How Fast Can I Post?

Well, I just can't keep up. So many cute things happen, but Easter trumps and I know the grandparents are probably in starvation mode to see some of our cuties, so I'll throw a quick one up for you all :)

Wally put our garden in. Or should I say Alden did?

Getting bags of leaves for stuffing our scarecrow. Can you believe I didn't get a picture of the final product? I'll have to do that for next time. He's scared Wally already. Maybe we should call it a scarehuman....I'm soooo funny.

Corwin's mastered the tough-guy persona. He's such a chic magnet.

This Easter we again enjoyed doing Benjamin's Box. It worked really well for both Rhi and Alden. They loved the story and I think having something to hold and touch encouraged them to pay attention and to be eager for the next night. Wally also let them watch the Jesus Film for children. Even though it is a very dated and somewhat poorly acted film, I was still so struck by Jesus saying, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." While they were in the process of killing Him, He could still say this! He truly loves us, His enemies and now made His children. If only I could love like that. I've been struck by how sinful I am, and when I was out in the garden staring at all of the weeds growing up among the beautiful flowers, I thought of myself. I have many beautiful traits because of God's grace, but there's a lot of weeding that needs to be done for me to truly be complete. I just need to trust that He is doing that and need to cooperate as He does.

Painting eggs the lazy way. Mommy bought a kit.

The concentration was palpable.

Can you find the egg in this picture?

What about in this one?

Real life video footage. There is always drama from someone. She realized she had gotten muddy...

Corwin loved his Easter gift: Moo, Baa, La la la.

Ready for church.

No more tough-guy. Now, he's doing the nerd. Can you say the next Peter Parker?

My kiddos. Notice Rhi's book: Calvin and Hobbes....yikes! If you look at the next picture, she's even trying to draw the cartoon herself!

You can see a fat Hobbes (the tiger) to the left, Calvin on the right, a UFO up above, and a "mean soldier who killed Jesus" to the left of the UFO. She is something else! Her wheels are always turning.

Funny Alden moment while on the potty:

Mommy: When are you going to be done (pooping)?

Alden: This summer.

Um, yes. We'll be here for a while.

Surrealty

Don't know if it's a word, but that is what the last 2 weeks have felt like: surreal. We've had so much activity that I think we've forgotten what normal is. Hmmm, is there going to be a normal? Probably not....

Corwin's baptism was great. Here he is all dressed up in Grandaddy's baptism gown. Daddy was baptized in it, Rhianwen, and Alden, and now Corwin. Cousin Mastin thought he was a girl, tsk tsk. His new fiance almost kicked him when he made that mistake...ha ha! Regardless, I'm glad babies wear more normal things now. It's hard enough juggling a baby without worrying about cold legs and wrinkly clothes.

Being held up in prayer after his shower. He was soaked. Go Pastor James! Grandaddy also prayed.

The fam. Pastor James didn't know what to think. Wild! Most of them were there for the wedding of Lee and CeCe the night before. Thanks Uncle Brooks and Dan for the picture!

With Grandaddy, what a special guy.

So special in fact, that Rhianwen and Alden traveled home with him and apparently played dress-up while daddy was away on business (these pics are from Grandaddy...thanks!). After all of the hubub of the weekend, Corwin thought the house with just mommy was mighty quiet. He was MUCH happier when everyone returned a couple of days later.

At Grandmama's reading.

Peering into the chicken coop. Alden loves feeding the chickens. This could go in Country magazine.

My sweet girl. When will I appreciate my kiddos the way I should? Probably when I'm an empty nester.

Goofing with Aunt Clara who came to play.

Wow! Greatmama, that's a heavy load! They loved being read to by her.

Back at home helping daddy with the new grill. Good thing we have a big backyard; it's our go-to most waking moments.

Holding Corwin's hand...um, arm.

And this would be why we have to have a bath every night even if we didn't get all muddy and polleny out in the yard. Honey all in the hair. I mean all in it. Sometimes I'm afraid to put him down for nap b/c I think the ants might find him and carry him away. He's still interested in potty business, but mostly if he thinks it'll get him out of bed for moment. When he goes and dumps it into the toilet from the potty, he'll often say, "This is the BEST toilet I ever seen!". So funny.

We just thought you could catch a glimpse of family devotion songs. Please forgive the horrible singing. Alden had a time trying to say B-I-B-L-E. Sometime I hope to show the stop and go one too that they learned at Grandmama's.

Corwin LOVES talking. He tries so hard to be expressive. He really can get close to saying I love you...it truly is intentional. He tries to mimic Wally.

Corwin is now more than 2 months old. At his well visit, he weighed in at 14lb 6oz (95th percentile) and was in the 90th percentile for height. Big boy! I'm thanking God every day! He's strong too. Please pray that we'll handle the hard days. We've all had colds, and I reached the end of my rope the other day. I'm praying Ephesians 4 for myself especially that I would be "made new in the attitude of your minds".

Do Doctors Eat?

This is what Rhianwen asked me the other day. I said, "Yes. Uncle Robeson is a doctor. Have you seen him eat?" Rhianwen said, "Yes...Uncle Robeson is a doctor?!". She was pretending to be a doctor, so it was important that she get that detail correct. I assume Uncle Robeson eats pretty well now that he's married to Aunt Natalie (another person that Rhianwen pretends to be). Here's how the doctor scenario played out at our house:

Rhianwen to Alden: What do you need for your checkup?

Alden (not too thrilled): Um...Nothing.

Rhianwen: That happens at the end.

Being baseball players.

Alden is getting to be such a big boy. He's expressing himself in bigger complete sentences. After watching a Reading Rainbow episode on rollercoasters, he said to me at dinner, "If I go on a rollercoaster, I will roll and roll and roll, and it will bonk my head on the meatballs." Hmm. I think this child is confusing On Top of Spaghetti and rollercoastering. Another time, Wally spoke for Corwin and said, "Alden, tell me about the world." Alden said, "God made it!". It's just so fun to hear how he thinks. Alden can be so sweet, but then he can also be very reactive in a boy way.

Spring is here, and we spend most of our time outside! Somehow, the house is still a mess.

And now for some videos:

Alden caught it at the end, but somehow it's not on here. Ah, technical difficulties. Rhianwen suggested letting it go into the sky, but I think you're not supposed to for some reason...confuses birds or causes major catastrophes like more holes in the ozone??? Not sure...

Corwin has a new best friend. He likes to talk to him and chuckle at him and stare at him until he is lulled to sleep. The appearance of Corwin's big brother didn't even distract him from lovingly staring into his eyes. It makes me realize where they got the idea for gargoyles...babies must love them!

Daddy is talented not only at getting Corwin back to sleep in the middle of the night but also at entertaining him. It's amazing how men are just wired differently than women. I cuddle, he...well, he makes farting noises. (Sorry about the "enter text here" thing...I don't feel like redoing it...you can fill in your own thoughts...ha!).

This week brings a lot of busyness. Saying goodbye to some good friends, a family wedding, Corwin's baptism, Wally out of town, and a well-visit. Yikes! Trying to stay calm and just tackle what I can. Blogging is my form of procrastination.

Heaven and Bed

A favorite time for everyone.

What do heaven and bed have in common? Aren't they synonymous? They can be for me sometimes! Rhianwen commented the other day, "I hope heaven has a bed so when Corwin gets sleepy, he can sleep." I thought this was a little funny since Corwin spends the majority of his naps in the swing right now. Thankfully most nights he sleeps well in his crib.

Corwin has been full of smiles lately. He loves to do this after feeding in the middle of the night. Very sweet, but really? Please baby, we want to go back to heaven...um, I mean bed.

Mommy was brave enough to go to church last week. Here they all are ready to hit the road.

Our yard is full of blooming things right now-weeds mostly, like these that Rhianwen keeps picking for me "to put in my hair". I remember when I was little picking the same weeds and bringing fistfuls to my grandma. She was always very appreciative; my mom, on the other hand, informed me that they were weeds. I thought, "So? I think they are pretty!" and kept right on picking them. So it doesn't really bother me that our lawn is made up of these right now. It's a harbinger of spring. Rhianwen also got very excited the other day when she got up in the morning and looked out her window to see a "star-flower" aka daffodil in our flower bed. I'm so excited the bulbs I planted this year bloomed!

Sweetness.

Alden has suddenly increased interest in potty training himself. He's repeatedly told me he needs to go, strips down, does it, and then is helpless since he can't get his diaper back on. He normally either runs around without or puts his pants back on with no diaper. One day I was in the middle of feeding Corwin when Alden did this. I said, "Um, I can't get your diaper back on right now." Rhianwen piped up, "I can do it!" I said, "I doubt it!"...yes, I'm so encouraging. Minutes later, I came out of the nursery and saw that Alden had his pants back on. I checked under them, and sure enough, Rhianwen had put his diaper back perfectly! It was a WOW moment for me. I've purchased pull-ups. I'm not ready to train, but I'm not excited about a half dressed boy running all over the place. This way, he can do it all himself, and I don't have to worry about a mess. Another point of interest for Rhianwen and Alden are volcanoes. They were watching an episode of Harold and the Purple Crayon that had a volcano in it. They are obsessed. They've drawn multitudes of volcanoes, watched real volcano footage on the computer, and asked a zillion questions about volcanoes. Alden even said a volcano was burning his finger, but it ended up that it was only a booger.

Taking "Speedy" for a spin. Corwin loves the Bumbo. It's funny how all of our kids enjoyed sitting or standing ramrod straight even at this age.

I also think it's funny how when our babies are on their playmats they get this wide-eyed expression along with windmilling their arms like they're trying to fly. Corwin is now 5 weeks old (as of tomorrow). His one month well visit was great. He's still gaining well (90th percentile for weight and height). Praise God! If you think of us, pray for us and all of the facets of life. It's challenging in just about every way. Sometimes it doesn't seem like God is leading gently (He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11), but I know He is.