Doctor, Doctor

This is what happens when you have a lot of sisters!

Confession #5

My kids have never heard of the Easter bunny. 

There, I said it.  And, truthfully, they may have heard about the bunny at school or around other people, but not enough to ever ask questions or bring him up.  At first, when our kids were younger we were just trying to save money.  We had nothing against the bunny.  Why give them presents from a bunny when they wouldn't know if they were even missing something?   

Over the last couple of years we've just started focussing on the Biblical reasons why we celebrate Easter. We read the story of the crucifiction and resurrection and explain that the eggs at egg hunts symbolize the new life we all have in Jesus' sacrifice. Our kids have never noticed they didn't get a gift from a bunny and we've saved money and hopefully instilled in them why we should be celebrating Easter. We did catch Sophia arguing at church with some kids that the Easter bunny didn't exist because A) she hadn't heard of him and B) he didn't give her anything and therefor couldn't be real.  Chris quickly changed the subject back to the resurrection and I don't think the kids believed her one bit.  I will tell you that all three girls can tell you just about every detail of the crucifiction/resurrection story..things I never knew before like the name of the man who carried Jesus' cross and what town he came from, why Herod wanted to meet Jesus, what the other men on the cross said to Jesus and much, much more. 

Overall, we had a great weekend filled with the celebration that He is alive!  Isn't that awesome?  We held our 3rd annual neighborhood Easter egg hunt on Saturday and had a great time.  We had a younger and slightly smaller crowd this year and it seemed much more peaceful than all the older kids out there running like crazy.  One benefit to a cooler morning!

Sunday we went to church - both services and a breakfast and egg hunt in between, came home, rested and ate a yummy ham dinner.  (We now have way more ham than we will ever be able to eat).  Then we went back to church for the evening service.  Two egg hunts in two days with four kids netted us aproximately 200+ eggs (with candy).  Ouch.  That's a lot of candy.  I think we're going to save a lot of it for the parade this fall...or it will go to Daddy's friends at work who are less fortunate than us and can't attend egg hunts.  That always works around here.  We hope you all had an amazing weekend too.   

Here are a few of my recent favorite songs.  The lyrics are amazing and they leave you just feeling so excited that He is alive!

David Crowder's "Like a Lion."
     "My God's not dead
     He's surely alive
     He's living on the inside
     Roaring like a lion!"

and of course, "Christ is Risen" by Matt Maher
     "O death, where is your sting?
     O hell, where is your victory?
     O church, come stand in the light.
     Our God is not dead
     He's alive.  He's alive!"

Have a happy Monday!

Fashion Police

I let my kids pick out their clothes.  I always have, even when they were very young.  They have very unique senses of style and I think they should be free to chose what they want.  It's one of the few things they get to control. 

I try to teach them not to mix patterns too much and to try to find things that go together.  There are days when I will say something like this..."You can choose to wear those tights, but just so you know, there is no red in that dress, so the tights don't really match.  That's okay if you want, but I wanted you to know so you can make your decision."  For Sophia, that's all it takes and she's back downstairs changing.  Anna thinks about it, and usually, and very reluctantly, changes.  Isabella doesn't really care.  Usually she makes pretty good decisions but occasionally she'll put two wildly different patterns together. 

Today she outdid herself.  Exhibit A.

Lovely.  Turquoise skirt, peach and white shirt on backwards, red tights, gray and purple hoodie, and purple plaid shoes.  Even better is the kool-aid ring around her top lip.  Exhibit B.

Gotta love her!  Too bad she's probably coming to my PTO meeting tonight dressed like this for everyone to see.  I'm sure the parents won't be too surprise to see a mismatched 4-year-old though. 

Taking a Break

Sam was a little grouchy last night.  It was bedtime and I had dragged my 4 kiddos to a meeting with me.  Luckily, it was at the preschool and they had plenty of ways to entertain themselves.  When we got home he was still a mess so while I was changing his diaper I told him he was a grouch.  He looked at me and said, "I'm taking a break, Mom."  I asked him what he was taking a break from.  And he said, "from being angry."  Awesome.  Then he began to raise his arms so I could tickle him and make him giggle.  The boy is so much fun!  And you know what?  When the break was over, he didn't remember he was once angry. 

Then I started to wonder why we don't all just "take a break" when we're angry.  I could see in the middle of an argument between two adults that one of them suddenly declares a break for tickles or other silly fun.  I'm pretty sure when the break was over, they wouldn't still be upset.  Pretty good lesson from a 2 year-old!

Clean the freakin house!

That's how I felt Sunday night.  Somebody, just clean the freakin house!  Oh, right.  That means me.  Our house has been getting smaller and smaller lately.  We have more than a few piles of things to put away -- to find a home for really.  There are piles all over the place.  Not that my house is a disaster (except the playroom, of course) but we just have so much stuff.  Too much stuff.  Most of it's junk anyways.  So, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I'm lacking hours in the day. 

Saturday mornings Chris and I have been trying to take the kids out somewhere, walking in Sedgwick County park for a scavenger hunt, checking out the zoo, taking a longer than expected walk through the Great Plains Nature Center.  We're trying to spend more time doing the things we enjoy with the kids, but that means less time at home.  So, Saturday afternoon we try to squeeze in all our chores, we rest and do church activities on Sunday....and then it's Monday again.  So, weekends are out and now I've got to refocus my weekday time better. 

So, Sunday night I hastily wrote this sign and taped it to my kitchen cabinet, right above my laptop. 

It's my not-so-subtle reminder that I need to be tackling this house one room, and even one closet at a time.  Day 1:  I cleaned the laundry room, kitchen, dining room, coat closet and Isabella's closet.  Not bad.  Day 2....nothing yet.  Yikes, I better get moving.  I'm in the mood to purge and am starting to fill the trash bags and making plans for a Goodwill visit.  That always makes me feel good.  But, the weather is so nice out and the wind isn't bad.  It would be really easy to slip out back and read a book... But, as long as Day 2 remains blank, I better get to work.   Wish me luck!

"I've got a song stuck in my head!"

Yesterday, Isabella came into my room and told me she had a song stuck in her head.  I asked her which song, and she said, "I can't remember!"  It must have been pretty stuck!

She's constantly singing something.  The other morning, she came in to the bathroom to sing me her latest song she had made up.  It went like this:  "Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello....." You get the picture.  In her soft little girl voice it came out rather pretty if you could get past the repetitive lyrics.  She and Sam then dressed up a bit as we got ready to go run errands.  This is how I found them.

They are so much fun! It sure is fun being a mom some days!