When the Flowers Bloom

I was invited to a very special Mother's Day program at Max's preschool complete with a song, lunch, and special gift. It was perfect. I especially loved the lyrics to the song and Max's over the top animation. It was precious.

When the rain comes down,

It comes down on everyone,

Rich and poor, Great or Small,

It really doesn't matter at all,

When the sun shines down,

It shines down on Everyone

Rich and poor, Great or Small,

It really doesn't matter at all

When flowers bloom,

They bloom for everyone

Rich and poor, Great or small,

It really doesn't matter at all

little country boy

Final Pre-School Field Trip of the Year: Farm Country.

Ryan and I both agree that if living arrangements were predestined, he would be a farmer's kid and would be living on a farm somewhere and would be named Huck Finn.

And while he may feel caged at times...we are glad that he is okay living with an Accountant in a small town instead. Luke got to go too. He is a monkey in all sense of the word.

Chillin' on a cow with his best bud Ryland and friend Lizzie.

I rather like the idea of him being a little country boy.

Entertained.

Easter Morn

After a month of Family Home Evening lessons centered on the Atonement and Resurrection, Easter Morning finally arrived and the kiddos were estactic to see that Mr. Rabbit had successfully entered the home while they were asleep and left treats and surprises a plenty. He even ate the carrots Max left for him with a note to search for more eggs and surprises in the living room. We set a picture of Christ's tomb out beside the plate of carrots so Mr. Easter Bunny would be reminded of the reason for the season as well.The searching turned out these...Which turned him into this. Who doesn't need a little Ninja action on Easter Sunday?

#2 was good just to golf, sans the Ninja costume. What a great Easter it was and how grateful I am to my Savior, for the ultimate price and gift he gave to all. We loved the opportunity to take an entire month to teach this to our children and to see them understand in such a plain and simple way how much Jesus loves them.

What Happens When you Blog Stalk.

Once upon a time my kitchen looked like this. Okay, but dated. I began to feel like I was drowning in Honey Oak from the floors to the cabinets. Then I began stalking Layla at The Lettered Cottage and this is what happened.... A little scrubbing, a little sanding, priming, painting... some new fabulous hardware and a gorgeous new faucet (installed by my hubby)...and my favorite....the faux tin tile back splash glazed by yours truly...and I am in love.I decided to take it one step further and added some frosted glass in my corner cabinets...just to break things up a bit. What do you think? To be fair, I must thank this lady. I happen to be related to the wallpaper queen. A remodel is much more fun when you enlist the help of your mother. Yes people, that is paintable faux tin tile wallpaper.

Okay...and a few more thanks...
1. To my children who were angels and who never once tried to utilize or ingest the exposed cleaners under the sink or go Picasso on me throughout the house.

2. My supportive husband, who although not the tidy-est of men, prefers not to live in a demolition state of being and did it anyway...while smiling and offering all sorts of help in his spare time.
2. To my fabulous seamstress sister Jolea...the mastermind behind the valance and the wretched installation thereof.

3. To our neighbor and friend Abe, who cut out the inserts of my cabinet doors so I could take my remodel to another whole notha' level. Bless you. Well, that's a wrap...for now. I will be replacing the rooster decor and the Blessings sign but I haven't found something I love yet. You know me...Miss Can't Leave Well Enough Alone.

Not on the list

None of these items were on the list when we went to WalMart last Friday night. Well, I take that back. The underwear were on the list. I guess this is what happens when you take Dad with you shopping. However, they all have been loved and loved some more since they made their way into our home. And I remember a time when I swore I would never buy character stuff...silly me. Didn't I know what little boys are made of?

Dear Spring,

We are very anxious for you to come. Please quit sending us teasers. It's not nice. We don't like it when we get to go out one day, and then the next it snows. We have lots planned for your arrival and are ready to get busy and dirty. Dad will not turn on the sprinklers until he knows you are here to stay and Mom hasn't even bought a flower yet. The garden is a wreak and needs desperate attention. And also, we are being referred to as caged animals. So please, no more delays.

Sincerely,

Max & Luke

Mission Reunion

General Conference weekend, we had the pleasure of attending Ryan's mission reunion. His Mission President, President Lopez, is from Spain, so it is a rare opportunity to get to reunite with him. Ryan was able to reconnect with missionaries he loved and find out about people they had taught as well as see and hear from a man that had a big impact on his life. I say it was a pleasure, but in actuality, it was mostly a pleasure for Max and Ryan. I spent two and a half hours trying to tame & calm this one. In heels no less. And he wanted to be held the whole time, standing, not sitting. Wouldn't you know this was the night he picked to not feel good. Yeah, it was awesome.

Hidden Treasures

Last October when Ryan & I were at Disney World without our children, we bought them a few guilt presents, including these twisted lollipops. After unloading all the other guilt gifts on them, we decided they had forgiven us good enough and we saved these lollipops for their Christmas stockings. Well, after all the stuff that Santa unloaded on them, I decided to put away them away again and then...I forgot about them. Until one cold, blustery March day. I found them and it was like returning home and Christmas morning all over again. So some treasures are better off hidden, forgotten about and then resurrected on a very blah kind of day.

The Sneaky Little Man

This St. Patrick's Day, the Sneaky Little Man found his way to our house. Max learned about leprechauns this year in preschool and was very excited to see if the sneaky little man would come visit while he was sleeping. Luke on the other hand did not like the idea of a little green guy sneaking into his room at all. The leprechaun found our house and left clover clues every where he went. He found Max's room, Luke's room, and our room...a clover left by each door knob. Behind some of the clues were treats.And behind others, things turned green.

It appears as though he needed a drink of our milk...... and then had need of our potty. And on top of it all, he left Max a little leprechaun kiss on his cheek. It was the first thing Max looked for when he woke up. I think this sneaky little man will be invited back next year.

All Star Nephews

We took the opportunity to go and see Easton play his last basketball game of the season. I have to say, he's pretty good. My boys are so obsessed with Basketball right now and they were just in heaven...for about 5 minutes. Then Max spent the next 25 minutes crying because he wanted to go out on the court and play with the boys. I finally told him that he couldn't play until Mommy signed him up on the papers to be on a team. So being the smart boy that he is, he went and rummaged through the diaper bag and found some paper and a pen. Good thing the game was just about over by then, because I had nothin' after that. They are still talking about Easton's basketball game. A few weeks later I went to see Seth perform in his school play "Once Upon a Mattress." He was so cute and quite the little Spanish dancer! I have no pictures of his performance but hopefully this will motivate his mother to do some blogging! I love seeing my nephews do their stuff!

Way to go boys. It actually eases my aversion to my own boys growing up and gives me something to look forward to.