Cat Nap!

April 30, 2010 - I caught Daddy and MaKayla taking a cat nap together on the couch.

Play House Update!

April 18, 2010 - Andy has started on the inside of the playhouse.

April 24, 2010 - The ceiling is being installed.

Lazy Day!

April 11, 2010 - I found Noah laying on the couch looking so cute while he was watching cartoons.

Snow, Snow, GO AWAY!

April 8, 2010 - This morning we woke up to a snowy spring morning. We were hit with quite a bit of snow. It is beautiful but come on we want SPRING!!!

This is a first for me. MaKayla wanted to build A Snow Girl in April! This better be the last one for awhile!

Potty Time #2!!!

April 8, 2010 - Noah shocked us again. This morning he said "potty" and went running to the bathroom. I took his diaper and clothes off him =). He tinkled in the potty and stood up to watch himself go #2 and it fell on the floor next to the potty. Isn't it a funny thing when poopy can make a Mommy clap and jump up and down!

To celebrate I took him to the store to pick out his first undies. Of course he picked out
Thomas the Train.

He tinkled in all three pair in the first hour but that is okay he is learning. He also got to pick out a little train as a present for his milestone. He chose Percy but as Noah likes to call him "Poopy".

Noah loves trains!

Potty Time #1!!!

April 7, 2010 - Noah tinkled on the potty for the very first time. For days he would say "potty" and go sit on it. I thought I would take his diaper off and see what happened. Did you know you have to take your clothes off too? I guess he has to be completely naked to do his deed. Well it worked, he went! I am so proud of our little man!

Face Painting

April 5, 2010 - Ever since the Easter celebration at the church, MaKayla wants me to paint her face all the time. Here is my little tiger and baby kitten.

April 6, 2010 - MaKayla painted Daddy's face.

Daddy Cat with his kitten.

Mommy Butterfly and Kitten

Ressurrection Cresents

This year I tried something new to help my kids (mostly MaKayla because Noah is too young) understand the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This fun recipe uses Crescent rolls and a disappearing marshmallow! Not to mention, that these are delicious!!! You can also go to the following website to get the recipe http://blessingsforlife.com/recipes/holidays/resurrectionrolls.htm

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Read Matthew 27:57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.) This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
5. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb - pretend like it was three days!)
6. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

Now read Matthew 28:5-8

Explain: At the tomb, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw an angel, who told them not to be afraid. No one had taken Jesus' body, but He Had risen from the dead! The angel told the women to go and tell the disciples what they had seen, that Jesus had risen from the dead. They were so excited, they ran all the way home to tell the disciples the good news! He is risen from the dead! Alleluia!

After that Jesus appeared in person to Peter, then to the 12 disciples and after that, to more than 500 people. Jesus' appearance to eyewitnesses, those who saw Him with their own eyes, would give support and prove that Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

By rising from the dead, Jesus proved once and for all that He was the Messiah, the Savior of the World, the Chosen One, and the Lamb of God. By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus did what no other had ever done before. As both God and man, He overcame sin, death, and hell. And now because of what Jesus has done, these things no longer have any power over those who believe in Jesus and allow His Spirit to lead and direct them. Rather than being slaves to sin and death, Christians ( those who love and believe in Jesus) are free to obey God and do good ( Romans 6:17-18). The Bible says in John 8:36, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

However, we will only obey God if we listen to the Holy Spirit our helper. He enables believers in Jesus to do the right thing. It is important that we read the Bible (God's Word) because one of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us obey God is by reminding us of what He says to us in His Word. God's Spirit will never go against his Word. In fact, when we read God's Word, we are listening to the Holy Spirit. Of course, you won't always do the right thing; the Bible says this ) 1 John 1:5-10). But that is why we need to continue to confess our sins knowing that God forgives us, based on what Jesus did on the cross. This is also a reason we need to spend time with other believers in Christ so they can encourage us in our faith.

May you have a blessed and meaningful Easter!

Happy Resurrection Day!!!

April 4, 2010 - Happy Resurrection Day!!! Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins!! Andy slept with MaKayla the night before Easter. When I went in to wake them up for church I found them snuggling. How cute!

MaKayla and Noah noticed their Easter baskets as soon as they woke up. We made them wait until after church to open them or find any eggs. We wanted them to understand that the true meaning of Easter is about Christ Jesus and not about the Easter Bunny.

MaKayla asked secretly asked the Easter Bunny for sand toys for her sand box for Easter. He must have heard her!

Noah was off running finding eggs and bringing each one back to Daddy to put in his basket. He was so cute to watch.

The Easter Bunny hid rakes and shovels in the woods.
Those will come in hand this summer and fall!

A squirrel found one of the eggs and tried to get a tasty Easter treat!

The Easter Bunny gave Noah sunglasses. What a cool dude!

What a cool light stick.

He loves his glasses and wouldn't take them off for lunch.

After her nap, MaKayla wanted to play with her new toys in the sand box.

Easter Celebration at Church

April 3, 2010 - Our church had a huge Easter event for the kids as a community outreach. There were thousands of kids who attended which was awesome! Each child hunted and found a bag or basket full of candy filled eggs. The theme was camping and we were very impressed with how it turned out.
Noah was satisfied as soon as he found a sucker. I had to help him a little.

MaKayla is waiting her turn. It was broken into age categories so the little ones didn't get trampled on.

MaKayla didn't need any help!

Next there was face painting. Noah sat very still for his tiger nose.

My little kitty and tiger.

Daddy and his kittens.

MaKayla was upset when her face paint chipped off while she slept. I had to paint her face again this time she wanted a butterfly. This is the cake that MaKayla and I made for dessert for Easter.

Coloring Easter Eggs

April 2, 1010 - We colored Easter Eggs and the kids had a blast!
Notice that MaKayla has also done another Make Over which have become pretty popular these days!

This is the first year for Noah. He did a very good job for this first time!

He took the task very seriously!

We even managed not to spill one of the cups of dye this year, yeah!

Noah is such a big boy now, he even like to try to brush his own teeth, "I DO IT" he says all the time!

Happy 35th Birthday Daddy!

April 1, 2010 - Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you! MaKayla used some of her points to earn Daddy a present.
She gave him knee pads so he could give her horsey rides. She came up with this all on her own. Very cleaver! Now Daddy doesn't have any excuses!

Noah gave Daddy Beers of the World.
Being that it is April Fool's Day we had to make Daddy work for his big gift. We sent him on a scavenger hunt. Noah was helping Daddy look for a clue in his hot rod. It is amazing how certain little hands are allowed to touch the Challenger and the rest of us get can't even look at it crossed eyed =)

Daddy's final present was up in the play house. We gave his a cordless drill that he badly needed. His other one won't hold a charge anymore.