{follow me}

Jesus says we should follow Him...which immediately makes me think of footprints for some reason. it is Ff week...just perfect for following and for footsteps. we had some extra friends here this morning as i watched a friends three little boys. i decided to go big and break out the paint...after all, it would either be LOTS of fun or LOTS of mess...a good story for later either way!

i let each kiddo (except jilly who was napping...but we might still have to do hers later!) take a turn. he or she picked their paint color, and i painted the bottom of their foot. they made a footprint on the paper (or more than one footprint--until we could get a good one)...then i wiped the foot clean with a wet towel...and voila...onto the next kiddo.

while the footprints dried we enjoyed the spectacularly sunny Spring weather...running (quite literally running!) around in the backyard. (and sliding and swinging and duck, duck goosing--which is truly hilarious when a 1 year old and 2 year old want to play but totally don't "get it"--just envision lots of aimless running in the backyard!)

then we cut out the feet (actually I cut out the feet...i may be crazy enough to break open paint with six kiddos under foot, but i'm not crazy enough to give those kiddos scissors while i can't watch carefully! :) each kiddo glued his or her foot onto a paper plate, wrote his or her name and the date (or, in most cases, i wrote it), and then we punched holes, tied some yarn on, and voila...a homemade "foot" craft.

(and don't you love that elizabeth is displaying her foot on her foot...and kate is trying desperately to follow suit...can you see her putting her plate on her foot...she just wouldn't cooperate for the pic!)

we did talk about Jesus and following in His footsteps while working on the craft...but, honestly, in the confusion of so many little bodies i'm not sure how much it sunk in. :)

and i just have to share...i think this is such a "boy girl" picture...elizabeth chattering away to aiden...as he listens and listens and tries to talk, and then listens and listens some more... :)

ten smile tuesday...

i've intended to blog several times in the past time. i've actually had a lot of bloggity thoughts started...more serious, thoughtful posts...but every time i sit down i just can't find the words (or the time to actually process). and so, here i am, on tuesday again...recapping our week via ten smiles. in the past week or so i must admit, i am "fighting" for joy...fighting to delight in the little things, the little moments...to not be consumed by how the days sometimes run together...the way the kitchen is a disaster ten minutes after i clean it. i'm fighting to remain...to receive the grace He offers each and every day...to remember that when mama feels sick (and mama does!) it is okay to slow down, to not be as "productive" as i might like. and friends, it is a fight...isn't it?! a fight to choose to believe God and not this world...to believe Him and the enemy's whisperings in our ears. and so i smile...

1. ...about thing like the sunshine outside my window...and the hour between lunch and naps we spent out in that sunshine...sidewalk chalking the driveway, running up and down the sidewalk, jumping, giggling, picking up jilly's toys as she dropped them out of reach again and again. joy.

2. ...about our double date night last week. we enjoyed a game night "in" (on a rainy evening no less...making it all the more delightful to just stay in other than dropping the big girls at the sitters)...pizza, games, good conversation...while our children enjoyed some time playing with friends. (oh...and some oh-so delicious brownies with peanut butter frosting provided by this sweet lady)

3. ...about sink baths. jillian had her first successful sink bath friday night (i attempted once before...not sure what i was thinking because she was NOT sitting up on her own super well at that point...so that plus a slippery sink was not a good combo!). she LOVED it...giggled, grab everything, splashed. and, honestly, being able to bath her sitting up in the sink is a fabulous thing these days since she is so into gumming on frozen waffles or crackers while we eat dinner...which is, of course, messy....and means more frequent need for cleaning! :) she has also added sweet potatoes, butternut squash, yogurt, and applesauce to the foods she enjoys...and she will tolerate sweet peas and carrots, though they still need a good many bites of banana in the mix to keep her interested. banana remains, solidly, the number one food in jilly's eyes





4. ....about "painting on the back porch season"....seriously excited about this one!


5. ...about "Ee" week...elephant masks(that is what kate is painting above), egg hunts, Humpty Dumpty (because he is an "e"gg, after all!)...and culminating the week by dyeing and decorating eggs saturday. (the girls did a FABULOUS job this year and really enjoyed it)



(daddy and jilly helped too!)

6. ...about a saturday morning outing with my kater gator...love me that spunky lil' wild child!

7. ...about family movie nights.

8. ...about a church that preaches the Truth...even when it is the kind of Truth that pierces you right to the heart...the kind of Truth that makes you uncomfortable and convicted...the kind that ultimately brings you to your knees before Jesus.

9. ...about some tasty new recipes we've tried lately...baked potato soup, spaghetti pizza, and shepherd's pie...all healthy versions...and oh so delish...elizabeth favored the shepherd's pie (even leftover!) and kate ate three helpings of spaghetti pizza the first night we served it! we've also been savoring lots of delicious fresh fruit...plums and pears and even some strawberries...yum!

10. ...about marshmallow fish. this was this morning's project...after all, we've moved on to Ff week. both girls had a blast...and jillian enjoyed hanging in the highchair watching. i was amazed that they finished the entire outline of their fish before even thinking about tasting one marshmallow. we also read about Jesus feeding the five thousand before starting this project... and, yes, they did thoroughly enjoy eating the remaining marshmallows in their bowl when we were finished. (and i found out that perhaps my eyes are going...those orange and pink marshmallows are super hard to tell apart!)




and that...dear friends...is a bit of our last week. i've also put the finishing touches on their Easter dresses, and i'm looking forward to a mommy night out tomorrow with a couple of friends. our little life...in a nutshell!

some smilin' for tuesday

i just don't have time for words at the moment...so pictures will have to suffice.

playing in the driveway (in the delightful sun!)

our trip to the zoo!



a friday evening at the park...a trip to lowes, followed by ice cream treats in the park, some swinging and merry-go-rounding, and walking by the creek...lovely!

kate did manage to fall while hopping down the path like a kangaroo (two pictures up was right before the fall)...and then she decided to "jump" from the rock and skinned her knees again. we went home with a bloody kneed kater but happy hearts!

birthday wishes...

birthday wishes for grandmommy (and everyone else too, apparently!)...just wish we could sing it in person, via skype and blog just isn't the same! :)

ten smiles tues(er....thurs)day...

1. hello backyard...we've missed you...so good to be enjoying you once again. the weather has been GORGEOUS the past few days...allowing for LOTS of running around outside. hooray! the picture below is one of elizabeth's first photographic endeavors...and look, we're all centered and everything...good job libbers!

2. the joy of these two girlies...who are delighted to feel the fresh spring air on their cheeks!

who needs rollercoasters, when you have a slide..."look mom, no hands"...oh if only i could bottle up the joyful squeals of delight (and maybe even the shrieky ones when they encounter a ladybug...some serious fear of ladybugs...and all bugs, really, but apparently we have a lot of ladybugs around). is it terrible that is absolutely cracks me up that they are that terrified of ladybugs...spiders maybe...but ladybugs...ha!

3. flip-flops...in march! my toesies are lovin' it!

4. quinoa and pomegranates...yum! one of the many delightful tastes of our seabrook weekend...and i have been making misha's lovely quinoa, spinach salad (with pomegranates, apples, lentils and some balsamic dressing) pretty much everyday for lunch. i've also started weight watchers to get down a better path of eating (and hopefully in the process shed some of the pregnancy weight from not just jillian but what also accumulated and didn't go away with libs and kate too!). so far i'm enjoying weight watchers and learning to enjoy food in a whole new, much healthier way...and especially savored my MOPS brunch this morning...hello weekly "bonus" points!

5. little girls who "help" by picking out their own clothes. so precious! elizabeth and kate decided to pick out their clothes and dress themselves tuesday morning. elizabeth came downstairs with a long sleeve shirt, a zip up sweatshirt, two pairs of socks, and a pair of undies. kate had four pairs of undies...that's it...just undies. oh how i love those girlies! when i pointed out that elizabeth forgot pants she looked at me, giggled, and said, "silly me!"

6. "mom and loving it"...our church had a special event the other night called just that. it was so encouraging...not necessarily revolutionary information...just a reminder of perspective, some creative new ideas for reaching the hearts of my girls, and good time catching up and chatting with girlfriends. i was most reminded that my time needs to be spent reaching their hearts...because, truly, that is what matters to us...academics are great, social skills good, but their heart is the ultimate. i'm eager to put some fun new things into practice....i'll share more on those later.

7. a wee bit of sewing time. the girls and i hit jo-anns on monday after our aldi run, and i found a springy pink fabric for Easter dresses...i decided to make pillowcase dresses...simple and inexpensive. here is kate's...i still need to work on elizabeth and jillian's....good thing i have a couple more weeks because finding an hour here or there to so is no simple endeavor! we also worked on a super secret project for a certain soon to be birthday girl...

8. tax returns....and a husband who spends his "free" time working on things like taxes and oil changes and all those "fun" things. thanks michael...i love you! (oh, and i did get to go on a date with my hubby on thursday evening...mcalisters, good honest conversation, a trip to target for a new hairdryer (and, yes, that is true romance...a husband who will take time out of date night to browse the hair dryer aisle since yours is completely dead...)

9. catching my sis at just the right time for a brief phone conversation...and anticipating getting to see her in flesh and blood in june! i know, that might seem little...but, really, coordinating between her work schedule and me actually having time to talk uninterrupted is nearly impossible!

10. bean bag sisters...and smiles. the first shot is blurry but can you see just how thrilled jillian is to be sitting in the beanbag by kate...seriously grinning and giggling! (and i'm smiling that the laundry in the baskets behind them is all folded)

11. jilly's belly laugh when you zerbert her tummy or make funny noises. it is the BEST! i so need to capture it on video!

when life gives you lemons....

....do an experiment in digestion. :) yep...it is "Dd" week around our house, so "digestion" fit right in....and if nothing else the girls liked squeezing and eating the lemons.

is it strange that my daughters find lemons delicious?? i mean, delicious. elizabeth licked hers and and ate all the pulp...and kate, well, sweet kate took a bite, lemon rind and all and tried to eat it. (and elizabeth ate two entire grapefruits at dinner the other night...two large grapefruits). i find it so odd...

take two....

i try to hit aldi once or twice a month to stock up on staples. i usually go during the weekend and take just kate or just elizabeth with me...a special outing of sorts. honestly, i don't like to do the grocery with all three...and thanks to my generous husband, i don't have to very often. but today i needed to hit aldi...and it meant taking all three girls. on of our aldi traditions is that whichever girl is with me gets the quarter when we put our cart back...you would think it is a million dollars...that is just how special that quarter is. so today's dilemma on the way to aldi was who would get the quarter. i prepped the girls in advance...kate would sit in the seat next to the quarter "thingy" (because, yes, sitting next to that quarter slot is quite coveted), jillian would be in the pumpkin seat next to kate (oh how thankful i am for double carts...just wish places other than aldi and costco would catch on!), and elizabeth would walk with me...keeping one hand on the cart at all times and NOT touching things (because, seriously, aldi is soooo much more tempting than other stores for some reason!). elizabeth is usually good about walking alongside carts, sticking with me, and not touching...she is used to it since both girls can't seem to happily ride together in the car carts (ugh...don't start me on car carts!).

but i digress. i decided to break out two quarters...and told the girls in advance that there would be two quarters when we returned the cart this time. i reminded them, however, that if they were not able to listen and obey the first time (or if anyone chucked a wobbly (ha...just had to throw it in there, seabrook girls!) i would be keeping the quartersthe girls did a great job during the shopping trip. elizabeth carried my list and talked to me about the numbers on the pricetags. kate kept her eye on the coveted quarter. and jillian...well, she chewed and smiled and chewed and smiled. until we got back to the van and kate refused climb into her carseat...so while elizabeth happily pocketed her quarter, kate tearfully missed out.

when we stopped at jo-ann to find fabric so i can make the girls matching Easter dresses i decided to give kate a "take two" on getting her quarter. we tromped through jo-ann happily and successfully in spite of their tiny carts, close temptation filled aisles (i mean who doesn't want to reach out and grab all the brightly colored fabrics!), and an impromptu potty stop for kate (HOORAY!). when we got back to the van kate jumped right into her seat, buckled herself in, and proudly proclaimed, "i did it this time. i obeyed mommy!" i pulled the quarter out of my pocket, and with it came two pennies. so i gave kate a choice...one quarter or two pennies. without thinking she grabbed for the two pennies, "i take two mommy!"

apparently i can save myself a few cents if i always keep some pennies around on aldi day...because, after all, two is more than one...and to a two and a half year old that is all that matters!

elizabeth on the other hand held on tightly to her quarter...because, after all, its "bigger" than a penny, and, as she said, "i think it buys more later." smart girl.

have i mentioned that one of the two is a definite saver and the other a definite spender? any guesses as to who is who?