Family Pictures

Biker Sunday

Today was "Biker Sunday" at church. When we got there, there were tons of motorcycles in the front section of the parking lot. The kids were in awe. By the time we took pictures after church, a lot of the bikers had already left. It was a really neat service and it was pretty fun to dress like that for church. It sure made getting ready faster - doing our hair was so much easier!

It Was A Very Deep Hole

At dinner tonight, I made the comment that I could eat another hamburger because I was soooo hungry. (Please note, I did NOT eat another hamburger. I just felt I had the ability to do so.) John's grandma said I probably needed more to eat so I could make milk for Joshua. At this point, John's father mentioned that they could get me some "heifer pills" like farmers give their cows. This was not an innocent comment. He knew what he was saying. It was an all time low for him.

He tried to explain that heifers were very pretty young cows. Good try.

Heifer pills, indeed.


If you don't know Clay then you don't know that this is just how we interact with each other. It's just what we do. =)

Don't Want To Don't Want To Don't Want To

Tomorrow morning I have to take BOTH Aulora AND Joshua for check-ups and shots. Shots. Lots of them. Ughhhhh......Aulora almost always gets sick after getting shots, even with Tylenol. Hopefully tomorrow will be different. Maybe I should take some Tylenol before we go. I think I have some of my prescription strength pills left from my c-section. That should do the trick.

Boo to the shots.

Hiss to the crying that will ensue.

Boo. Hiss. Boo. =(


BTW, the salsa was wonderful. So was the guacamole. So was the grilled chicken slivered and then tossed with grilled onions and peppers. Yum yum yum. Sorry you weren't here.

The Gazelle

Over the weekend John moved the gazelle (remember that gliding type of exercise machine?) into the house for me. So far, I've found the time to use it twice for 30 minutes. It's tricky to find the right time because Aulora has to be asleep (or have someone else watching her) and I have to have at least an hour of time for both the workout and a shower. Plus, it's in John's parents' room so neither of them can be in bed already. I think I'm doing pretty good to have used it twice!

I've got some great incentive to lose weight and that's to look a little better in the dress I bought for the wedding. It fits now but I've either got to lose some baby fat or wear a girdle if it's going to look really good.

I think the tired level is contributing to my not so great mood. Usually, if I'm tired I try to take a nap when Aulora is sleeping. But not now. I make myself even more tired by exercising! Arghhhh! Sleep.....how I want you.

I'm about to go to Walmart for some groceries as soon as I can get both the kids dressed. I think I'm going to make fajitas and homemade salsa for dinner. That should be healthy enough to not cancel out the gazelle time. =)

Not Too Great of a Day

I'm not having a good day. Not sure why. I'm just not. It's 11:00 and Joshua just went to bed. Aulora was awake until about 35 minutes ago. I'm worn down.

It's been one of those "busy nonstop but get nothing done" kind of days. My bed barely got made and there's laundry all over my room and couch, both clean that needs to be put away and dirty that needs to be washed. (Be thankful if you have your own washer and dryer and especially be thankful if you have a washer and dryer that is near your room.)

Aulora grabbed a porcelain shoe that was given to Joshua and threw it in the toilet before I could stop her. It broke on the way in there. This happened when I was already very frustrated and sweaty just trying to get all the kids out the door. That shoe is still sitting in there now and I'm about to wet my pants because I can't use the toilet until I get it out.

There are bigger things that aren't quite alright that I try not to think about. Some days those things tend to surface more and it makes for a hard day. Today was just one of those days. As a result, I hate to admit that I yelled at my kids. I was too rough and not as patient as I should have been.

I'll hug them harder in the morning. I'll pour on the sweet and try to make up for it. They've already forgotten about it and won't hold it against me though, I'm sure.

Tomorrow's another day.
Fresh grace.
New mercy.

Thank you, Jesus.

This Little Piggy

My poor baby. He's trying desperately to nurse but his nose is stopped up. Pretty much every morning when he wakes up he's stuffy. I don't think I would hear this much snorting if I was in a pig pen!

Hmmm...Maybe So

I guess I kind of see the resemblance after all.

Easter Sunday

Easter baskets for the kids when they woke up.

Daddy and Joshua before the drama they were a part of.

Julia and Aulora in their dresses. I didn't get a pretty picture before church. =(

John David with tape all around his face so he could be a mummy. He undressed and did this before I could get a picture of him. (This child starts undressing as soon as we are in the parking lot - he hates dress clothes!)

Joshua in his Easter clothes.

Clever and Not So Clever (or now that I think about it, maybe it was clever all around)

After church and lunch yesterday we just a had a relaxing time hanging around the house. I found myself laughing a couple of times at their little funny selves.

Daddy, Uncle Zach and John David were doing quite a bit of wrestling and rough housing in the living room. When Uncle Zach had John David pinned he asked, "Do you have any last requests?" Being the genius that he is, my son answered, "Yea, can you let me go?"

Later on, Julia and John David were playing Simon Says. I was watching from the kitchen as Julia gave the commands and did them herself as John David just stood there looking at her. I called from the kitchen, "Julia, you're not saying 'Simon Says'." The next thing I heard her say was, "Simon says you lose!"

Eggsapalooza

On Saturday we went to Eggsapalooza, our church's Easter outreach. The kids hunted eggs (there are no pictures of this as that's near impossible when you are quite outnumbered by your children!), jumped in the bounce house, had fun at the petting zoo, ate cotton candy and hot dogs, and went on the tumble bus. There were also horse rides and a rock climbing wall but we didn't have enough time to do it all.



John did the message for the kids. I couldn't help but video some of it and if you watch it you'll see why. =) (In case you don't know, the guy sitting in the lawn chair on the stage is John's youngest brother.)

Videos from the Zoo

This video was taken right after we heard the lion roar. John David was showing what it sounded like.



John David enjoyed impersonating this bird.



He was so excited to catch a bird on his seed stick!

Nickname Part Two

Uh, I just found out that this is Max Rebo. He's a musician in a band on Star Wars. This is who Joshua reminds John David of. Huh. I'm lost for words. I must be totally blinded by a mother's love because I don't see the resemblance. Hmmm.....

Easter 2008 Part One

We had our egg hunt with my family at the park this year. "Peter Cotton Candy" (as Julia calls him), aka my dad and brother, went to the park early to hide the eggs. The first round of hunting was just for the kids. Notice the awesome easter baskets they sported. =) Can you tell we were traveling? Their eggs were empty so after the hunt they counted them up and won money for them. Later we took a trip to Toys 'R' Us to pick out a prize with their egg money. Man, that's a cool store!

Anyway, for the second round John and I joined in. I teamed up with John David and John was with Julia. (Aulora just did her own thing as always.) Whichever team could gather the most eggs in the time given was the winner. We weren't allowed bags so we tucked in our shirts and stuffed them. My ankle was still hurt so I wasn't able to go terribly fast PLUS my super competitive husband decided it would be a good strategy to lurk behind me and every time I spotted eggs he would rush in before me and grab them. Oooohhhh, he made me mad. =) He claims I scratched his hand - I'm not so sure about that. But even if I did, I say he deserved it! Obviously, the cheater cheater pumpkin eater team won. No bitterness here. =)

Thanks for a fun egg hunt, Peter Cotton Candy......

The Zoo

We had a super fantastic time at the zoo with my family last weekend! It was so much fun to see everything through the kids' eyes. John David said a number of times, "This is the first time I've ever seen a _______ before!!!" I think the two best parts were:

• The lion! This was the best part of all. He roared for about 30 seconds straight! We don't know what he was roaring at and it sounded totally unlike what I thought it would. It was more like a big gruff dog bark over and over. So cool.....
• The birds! There were so many and you could feed them with seed sticks. John David was pretty good at catching them on his stick and he really had fun in there....

Nickname

I don't know why, but John David says that Joshua's nickname is "Max Rebo". I'm told that's someone from Star Wars, but I don't really know. All I do know is that my precious little boy is now called this weird name all day long. Max Rebo.

"I want to hold Max Rebo."

"Let me kiss Max Rebo."

"Ahhhh....Max Rebo is so cute!"

"Max Rebooooo.......it's me! John David!"



Please, Jesus, don't let it stick. =)

Meeting Baby Brother

I saw these pictures today and don't think I ever posted them. Aulora is so super crazy about her baby brother now, but she didn't know what to think that first time she met him. I think she was trying to decide if he was another doll to play with. He has definitely put up with his share of pokes and pats from his big sister.

Whoa.....judging from the length of this post, I must not have used all my words today....

• I think my legs are going to fall off due to exhaustion. Really.
• My ankle is way better today, but I recently banged my arm really hard into a pillar in our house. Now there's a big knot there and it's really sensitive. Makes nursing and carrying babies around a wonderful treat. And no, I don't know how I ran into a pillar. I also burned my finger cooking dinner. I guess I need to officially change my name to Shannon Vondell. hehehehe (did I spell it right?)
  
• I didn't have time until today to try to put together clothes for all of us for our picture session we had tonight. It's no easy task to try to coordinate 6 people for portraits. I was trying to do something a little different than the normal black and jeans or white and khakis. But after hurriedly running to several different stores with 2 children in tow this afternoon, I realized that I better just go for white and khaki. By the time I came to that conclusion, it was too late to find a pretty white shirt for myself. I grabbed one without even trying it on from Old Navy. Uhmmmm, let's just say there's a reason I have my denim jacket on in every one of our pictures. =) Which brings me to my next point -
  
• I always have trouble when it comes to having pictures done. I can get everyone else looking just right, but I always have a bad hair day or an eye infection which requires an eye patch or a big pimple or some clothing dilemma. No matter how I plan or prepare it always happens. Have I ever mentioned the hair dryer story on this blog?

When John David was 6 weeks old, we had pictures done at The Photo Studio in SA. Not a cheap place. (I think that's what it's called. I'm kind of drawing a blank.) Anyway, I didn't have the hang of baby stuff down and it was really difficult for me to get myself ready while taking care of a newborn. (That makes me laugh that I couldn't handle ONE child.) I stumbled onto the hair dryer trick though. I nursed him to sleep and found that as long as I left my hair dryer on, John David stayed asleep. Brilliant. Until John came in the room.

"La, why is this hair dryer on? You're not even using it."
"It's keeping John David asleep. Please leave it alone."
"It's wasting electricity. Turn it off."
"No, it's keeping him asleep so I can get ready. Leave it alone."
"That's really wasteful. We need to turn it off."

He reached down and turned it off. The course of my entire life changed in that moment. I was cursed with a huge framed portrait of our then family of 3 in which I look like I just rolled out of bed - all because I wasn't able to finish getting ready. John still says I look great in that picture, a "natural beauty" I think is what he says. Whatever. I'd rather look like a beauty who actually spent at least a few minutes in front of a mirror. Oh well.

Today it was on the windy side. I tried to style my hair in an appropriate manner, but I have side bangs. They are barely long enough to tuck and a bobby pin wouldn't hold them either. So I can only hope that our pictures weren't sabotaged by my windblown hair. Sigh.

• I cooked chicken spaghetti tonight. I found a much quicker way to do it that was still really good. Quick+Easy+Yummy=Woohoo!
  
• As of tomorrow my tiny baby boy will be EIGHT weeks old. Good grief. Didn't I just have him? =(
• I bought a dress for my best friend's wedding. It fits great although, as of this moment, I have a "pooch" when I wear it. It's not huge, but it's there. The thought of having that pooch in front of hundreds of people (this is going to be a big wedding at my home church) has been some incredible motivation. I've been eating right and even exercising. (Don't pass out from shock.) Yes, La has been doing Yoga Booty Ballet. Don't laugh. I never claimed to be good at it. Julia did it with me yesterday and she did the whole workout, even when I had to go take care of Joshua for a while. Too cute.
  
• I love March because it's my birthday month and when spring really starts.
• I hate March because of March Madness.
  
• Some kind of "critter" has apparently died in the attic of this house. We have to patiently wait for it to decay because of where its little body is resting in peace. For days I thought there was a dirty diaper somewhere on our landing. I searched and searched. Nothing. We finally realized what it was. I like the candle my brother got me for my birthday. =)
• When it was time to put the kids in bed tonight John lost Aulora. We couldn't find her anywhere even though she had just been with us in the bedroom. Even though my closet was closed and the light was off I decided to check in there anyway. I could only open the door a few inches because she was on the other side of it, sitting there playing with my necklaces (the thing they hang on in the closet fell off the wall and I haven't put it back up yet) by the light of a cell phone. She wasn't scared at all and she was being completely quiet because she knew she wasn't supposed to be in there. Since she was sitting in front of the door I couldn't get it open to get to her. I closed the door and figured she wouldn't like the dark. Wrong. She was quite happy to be in there on her own. I was finally able to nudge her out of the way with the door enough to grab her. She is developing quite an amusing personality, even though at this point in her teething career it is sprinkled with quite a bit of shrieking and crying. It shall pass. (Lord Jesus, please let it pass.)
• Okay, I think I finally used all my words for the day. If you are still reading this you deserve a trophy.
  

What does the bobo say?

This morning I was entertaining Aulora while I nursed Joshua. She happily showed me various body parts as I asked. When asked where her bobo was, she tooted right on cue! She knew it was funny because she smiled really big and laughed. She's talented, I tell you......

Just one for now.....

All the pictures will be posted once I have my dad's. For now, I thought I'd share just this one of Joshua. Apparently, he was quite taken with the zoo.......

It was a once in a lifetime event......

.....and we got a picture of it! We were on our way out of town and John was suddenly so excited. "Look! Look!" I told him to pull over so he quickly pulled into a parking lot and stopped just in time. He took about 20 pictures in all so he could get just the right one. (How funny is he?) Hopefully I chose a picture that will please him.

It's the little things.......

Trying so hard....

It is next to impossible to pack for a trip while taking care of kids at the same time. They cart off clothes from piles you've made. They hide things, spill things, get into things. They want to eat, need to nap, have to nurse, got to poo.

We want to leave when John David gets out of school. I should probably start praying for a miracle. Speaking of miracles - we'll need one for sure when it's time to load the van. I love our mini-van with the exception of the "mini" part. We are too many. Somehow we have to fit 6 people, 4 car seats, all our bags, a stroller (preferably a double but I'll take the single), and the pack'n'play. To borrow a line from Seinfeld, "Sweet mother of pearl!" I'm sure pictures will be in order.

My littlest is finally asleep so into bed he will go. I wish I was going there too. =) I'm tired. Whaaaa.

And you thought it was just another Friday.....

Today is International Pi Day which is really only interesting if it’s also International Misspelling Day, and they meant “pie.”

I'll admit that the article was actually interesting. Won't John be proud?

Having a hard time arranging my thoughts so here come the bullets....

• Tuesday evening I sprained my ankle in front of the library building. I guess I shouldn't have been walking and talking to A on my cell phone at the same time. It's still sore but I can at least walk without hobbling or anything. Just call me Shannon.
• Yesterday we ate lunch at the hibachi grill for my birthday. Julia spilled her drink everywhere, Aulora was on the fussy side, Julia was being contrary, and Joshua wanted to nurse. Not the best lunch out. =)
• I spent most of the day cleaning and nursing. We had a girl come to stay here from out of town and the house needed to be cleaned. (I'm not saying I did it all - I most certainly did not. It was about all I could do to take care of our rooms and laundry. Being a clean freak and nursing a baby are two things that don't always mix well.)
• I miss John. =(
  
• John comes home tonight. =)
• Julia is very difficult these days. She's strong willed anyway but I think she's even harder these days because she's not getting enough attention. I try to give her what she needs, but there's only one of me. Luckily, John will not be traveling anymore after a few more weeks. She loves her daddy.
• I got two gorgeous flower arrangements yesterday for my birthday - one from my parents and one from my best friend in Dallas. I'll take pictures of them later (hopefully).
• I'm tired.
• I'm going to David's Bridal in a little while to find a bridesmaid dress. Fingers crossed I don't look like a whale in at least one of them. =)
  
• I have more to say but I've got to get some things done before children take over my day....
  

Random Things About Me

• I can't dance. Please do not ask for a demonstration. You'll be sorry if you do.
• I hallucinate at night - gigantic grasshoppers and spiders, people attacking me, children spilling things, you name it. I think my husband is amused.
• Goosebumps are quite common for me - I get them when I'm cold, when I need a shower, or if I need to go to the bathroom.
• I am hopelessly addicted to Dr Pepper. And ice cream. And milkshakes. And sweet tea. And.....oh man, I've got a problem here.....
• Bottoms of shoes freak me out. Don't even think about putting yours near me.
  
• I've given birth four times - once with an epidural, once totally natural, once as an emergency c-section, and once as a scheduled c-section. I should have one more so I can have a home birth! JK.
• I absolutely adore little baby and kid hineys!
• I love to play the piano. I'm a decent player now, but used to be pretty good. A mommy of four doesn't get much opportunity to practice.
  
• I aspire to be a great cook one day. I'm not doing anything to achieve this goal other than cooking for my family of 6. I figure this particular goal will eventually be met on its own.
• I have very long toes and the second is the longest. MY husband doesn't let me forget it either.
• I have eaten snake, octopus, alligator, frog, duck, lamb, shark, deer, buffalo, and quail. Tastes like chicken! Ha!
• My feet grow every time I have a baby. If I had as many kids as Michelle Duggar and my feet continued the same growth pattern, I would wear a size 17 1/2!
• I love watching LOST, American Idol, Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, Law and Order, CSI, John & Kate Plus 8, Yes Dear, Everybody Loves Raymond...."There's not enough time, there's not enough time!" (as Jessie Spano would say)
• I very much dislike brushing my teeth at night. My husband pushes me out of the bed if I haven't though so I usually do.
• My heart beats faster when I go into a second hand shop for kids. The thrill of the hunt is so great!
• I used to have a red convertible. A drunk driver hit us and totaled it though.
• I lived with my in-laws for a year and survived. In fact, it was kind of nice!
• I do not like chick flicks. I prefer intense, suspenseful, or scary.
• My husband and I missed our flight for our honeymoon to Hawaii. If you know my husband, this is no surprise.
• I cannot handle hearing someone eat. It absolutely makes me crazy. Smacking, slurping, loud swallowing, crunching. I'm cringing just typing it!
• I'm terrified of escalators. (yes, there's a story there - maybe one day I'll post it.)

Who's LaLa?

My real name is Lori, but here in blogworld it's usually La or Lala. I have my little brother to thank for that name.

It's a lot of pressure to summarize who you are in a few paragraphs, you know.......

I'm a 31 year old stay at home mom of four kids. My blog is often full of things about them since they are, after all, my life. I've been married - quite happily! - for 11 years now, but don't worry, we're still "just friends" (apparently with benefits).

I've lived in Texas, Arizona, California, and currently Indiana. Mostly Texas though. My family is from the Dallas area, but once I got married we headed out west where we were youth pastors for seven years. After that my husband continued with more schooling and taught LSAT prep classes. Now he's a law student at Notre Dame and we're doing the poor student thing for a while longer!

I spend my days taking care of my kids, cleaning, cooking, spending time with my husband, and blogging - in no particular order. I am not a super outgoing person and I really don't like parties or other loud places. I'd almost always rather be at home. I'm particular and opinionated, sweet and silly, and cranky when I'm tired. I don't like talking on the phone very much, but I love to email. I love clearance racks, second hand stores, rainy days, fajitas at Pappasitos, down comforters, steamy hot showers, blue jeans, desserts before bedtime, and sleeping in. And I love my family!

I'm a child of God and trying to grow closer to Him. I'm not where I thought I'd be by this age, but that's okay. I'm learning a little more every day and trying my best to be more like Him and less like me.

So that's LaLa in a nutshell, I guess. Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you'll stick around......

Someone Hide the Scales!

When I was growing up, my birthday week was always so exciting. My mom would plan festivities for the whole week, everything from eating at favorite restaurants, breakfast in bed, presents every day, eating at Panchos and getting to pick out a free pinata, friends coming over, family coming over, and more I'm sure. She's the party queen! =)

I wish she was with me this week. Breakfast in bed sounds pretty nice! I did, however have a great birthday dinner tonight with the family. We did it early since John won't be here on Wednesday. Sandy cooked mexican food and Mimi brought rice, poundcake, and my personal favorite, blackberry cobbler with blue bell vanilla ice cream. Whoa, Nellie! Get the maternity pants back out! =0

My family gave me:

• a pink A&M ball cap (I've been needing a cute hat for bad hair days - those happen a lot with 4 kids)
  
• a brown and cream shirt with a matching necklace from The Buckle (I'm flattered by the size John bought - I'm pretty sure I'll need it bigger!)
  
• a beautiful ivory lacy shirt that I want to take pictures in - the kind where my hair is fluttering behind me as I sit in a field of flowers holding my naked baby - can you see it? =)
  
• Starbucks gift card - I'm drooling already
  
• gift card to get a manicure and pedicure - very nice since I'll soon be in a wedding My kindred spirit is getting married!!!
  
• a HUGE brown summer type bag filled with awesome bath stuff - they must have noticed my lack of bathing since adding another monkey to the mix
  
• purse size Lysol!!! I've been waiting for them to make this! Woohoo!
• a handmade card from my two oldest monkeys - "Happy Bithday" it says. Daddy had them make it together and it made for some lovely entertainment. (to be read sarcastically) John David kept drawing balloons and for some reason Julia did NOT want balloons so she kept making big X's on all of them. It wasn't funny then, but it makes me laugh now.
• last but not least - Julia wrapped up a couple of her toys for me with Dora wrapping paper. I'm now the proud owner of a "Sweet Shop" play house and a green plastic necklace. Somebody come play with me!

Thank you, family! I love you all......

If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What Do March Showers Bring?

Lots of wonderful presents for Baby Joshua! Today was Little Man's baby shower that some friends from church gave. It was come and go from 2-4 and it turned out so nice. He got some really cute clothes, gift cards, lots of pajamas, diapers, bibs, socks, shoes, bath stuff, blankets and toys. Lots of baby toys! Yea for that! It was somewhat of a flashback to John David's shower when we were very new to the church in SA and I didn't know many people. I made sure Lana sat beside me and whispered names in my ear. I knew almost everyone today though, thankfully. We were very blessed.......

Here's some pictures - I wasn't able to really take many during the shower since I was busy. A couple of things to notice:

1) It has been pointed out by my husband that whenever I hold a baby for a picture, I apparently "do the chicken wing" with my arm. It's true, I know. I even tried not to do it. Oh, well.

2) The Harley-Davidson clothes were given to Joshua so he could be ready for "Biker Sunday" - a special annual service geared towards all the bikers at church. I want some matching duds for John David! =)

What I Learned at the Library Today

This afternoon I witnessed a frazzled mom trying to catch her toddler. She counted to three, she said please, she tried to grab her as she chased after her through the isles of books. Nothing worked. This child just kept running away from her poor mommy. I had to laugh to myself though when I heard her breathlessly say, "I'm going to spank you when I catch you!" Now why in the world would the child stop now? She only ran faster. hahaha

Note to self: Never threaten a running child with a spanking.

Pink Eyes, Invisible Horses, Mess-Maker of the Year, Daddy - You're a Good Helper

I woke up yesterday morning with the dreaded pink eye. I have the medicine for it but my glasses were misplaced when we moved so it's hard for me to treat. I'm SO blind without my contacts on and you can't use the medicine unless they're off. I've been treating one eye at a time so I can at least keep one contact on. Of course, then there's the headache to deal with from only being able to see with one eye. And I have to laugh at myself throughout the day as I do silly things because my depth perception is so off. I could hardly even squeeze toothpaste on the toothbrush this morning. Most of it went in the sink. Me and my eyes.....

Shannon, how did you know we have a whole herd of horses in our garage? You must have heard them stomping their hooves and whinnying. Next time, maybe we'll let you ride one in circles in the driveway. =)

I vacuumed the floor this morning. I put the vacuum away and went downstairs. When I came back up, Aulora had found a cracker and crumbled it into a thousand pieces all over the couch and floor. Typical.

Julia made ANOTHER mess this morning. I guess I haven't even mentioned all the other recent messes - probably because I've been too busy cleaning them up. Today she decided to make Gran's footstool "clean and sparkley" so she put lotion (I guess she thought it was soap) all over the top and scrubbed it with a washcloth. Last night she poured half a bottle of bubble bath in the running water when I stepped out to get Aulora. It took forever to get all the bubbles out of there. Earlier this week she poured (on purpose or accident I don't know) a whole bunch of baby formula powder in the sink. She was supposed to be in bed. The next day she washed her hands in it before I could clean it up and then the powder hardened. That's just a sampling of her mess-making skills. I've never known of a child who makes so many messes. She was spanked today. I'm tired of dealing with 2 year old behavior from a 4 year old. One day I know I'll laugh about it. (Ok, I admit it. I laugh now.) As I've mentioned before, there's a good reason Julia has the nickname "Julia, Julia, Julia the destroyer" (sung to the Dora theme song).

John helped in kids' church today. He did the Life cereal illusion to help with the message. It's the same thing we helped Eowyn do for Fine Arts last year. It went along with the lesson for the day so he was volunteered to do it. =) I didn't even get to watch him in action because of my pinkness. He's also on the schedule to help in the preschool class a few times this quarter. They have 30-40 preschoolers in Julia's class so the parents get to help out. I can't wait to see him in there. It makes me smile to think about it. What a great daddy!

Guess what I'm watching out the window?

Horses, a big sparkling pond, and beautiful sunshine. Then there's a strong daddy, a little boy with only one front tooth, and a sweet girl with long blond hair who are all sitting on the bank holding their fishing poles. Life's not perfect, but moments like these make it all ok. I want to hold this picture in my mind always. So sweet........