Jones Center swimming fun

I just have to say that this made me a nervous wreck- but Dad insisted that Caleb would love going down the slide. Dad would just hold him up out of the water when they got to the pool part. Sure enough, he kept trying to go back over and climb those stairs to go again!

A rare moment when we captured a real "Hannah" facial expression...

I'm sure you get the idea...he loves to grab Sissy's hair when he gets a chance. Of course, she acts like she's dying. We kept telling her he was going to pay her back one day!

School program

Hannah sang in her mother's day out program at Fellowship. We were so proud of her- she got up there like a big girl and sang her heart out! She also did most of the motions. Luckily, she decided that this wasn't the time for interpretive dancing... not that this has ever happened before (ha). She was very concerned about finding us... she saw Daddy in the audience taking pictures and kept "winking" at him. Her wink consists of scrunching her face up and closing both eyes. Her favorite song was "My God is so big, so strong and so nighty- yes, nighty... not mighty. She's getting so big...

Caleb's dishwasher adventures...

Caleb loooooves anything to do with the dishwasher.... he likes to take the silverware out, put stuff in the dishwasher, slide the rack out, etc. He can be anywhere in the house and hear the sound of you opening it up, and he comes runnin! If you tell him to close it, he will push the door up until it is almost closed. This is much more fun than playing with any of those silly toys... :)

Night-night prayer

Tonight as I tucked Hannah in, I asked her if she wanted to pray first or if she wanted me to (I usually get to go first). She wanted to pray first this time- she said "Dear God, thank you for being in my heart". I just thought that was the sweetest thing ever- children are amazing sometimes through their simplicity.

For the Bible tells me so....

So, I've been reading a wonderful book that my sweet friend Ashley recommended called Don't Make Me Count to 3 (Ginger Plowman). My husband and mom make fun of me for always reading some new parenting book, trying whatever it says for a few days, and then abandoning it. However, I think this one's going to stick! The basic idea of the book is that you have to discipline by reaching (and changing) your child's heart instead of just getting him/her to obey at that moment. Of course, the best way to do this is by using scripture to show the error of their ways and bringing them to repentance... sound familiar? It compares our responsibility to discipline our children with God's holy righteousness- He loves us too much to let us continue unrepentant in our sins. This really hit home with me since Hannah does have a pretty strong will- I can sometimes talk her into doing things, or reason, or beg :), but I know this is not effective in the long run.

So, I've been really talking to her about different scripture (mostly "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right", "Honor your mother and father", and "Be ye kind one to another"). Tonight at dinner, we were talking about how she would need to take her medicine (just had a bout with strep throat). She informed us that she would take it b/c "You should take your medicine- it says that in the Bible". While that was definitely a funny moment, it let me know that at least she's getting the idea that we do things because we are commanded by God... not because we've been threatened, bribed, etc. Hopefully we can continue this journey with God's help and wisdom!

Easter, part 3

Yes, that's Nana you see trying to get out of the picture.... Hannah would only cooperate if she could take pictures with Nana. I'm not sure why I look so tired/drugged...

I can't get over how handsome little boys are- I'm sure you can guess that Daddy picked out this Easter outfit... with tie and everything. If we could've gotten our two children in a picture together, you would've seen that her dress coordinated with his shirt/sweater vest. I guess we're going to have to go pay someone to get a good Easter pic of the two of them....

Attempt one at a family picture...

Attempt 2...

so we gave up and just tried Daddy and Caleb.

Easter, part 2

We had our own Easter egg hunt in our front yard (twice, actually). Hannah Grace decided to do some modeling for Daddy.

Bless his heart- Caleb is just happy to be alive when he is able to be outside. He doesn't want anyone to hold his hand... or actually even stay too close. He is definitely displaying an independent streak!

Hannah did a great job dying eggs- she was a great listener! She decided that the eggs needed to be a "liiiiiittttle darker"- she liked to make them bright colored.

Easter morning- I told her the Easter Bunny brings more now than he did when I was a little girl. He must not know we're in a recession... :)