An Afternoon Of Fun At The Museum

There is a new Children's Museum 45 minutes from our house.  We decided to kidnap daddy from work one afternoon and take him along for an afternoon of fun.

The first stop was the Car Room.  The girls were busy getting the tires changed!

Shane decided to check under the hood to make sure everything was ready to go.

They all took a look under the car. They reported everything looked good.

Max found the gears and had fun spinning them round and round.

Next stop was a favorite ... The Market.  Max caught on pretty quickly how fun it was to push his cart around and throw things inside.

Emma weighing her fruit!

Then it was time to visit Shane to check out!

Max loved the garden area.  He had fun picking potatoes, carrots, corn and tomatoes.

Shane headed over to the barn to see if the chickens had laid any eggs.

Next step ... how many pull ups can we do?

One of Shane's favorite stops was at the Post Office.  He loved delivering and gathering mail around the museum.

The kids then climbed up in the clouds.  I love Max looking up at his brother and sisters wondering where in the world where they were going? In no time he will be following right behind.

The girls loved the Diner where they took our order and made our sandwiches for us.  The finished off the meal with an ice cream sundae.

Max thought the food looked pretty tasty.

Next was the Art Room.  The girls had fun doing crayon rubs and everyone loved drawing and squeegeeing the window.

The Water Room was another favorite! There was tons of water fun to be found around the water table.

We had such a fun family day at the South Dakota Children's Museum.  I am sure we will be back soon!

Preschool Save the Earth night

Shane has been learning about taking care of his body and the earth at preschool.  I have learned there are some units that kids just connect with for what ever reason.  Well this was the one for Shane.  He was so into taking care of the earth and educating us at home.  You could almost say he was obsessed with what you could and couldn't throw away.  We would get busted if we threw something in the trash that should be recycled.  He would dig it out and tell us to take care of the earth.  He saved any box or plastic item he could and made a grocery store down in our play room.  He would take boxes and make them into cars, houses, trains or whatever else he could come up with.  He also asked if he could go ask our neighbors for their recyclable stuff so he could save the earth.  Like I said .... he embraced the unit.  

After the unit was complete they had a fun night at preschool.  The kids got to plant flowers.

The carefully dug little holes with pencils, dropped their seeds in, covered them up and sprayed them with water.

Max thought he was hot stuff and sat by the table and took it all in!

The girls decided to make some ladybugs out of egg cartons.

While Shane decided it would be more fun to head outside.

Alexa joined him on the Natural Playground when she was done.  Time to show off her balancing skills.

Max spent his time pushing the truck around.

Emma playing tag but taking a break to tie a shoe.

Alexa also spent some time building some things.

Max and Alexa shared a healthy smoothie made with all kids of vegetables to finish off the night.

Shane loved taking all of us to preschool for an evening of fun!

Leigh's Blankies

Max loves his blankies.  It is amazing to see how fast he has become attached to his blankies and finds comfort in them.  

This week Max got a very special package in the mail. 

It was a Leigh's Blankie from my friend Andra.  My friend Leigh Ann was killed a little over a year ago tragically in a car accident.  Andra started a ministry in memory of her and to carry on the legacy she left behind.  She was such a light for Christ and loved others well.  Leigh's Blankie's Mission is that those who receive them will be reminded of the warm love of Christ and the security that it brings.

Look at him bury his face in his new blankie!

Andra continues to follow God's lead as he opens doors all over the world to share Christ's light. Pray for his leading and for those little ones that receive these special blankies. 

Go to Leigh's Blankies to find out how you can help spread Christ's light through this ministry.  You also can see were all of these sweet little blankies have gone and are heading.

A Night At The Park

After Max experience the backyard for the first time we decided we couldn't pass up enjoying the beautiful evening.  We decided we had to hit the park with Max for the first time.

Max loved the slide as you can see from the big smiles on his face!

His sisters were very excited to help him around the play set.

We weren't quite sure what he thought about the swing.  He looked a bit scared and got a little pale in the face when he started swinging.  When we stopped him he would try to get his swing moving again.  So we figured he had to like it at some level.

Then a couple times we got a smile.

And of course there are always smiles and giggles when daddy is around.

Alexa took him down the big curly slide and he was all smiles.

The girls working together to help Max down the slide.

Max was mesmorized by this father and son.  There are times he just sits back and takes it all in.  This was one of those evenings.

Max and Emma hopped on to give it a try.



What a great night to spend at the park! Max loved it! I am sure there will be many hours spent at the parks this spring and summer!

Brothers In The Backyard

When you catch a beautiful day in early April you take full advantage of it! The boys did just that.  The spent the morning in the backyard. 

It was Max's first morning to experience a little backyard fun!

Shane has been working so hard with his little brother to help him walk.  All the encouragement and hand hold has paid off! Our little boy is off!

Whenever he falls he says "uh oh!"

They had fun in playhouse and going down the slide together.

Then it was time to go for a little ride in the red cozy coop!

A morning in the backyard isn't complete without a picnic lunch!

And to finish it off ... a kiss!

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today we got a call that would forever change our lives. My best friend, Leigh Ann, had been killed in a car accident. Today Eric was asking me about my favorite memories of Leigh Ann and I thought about the fun memories we had made in the past years and yet my best memories of Leigh Ann are just hanging out at the pool or just sitting in her living room. Eric said, "With or without the kids!" I said, "Of course with the kids!" You see that is what I loved about Leigh Ann. She loved life, she made it easy to be her friend, she loved being a wife and a mom and we never had to do anything special ... it was just being with her, hanging out, playing with the kids and talking ... those are the days I miss, those are my favorite memories of my time with Leigh Ann.

I miss Leigh Ann and yet I feel so very blessed for the friendship we had. She taught me so much about life, being a wife, mother, friend and a child of God. She lived life to its fullest and loved others so well. I think of her life and how she put the gospel on display by the way she lived. She made it look so easy and yet I know she could love others the way she did because of the love she had for Jesus Christ. When I read Titus 2:3-10 I think of my friend Leigh Ann.

In Carolyn Mahaney's book on Titus 2, Feminine Appeal she says

"Can you conceive of anything that sets forth the beauty of the gospel jewel more brilliantly than the godly behavior of those who have received it? Consider the loveliness of a women who passionately adores her husband, who tenderly cherishes her children, who creates a warm and peaceful home, who exemplifies purity, self control, and kindness in her character and who gladly submits to her husbands leadership - for all the days God grants her life. I dare say there are a few things that display the gospel jewel with greater elegance. This is true feminine appeal."

That paragraph is my friend Leigh Ann. Leigh Ann displayed the gospel jewel with great elegance. She left an amazing legacy. She is an inspiration to me as a wife, mom, friend, daughter, sister and most importantly child of the King. I pray that I can live out her legacy and the things she has taught me in my own life.

Today my heart breaks for Greg, her husband who has had to walk through the past year with out his beautiful wife. I am so sad for Caden, Bailey and Malia who lost an amazing mom at such a young age. My heart is heavy for her family who lost a daughter and a sister in a blink of an eye. There are many who lost an amazing, caring friend. Leigh Ann touched so many lives and so many hearts. And while my heart breaks it rejoices in the fact that she is standing in the presence her Creator, the one who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.