"Church" at the Falkins' House

John Caden's new favorite thing to do is have "church" at home. He's definitely progressed since the last taping: The Falkins' Band. Now the "stage" must be set up just right--complete with guitar, piano, drums and maracas. Here's a sample of his favorite "worship" songs--Jingle Bells and O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

Sleepyhead

Anna: (while getting ready for church this morning after not going to sleep until 10:00pm last night) "Mommy, why was the night so quick last night? It's usually not that short, is it?"

Donuts with Dad

Anna has been counting down the days for "Donuts with Dad" for several weeks. The night before her big breakfast date on Friday she kept saying, "I'm just going to be too excited!!!" It was a "sweet" time with Daddy indeed!

Thoughts from Anna

A random conversation on aging while brushing teeth after breakfast:
Anna: "Mommy, Daddy will look funny when he doesn't have any hair anymore, won't he?"
Me: "Well, let's not say 'funny' because that might hurt his feelings, but he might look a little different."
Anna: "Different like an old man?"
(I guess I should have just left it at 'funny').

Shopping with Mommy

Since I am not a fan of shopping, it's very rare that I venture out with the kids to buy new clothes, but John Caden's Easter shirt needed to be exchanged for a larger size so we headed out to Gymboree for what I was hoping would be a quick exchange. (My sweet mom thankfully does a good job of keeping their closet's stocked). Unfortunately, they didn't have his size so I began looking for a replacement shirt. Much to my surprise, John Caden quickly spotted this green one and said, "Mommy, I'd like this one." I showed him a couple of others, but his mind was already made. He's my kind of shopper!He knows what he wants and we're done!Boys are so different from girls! With Anna we would have looked for 30 minutes and she would have changed her mind 10 times before she came to a final decision. Speaking of Anna, she's been very sad that I didn't have a new dress for Easter Sunday. So that same day, while we were out, I happened to spot a dress half-off at a store that I had a gift card and coupon for--I decided I might as well try it on. In the dressing room, John Caden made the decision for me---when I got the dress on he looked at me and said in the sweetest softest voice, "Mommy's pretty." My heart obviously melted and the dress came home with us. :)

A Sunday Afternoon at the Park

An Overlooked Verse that's Packed with Power

In reading Proverbs 31 Ministries Daily Devotional today, I was reminded of this wonderful truth: Many of us are familiar with Philippians 4:6-7 which says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." But we often overlook the verse that immediately precedes Philippians 4:6 and within these four words lie the reason why we need not be anxious. Philippians 4:5 states: "The Lord is near." Wow! Remembering that the "Lord is at hand" is truly the most effective and only remedy to calm our anxious hearts.

Snow...again

Although no less exciting for the kids, I quickly realized that after several rounds of snow, a mother's enthusiasm begins to wane a little by March. Nevertheless, with my West Virginia friend's "Proper Attire" advice, we bundled up and headed out...again...

When I asked John Caden if he wanted to sled, he said, "No Mommy...I'm too busy shoveling snow."

He wasn't very pleased that with every step, the snow covered the tops of his shoes. So shoveled snow he did!! And after 20 minutes he finally shoveled himself a path to the bird feeder.

After scoping out the trail to the creek, they decided they would go no further.

So Anna began building snowmen...

...and John Caden of course being a boy "crashed" them down. (Thankfully, Anna thought this plan was fine).

We ended our time outdoors by throwing snowballs. John Caden never quite got the hang of it--he kept asking "Where did it go?" He became very sad (or should I say frustrated) that every time I threw him a snowball it disappeared.

Luring them back into the warm indoors with hot chocolate is always a great escape plan to use in the end!