Locks of Love

Lydia had been begging me to get her hair cut. She liked her long hair, but H-A-T-E-D when it came time for brushing it. She uses conditioner in the shower and we also put a spray in conditioner (could have bought stock in that stuff). But regardless, it was prone to some nasty snarls and tangles. And with summer coming, the thought of throwing in suncreen, chlorine, and sweat, it wasn't going to get any easier. The only thing was we were planning on donating her hair. Locks of Love needed 10 inches and we were so close (hence the begging). I had thought about Wigs for Kids, too, but I just couldn't make my girl wait for her hair to grow another couple of inches. So, finally the day came and I called my friend, Nancy. She told us to come on over after Lid got off the bus. I told Lydia that we were going to get her hair cut and she said, "Maybe I'll be on the announcements." I guess that same day a girl who had donated her hair got to be recognized on the visual announcements. (I wrote Lydia's teacher a note the next day, and Lydia did indeed get to make an appearance and do the Pledge). The following pictures show the BIG CUT!!! Ten inches is a lot of hair, but she looks quite cute! And little sis' got to get a matching cut!

Before (front)
Before (back)

Combing...

Braiding...

CUTTING!!!
Here's what we send in.

After (profile)

Claire's turn.

Can ya tell she was not too happy?
But it was all over soon enough and then the girls got to play with friend, Philip!

Holdin' Hands

Today, Jake and I made our way down to Malcolm's house. Malcolm is an 8 year old boy, whom we discovered a couple weeks ago, lives just 6 houses down from us! I think I was more excited than Jake that he has a play buddy so closeby. We've never had friends for the kids who lived on the same street in the 7 1/2 years we have had children (which I totally get...we never intended to stay on such a busy road once we had kids). We were on our way over to invite Malcolm to Vacation Bible School, which starts tomorrow (yeah, I know...procrastination). He wasn't home, so I told Jake we would swing back by on our way to church to try again and leave a note if they still were not home. As I was telling him this, I grabbed Jake's hand and led him back to the sidewalk. Usually, when we are out on the sidewalk, he is on his bike or racing me getting off the bus (not much of a race when Mom is not back to strength yet from a broken leg). I didn't say anything, just basked in the moment of holding my son's hand. I held back the urge to squeeze tight, because I didn't want him to let go if I drew attention to our hands. But my heart sure was squeezing tight. In the next minute, my mind raced from sweet, precious memories of the past to the unforeseen future with Jake. I remembered how teeny-tiny his newborn hands were, and then holding those sweet toddlers hands that wanted to explore, but then come right back to mama. Then it dawned on me, that compared to those seemingly endless toddler days when a mother's hands are so needed and wanted (I'm there with Claire), my son did not need me in that way so much anymore. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I held his hand. And so, we continued, just the two of us down the street. Finally, I couldn't contain myself. I squeezed his hand and gently said, " I love you, Jake." He looked up at me, giggled, and told me he loved me, too. And I got my wish...he kept holding my hand. Granted, now he was swinging my arm as hard as he could and stretching our arms apart, but he was still holdin' on and that was all I wanted at that moment.

The handprints on the wall get higher and higher and then one day, they disappear.

Lydia Laughter!

All three kids have been making us laugh with the things they say and do, but for this post, I decided to highlight Lydia. Just a short and sweet post...Lydia made this list back in January and I saved it just because it brings a smile to my face. And just in case you read this wrong, as I did, #3 according to Lydia says "Make Crafs" (crafts). I know one thing for sure, I'm gonna add "Yell Big" on my to-do list!And although not much can top the t-shirt stuffing nights of Jake...Dan did capture this photo of Lydia sleeping in this odd position on our downstairs couch!

Some Things Never Change

Lydia Grace
Claire Danielle

Claire with Grandma Kanost

***Jake like to be wrapped up tight as a wee-little one as well, but we did not get our first digital camera until he was a few months old***

An Eggstra Special Scavenger Hunt

This year, for the Easter weekend, I wanted to do a type of walk-through-the-Bible egg hunt and tie it in with Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. I had the idea and that was all...I needed to sit down and think, yet finding quiet moments to do so was becoming quite the challenge. I had shared my idea with my mom and she graciously decided to do the "homework" part for me. Basically, this is how it went down...Jake started off the scavenger hunt after I gave him a clue where to find the first egg. In that egg, was a slip of paper that had a quiz question and the Bible verse to go along with it. Jake answered the question and then found the located the verse in Scripture and read it aloud. Then it was Lydia's turn. My mom had typed up a master sheet for me and I read the next clue for her. Then she would find that egg, answer her question and read her verse. And so the turn taking began. Each answer would be tied into where the next egg would be hidden. Here are a few examples: What did they wrap Jesus' body in? The answer is linen and so the clue for the next egg was "You will find the next clue in the linen closet. What was Judas given for betraying Jesus? Answer: 30 pieces of silver & the clue was "you will find the next clue where Mommy and Daddy save their coins." We had them finding all sorts of accounts, relating the the story of God's greatest gift to us...His Son! In two of the pictures below, you will see J & L walking around with a heavy bookbag on. This task was given so that they could imagine bearing a heavy load, just as Christ bore His cross. At one point, we talked about the crown of thorns and how they beat Jesus and tore his beard out. They both really seemed to be taking this in. Near the end, we had them read in Philippians how Christ, even though he was God, humbled himself and became a servant and obediently went through a horrible death on a cross. Because He loved us so much (John 3:16)!! So, their task for this egg was to create a list of 5 ways they were going to show love to another person in the next week. At the very end, they both received a gift. Jake had gotten a new Bible for his birthday back in October, but Lydia still needed one. So, Lydia got her new Adventure Bible and cover for it and Jake got a cover for his and will also be getting a music cd of some of his favorite Christian songs, as soon as Daddy has a chance to do this. Even though Claire did not participate, she got a Bible-times coloring book the next day. Also below is the pictures we took on Easter morning. It was very bright and sunny, so that explains the squinty eyes.

Eggstravaganza!

Below are some pictures to highlight our Easter weekend. Dan and I haven't done traditional Easter basket with the kids, but we do dye eggs and do the fun, little egg hunts at our house. This year, however, we did do a unique activity with them, but I am going to post that separately, otherwise, this would be a super long post.

Here is a picture of some of our brightly-colored eggs. Decorating eggs is a bittersweet thing for me. The kids love to do it and it is a good reminder to me about taking pleasure in the "simple things." However, it was in the middle of an egg-decorating session two years ago, that I got the phone call that my dear friend from high school, Christy, had passed away and was at Home with her Saviour. What a joy it is to know she was a child of God and we will one day reunite and worship our Risen Lord together!!! When I hear or sing certain songs, like I Can Only Imagine, Come To Jesus, or In Christ Alone, I am so grateful for the power of my God and I think of my friend, who is basking in the Glory of The Almighty!

On Saturday, my mom came over and we hid the plastic eggs all around the backyard. I knew I had some regular baskets in my garage somewhere, but I wasn't sure where and the kids were anxious to get started, so I used gift bags (I save and reuse them). This picture was taken before the hunt began.

Of course, little Claire had to go first so that she would indeed have a few eggs in her bag. My mom and I had hidden some very obvious ones for her sake. I love this picture because it shows her face right after she spotted it...she was pretty happy with herself.

There's Jake and Lydia waiting in the background...

and their OFF!

(This is the only picture I have of Jake until the end of the hunt because the boy was too fast for me and my bum leg).

Lydia looks in lovely lilac!

This green egg was the last one to remain hidden. J & L were in this area for what seemed like a few minutes (we were telling them they were hot). A couple of times, it looked like each one of them looked right at it and missed it. Then, as you can see above, Jake walked right past it. Finally....

the Jakester has it!!!

We needed the eggs for the next thing we were going to do (see next post) so the kids had fun dumping out the yummies into one container to share. And of course, Claire helped herself to the findings during this time!

A Broken Leg...What's The Big Deal?

It was a great morning. I'd gone to my childcare room and there were no tears. All the kids got along great and I managed to not get into any arguments with my peers. I even did particularly well in an area I usually do not...sharing my mom. Yes, things were going good, very good! A couple hours later, I arrived at home and had plans. Apparently, so did my mom...she mentioned something about making lunch for herself, me, and my sis...and gathering some materials for a lesson she was teaching during circle time later that afternoon...and prepping some chicken for supper that she could just throw in the oven when she got home from work, since our company for the evening would be arriving shortly thereafter...yada, yada, yada. Oh...and I think she said she had 45 minutes to do all this before she had to head back to the preschool. Anyhow, what I do know FOR SURE was that she had this, " Hey Clairey, you wanna watch Elmo's Potty Time?" My ears perked up! Even though, in reality, I only watch about the first 5 minutes before I am off to the next best thing, I couldn't pass up the chance to see Elmo use his potty for the first time, again. I was pumped and ready to follow my dearest mother down the stairs. And then she did it. She made this fumbling noise as she toppled down the steps. Next thing I know, I hear her scream 2 times. Helloooo, mama, I don't know what you are all excited about, but get a move on...I'm ready for Elmo. Course, she can't read my mind, so I start to verbalize this..."aaa Elmo" ("aaa" means "I want" for those who don't understand toddlerese). She is just sitting there, so I say it a little louder, ignoring the strange, breathing sounds coming from mama's mouth. And then, would you believe what she does next? She has some nerve. Instead of getting up and putting in my beloved Elmo dvd, she starts ascending the stairs, albeit in a strange, sit-on-your-rump, sort of fashion. When she gets to the top step, she reaches for the phone, and *gasp*, starts dialing. I simply cannot believe this woman, who claims to love me and want the best for me. The Lord knows how long she can talk on the phone. As she continues to dial, I get madder and madder. Now, it's my turn to scream. She ignores me. She pushes the hang up button and starts dialing again. Her hand is swaying heavily in the air (and later, I hear her telling people that the phone was moving on her; can phones really do that?). And then, she really pushes my buttons. Despite my demands, she lays down to take a nap. I do not understand her logic? If she's got so much to do, why is she wanting to call people and take a nap??? The understanding is beyond me. Really, I do not care about any of this...I just want her to follow through on what she offered to ME! Her nap only lasts about 45 seconds and then she wakes up, although is still acting somewhat abnormal. She grabs the phone again. She only pushes 3 buttons this time. And when she is talking (or trying to, with me hovering over her, crying my eyes out), I wonder why she is giving them our address? But still, I am outraged and hurt by her insensitivity. She hangs up the phone and shimmies her way to the front door, using her arms and one leg to get there. She unlocks and opens it. The entire time, I've been yelling "AAA ELMO," but to no avail. I hear sirens outside. Next thing I know, there are four strange men in my house. Three of them are attending to mommy and one of them starts to talk to me and is at the door when sissy gets off the bus. I forget about Elmo, especially when one of them pulls out a little bear for me to have. I smile and chat with this nice man...who knows, maybe they can knock a little sense into my mama?!