Uh-Oh Ooo Ooo

E's best pal, Ooo Ooo has disappeared. We had actually displaced him for a few terrifying hours in Mexico, but he was found under C's bed. This time, I fear he is gone for good.


I've searching the house and car, and he is nowhere to be found. E keeps telling me she needs her Ooo Ooo, because he is sick. :-(


What is a mom to do? One word: EBAY.

Mosaic Masterpiece

C wanted to do a special craft this morning, so I found this idea for making your own mosaics.

I printed out a butterfly image and then glued it to a paper plate for each girl. Then I cut out little "tiles" from magazines and let the girls glue them on. This activity was really too much for E. She didn't last long, but C had just enough patience and coordination to have fun with it. And she did a great job, too!



E's:
C's:

A Keene Surprise

So three days after my return from Mexico, I headed out on a jet plane once more. My mom, sister Sharon, brother-in-law Greg and I had been planning a surprise visit to my sister Michelle for her 30th birthday. Michelle and Greg moved to New Hampshire a little over a year ago and it's been hard not to have her close in the Midwest anymore.

My mom, Sharon and I drove to a Target in their hometown and Greg brought Michelle there to go shopping. We called her in turn on our cell phones and were rewarded with a very shocked and stunned reaction.

We had a great four-day weekend being shown around their quaint hometown of Keene, NH.


I got to see their house for the first time and fell in love with the quiet garden retreat they have created in the backyard.



We also got to help Michelle begin her baby registry, which was actually a lot of fun!


I loved the gorgeous mountain views, which are my favorite kind of scenery.


It was a perfect weekend, and I hated to leave. :-( Happy Birthday Michelle! I love you, lil sista!

Wooden Stick Puzzles

This was a fun craft I found at a neat blog, Having Fun at Home.

The girls really enjoyed it! We found some images on Google, and I traced the images onto the sticks an let them color it in. Then we removed the tape and had a homemade puzzle to enjoy. :-)

You are my Sunshine

As I've mentioned before, I'm a sucker for hand print crafts. :-) Here's a sunny example:



Then C made my day by writing her name! We've been working on individual letters for a while, but this is the first time she (completely on her own initiative) wrote her entire name by herself.





Now who's "beaming" with pride?

Sun Catchers

I'd seen this idea, here, and have been saving it for a rainy day. Today certainly qualifies!


Can you tell what E's favorite color is? She picked and placed every single one herself.

Easter Events

We were so blessed to have my parents here for Easter this year.


Doug and Dad were pretty much down in the basement for most of the visit, working on the laundry room. C even got in a little painting action:


Mom helped me keep the girls occupied and had fun with some Easter craftiness:




This was the first year I let the girls dye eggs. (Thanks to two free kits from CVS!) They really enjoyed it. E spent a LONG time just moving the eggs from one spot to another.



On Easter Sunday, we had an egg hunt outdoors, and both girls were very into it. So much fun!




They got Easter presents from both sets of grandparents and mommy and daddy. For many weeks now, we've been talking a lot about Easter and why it's such a big celebration. For E, the concept of Jesus dying on the cross and becoming alive again is not much more tangible than falling asleep and waking up. However, for C, she really began to grasp a bit more of the true meaning.

The first time I told her about Jesus being beaten and dying on a cross, she was shocked. Did I mean the same Jesus she's been learning about all these months in church? The same Jesus who is amazing and can do anything? (Except swim. She told me Jesus can do anything but swim, because he walks on the water...) She actually asked me "why did Jesus let the soldiers beat him up?" With all the stories of Jesus' miracles she's been learning, she didn't understand why He didn't save Himself. What a great chance to talk about that fact that Jesus could, but didn't. He loves us so much and wanted to take our punishment for us so we could be with Him in heaven when we die. It's a lot of big concepts for a three year old, but we're working on them. Her childlike faith is amazing and inspiring to me.

Hope you enjoyed a blessed and Happy Easter!