Easter

We had such a wonderful time celebrating our risen Savior! Church service was fantastic and we spent the afternoon with family.  There was lots of yummy food, fellowship, and of course an egg hunt. 

Brooke was told that the kids were going to eat outside.  So she went outside and waited and waited. She was so pitiful waiting for food (we weren't quite ready and didn't realize she had gone out there to wait).

We did manage a smile out of her. 

Cousins

Disney on Ice

Kayla will be seven years old in less than 2 weeks. SEVEN YEARS OLD!! Today I told her that I would let her turn seven, but we'd talk about whether or not she would be allowed to celebrate an 8th birthday next year. Anyway, this year I offered her the option of going to Disney on Ice instead of a birthday party with her friends.  It was a win-win for us.  She got to go to a fun event and I didn't have to plan a party. There is so much going on right now with building the house that this worked out great for us.  We are still going to have family over to celebrate, but not having to do invitations, entertainment, food, and goody bags is a bonus for me.  And I'll admit I had a great time too.  

Marc found a great discount code for the tickets so we opted to take Brooke with us.  She had a good time too even if she was up and down in our laps a lot. 

These girls absolutely love each other. We are so blessed.

The Lion King - a personal favorite of mine.

The Little Mermaid

Finale with the princesses.

It was a late night for the girls, but they had such a great time.  I am so thankful for the opportunities we have to do fun things with our girls.

Spelling Bee

Kayla was one of the three students in her class to qualify for the school spelling bee.  She competed against the 1st and 2nd graders.  I think I was more nervous than she was.  I told Marc that I was kind of glad that I was sitting behind someone who was blocking my view of the microphone. :)  She did great, and even though she got out on a word that she knows how to spell, we are so incredibly proud of her.

Preparing our New Home

Yes, another post without pictures.  I know I should probably get them off of my camera, and I promise to have some up soon.  We are in such a busy season of life that the camera is not always on the top of our priority list. 

Over the last months as we have been building our house a lot of thought has gone into the floorplan, contractors, schedules, budget, colors, design, etc. It has been a consuming process that we are honestly both ready to be done with.  For me the fun stuff is yet to come as I take the walls and bring them together into our home.  A place where our children will grow.  A place where memories will be made.  More important than all of that is that we have a home that honors God and that puts Him at the center.  I will be the first to admit that this is not always the case.  Life happens, and if we let it we get sucked into everything that is going on.  But Marc and I knew that God has blessed us with this new home and that above all we want to glorify Him with it.  

Several weeks ago I sat down with my Bible and a notebook.  I began searching out verses that we could write on the walls of our home.  We wanted God's Word at the very foundation of the house and while Marc was working late running the electrical wiring I sat down and asked God to show me what He wants us to build on.  I had the most amazing couple of hours as I poured through scripture and found verses for every room in our home.  God even showed me verses for bathrooms, closets, and the laundry room of all places! Last weekend I spent time writing those verses on the studs of the house.  Marc commented to me later that he wished I had done that earlier because it was so nice to walk into a room and see scripture on the walls.  After the verses were up Marc led us through the house praying over every single room.  It was such a time of refreshment and excitement.  

I am thankful for this journey to building our next home.  As we were warned, it has been difficult, but we are so incredibly blessed.  God keeps showing Himself to us as He reminds us that it's not about us, it's all about Him.

Salvation

Long before having kids I had heard people talk about very young children coming to salvation.  While I didn't disagree that this is possible, I had a hard time wrapping my brain around how a young child could comprehend all that Christ did for us and the way He calls us to live.  Once Kayla was born, and even while I was still pregnant with her, I began to pray for her salvation at an early age.  As she was growing I still had a hard time reconciling how a preschooler could understand what took me 11 years to understand. Sunday will be Kayla's second birthday as a Christian.  Two years ago I finally "got it." The Bible tells us that we are all sinners and that Christ died for our sins and took the wrath of God that we deserve and placed it upon Himself. He rose again three days later, after conquering hell, and is now seated with God the Father. This is the Gospel.  This is what we are asked to believe in order to be saved.  Do I think a 4 year old can understand that Christ came to earth to die for our sins so that we might be saved and spend eternity with Him in heaven? ABSOLUTELY.  Two years ago I experienced something amazing as I answered my child's questions after Mrs. Tracey spoke to the Cubbies about the Easter story.  Kayla had been asking questions for a while, but I could clearly see that she understood.  On April 1, 2010 she prayed using her own thoughts and words and told God she understood what He did for her, she was sorry for her sins, she wanted God to forgive her and come live in her heart.  God does not call us to understand what Christ did as an adult can understand and rationalize.  He says in the book of Romans that "if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved." That's it.  Kayla got it.  Does a young child completely understand the consequences of sin or how long eternity is? No. But honestly do any of us? Do we really have an idea what it would be like to be separated from God for eternity? Probably not.

This is such a special time of the year for me.  So often we hear the story of Christ's death and resurrection and it goes in one ear and out the other.  We've heard it, we know it, we could tell it to others.  But we need to take time to really hear it, really know it, and really tell it to others. 

I will close with this story. As Macy is approaching the age of 5 she is starting to ask more questions.  She wants to know what heaven is like and how you get there.  She knows that Marc, Kayla and I will be going to heaven one day, and she understands that Jesus is in heaven. Mrs. Tracey presented the Easter story again last night at Cubbies.  She does such a fabulous job.  This morning Marc took Macy out to breakfast and then to Lowe's.  While there she asked him if people who don't believe in Jesus get to go to heaven.  He told her no. She then asked if you have to believe in Jesus and salvation to get to heaven.  He told her that was true.  She paused for a minute then said, "I made a decision.  I want my room to be pink with purple flowers." So, she's not there yet.  That's okay.  She is thinking about Christ and beginning to understand  things.  For now we will continue to talk to her about Christ, pray for her, answer her questions, and try to remind her that her room is going to be purple and silver.

"Fountains"

Macy: "Mom, do you know how fountains are made?"

Me: (a little confused as to what she is talking about) "I'm not exactly sure."

Macy: "I think I know.  A person at the animal hospital takes an x-ray of an animal.  Then they make a photo copy of the x-ray and send it to a person that works at a museum.  That person then makes the fountain!"

Fountain = Skeleton

First Soccer Game of the Season

Let me start by saying it was hot on the field today.  Last year we were bundled up in fleece jackets at the first game, and this year we were playing in 80+ degree weather.  I can only imagine what games will be like in May.  The girls, however, had a great time.  Kayla is doing great at her third year on the field.  Little Macy did fabulous as well.  She may be smaller than the rest, but she gave it all she had.  She even had a couple of amazing blocks that kept the other team from scoring. My heart melted when I saw Kayla immediately go up to her, grab her shoulders, get down on her level to look her in the eyes, and congratulate her for the blocks.  Macy was beaming!

Macy made a new friend.  They held hands while running after the ball.  When we asked her why she was holding hands she said "because she runs slow." Macy thought if she held her hand she could help her run faster.  Isn't that what 4 year old soccer should be about?

Vegetables

Kayla will eat quite a few vegetables, but she doesn't love many of them.  A small serving is all she wants, and I think that's more because she knows they are good for her rather than because she really wants to eat them. Macy pretty much won't touch a vegetable unless she is forced to eat one bite.  A small amount of marinara sauce on pasta and that's about all she willingly eats.  Brooke will eat marinara sauce on her pasta, but she won't put a vegetable in her mouth. In fact, she usually wants them off of her plate. Recently, however, Brooke and Macy have discovered carrots.  While I don't often offer raw carrots, it's not like they are foreign to them.  Tonight I think I cut up three carrots and they gobbled them up.  Brooke was making silly faces, and of course the other two had to join in since Marc got the camera out.

I told her to put the cucumber in her mouth and make a silly face for daddy.  Then I told her to bite it, which she did. 

And then promptly spit it out on the table, gave it a disgusted look, and proceeded to put it on my plate. Oh well, at least she ate a carrot.

More House Updates

Things are moving right along.  Marc has spent the entire week wiring the house.  When I say the entire week I mean 14 hour days. I know he's worn out and tired of pulling wires.  He is sore, bruised, and his hands are beat up.  I know he is glad that he can get in there and physically work on the house, and the fact that he is saving us $9,000+ in labor is encouraging too. I'm so proud of him, but we are ready for him to be done with this phase so we can move on. 

Our back deck.  It's big and covered, and if you can't find me this is where I will be spending my time. I'm excited about the first rainfall we will have after we move in.  I can't wait to sit out there and enjoy it.

Living Room.

Master closet.  I am so excited about this closet.  I know it's hard to tell what it looks like, but it will be even more difficult when the drywall is up.  The outlet box on the stud will give you a point of reference for size.  I told Marc I will have to buy more clothes and shoes to fill it up. :) Plus we will be able to fit all of our clothes without having to switch out for summer and winter. 

The view from our front porch. I love the red barn.

The tubs were set today, HVAC will be installed on Tuesday, wiring should be done in the next few days, and tomorrow we will be making our cabinet selections.  I'd say we are moving right along!

Who Says Girls Don't Like to Get Dirty?