Crazy Hair Night.at AWANA and boy did TheBean have fun.  Our neighbor put in blue hair coloring and tons of gel to make his hair stand on ends.  He was definately in the running for a prize.  What fun!!!

Another beautiful spring day.  We could hardly wait to finish school and get outside.  Today, the boys took up some old landscaping timbers.  They were 3 deep and very rotted.  They have been here since we bought the house and I was so glad to see them go.  They were so large, the boys had to pull out the saws and saw through one layer at a time, one section at a time, until we could move them.  Then, they continued to saw until there were small enough pieces to throw away. 

 I am so proud of their hard work.  They really kept at it, even when their little arms were very tired. Way to go boys!!! 

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The Bean stopped a  bit before the others and decided it was a great day to sit in the sun and read books.  He LOVES Magic School Bus books. 

The cat found a wonderful sunny spot, also. 

Another day, another birthday.  March is a busy month for us.  Today, St. Patricks Day, we celebrate my oldests birthday.  It is unbelievable how quickly they grow up.  Seems only yesterday we were decorating that first nursery......driving to the hospital..... sending out birth announcements......  

It is so exciting to watch them grow and develop into their own persons.   It is so, though, to say goodbye to the stage they are leaving.   Aaaahhhhh, just the memories now. 

Happy Birthday My Sweet AtTheCross

Today is my baby's birthday. 

If you would like to wish him a happy birthday, you can visit his blog here, TheBean  They grow up so fast, don't they.  Remember to always treasure every minute because soon, those moments will be far and few between.  Ah, if they could only stay small forever.....

Snow, snow, beautiful snow!   We have all had so much fun today playing in it.  We have been in the yard, the neighborhood and at a HUGE sledding hill.  It was so much fun.  Here are a few photos. (would've had more but the kids were moving so fast when sledding they were all blurry.  Oh well)

TheBean

Snow Angels

Snowboarding

HisCross

Making Snow Sculptures

Shoveling

AtTheCross

What a fun time we have had.  We are in now, to dry our clothes, take some hot showers, fill our tummies with some warm food.  Then, I know we'll be back out playing some more.  Snow only lasts a couple days around here so we try to spend as much time in it as possible when we get it. 

OK, so it's cold and rainy outside in the middle of winter, what are your children up to?  Mine are having a wonderful time being creative. 

AtTheCross and a friend have been building with Lincoln Logs

 HisCross has been drawing

and creating architectural floor plans

TheBean has spent much time playing Legos

What a beautiful couple days we have had.  The weather has been so warm.  The windows have been open again letting all the wonderful, fresh air inside.  As much as I love winter and summer, there is nothing like that crisp, fall air.  It is so fabulous and refreshing. 

Today, we spend a long time outside.  The boys spent a lot of time doing sit-ups, chin-ups, push-ups, standing long jumpst, sprints and 1/2 mile runs.  It started out as a scout program for fitness but just turned into plain ol' fun. 

 TheBean and HisCross finishing a 50m sprint

HisCross perfecting his Standing Long Jump :-)

After the fitness and running, a kickball game broke out with neighbors.  We all had such a blast.  It has been far too long since I have run kickball bases  :-)  There is nothing like spending the afternoon outside with your children on a beautiful day while inside, dinner cooks, school has been put away and chores were completed (early). 

AtTheCross showing us his strong and mighty kickball kick !

TheBean running to homeplate. 

So much to do and so little time to blog.  I am sorry I have missed but life has been so wonderfully busy lately.  God has been doing great things in our family and it is fun and awesome to watch.  But, it has kept me away from here for a couple weeks. 

A couple things we've done:

We had a wonderful weekend camping with some friends.  It was a wonderful weekend of rest, nature, refreshment,  restoration and drawing nearer to the Lord.  I was able to weep, laugh, grow and heal much and it was wonderful.  I just love camping. 

For the boys, one of the definate highlights of the weekend was fishing.  They were able to go several times.  They all caught fish so were very happy.  Here are a couple shots of my little fishermen.

TheBean

HisCross

AtTheCross

The very next weekend, my older two had an additional weekend camping with their scouts.  I was originally going to go but God told me I needed to spend some much needed one on one time with thebean.,  So, he and I stayed around town and adventured.  We had such an awesome time of attaching to one another, heart to heart talks, laughs, fun, adventures and cries.  He so needed some Mama time.  I feel blessed that he and I could share the weekend and have that time. 

It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day business and forget to stop and play legos, ride bikes, do puzzles etc.   Sometimes, I need to just put everything on hold and have a kids day and refocus on them and their needs.  I praise God for showing me when this needs to happen and being faithful to allow it.  Thank you, Jesus. 

God is so faithful to fill the boys needs and work things out as He does.  Why do we ever doubt?  God has been faithful to his own since the beginning, why should now be any different now? 

We have finally gotten into our full schedule for school.  It was slower coming this year but we have officially added all subjects now, full fall chore charts and activities and getting in the swing of things.  It is jam packed but allows for play time, family time, hang time and most importantly, time for worshiping the Lord. 

Here are a few school shots:

TheBean

HisCross

AtTheCross

Lastly, the boys have been swimming, swimming, and swimming some more.  They are all so busy with practices and getting ready for meets which begin next month.  It is an exciting time but, at times, it can be tiring.  I try to use the time in the bleachers for pr 

Three little monkeys swingin' in a tree!  My boys LOVE this tree.  It is a sappy mess but also the home of a wonderful 7 level tree fort.  It gets bigger with every nice weekend.  When you can't find the boys, just look up. 

This is my little computer buff.  He LOVES blogging and looking at his friends sites.  I do believe he could do it most of the day.  He is the one who gets us all going when it comes to making entries, adding graphics to our sites and more.  Yesterday he helped a fellow homeschool blogger get their friends and links going on their page using HTML.  He never ceases to amaze me with the gifts God has given him.  You can check out his site at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hiscross  Leave a comment if you want.  He loves comments. 

What a wonderful day.  It was a day of lessons, blessing, smiles, cheers and tears.  All put together, though, it was a wonderful day.

The boys had their final swimming conference meet.  All three qualified in at least one event last week at prelims so, they all swam. 

 My oldest had a tough meet.  He didn't swim his best times and really struggled with that.  After we talked, though, I think he was ok, yet still sad.  Satan really likes to attack him when he feels he didn't do well.  We need to continually pray him through this and claim victory in Christ.

My middle son had a great meet.  He had only qualified in one event for today but excelled in it.  He cut an entire second off his time and was very excited abou that.  He was also put in a relay and really enjoyed that.  Boy has he come a long way this past year. 

My youngest did well too, bettering one time and swimming slower in one event.  He has come so far this summer and I can't wait to see him develop as he swim year round this year for the first time. Should be fun.

We had a 1st place celebration for the team, we went for a pizza party after the meet, and came home to a relaxing evening. 

God is really growing us this summer with trusting in His providence and knowing each event and bit of our life is a piece to the puzzle He is putting together.  It is so easy to be blinded by the enemy.  Open my eyes Lord and let me see things as you see them.

Early morning swimming is over for the year, now.  We will miss it but I so look forward to spending some awesome time with the Lord Monday mornig instead of waking the boys and shuffling them off to the pool.