Outside

We spend a lot of time outside.  It makes a really great classroom and we love all the fresh air.  We have had a few projects we have been working on lately and we're finally done!  Now to just enjoy...

 Luke and Scott spent some quality time building a castle in the back yard. Luke sat with Scott and watched or helped him the whole time.  They worked silently for the most part but occasionally Luke would say, "I love you daddy." 

 He's already been up there for hours.

 Even a ladder to get to the top.

 Luke was really into building things. So when the castle was done he started right in on another project.

 He hammered and hammered and bent tons of nails, but finally he finished his airplane.  A two seater!

 We did a little landscaping in the front.  The plan is for the bushes to grow and hide the big concrete slab.

 A touch of color gives a little more curb appeal.

 

The strawberry patch.  It's year 3 of trying to grow strawberries and we have actually picked a handful!  We were disappointed then didn't taste very good though.  I do not have a green thumb.

 

Luke's homemade overalls.  Brooke had to get in the picture too :)

Brooke Tells A Story

I caught the second half of a story Brooke was telling Scott.  She kept getting sidetracked. So if you can't understand her the story is about a little girl and a little boy.  She then gets sidetracked and says she's a girl and baby Chloe is a girl and Addy is a girl and Luke's big and Luke's a boy.  She gets back on track but then quickly starts talking about who in the family is a girl and who is a boy.  Then she notices Chloe's eyes and says, "She has a black eye!"  Meaning her pupil.  She says her eyes are white and Scott's are blue then moves on to eyebrows. When she gets back to her story there is a scary guy. Luke interrupts, that's the end of the story and Chloe takes over talking. Let's see if you can get all that!

 

Playing Cards with a 2 year old

I wanted to post this a while back, but blogger and You Tube weren't in sync.  So here it is.  The kids have been playing cards any chance they get since Nana was here and taught them some card games. Addy wakes up and the first thing she wants to do is play, even if it is with Brooke.  Addy is so patient trying to play Go Fish with Brooke.

 

Addy's Lesson on Giving

There are a lot of lessons learned in our home.  Whether the circumstances are good or bad there is almost always a lesson to be learned.  Usually you think of the parents teaching the kids the lessons, but the other day I learned on from Addy.

We had a big pile of rocks that needed to be moved in our front yard.  We were doing some landscaping and tearing out the dead bushes the drought left us, so we had to scoop out the pea gravel from around the dead bushes.  Sorry, forgot pictures of the work. 

It was a job the kids could help with, so they started scooping gravel into little buckets and moving it to the "play" gravel pile by the garage.  It was hard work and I told them I would pay them for their efforts.  Addy got to work and worked hard for at least 45 minutes.  When we finished she was tired and sweating.  I decided to pay her $2 and she was thrilled.  I gave her a dollar and 4 quarters and we had a little math lesson while we were at it. Luke didn't work as hard, so he only earned 50 cents.  More on that story later...

The next day was Sunday so we went to church.  We had talked about giving part of the money we make to God before, but not recently.  As the plate for offering came around I saw her get out some of the money that she earned.  The precious quarters that she had worked so hard for.  Not one, but two of them.  Then I saw her give two quarters to Luke to put in.  I quietly asked her why she was giving money to Luke to put in.  She said that since he didn't have as much she wanted to help him.
So when the plate came by I watched her cheerfully put in half of the money she earned from the sweat of her brow. 

I don't know if she really understood what she had just done, (maybe she did) but it taught me something.  She didn't have much, but she gave half of what she had.  She wasn't holding on tightly to her money so she could buy a new toy or candy. She trusted that she has what she needs and was free to give from the joy of her heart.  When I saw what she did with her money it made me want to give her more.  Then it dawned on me.  Is that how God feels about me when I give?   I sat there and thought about the way it made me feel when my daughter gave (what to me seemed) sacrificially. I wanted to give her more because I saw how she was using it. Is God that way with me?  When He sees how I use my money does that make Him want to give me more?  Do I use His money in a way that pleases Him? Or do I spend it on candy and toys?

I'm not saying I should give more to make God want to give me more, so I can get more stuff.  You don't give more to get more stuff.  If you aren't faithful with little then you can't be faithful with much.  And just because you are faithful with little doesn't mean He will give you a bunch of money.  He knows what is best for us. It is a blessing that God gives us just enough so that we can give but still be secure in Him and not money. 

Enjoying the days.

It's so hard to catch a baby smiling on camera.  She has been smiling for a while now, but she gets all serious when I pull out the camera.  This was from a couple weeks ago, but it's the best I can get!  She also has discovered her voice!  It is so sweet!  I love to talk to her now because she always coos back at me.  She can really tell a story!

 Somebody has finally discovered that mud is fun!  Brooke decided to squish her toes in the mud like th big kids and she was surprised that she actually liked it.  When she got out of the mud she though it was so neat that it looked like she had on shoes.

 Luke looked like he was wearing black socks.  That kid is a mud magnet.  At the end of the day you can definitely tell if it's been a nice day outside by the bath tub and the sink. 

 Nana was visiting during Addy and Scott's birthday.  We went to Topeka to a Japanese steakhouse.  The kids had never been to one and we thought it would be fun for them to see their food made right in front of them.

 Brooke was really scared when they fired up the grill and made the onion volcano.  She took my hands and covered her eyes whenever she saw any fire. 

 We decided to mow our weeds.  Maybe someday we will have grass to mow.  That's the plan, and we might be able to grow something this year if it keeps raining like it has.  Luke is a miniature Scott.  He was working hard out there.

 We went to the park with some families from church the other day.  When it was time to leave Brooke and Zane gave each other a hug.  Such cute kiddos and little buddies.

 Chloe was just chillin at the park watching all the kids play. 

 Addy had her last soccer game.  It was a nice short season. 3 games, and all against the same team. 

 

 Every since Nana came Addy and Luke have been hooked on playing games.  Go fish and crazy 8 are their favorites.  They deal out the cards any time they get the chance! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Candy Cookies and AWANA Closing Ceremonies

We had the AWANA Closing Ceremonies last night.  It was great fun.  We spent part of the day getting ready. We made some Easter candy cookies to take with us for refreshments afterwards.

 Addy and Luke had fun chopping up their chocolate bunnies.  They were very careful and nobody lost a finger :)

 Brooke got to help pour in some ingredients.  Addy got to help make sure the ingredients actually made it into the bowl. 

 Then they got to open up little bags of m&m's to pour into the batter.  Brooke thought she was missing out because she couldn't reach.  Taking turns is just one of those lessons you have to learn when you have siblings!

Now it's Brooke's turn to pour in the m&m's. 

We like to sing in the van. So on our way to AWANA we sang along with one of our favorite songs.  If you visit our house you will hear Brooke singing this song all the time, along with many others. 

 

 

The Cubbies were the first group to sing their song and say their verse.  They are so precious. 

 

Next it was the Sparks turn.  You can hear Addy's voice, it is the high one.

Addy was brave enough to say one of the verses she learned this year. 

When she practiced she was surprised at how her voice sounded in a microphone.  She said, "Mama did you hear my voice in the microphone? It sounded....cute!"  That was the only word she could think of to describe it, and I agree! But I think she meant clear. She did a great job enunciating.

 

He Is Risen!

 

We had a nice weekend for Easter this year.  The girls all had purple and white dresses. 

At church there was a breakfast that morning.  It was great to sit with eveyone and talk.  The challenge was to keep the nice Easter clothes from getting stained by the frozen blueberries and strawberries.  We did it though.  No stains or big messes! 

 

The little boy is Brooke's friend Carter.  They are little buddies.  They are about 2 weeks apart in age since our families are always at church.  We have a picture of them together when they were just a few months old and we get them together for a picture every once in a while.  Carter's mom and I decided we could have their graduation party together and make a display of all the pictures of them growing up.

I got the whole family together for a picture after church.  That is pretty hard to do.  Half of us were in the van all loaded up but I made everyone get out. I knew I wouldn't get this chance again with someone to take a picture of us all dressed up. 



 

We also started getting smiles from Chloe this week.  Here she is thinking about smiling at Daddy.

She smiled a lot today, hopefully I will be getting some pictures of it soon.

 

 

The big kids are having fun with their baby sister.  This picture is one of the reasons I love having 4 kids.  They are so precious, and watching them play together is priceless.  Who needs toys when you have siblings!