We love the zoo!

Baby ducks!  We are a family of bird lovers and we walk through at least some of the birds every time we visit the zoo.  Baby ducks are worth it!

The boys love to find a statue every time we go to the zoo and get a picture on it.  This time:  a baby elephant!

I finally got some good pictures of the Red-crested Cardinal.  We think this bird is so pretty.

Paper Mache!

In an effort to be more crafty with my guys, I decided to try out some paper mache with them.  

What a mess!!  Lol.  But we had fun. 

Our friend Evie joined us.  She and Max lasted all of 10 minutes.  And, after the first two strips she dipped and put on the balloon, Evie said she wanted to wash her hands.  I said, "Are you finished?"  She said no, she just wanted to wash her hands.  Sure enough, she came back for a couple more rounds.

Jackson liked this WAY more than I thought he would.  Not that long ago, I would have thought he would hate getting his hands all dirty and sticky.  I tried the paper mache anyway, thinking that there was a good chance I would finish most of the work myself.  

Jackson surprised me by having lots of fun.  He covered pretty much the whole balloon.  

Our paste was a flour and water paste.  Basically, put flour in your mixing bowl, add water, and mix until you have your desired consistency.

Jackson finished covering most of his balloon and I finished covering the other two.  I hung them outside to dry and by the next morning, one of the balloons had popped and all the strips were stuck together all funny.  The other two balloons continued to hang out there, but another popped.  The final balloon popped, but the mache paper was all dry and stayed in the balloon shape. 

The idea was to cover the balloon shape again and have a pinata for Max's birthday party, but we never got that far.  Maybe we will try it again one of these days!

A Loyal King

Isaiah 16: 4  ...The robbing of Mob will stop.  The enemy will be defeated; those who hurt others will disappear from the land.  5  Then a new loyal king will come; this faithful king will be from the family of David.  He will judge fairly and do what is right.

I love this passage because it reminds me that Jesus came for ALL of us.  We have to take the step of faith to say that we believe He came for us, but when we do that, we are His.  He will cover over our sin.  He will forgive us our trespasses.  He will make us a new creation.  Even if we are not Israelites.  Even if we once opposed the idea and existence of Him.

We can run to the safety of Jesus.  I am running to Him today, as I move through the day with my boys and all the stuff I have to do.  I run to Him as I pray that He will help me use kind words and give big hugs.  I run to Him as I know yet again that I do not deserve His grace.  But that's what makes it grace:  it is a favor that is not deserved.  There is no way I can earn it.  I just have to accept the gift.  Too easy?  Seems that way. But once I accepted the gift, I "got" it.  The miracle of grace, a gift not deserved but freely given, worked its way into my heart and I know I am a new creation, and today, I even feel like a new creation.

Thankful today for a God who came for me, who sent His Son for me (and you), who loves me beyond what I can imagine.  Thankful for grace and mercies that are new every day.

Thomas:) 4 months!!

Not too happy about having his picture taken:(

Getting a little better, lol.  But I never did get another smiley picture.

Happy guy.  Finally seeming like he will ride in the stroller for short walks.

First time in the bouncer.  He is still a little wobbly for it, but we can prop a blanket around him.  

He still takes the pacifier pretty well, but he is sucking on his fingers, fists, thumbs, whatever he can get in his mouth.  And he is drooling like crazy.  I can't feel any teeth right now though.

He is okay with tummy time, but he can roll from tummy to back pretty fast.

Brother love.  The big boys had to get in on the action.

He is just too cute to handle.  I love that smile!!  And he is a smiley guy when he is rested:)

Jackson's Piano Recital

 May 3rd, 2014

Jackson had his second piano recital.  The first was back in December, but it was a lot more informal.  This time it was in a nice, big room with a grand piano.  There were lots of people there and treats to enjoy afterwards.  

This is a photo of Jackson with his piano teacher Miss Lydia.  She is wonderful with him and has really encouraged him to enjoy playing piano.  He is quite good, not that I am bragging!  He started lessons in October 2013 and he just started his third set of books.  His knowledge of piano theory now outdoes my own, which makes helping him with practice a little more challenging.  He is teaching me now!  He says that after he has taken lessons for a while he will start giving lessons to me, Max, and Thomas, lol.  

We go through challenging moments, where something is difficult to learn or Jackson is tired and doesn't want to practice.  There is the rare occasion he can't remember something he went over with Lydia or he did not understand.  Mostly we have worked through those moments and he still loves playing piano.

Beautiful things

Isaiah 13:19  Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms, and the Babylonians are very proud of it.  But God will destroy it like Sodom and Gomorrah.

Aren't we all Babylonians?  We have beautiful things and we are very proud of them.

This scripture actually sent me onto thinking about relationships.  Maybe because we value so many other things above relationships?  Even the "easy" relationships are work.  And so we value other things above them.

The fact that being "hospitable" in certain ways (entertaining, like parties or dinners) and showing love in certain ways (gifts and cards especially) is hard for me is really humbling.  So many people do those things well.  And even I used to do them well.  Then, little people entered my life and I do not think I have kept up since.

Max's birthday is coming up and it is his year for a party.  I always think I am going to love the party thing, but then I feel overwhelmed and like I am not going to get it right.  Something will go wrong or be missing or be disappointing.  But the thing is...  Max does not care if the party is perfect or even if it is "as good" as the birthday party we went to last week.  He cares that the few things he asked for are there, that we celebrate him, and that his little friends get to come.

Through my child's eyes, I get to see the really beautiful things.  The fun they have with each other.  The laughter over not-that-funny jokes.  The kisses they give me out of nowhere.

So today I ask for open eyes to see the really beautiful things.  Help me to see, Lord, the things about this gift of life you gave me, through the eyes of my beautiful kiddos.  Help me to appreciate each moment for the joy it can bring and to know these little people more deeply.  Help me to give You my time God, which will multiply my other time.  Help me to show people I love how I feel about them.  Let people see Jesus in me.

Thomas' first swim

April 23rd, 2014

Our friend Sonia and her kiddos, Nathaniel and Alexa, invited us to go along with them to another friend's community pool.  I bought this swimsuit set for Thomas when I was in Michigan back in August.  The shorts don't exactly fit him; they are a little big in the waist.  No big surprise there.  I did buy him a reusable swim diaper though, so he had something for his bottom that wouldn't fall off:)

Thomas lasted about 15 minutes or so in the pool, lol.  

Don't you just want to come eat him up???

The big brothers enjoyed their day as well, just floating around.

Alexa, Jackson, Max, and Nathaniel

Lessons on Grace

May 3, 2014

I have a few people in my life who have picked a "word" for the year.  A couple situations happening in the last week have convinced me that I need a word as well.  However, this is a word not just for the year, but for my whole life!  It is not only a word, but a lesson I need to learn and a way I would like to have about me.

GRACE

Grace is the word.

I want grace to be the first thing that comes to my mind no matter what the situation.  Today, we had the Awana awards ceremony.  Jackson got up front with his group of Sparkies.  He waited patiently while the directors went through the whole list of kids getting awards.  When they got to the group I thought he should be in, but didn't call his name, I thought it was weird, but I waited to see what would happen.  Nothing.  He got a participation award at the end.  Jackson was fine.  It was me that was a mess.  Oh yes, my baby got gypped.  I thought he should have received at least one ribbon, possibly two.  And I was so disappointed for him that he worked so hard all year to finish his books and learn so many scripture verses and then he did not get recognized for all that work.  There might have been tears and a little anger.  I went back to my seat upset.  The directors said that if there were mistakes, we could just catch up with them to figure it out.  But that did not dissipate my initial feelings all that quickly.

I am sure some will read this and think I did nothing wrong.  And I would not say I did anything horrible.  Feelings are feelings after all.  Sometimes they come so quickly you almost can't catch them.

But what if before emotion even enters the picture, I can just see that word:  GRACE.  What if, when I react to any situation I first see what the most grace-filled response is, without letting my feelings rule?

What if I take the cue from my six year old, who went through the rest of the awards ceremony just having fun with the friends we were sitting with?  What if I look for whatever joy I can find?  Jackson just knew that he loves Awana and he loves his friends and he was having a good time at that ceremony no matter what.

After the Awana awards, I found the Sparks directors and asked them about Jackson's awards.  Sure enough, there was an oversight and he was supposed to get both ribbons.  I thanked them for helping me (the upsetment of the moment had long passed, thank heaven) and took the ribbons over to Jackson.  His face lit up and he was so excited, saying, "I got some awards!!"

Later, at bedtime, we were reading our devotional, which actually suggested the parent give the child a story about doing something wrong or making a bad choice.  I told Jackson how proud of him I was today, because I felt mad about him not getting his ribbons with everyone else, but he acted so nicely.

He said, "I wasn't mad."  I said, "I know.  That's the best part.  You have such a good heart, you did not even worry about whether you got the right stuff or not.  You were just happy to be at Awana!  I want to be more like that."  Jackson just smiled.

GRACE:  I think my kids are one of the best things God has given to teach me about what grace should really look like.

Sheriff Evie's Birthday

April 19th, 2014

We have been so blessed by the neighbors behind us.  Their little girl Evie turned three and they had a big western themed party.  I made a cake for Evie, modeled after a Sheriff's badge. 

Howdy partner!

Elisha is super talented with party stuff.  She made this cool picture thing (what's the word for it, lol?).  On the other side was a cowgirl, in pink.  

Our friends Hayden and Hadley

Cake #2, made to look like a hay bale.  I thought it would look more authentic if Jackson helped me make the signs to put on top.

Sheriff Evie herself!

Make a wish!

Trip to the Honolulu Zoo

April 16, 2014

We did not have a zoo in the Azores.  I am surprised that we have not gone to this one more often, but I just got us a season pass, so I am determined to get my money's worth, lol.  

This is when we stopped to have lunch.  My friend Sonia and her daughter Alexa were having a little Thomas time.  Alexa just loves him and always wants to touch him.

Smiles for Alexa

Beautiful girl

Happy Max, in his favorite outfit

Silly faces picture on a giraffe anyone?

All the little friends together on the hippos