The arm slide park

Back at the beginning of fall we went to one of the local parks to play with friends. Abbey was mesmerized by part of the apparatus there. At first she was very afraid to go down (yes, believe it or not, our Abbey was afraid of something), by the end of our playtime, she was able to use it by herself. She christened it the "arm slide" and this park as the "arm slide park". She has begged all winter to go back to the "arm slide park". Last week, we decided to pay a visit to the arm slide park. She definitely isn't afraid anymore.

In fact, she did it over and over again. She was so proud of herself, she busted this little move.

Good buddy, Darcy, liked the arm slide also.

And daredevil Caleb did his own thing,

Elijah preferred to keep both feet firmly on the ground, while enjoying the sand.

Soon everyone joined in the sand play,

and proceeded to make "sand angels"!

A fun day at the "arm slide park" !

Valentines Day

We have developed some traditions regarding Valentines Day at our house. Some are old and some are new. One of the new traditions is the cookie decorating with our OAKS friends. This year we went to Phoebe and Lucy's house. The kids decorate cookies, we eat lunch together and then the kids all play together, while the moms chat. We all love our OAKS parties.

Abbey is a pro at this decorating business

Ta-da!

Elijah is getting hang of it, too!

Of course, playing with friends is the best!

(Abbey with Lottie)

One of our "old" traditions is our Valentines Scavenger Hunt. I started this way back when Beth and John were little. The clues got harder as they got older. Because it's new to Abbey and Elijah, this year I had simple clues. Daniel was a good sport, reading the clues and helping the little ones. Of course, he also had a present at the end.

The best present for a 16 yr old, cold hard cash!

Discussing the first clue

It didn't take Abbey long to figure out how it worked

(She was into wearing her Snow White costume that day)

Digging into the prizes

Don't you just love traditions?

An answered prayer

The past several weekends have been spent at swim meets. We've have conference, regional, and state champs for high school swimming. Added in the mix are state, sectional and nationals for year round. We haven't had sectionals or nationals yet, but they are coming up. Even without those last two, we've been to a lot of meets. Abbey and Elijah have been to every one of them, and overall they both behaved really well.

                           With Daniel's friends, Alison and Tyler, who were there to support Daniel

As I looked at the pictures of Daniel posted on the team's website, that were taken at year round state champs, I noticed something wonderful. These two  pictures...

You see, I remembered how when he and John were little, I would pray with them before every race. It was funny, one time one of John's teammates saw us praying, and after John swam really well, said, "I'm going to have your Mom pray over me!" I asked John if he told him what I prayed? Because I never prayed that they win or get best times, but I prayed that others would see Jesus in them through their upcoming swims.

These two pictures demonstrated to me that God has indeed been faithful and answered my prayers. If anyone was looking they could see Jesus in Daniel!

He didn't swim as well as he wanted to, but he wasn't tapered or shaved for any of these meets. He did get several best times in non-breaststroke events, and he made it to the podium several times.

Here are some other pictures of the meet.

                                                   With friends, Macon and Christian

We are praying that Nationals in March will be a super meet for him. But, again, whether the times are great or not, God is with him and I know that others will see Him in Daniel! I can't ask for anything any better than that!

He's still my prince

When I went to UNC, I hung a poster on my wall that stated,  

"Before you meet your handsome prince, you have to kiss quite a few toads"

Shortly after I met John, he asked me how I'd actually know that I'd met my handsome prince. I told him that my prince would bring me roses. Roses for no special occasion, just because. A few days later, in walks my handsome prince with white roses. At that point, I thought, "Ok, this one might be a keeper!" 

Fast forward 30 years, six kids, lots of laughs, some heartaches, some trials, and a love that grows every day. In walks this same guy with:

 

He's still my handsome prince!

Hurry up summer!!

Ever one to take advantage of a moment to copy her big sisters, Abbey thought that since the seemingly long lost sun had made an appearance, it was a great day for sunbathing.

Nevermind that it was cold enough for her sweatshirt, pants and boots,

 and it was a balmy 42 degrees outside,

In her mind, it was a great day to catch some rays!!!

Oh, my, it's been a long winter!!!

 "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'?"

Matthew 21:16

 On a trip to Target, my cd player was playing. The song, "Our God" by Chris Tomlin came on. Suddenly I hear these two sweet voices in the back belting out the words, or their version of the words. When the song was finished, Abbey emphatically stated, "I love my Jesus!" 

"""  Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:3

Oh that I may have the faith of a little child to accept unquestionably and love unconditionally what I can not see!

At Play

Children's games are hardly games. Children are never more serious than when they play. MONTAIGNE, Essays

I love to watch kids at play. Their imagination fascinates me daily. On any given day, at our house, you may find:

A race car driver

a chef

a railroad conductor

a ballerina-princess

a scooter racer

a teacher reading a story to her class

a builder and designer

an actress

a veterinarian

a daddy

a couple of silly clowns

Ahhh, the many faces of my kids at play! Such a joy to behold!