Yucky, yucky sick germs...

Luke is sick. I think it's the hand/foot/mouth virus, or something similar. His little mouth is full of sores. He's had it before, but never this bad. He hasn't eaten anything in three days. Today I was feeding him a chocolate shake with a medicine dropper. He won't even talk or smile because it hurts so bad. :( I feel so sorry for him. He is bored too. He just wants me to hold him. At one point Shane asked him if he wanted a ride in Daddy's truck & his eyes just lit up. So off they went to Sonic (for the chocolate shake). And then Seth walked in before bedtime with hives all over his body. We have no idea why. My boys are falling apart!

Bedtime Conversations

Kallie: Mom, God can hold everything in the world in His hand if He wants to. Or on His pinky. But I want to know, does God have a nose?
Seth: (screaming from his bed) Kallie, God has everything!

Seth: Mom, what's the biggest thing in the whole world? And you can't say God or Jesus.
Me: A blue whale.
Seth: Wrong. It's love.

Turning 5 doesn't make you brave.

Today is Kallie's 5th birthday. She woke up bright & early and headed off to school, pink cupcakes in hand to share with the whole class.

When I picked her up from school, we headed home for a few treats. First, she found a mailbox-full of grandparent greetings! Few things make her smile as much as a letter or package in the mail (hint, hint!!). Then I told her to run upstairs and check the bathroom. Callie (our friend that's living with us right now) had left her a birthday greeting on the mirror along with a card & gift. (By the way, the squealing had begun at the mailbox, and it just got louder as she found more & more treats!) Next I gave her the bracelets that I'd had made for her on our cruise (they sold gold & silver by the inch...her little wrist is tough to fit so it was perfect!), and we also gave her a Disney princess play tent for the living room. Actually I think it's a real tent, but I figured she & Luke would have a blast in it. And maybe one day she can use it for a sleepover.

Once Seth got home from school we left all the boys at home and headed for the mall with two things in mind...Build-A-Bear and Libby Lu. She had received a Build-A-Bear gift card at her party (thanks Sandy & Kristin!) and then wanted to use her birthday money from Grandma to get her ears pierced.

First she built a cute pink bear at Build-A-Bear that she named Pinky...



They had her stand at the front of the store & ring a bell to get everyone's attention, and then they sang to her. She loved it.

So with Pinky in hand (for comfort, of course), off we went to Libby Lu. Unfortunately though, when we got there we found out that there was only one associate available for ear-piercing, which meant they'd have to be pierced one at a time rather than together. Um, no. That won't work. A sweet little 5-year-old with only one earring is not a good thing. So next we tried Claire's. Same story. There were two Claire's in this mall, so we traipsed to the other end to try our luck at the second store. Nope. Our last hope was The Icing, which is owned by Claire's. You guessed it...just one sales associate. They offered to make us an appointment for Friday, but by this time Kallie had WAAAAAAY too long to think about it & decided she really didn't want to get her ears pierced after all. Oh well, maybe when she turns 6. We're in no hurry.

Headed home...no earrings, but lots of bear hugs...



Pinky ate dinner with us. Daddy says Pinky will not eat dinner with us every night.





Happy birthday sweet Kallie! You make our lives so fun and sweet. You are so full of joy & innocence. It's hard to believe five years have gone by so fast. We love you!

Kallie's "Girly Girl" Party!!!

Kallie's birthday is Tuesday, but we had her party this past Saturday. She's never had a big friend birthday party before, so this was extra special for her! We went back and forth between having an all-girl party and having a mixed party (or as Kallie called it, a "mixed up party"). But in the end, the girl theme won!

Luckily, Shane is a youth pastor, so I had LOTS of help. We ended up with fourteen little girls and ten big girls (high school & college age) that did the girls' hair, makeup & nails. When they walked in the door they received a punch card that looked like this...

Every time they visited a station, they would get their card punched and then move on to the next one.

Here's a few shots of the makeup table...

And then there was hair...

Fingernails were extra fun because we had GLITTER....

At the accessories station, each little girl got to pick out a treat bag full of jewelry...

And don't forget to get your card punched...

And the last station was pictures...

Each girl then received a 4x6 card with their individual picture on it along with the group shot:

Here are four of the beautiful princesses all made up... (Most of the girls were blondies!)

Shane and I were amazed at how calm and quiet these girls were. We're used to mixed parties (that truly are mixed up) where everyone is screaming, running, yelling and grabbing presents. You could have heard a pin drop while Kallie was opening her presents.

The most treasured present of all was the beloved swimming baby from Nana & Papa. Kallie has been asking for this for over a year. When you put her in the water she actually kicks her legs, moves her arms, and swims across the tub. Kallie rushed home after the party and got in the bathtub to play with her. We put Luke in too, but he was scared of the swimming baby. He just kept saying "ow, ow, ow" & backing away from her. Tonight when it was time for their baths, Kallie looked at her baby and said, "She's such a miracle. I think I'll name her Miss Amiracle. Miss Amiracle, are you ready to go swimming?" Yes, she loves her swimming baby.

The girls absolutely LOVED the party. Kallie says she wants to have the same party next year with the same friends.

Yes, I know it's inappropriate...but he's SO cute!!

So here's the story. Luke turned two in May, but we have not started trying to potty train him yet. I just haven't had the energy. I know it's coming soon, but he's a boy, and boys can go longer, right? In fact, he has asked several times to go potty, but I usually just tell him no. For two reasons...one, it's usually at a time when it's not convenient to un-diaper & re-diaper him, and two, I figure that if we don't LET him do it, he'll only want to do it more someday when we start potty training. (Why not let sin nature work for us??)

Well, Thursday night our worship practice went really long, so I sent the kids home with our friend Callie. Shane was already at home with Seth, so he gave the boys a bath. I am not really sure why, but for some reason Shane had the idea to let Luke try out his aiming skills in the bath tub. (And remember, he has never gone on the potty before.) So Shane held out a big blue cup and let Luke give it a shot. And he did it! Shane said that he was so excited and so proud of himself that he pulled out the camera to document the moment for me. Here's Luke holding his trophy...

I know it's disgusting, but is that not the proudest little two-year-old face you've ever seen? And the very next night, Shane took him to the big potty and Luke had his first successful lesson! Again, he was so proud of himself and we all hooped and hollered with him. What's funny is that he is actually tall enough to stand. Most boys this age have to learn by sitting because they are not tall enough!

Sorry, I just had to share that with you. Hey, at least I don't take pictures of them sitting next to their first poo like Kate from Jon & Kate Plus Eight! I mean what's a little cup-o-pee compared to that??!

Like mother, like daughter...

My mom sent me this picture tonight, with the above caption as the subject line. I had dressed up my little brother, Brian, and looked awfully proud to show him off to the camera. Seeing the picture of Kallie & Luke below reminded her of this one. Yes, I know I look like a boy, but I'm assuming my hair was just pulled back into a ponytail. I played dress-up with Brian more than once. In fact, I remember one time in particular where he let me tape his ears into a point so that he'd look like Captain Spock from Star Trek. (Poor Luke, at least I dressed Brian up like a BOY!)

Kallie & Luke

These two are so close. I have been so thrilled with how well they get along and play together while Seth is at school. The other day they got into my fabric box and played dress-up with fabric scraps.





Today was the first day of school for them. Kallie was so excited that she literally couldn't sleep last night. She wanted me to wake her up extra early this morning. It has been tough for her to watch Seth go to school everyday and have to wait a whole week for her turn.





I'm not totally sure that Luke knew what was going on, but he was excited anyway. And I don't really know why he was raising his hands. Maybe it was in praise to God for finally getting out of the house! Or maybe it was just to warn the school...watch out people, here I come!




Here's their cute new backpacks that Nana bought for them with their names on them.







Here's Kallie in her new class.




And here's Mr. Luke walking to class like a big boy.




I was afraid he might be hesitant, but he went in like a champ. He held onto my leg for about 30 seconds and scoped everything out first, and then he was ready to go.




It is neat every year to see how God chooses their teachers for them. He knows them even better than I know them. Seth is our sensitive child, and every single year he gets a teacher that just oozes sweetness, sensitivity, compassion, caring and understanding. I mean EVERY year...his pre-K, kindergarten, 1st grade, and now 2nd grade teachers have all been cut from the same mold. And he absolutely falls in love with them as much as they fall in love with him. Kallie, on the other hand, doesn't need quite so much of that, and her teacher this year is all business. As soon as Kallie walked into the classroom, she was asked to go right to her seat, open up her spiral notebook and write her name at the top of the page. I bet Kallie thinks she is BIG STUFF now that she's doing "real" schoolwork. And as far as Luke goes, who knows what he needs!? Ha ha. Like I said, it will be exciting to see who God pairs them up with in the years to come. They are all growing up so fast, and I am so thankful for teachers who love them and for a God who lovingly watches and cares for them when they are away from me.