Reading and Science and EXCITEMENT!!!

"Aunt Sharon, there is a Chrysalis in my container!!!"

We have had several busy weeks lately. I am so thankful for books! God was so kind to give us books and the ability to read them.  Ivy is still doing great with her reading. Ivy read Good Morning Gorilla…a Magic Tree House book to me. We loved learning about Gorillas and the rainforest. We wrote stories about the rainforest, looked at pictures of Brent and I in a rainforest in Hawaii, talked about the importance of rainforest, etc. We also checked out several books about gorillas, looked them up on the internet and colored pictures of them.

Ivy is now reading Revolutionary War on Wednesday another Magic Tree House book. We have talked about Britain, the red Coats, why we have war and much more.

A month ago, Ivy, Hayley and I took a morning walk looking for caterpillars. We looked everywhere for two hours and couldn’t find one. We looked on leaves, under rocks, near our house, on the porch, everywhere. We even went to the rec center and looked for caterpillars and couldn’t find one. The next day, Ivy was out playing and found one. We put it into a container. Then we went to the library and checked out tons of books on caterpillars and butterflies.  Ivy found another caterpillar on our back porch. She has found several every day since our caterpillar walk.:) Several of the caterpillars have ended up in Ivy’s container. We even lost a caterpillar in our house for two days. Then, he appeared on our kitchen counter.  Ivy named him Mickey.  I was sure that they would all die but we looked in the container today and…oh we were SO EXCITED…there was a Chrysalis. I couldn’t believe it! I really still can’t believe it! Ivy was so excited! She called Sharon as fast as she could! Thankfully, I had my camera and was able to capture her smile and excitement!  I think I am starting to like Science!!!!

Precious Girls!

Splash in Nana's Sink!

Easter with the Dills Family

We celebrated Easter all weekend with my mom and dad! It was so fun! On Friday morning, the girls and I went to eat breakfast with Memaw, Papaw and Sharon. Then the girls went to Asheville for a quick trip to Sams and to pick up a few things! Well, I thought we were going for a few things...but Memaw and Sharon spoiled the girls!!! They came home all set for summer! Thanks mom and Sharon for the shorts and shoes and dresses!

On Saturday night, Brent and I took the girls to Memaw and Papaws to dye Easter eggs. Memaw also fixed us a feast! Ham, potato salad, a bunny cake, and lots more! Papaw took the girls to see the goats and baby chickens. Hayley played so hard with papaw that she feel asleep before we put her in her car seat. Papaw is so sweet to get in the floor with Hayley and play for hours. Memaw let Ivy help her make biscuits! I'm so thankful that my girls will have such sweet memories of time with their grandparents.

On Sunday, after church we took the girls to Aunt Ruth's house for a cookout and Easter egg hunt. THANK YOU, ROB for dressing up as the Easter Bunny. IT was HILARIOUS!! Ivy said, "mommy, that's Mr. Rob just dressed up...can't you tell by the way he hops?" Ivy loved playing with all of her cousins! She played so hard with Hannah. I am so thankful for family!

Easter at the Stewarts

We had Easter at the Stewarts on Easter night! It was fun to visit and play! Mimi, Aunt Hazel and Aunt Gwen ate with us. It was fun to visit with family that we don't get to see very often. Ivy and Trent were...well Ivy and Trent! They are simply hilarious. God has allowed them to be the closest friends. I don't think they would be as close as they are if they were brother and sister. It is really amazing. God has given them both a love for each other and it really is precious. They look out for each other, they do fight, they play like they are getting married at least 10 times a day, they call each other every day, they can finish each others sentences, they talk at the same time, they know each other better than anyone.

Aunt Gwen has a special relationship with Hayley and I am so thankful for it! Gwen's late husband was Hayley's biological uncle. YES!!! Now how COOL is that! Gwen held Hayley and played with her and told me that Hayley has her Uncle Brown's Flintstone feet! I love it! I can't wait to tell Hayely! I'm sure those feet will require lots of wide shoes but I still love it!

Hayley loves to try to "get" Emma! She crawls over to her and tries to attack her! She sees Emma and heads for her every time! Nana got all the grand-kids bunny ears. Brent like the bunny ears best of all!

In the picture of Hayley and I, you can see our tired eyes. We were both ready for bed. I was so tired but so full of thankfulness. God really blessed our Holy Week Celebration and our Easter Sunday. There really is nothing like a Spiritual tiredness. Sleep last night was a blessing and I feel refreshed today. I as still so thankful for what Jesus did for me!

It's Monday now...time to continue learning more about our Savior!

Precious Memories!

I don't want to ever forget how silly and fun Ivy is! I love to be with her.
We were on our walk today. The hill was very steep. Ivy said, "mom, I'm tired." I ignored her. Ivy said, "mom, my legs are really nervous!" Brent and I had to laugh. I could just imagine her little legs shaking and hurting. My legs were nervous too! It really was a great way to describe what her legs felt like!

When we got to the river, Ivy and her daddy waded out to a big rock in the middle. Ivy played for a while with the little rocks in the water. She looked up at her dad and was very serious and said, "I really hope there aren't crocodiles here!"

Palm Sunday

Today, the Lord allowed me to play my violin at church and daddy did the "morning" activities with the girls! Daddy was in charge of breakfast, reading the bible, getting two girls ready in dresses, tights, shoes and hair bows and getting to church on time. He really is getting good at it. Daddy and Ivy talked about the importance of Palm Sunday and ate peanut butter pita's with banana sliced on top. (I got this information from Ivy) Thank you daddy for taking care of the girls and encouraging me to play my violin!

I am so thankful that God has really changed my heart and allowed me to worship Him by playing my violin. I've always loved playing but it is wonderful to be able to play as an act of worship! I can explain that in more detail if you all need it. Just email me! :)

Anyway, music at church was such a blessing to me! I really am thankful for the talent God has blessed John Luke with too! We did the song "Give me Jesus!" Love it!

After church, we came home and had a picnic on our porch. (We were really going on a picnic but Hayley fell asleep and she looked so peaceful we didn't want to wake her up)

When Hayley woke up, we went on a hike. We went down to the river. Daddy and Ivy waded in the water and mommy and Hayley sat and hugged each other for about an hour! I love getting loved on by my sweet baby!

Webster Easter Celebration

Our Easter celebration at church was GREAT!! The day started with a craft with Cari. The kids made a beautiful sun-catcher. Lunch consisted of subs, chips, veggies, and AMAZING cupcakes. The kids then went on a Resurrection Walk. They were able to walk in "Jesus footsteps." They shared the Lord's supper together, went to the garden of Gethsemane with Heidi, went to the foot of the cross with Phillip and then into the empty tomb. We had so much fun singing "Alive, Alive, My Jesus is Alive" together.

My favorite part of the day was Ivy looking at me when we got to the cross and saying with such excitement, "mommy, I remember this from last year. Look, there is the crown of thorns. Look there is the cross and the nails." My heart cries out for her to remember the real reason for Easter. This is the third year that we have had the Resurrection Walk at Webster and I pray that it is one tradition that never stops for our family. I pray that Ivy never looses her excitement. I pray that she will always be in awe of what Jesus did on the cross for her. Seeing the kids and especially sweet boy Sean Pate sitting at the foot of the cross listening to Mr. Phillip share about what Jesus did for him and for us was awesome!!! I was overjoyed at the end of the day.

Another favorite part of the day for me was, how my precious mom and friend Shelia from church cleaned up the kitchen and the fellowship hall. I was expecting to be at church forever cleaning up. But, when we finished the Easter Egg Hunt and went inside the fellowship hall, it was clean. Thank you mom and Shelia. Thank you Sharon for coming and watching Hayley!