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Posted in Family

I guess you could say another sign of spring in my neck of the woods is going to Dollywood! We have already gotten our season passes and been 2x so far this year! The girls are excited because they have grown tall enough to ride a few more rides this year! They have gone on their first "grown up" roller coaster...and loved it!! (almost as much as mommy!)

Here are some pictures from our day there today! Thanks to Nana and Papa for keeping Caleb so that we could each ride the rides with a girl and not have to stand around waiting so long! The girls had a blast today! You know, ordinarily I would not be a huge proponent of spending money on theme parks just for the heck of it...but I must say, as we spun around in the air...hearing my children's laughter...it was so worth it in my opinion. While you are up there in the air on these rides, laughing with your child...all your worries just melt away. I felt like a child again...and truly enjoyed hearing my girls laugh. and laugh. and laugh. Laughter truly is good for the heart!

The ferris wheel with daddy!

The "kids" veggie tale roller coaster!

The swings with mommy!

We all had fun riding the bumper cars for the first time! Daddy especially!

Carosel time!

Emily on the carosel!

The girls on the bumblebee

Just in time for our study on eagles (and birds last week) we saw lots of birds today!

Mr. mean looking hawk

Owl

Another owl

We also fed some ducks!

The girls had their eyes on these big suckers all day long...so at the end of the day, they got their yummy treats!

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Are boys more imaginative than girls? Or is it just the difference between my particular boy and girls? It is the cutest thing...Caleb takes ANYTHING you hand him and it immediately becomes something else. Then there are other things he just pretends about, I love hearing him talk!

*I handed him a slice of apple and he said, "it's a police car...wooo woooo woooo..."

*I handed him a chip and he said, "it's a cross! Mommy, look!"

*At the restaurant, the rolled up utensils in the napkin became a sword tonight.

*Today I was laying on my bed with him at naptime and all of a sudden he rolled over with big eyes and said, "mommy! My bear is on fire, I have to go get the police car!" So, he jumps off the bed, runs to his room and gets his police car, comes back in the room making the noise of the policemen coming...woooo, wooo, wooo. I was trying hard not to laugh! After a few minutes, he looked at me very seriously and said, "mommy, my bear is dead. He will have to just sleep right there." (he'll have to sleep on the floor as opposed to up with Caleb.)

*He must have a big bear, a little bear, a dog and a moose to go to sleep. Sometimes the airplane is added to this. And usually, he is under a pillow and a few animals as he falls asleep.

*He sits and pretends his airplane is taking off to go to Alaska probably everyday. He rolls the airplane on the floor and then slowly it starts ascending and up in the air it goes!

Oh my, this boy is just too cute!

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Unlike our girls, Caleb has never gotten attached to any *one* thing to sleep with.  That said, he always uses *something* to sleep with, but usually each animal or blanket just lasts a few weeks or months...before he moves on to a new sleepy time friend!

Well, recently, Caleb has wanted to take SEVERAL friends to bed with him! This bear he has carried around for several months now, but also he has to have his doggy, a moose and a pillowcase. He can hardly even carry it all. Too cute!

Posted in Family

Posted in Family

We wondered if we would ever get our boy...and boy did we!  Oh how I love the boy! Here are some of the many reasons I love our sweet Caleb!

*He is all boy!

*His big brown eyes

*His sense of humor - he is definitely the ham in our family!

*His infectious giggle!

*how he loves to throw balls. all the time.

*how he loves his daddy and loves to play with him!

*His snuggles! Oh, the many snuggles!

*How he wants to do everything big sisters are doing! Including dressing up like a princess!  But also with school - if we are painting, he must paint. If we are coloring, he must have a sheet too! If we are taking turns praying, he must have a turn too!

*the many, many funny things he says!

*how he likes to lay on daddy's chest and watch sports on tv

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Hannah just turned 6yrs and Emily will be 5yrs in April. Here are the chores that they do everyday! (not necessarily in this order)

*brush hair

*brush teeth (after breakfast)

*get dressed

*make bed

*pick up clothes and put away (each morning)

*pick up all toys on bedroom floor (each morning)

*put dishes in sink after each meal (Caleb is doing this too)

*wipe down sink in bathroom (1 girl)

*wipe down toilet in bathroom (other girl)

*sweep dining area (1 girl)

*sweep kitchen (other girl)

*wipe down counters after each meal

Other things they do, but without regularity, just when asked:

*empty clean silverware from dishwasher

*pick up playroom toys

*give cat more food and water

*help with laundry

*empty bathroom trash cans into big trash can (I think next week this will one of the new daily chores I add to their list, because we don't do it regularly enough)

So, what chores are your kids doing?

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I love that my kids get excited over "small" things...like Valentine's decorations on the table, new light fixtures in bedrooms, a new bird at the bird feeder...

This morning I fixed canned cinnamon rolls for their breakfast, which I don't recall having done in  years, if ever. You would have thought we had all won  the lottery or something the way these kids were hooping and hollering when the timer went off!!

I love it!

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A friend posted this wonderful article over on the FIAR boards today...it is on the subject of "keeping house" or housework.

Keeping House

Here is my "being real" blog post for the week.  I admit, I have been overwhelmed lately. And when I get overwhelmed, I get down. I struggle a lot with trying to find balance...or rather trying to get it all done. What? you say...get it all done? Impossible! Why even try? Well, in my head I know it is impossible to get it all done...but well, my personality defects tell me otherwise.

You see, when my house is messy, I tend to be in a bad mood. Ug! I wish it weren't so! Because quite honestly, my house has toys EVERYWHERE at the moment! I just feel like I can't keep up. And then I want to give up...why even bother picking up the toys, they will just be there tomorrow?!?!

So, how do you balance all of your duties without going crazy? And if you have come to the place in your life where you are OK with not "doing it all" then please tell me how you got there! Now, by "doing it all" I don't mean anything outlandish. I just mean my normal, regular duties as a stay at home wife, mom and homeschool teacher.

The roles are so many, yet which of them can you really give up? Cleaning the house, cooking meals (which I don't even do every single day!) schooling the children (which is really one thing I truly ENJOY!) wife, mom, church involvement...

So, there you have it! My burning question for the day...are you at peace with the things left undone at the end of the day? Are you ok with a messy house? Just curious.  This article is so true...the most important things in life are NOT having a clean house. Repeat that with me. The most important things in life are NOT having a clean house. Repeat it again. Again.

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Caleb loves to snuggle with the kitty. Mind you, his version of snuggling involves laying down completely on top of the kitty! Our kitty is so very patient! We love her!

So tonight, I hear Caleb find the cat...and then the usual "reaaaarrrrrrrrr" of the cat asking Caleb to please not pounce so hard!

Caleb: I'm sorry, do you forgive me?

Kitty: continues laying there enduring the moment

Caleb: ok, give me a hug and a kiss.

Kitty: oh, another slobbery one from the boy!

Caleb: thank you for 'giving me!