Spring is official for me when our Cherry Blossom tree is filled with blooms...

and little people...


It's official!!!

Spring, I've been waiting for you, old friend.

(Although truthfully, it feels more like summer right now.
Tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny and 89 degrees.)

He did, She did

Weekend in Review: we split up boys and girls for a fun-filled Saturday. The boys headed off the the Spring Football Game and the girls to a Tea Party and Fashion Show for our church.

The Spring Game is the boys annual tradition. We love supporting our team!

Reminder: my husband can be crazy...

Check out the kid on the cell phone, he thinks Bill is weird...
and I thought I was the one who would be embarrassing the kids!

Love that first touchdown tradition...

Watching the balloons...Cousin Lane joined in the fun this year...
Loved this one of jack (and bill's bushy side-burn)...

The girls were busy focusing on our inner and outer beauty...
Emmie modeled in the fashion show...
along with her best friend
Love this "maxi dress"...

The food was amazing.
So were the decorations.
So was the conversation.
Did I mention the food?
Savories and scones,
Chocolate-covered strawberries and desserts...
I like tea okay,
But I love the stuff that goes with it!

Farmer Jack

The annual Kindergarten Farm Program was last week.

Jack had fun...

as you can see.

He loved his horse's tail...

he relishes any chance he gets to shake his booty.

We heart his teachers...

and his buddies...
and corn...

E-I-E-I-O
(what does that mean anyway?)

My First Giveaway

It all started with this conversation:

"Mom, I want to do a blog post." She's 8, mind you.

"What do you want to blog about?" Nick Jonas, perhaps?

Instead she said, "I want to do a giveaway."
How does she know that "bigtime" bloggers do giveaways?
What in the world is going on here?
She continued, "I am making this special ticket and I want you
to take a picture of me with it and then put it on your blog."

Why not?

So, here it is: our first giveaway.

Can you read the ticket and see what the giveaway is for?
It's a free ticket to go to her room.
Her room is pretty special as we are re-doing it
to make way for a little sister.
She's not really thrilled about sharing her room,
so the re-decorating is a bit of a bribe I guess.
It's still a work in progress, but we have the bedding so far.
In the Pottery Barn catalogs it always looks so
cute to have a duvet folded back over a quilt.
When I do it just looks messy.
Oh well, like I always say
"Life is not like a Pottery Barn catalog!"
(Actually I've never said that before, but it is true.)

Back to our exciting giveaway...
Here's a picture of the rules for her room that she has posted on her door.

You should know in case you win.
Keep in mind, you "haft" to do what she is doing or
you will get kicked out.
I don't think I'm going to have to use a random generator for this one.
I think her Dad is going to be the winner.
She just hopes it's not one of her brothers.

Sorry if you were disappointed that there is no real giveaway.
I kinda like fake-outs sometimes afterall.
Don't hold your breath for a real give away:
I barely remember to have my kids brush their teeth,
there's no way I would remember to send you something in the mail.

Africa on our minds...

"Mom, your cold sore kind of looks like Africa."


That made me feel a little better about my eye sore cold sore.
I couldn't zoom in any closer for the "Africa sighting" on my lower lip,
there was way too much girl-mustache and large pore action.
Go ahead, zoom in for yourself and you will sadly see
that this time I am not exaggerating.
One appointment for a lip wax, coming right up!

Speaking of Africa, my sister is on her way to Zambia as we speak.
She says she spent much of her adult life begging God not to send
her to Africa, but in the past year or so has found herself begging Him to let her go.
I'm so excited for her to use her gift of teaching and heart of compassion there.
I have a feeling she will never be the same.
You can check out her team's blog here if you want.

Did I really just put that picture of myself on my blog? I better hit publish
before I lose my nerve...

Happy Belated Easter from the Energetic Bunny...

And his peeps...

Instead of a traditional Easter egg hunt this year, I made a "Scabenger Hunt" (as the younger two call it) for the kids at Gunga's house. It consisted of eggs that had slightly lame rhyming clues inside. I had fun coming up with it and they enjoyed the process...

No Easter Egg Hunt is complete without rifles

The last clue was a bit anti-climactic...

The kids were not at all surprised by this. They know me.

I struggle every Christmas and Easter to not get wrapped up in the opportunity for a gift-giving occasion, but to remember the gift-receiving we have in Christ's life, death, and resurrection. I want to lead my children well in the true nature of the holiday, but I get so excited to give them fun gifts and present them in cutesy ways that I can be easily distracted. This Easter was no different.

I spent a good portion of the day on Saturday shopping for the perfect, little gifts for the kids.

On the way out the door for church, I fussed over my son tucking in his shirt. His response, "I don't see why it matters to God whether my shirt is tucked in or not." He has a point.

I fussed at my children while trying to capture a precious memory of them in their Easter outfits I said rather gruffly, "Smile!". Actually, it was more than rather gruffly. It was full-out gruffly.

I spoke sharply to Bill when I heard fighting between kids as I was working on meal preparation.

We were talking with the kids the night before about what it means for our daily lives that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us through His Spirit. I know one thing it can mean: getting everyone ready for church, taking pictures of my kids, and getting food ready for a holiday celebration are entry points for me to experience the truth of Easter, the beauty of the gospel. I don't have it together. My shirt is VERY much untucked, spiritually speaking. I have been rescued by Christ and He is rescuing me still. Many days, including Easter, I lose sight of Him and the beautiful truth that "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). That is worth celebrating and it's not too late for me to do that today.

Good riddance

I would like to have the person's head on a platter who came up with April Fool's Day. What is the history of this dumb old "holiday" anyway? I mean really, what are we celebrating? We're not honoring those who have secured our freedom. We're not celebrating the Savior's birth or resurrection. We're not even getting a day off. Or a Hallmark card. Or turkey and mashed potatoes. Or candy! At least Halloween offers trick OR treat. With April Fool's all you get is trick.

Are you sensing a wee bit of bitterness oozing from my blog? The source of said bitterness is that my children ADORE this "holiday". They think it is hi.lar.i.ous. I think it is an.noy.ing.

For those of you who know me, you might think I'm the kind of person who loves practical jokes. I love surprises. I love to laugh and have fun. I seem like a relaxed and fun mom. But I'm not. This is how I fool people. Remember, I'm a closet control freak. The problem is that I have big reactions. Really big as in screaming and jumping up and squirting in my pants. And this is what makes my kids so excited to pull a prank on me. They especially dig the squirting in the pants part.

On April Fool's, they are united as partners in crime. It is kind of cute to see how they are laughing as they scheme together. EXCEPT that I am their victim! On the night of the 31st they were supposed to be in bed, though I could hear the oldest two shuffling and giggling upstairs. I wanted to indulge them a bit in their united love of this sadistic "holiday" because I am trying to let my inner "fun mom" come out.

When Bill and I went to bed this is what we found...

• a bra hanging from the ceiling fan
  
• missing toothpaste and deodorant
  
• cotton balls blocking the toilet paper roll from turning (that one was pretty good)
• a cotton ball shoved into my soap dispenser so it wouldn't squirt out
• cotton balls shoved in the drain of our shower
• cotton balls resting in my glasses(they should write a book titled "Creative and Naughty Uses For Cotton Balls")

• a "short sheeted bed" kid-style (basically just messed up sheets)
• a few other random "hilarious" pranks
  

I was just glad there wasn't Saran Wrap on the toilet. Please no one tell them about that one.

So while they were at school I decided it was my turn to scheme. My kind of April Fool's joke is doing something fun to surprise someone that will be a blessing to them. My plan was to tell the kids after school that I forgot that they all had dentist appointments. They would be really bummed, but then we would go to the office and when we checked in the receptionist would say "April Fool's!" and instead I would take them to Dairy Queen. The receptionist was all for it, so our plan was set.

I was excited all day and congratulating myself that I was, indeed, a fun mom. If you read my blog you know that is a sign that all would not go as I hoped (pride goes before a fall...). What I forgot to factor in was that we got to a pediatric dentist. Her office has video games galore and a movie always playing. Dr. Heidi is as nice as she can be and she always lets them choose a prize. They may not like the actual teeth cleaning, but it turns out THEY LOVE GOING TO THE DENTIST. They were all disappointed after she said "April Fool's" and they didn't want to leave. To top it off, Tate didn't trust me when I said we were going to Dairy Queen (after I had lied about the dentist) and kept warning the kids not to get their hopes up for ice cream. I thought it was going to be hi.lar.ious. They thought it was an.noy.ing

We don't have a good track record with April Fool's Day. Last year Tate was sad that he didn't have a joke to play on his friends. For some reason, I suggested he could tell them we were moving to Florida. After school, he said he had told one friend and he totally fell for it. I said, "How did he react when you said 'April Fool's'?" His response, "Oh, I kind of forgot that part." It turns out that one friend's mother worked at the school so I had several people ask, even weeks later, about our move. Remember that one, Mindy?

So April Fool's Day, you fake non-holiday, I wash my hands of you...at least until next year.