Garage Sale Find

Can you believe we got these at a garage sale around the corner from us today? I've been wanting to get rid of the rocker and ottoman and put two chairs by the fireplace. It just wasn't a high priority, since I figured it would cost quite a bit of money. And it was not even on my mind when Brian called and told me to meet him at the garage sale to check out something. They weren't quite ready for an estate sale, but the guy let me go in the house and take a look around. I saw these chairs and thought they'd be perfect! Especially when he told me how little he wanted for them! We might have them reupholstered some day, but I think the red looks good for now. The wheels on the front have to go though! The boys must not have noticed those today or we might have had some kind of roller derby going on!
And I could use some advice from all you expert designers. Should the chairs be farther apart? Turned more? The only thing is the kids need to be able to get into the cabinets because that's where a lot of their toys are stored. Here's another view:


And I don't really want to get rid of the rocker and ottoman, but I don't have any little babies left to rock and feed! Oh the memories of 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00 a.m. feedings in that chair!

Spence's Imagination

Driving past Coleman's school on our way to a park today, Spence and I had a delightful conversation!

Mommy: Coleman's in there working hard and learning all kinds of stuff.
Spence: I hope he's not learning about alligators!
Mommy: Why?
Spence: Because Esther told me if you learn about alligators, you turn into one! And that's real!
Mommy: So if Coleman comes home and he's an alligator, I guess we'll know he learned about alligators today.
Spence: The first thing to happen is he'll have alligator sharp teeth!
Mommy: Then what next?
Spence: He'll turn green!
Mommy: What next?
Spence: He'll grow a long tail!
Mommy: What next?
Spence: He'll grow two feet in front!
Mommy: What next?
Spence: His nose will be long!
Mommy: What next?
Spence: He'll have bumps all over him!
Mommy: What next?
Spence: Then he's an alligator!

In case you forgot, Esther is Spence's imaginary friend. And it sounds like Spence knows enough about alligators to turn into one himself!

Happy Easter!

He became sin, Who knew no sin

That we might become His Righteousness

He humbled himself and carried the cross

Love so amazing, Love so amazing

Jesus Messiah, Name above all names

Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel

The rescue for sinners, The ransom from Heaven

Jesus Messiah, Lord of all

Jesus Messiah, by Chris Tomlin

Easter Egg Hunts Don't Scare Me!

If you have no idea what the title of this post means, click here. Or, if you're short on time, I'll just tell you that Coleman has had some bad experiences at egg hunts. At one point, I wondered if I would ever be able to take him to an egg hunt without it being a horrific experience for both of us! Well, luckily I think that phase has passed. And now I think about all those past egg hunts and the tears and screaming and actually get a laugh from it!

Since he was out of school today, he got to tag along with his younger siblings to our MOPS Easter Egg Hunt. He actually helped me hide some of the eggs, but enjoyed finding them too.

Save some for the other kids, Allie!

Say "Cheese" then we can eat the candy!

And what's the deal with Mommies? Or maybe it's just me. I always want a cute picture of the kids together on special occasions or events. I picked out cute springy outfits for the kids, and wouldn't you know Coleman wanted no part of the outfit I picked out for him! I'm afraid mean mom had to come out and she may have made some threats about not getting toys that were supposed to be in his Easter basket, or something to that affect. I can't really control mean mom. She's just really obsessed with dressing the kids all cutesie and getting a frame-able photo. I don't know what her deal is.

After all the energy mean mom expended, these are the best pictures she got!

And then Coleman went and put the clothes of his choosing back on before we left for the egg hunt.

This One Has No Title

Hmm. Where to start? That's always the problem when I take a few days off! OK, here's something funny. I'll call it In Spence's Words.

Concerning the tag in his t-shirt:
It's distracting my back!

About misplacing his Bible:
I did put it in a special place, I just forgot where that special place is.

Hoping I won't discover his naughtiness:
Don't go in the kitchen Mommy! I accidentally stamped in there.

Yeah, on the door frame, wall, 4 cabinet doors, the island, the oven door, and the fridge. Some accident!

You can see he stamped all over his face and body too. (Too bad he'd already taken the tutu off!) And he's holding a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser in his hand, which he just used to clean up the mess he made.

Taking time out of his destructive schedule to love on his sister

One of Spence's little friends has come over a few times lately. Here are some pictures from her visits!

She asked if we had any princess costumes. When I said no, she went for the Clone Trooper!

And Allie is a knight


Aren't they adorable???

Last weekend the kids went to a birthday party at our gym. It was a rock climbing party! Poor Spence was too young to participate, but Coleman gave it a try.

Allie really wanted to do it!

So now on to Allie's latest accomplishment. For a while now, she's been saying "poo poo" and I'll put her on the toilet. She's never done anything in the toilet, until this afternoon! I caught her mid-poop, put her on the toilet, and let her finish her business. She was so proud of herself! Then after several attempts to have her pee pee on the potty, she did that this evening! Of course, as soon as we called Grandma and Grandpa to brag, she pooped on the floor. Oh well, I'm not expecting her to be potty trained any time soon. It's just exciting to see her figuring it all out! Way to go Allie!

This week I made little Easter gifts for the kids' teachers. This is the one I made for Coleman's teacher. They are flower pens! I thought they turned out pretty cute!


So I think you're all caught up on us! Hope you all have a blessed Easter.

Good night!

Story Starters

There are several ways to start this story. I could first mention that Spence is slower than slow. Hurry is not in his vocabulary. And he's very easily distracted, as I'm sure most 4 year old are. Of course, if I'm being honest, I'm pretty prone to being distracted myself. Now where was I? Oh yes, how to start off this story.

It might be best to start it by telling you that our gardenia bush by the front door serves as our outdoor toilet. Anytime we're already on our way out and Spence has forgotten to go to the bathroom, I send him behind the bush. Gross, maybe. Time-saving, for sure.

I could also choose to start the story with the fact that Spence gets overly upset if I don't take him with me when I go drop Coleman off at school in the morning. On the rare occasion that he's still asleep when we leave, I come back to him whining and crying, "Why did you leave me???" I have no idea what's so fun about this trip. I guess maybe he just doesn't want to be left out of anything!

So now you're probably really wondering if I'm ever going to actually tell you the story. Here goes. This morning Spence was up in plenty of time to eat his breakfast then get ready to go with us to drop off Coleman. Most mornings he goes in his pajamas anyway, so I really think this whole situation could have been avoided. But it wasn't. About 20 minutes before time to leave, I told Spence to go upstairs and pick out his clothes. He did! He actually had his underwear, shorts, and shirt in his hands. Then he got distracted. When it was time to leave, I said, "As soon as I get Allie out of bed, we're out the door Spence." He starts screaming, "Wait! I'm not dressed! I can be fast!" But instead of starting to put on his clothes, he kept screaming about how fast he could get dressed. I headed out the door with Coleman and Allie. Spence had just ripped off his pajama pants and pull-up, so all he was wearing was his pajama shirt. He grabbed his clothes and headed down the stairs and toward the car, first stopping at the gardenia bush to go potty. As I was buckling Allie in, I spotted his half-naked self climbing in the car, still clutching his clothes! He got dressed in the car!

I have to admit that it is easy to get annoyed with him at times, but he sure keeps life interesting. I'm sure no one else in our neighborhood ran out of their house naked this morning and got dressed in their car. Probably no one reading this did either! And the thing is, that exact same scenario will never occur again. And if I tried to think up the wildest happening I could, it wouldn't even compare to the next stunt that little guy will pull! Yes, it's an interesting life I lead.

While I'm talking about Spence, I'll go ahead and share the "compliments" he gave me today while the two of us were sitting on the couch after reading a book:

Spence: I love your legs, Mommy.
Mommy: Oh, thanks Spence.
Spence: They're so bumpy! (I guess I need to start shaving above the knee.)

Spence: I love your cheeks, too!
Mommy: (a little worried) Why do you love my cheeks?
Spence: I love all the lines!

If he would have "complimented" my butt I would've grounded him!

Boot Buddies

Only a Four Year Old Brother...

...could start out a sentence with such a compliment, and end it with such a put down.

Spence: Allie, you're such a beautiful person, (then looking up at me) but she does things wrong.

Fun With Grandma

Grandma, we always have such a fun time with you! Thank you for coming to visit us. You brought us each a special gift: books and dollar bills for Coleman, new boots for Spence, and clothes and a purse for Allie! And Spence is as much in love with the new blue boots as he was the green ones!

A very Spencey picture

Coleman and Spence really enjoyed their "dates" with you Grandma. They love spending time with you, just talking and eating lunch, without having to be told to "hurry up" or "no we don't have time to go there" or "it's Allie's naptime." It doesn't hurt that you let them pick out a new toy and buy it for them, but in a few months they won't remember the toy, but they'll always remember the time they got to spend by themselves with you. What a precious gift!

Grandma and Spence about to leave for their date

They were all super-duper excited to show you Daddy's new truck. And what a cool Grandma, sitting in the back with them!


Grandma, we already miss you! But when we get sad, we'll just look at this silly picture:


...and remember that we have the most wonderful Grandma in the world! Tell Grandpa "hi" for us! Can't wait to see you both in Colorado this summer!

Ant Attack

Allie sat in an ant bed yesterday and is covered with more ant bites than I can count. I'm guessing she has about 150 bites. She was wearing a dress and it's just unreal how they climbed up her back and tummy and got down in her shoes. The ladies that were on the nursery playground with her told me she cried a little, then acted fine. Before we left church we got some advice from a friend who's a pediatrician. When I put cream on them, she says "ouch" but hasn't scratched them at all. I would be constantly itching all over! The nursery workers are always so careful to check for ant piles before they go out to play, and they are very good at watching the kids, so I know it was just an accident. Please pray that she will not start scratching, and that the bites won't get infected! We feel so sorry for her, but I think the only time she realizes there's something wrong is when we look at her and say, "Aw poor baby!"





Otherwise, we're having a great time with Grandma! I'll have a few pictures and adventures to share later!

Action Packed Couch Cusions

When one gets to go out with Daddy and ride in Daddy's truck, one must let Daddy choose the outfit.

La la la... I can't hear you! That's what I say to moms who start telling me about their teenagers. The toddler, preschool, and kindergarten ages are enough for me to deal with at the moment. And yes, I know I'll be staring down teenagers before I know it, but I'll think about that another day. Not today. Today I'll think about all the bath toys I need to sanitize because Allie pooped in the tub. And maybe the spot on the boys' bedroom floor, because once out of the tub, she went and finished her business in their bedroom. I'll think about the crunched up Rice Crispies that I need to sweep up. I'll think about all the sippy cups that seem to have disappeared that I'll probably find under a bed, in the car, and behind the toilet. I'll think about how to deal with whininess, slow-p0keyness, and the dilemma of Spence never being able to find his flip flops. No, not those flip flops, or those, but the other ones. And I'll thank God for the chance to think about all these things. To be a part of these demanding, needy, precious little children's lives. What a joy! An exhausting, sometimes overwhelming joy! But yes, a joy. I'll try to savor every crazy moment. Then when they're teenagers I can embarrass them with stories from their childhood! Well, maybe just once or twice.

Now for the action packed part. A while back I posted some pictures of the boys having fun flying through the air. They've now incorporated the couch cushions into their acrobatics! (And Rita, we tell them if we have to buy a new couch we won't be able to go to Disney World!)

They look like innocent little angels

Flying high!

King of the World!

Watch out for the baby!

She loves these crazy boys' moves! Check out Coleman...

And this morning Spence said, "Allie can stand on one leg!" She was standing in the windowsill by the front door showing off her balancing talent.