheeler. :) Holden LOVED this huge slide, which completely shocked me. I was afraid he might freak out once he got to the top and realized how high it really was. He was too short to ride alone, so he rode with Jeremy. Then I decided that Pax wanted a turn. So on round 2, Pax rode with Jeremy and Holden rode with Noe. If you click on the picture below, you'll see that Pax's face looks terrified. (Honestly, I make that face too when I go down huge hills on roller coasters. You should see the camera shots of me on a big roller coaster. Not pretty! Even though I love to ride them, this terrified face always pops out. It's uncontrollable. I promise.) And you'll also notice the big boys are laughing in the picture. This is because Noe cheated so that he and Holden could win. :) I'm not sure why I didn't think to get a cell group photo! It was a fun night with friends. And the boys had a ball!

Holden's disposition.

Yesterday when I picked Holden up from school we went through our normal routine. I made it from the church back out to the car with 2 little boys, a napmat, a backpack, a lunchbox and crafts. After getting us all in the car, I took a look at Holden's sheet that tells me how his day went. It looked normal. Like it does every week. Except a teacher had added one special, little word: "sweet". Check it out. I've had a rough week or so with Holden so seeing this truly delighted me. Jeremy has always said that he'd rather our kids act out for us than a teacher/babysitter/or someone else in charge. And he's right. I do feel the same way, though I kind of wish Holden would see I need a little break with the attitude and fits. :) Anyways, because of this note, I began praising him and telling him what they had written. I did this as I made my way to Sonic for a special treat. I gave him the option of icecream or tator tots. Guess what he chose. I'm so proud of this boy! It's a blessing that I never have to wonder what his behavior will be like when I'm not around. At school he is consistently marked as: friendly, chatty, cooperative and happy. And we've yet to get a complaint from anyone else (thus far). I realize that it could happen one of these days. But for now, he's only showing his mommy and daddy the other side of his behavior. And for that I'm grateful. His teachers are right. He's an incredibly sweet boy and I'm SO blessed to be his mommy.

golfer.

We've known for some time that Pax wants to be a golfer. :) Anytime we are in the backyard, he normally has a plastic golf club in his hand. And as much as I want to have a Hawaiian Luau birthday party, come August, his passion for golf may send me in a completely different direction. (And yes, I am already thinking about his birthday party many months away!) So here is a picture of our little boy playing his favorite (and his daddy's favorite) sport. And so, when I spotted this little outfit, how could I say no?? How?

Hats!

Pax love hats! Daily he request for them to be put on his head. From my nephew's and Holden's hand-me-downs, he has ALOT of hats. And he loves to wear them. He'll also wear mine or Jeremy's if he can get his hands on them. And sometimes he cries if he doesn't get his way. Like if I don't allow him to nap with the hat on his head. It's kind of funny. He might be obssessed with them. Thankfully, he looks pretty darn cute in them either way!

recent mornings . . .

Lately, Jeremy has been sleeping in a bit. Which means the boys get to see him when they wake up. In fact, they have become his new little alarm clocks. And I have to admit that it's nice to start the day as family. All of us together. Though, if it were up to me, I'd much rather have him home earlier. So when he leaves our house every morning, Holden and Pax have to stop eating breakfast, to give hugs, kisses and then wait at the window and wave as his truck drives away. Pretty much every single morning this is what I watch as a half eaten breakfast waits patiently for them in the kitchen. They adore their daddy.