"I'M the PRINCESS!"

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that out of my 2 year olds mouth, I'd be a rich lady. I have no idea where she got this notion. Though we adore our little girls, we don't necessarily adorn them with tiaras and lace the way some little girls parents do. Of course, you'll see the occasional bow in my daughter's hair, that is true. But nothing ostentatious.

Nevertheless, somewhere along the way, my 2 year old decided that she's 'the princess!' and it's something she likes to remind us throughout the day. Lately, she's been demanding to wear fancy costume gowns when we dress in the morning. And there she goes, about her day, dressed like Cinderella- just relaxing and reading books like any princess would do, natch!



And if I don't give in to her "diva" demands to wear a gown- I will usually give in and allow her to wear a comfortable dress. Though generally she insists on tights to compliment her outfit...



Different day... different dress.



I think I can still find a smidgen of "tomboy" somewhere inside there (notice playing trucks with Dad). But even if she's going to play with cars, she's not about to do so without a dress on!



And for those rare occasions I deny her a dress, believe me- she will FIND a way to dress up and "princess-ize" her outfit...



Because, there is just no mistaking it...

She's the Princess!

Reason #578 why I love to homeschool...

When I was growing up, my fondest memories of school were field trip days. Didn't every kid like those best? I've always felt that learning is best remembered and retained when it is hands on.... and when it's enjoyable!

The beauty of home school is that any day we choose can be a "field trip day." And, as has been the case- sometimes we just wake up one day and feel like going somewhere... no advance planning necessary.

A couple weeks ago my good friend, Jessica and I (who happen to have matching age AND matching gender children) headed up to the Children's Museum and the kids absolutely LOVED it.

Ariana exploring bubbles...

And there is Ariana's "counterpart" - Gabby. Seriously, she's the cutest thing ever. And Ariana adores her. There isn't a day that goes by that Ariana doesn't brings up her name and remind me that, "Gabby's my FRIEND!"

And here is Grace's "counterpart" Ayana (aka, Grace's best friend). She has, perhaps, the sweetest spirit of any 7 year old girl I've ever known....

I love watching our older girls play and I love listening to them visit. They are filled with such sweetness and innocence and I feel so blessed that they are friends. Here they are cooking in the restaurant. I'm not sure who that kid in the middle is... he is not their friend- but wanted to be in the picture.

And, here are my little munkchkins. Cheech and Chong... Lauryl and Hardy.... Grace and Alex...

Future aspiration- Downtown bus driver...

And see that cutie to the left in the brown shirt? That's Alex's buddy- Joey. They share a love of Cars, a love of making roaring dinosaur noises at their sisters, and Mommy's who love to text each other and visit on the cell phone.

Here they are sharing hands on exploration of a turtle.

Life is good.

And even better when you have good friends to share it with!

Easter

I love Easter. I do believe it's one of my favorite holidays solely because the meaning and significance is so precious to me. Well, it's more than precious- it's everything, really.

At church on Sunday morning, I was reminded of a beautiful truth that is so profound... yet anyone can understand and receive it.... that Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve and Mercy is God NOT giving us what we actually deserve. (And, if you are my "facebook friend" - I apologize for the repetitiveness, as I shared it there, as well!) But it touched me so deeply. I know this truth. I receive this truth. But on Sunday, when I was again reminded, I dwelled on it all day because, after all, isn't that the entire purpose and meaning of Easter? God is unbelievably merciful. Jesus died for me... for YOU, because death is what we deserve. The Bible is clear... the only "payment" for sin is our death- completely what we deserve. Yet, in God's mercy He sent His Son to bear our penalty so that we might LIVE. It's really almost too much to comprehend. But that IS how much He loves us.

And, of course, you've gotta love how the story ends. Not with death... but with LIFE! The victory won. I am so glad to be on His TEAM!

And, Ariana would also like to share with you that Jesus is her KING (see hat below) ;)



And, my son would like to share his adorable smile...



And, of course, I can't forget my Gracie girl who would like to share her own moment of reflection with you (see below... staring out at pond in deep contemplation as she often is).




Now, I didn't do Easter Bunny silliness this year. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. (Not that there is anything wrong with it if you do!) But for me, I decided this year that the Easter bunny is a little too far removed from the significance of the holiday. Santa is one thing- because there actually was a Saint Nick and Santa's charity ties in with the holiday. But- I really couldn't think of one single reason why an Easter bunny would have anything to do with Jesus being crucified for our sins and rising from the grave.

Of course, I DO value my children's imagination! We've got a generous tooth fairy around here who leaves plenty of cash. And Santa still stops by our house (and makes sure to use different colored wrapping paper than the gifts from the parents). But, the meaning of Easter is just too important to me to distract with a big tall bunny. I just couldn't do it.

A couple weeks ago the kids mentioned something about the Easter bunny leaving chocolate kisses last year, but I had to tell them straight out, "Sorry kiddos- there's no big 7 foot tall floppy eared Easter bunny. It's fun to talk and pretend there's a big bunny but Easter is really all about and only about Jesus." And, to my surprise, they laughed and thought it was even cooler that it was actually MOM who somehow "magically" made those chocolate kisses appear trailing from their bedrooms down the stairs last year. And, once again- the trail of chocolate kisses appeared this year, as well (minus the few that Ariana stole and ate on her way down early in the morning before the big kids).

And, of course, we DID have an Easter egg hunt! All right- so, this year, I confess- I used "Resurrection Eggs" - which I have to admit are the COOLEST thing ever. But- they also got to find a couple Easter baskets- and, lest you start thinking I'm totally lame and no fun at all... YES, candy was included!

To finish up the morning, the kids performed a song they made up about Spring which (of course) featured Grace singing the solo and Alex standing by as the side kick to jump and flap his wings when Grace sang about the birds flying around...

Happy Easter!!

she gets it...

My heart could not have been more full of joy than when my daughter - all on her own- said her bedtime prayers tonight and said this...

"Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross for us.
Thank you for saving our lives.
Thank you for forgiving my sins.
Thank you, Jesus, that you rose from the dead.

Amen."

I absolutely couldn't have said it better myself. And I couldn't be more thankful that her heart is where it is and that she knows the truth.

New Ride...

The kids found this cool "new ride." It's not at the amusement park- and it's not electrically operated. It's completely self-powered and more fun than any ride the kids could find at the fair.



And before you wonder- NO, these are not my legs, thank you very much.



Besides, I wouldn't be able to carry TWO 50 lb kids around on my legs!



That's a job strictly for PAPA!

And no trip to the "Papa Fair" would be complete without a horsey ride!!
Here, he's just taking a break- but these kids get to ride ALL around the room on Papa's back. I don't know how he does it!

Weekend fun...

Although it is the middle of the week, I am just getting around to posting pictures of our "weekend fun" adventure.

Was it a shopping spree, you ask? From the looks of these fabulous new shows on Ariana, one might venture to guess...

Unless, of course, you know anything about bowling! In which case you'd realize these are a pair of bowling shows. Albeit, 3 sizes TOO big for Ariana. The smallest they had was size 8 toddler, but she wears a size 5!

Our little bowlers had a ball! Okay- bad pun.

I didn't think Ariana would actually want to bowl, but not only did she WANT to bowl, but she eagerly jumped up and down when it was her turn, and when it wasn't her turn- she eagerly waited in anticipation...

And, wow- check out this bowling chick. Quite the form, wouldn't you say??

I must say- I bowled the worst game of my life. But, even so, I still beat my husband by 1 point. I'm sure he'd be thrilled that I shared that, but oh well- he doesn't read my blog so he'll never know!

Speaking of my husband- look at that total stud muffin. But, unfortunately, despite the smooth looking form, he still couldn't pull off a decent game.

Speaking of form- check out Grace's technique. Yikes! But nevertheless, she actually came not that far under Mike's score... double yikes!

And, of course, what would bowling be without a little (a lot) of pop and pizza. I think the kids might have even enjoyed that part more than the bowling!

So, who was the ultimate winner of our bowling adventure? My 14 year old stepson! All right- so he lucked out because half the time his bounced off the bumpers and he got lucky. BUT- then again, that also happened to me a few times- so he definitely won fair and square!