Who needs expensive containers?

I just love my son. He gets so excited about simple things and he always reminds me to find the joy in every little thing. Today, I offered him an empty animal crackers container for his cars and trains. It's a big one from Sam's. I like to store various toys or supplies in them.

It was like Christmas for him. He beamed and said, "Thanks, Mommy!" Then he ran upstairs and started gathering all the trains and cars in sight. What a sweet boy he is!

Changes, Allergies and Awanas

It has been oh-so-busy around here the last week. After receiving the excited "okay" from Zachary, we are finally swapping Rebecca and Zachary's bedrooms. I knew it was going to be a challenge with all the toys and furniture, but you never know exactly how much you have until you begin to move it.

Chad went to enjoy a few days at Papaw's this weekend. While he was gone, I decided to really dig in and cleared half of Zach's room. We also went to Lowe's and picked up the paint for Zach's new room. It is simply titled "Sand 3." Zach thinks it's way cool. Daddy tried to complicate it by asking if that was sandbox sand or ocean sand. Thanks Daddy. lol But it didn't deter Zach. He is still very excited. We will complete the furniture move over the next few days and then paint will be at the end of the week.

The other not-so-fun stuff lately has been allergies. From the day I got back from Disney, a variety of allergens have been lurking in the air. Apparently, I am allergic to them all. My sneezing, wheezing, coughing, and subsequent headache and body aches have escalated and it now appears that I have an upper respiratory infection. Since Chad has IBM training all this week, I'll be making the journey to the doctor tomorrow with three little urchins in tow. Maybe that will make the nurses push me through a little faster.

I know this post is an assortment of items, but I also wanted to share how much I am enjoying Awana this year. I am the Sparks Director this year. I was a bit hesitant on taking the role because it is much more responsibility than just a leader, but I wouldn't change it for anything now. It is so FUN!!! We had 28 Sparkies last Wednesday. When you have 28 kindergarten through 2nd graders in one room, there is always a lot going on! Between me and the four leaders (including Chad), we keep them in line. I think my favorite part of being with the Sparkies is their honesty. They will ask you any question that pops in their minds without any reservations. And they are so thirsty to hear about Jesus and the Bible. It's such an enormous blessing to be a part of this ministry and I pray that God keeps me in this role for awhile.

So now I am off to take some more medicine and hopefully get some good rest for the night!

The Unwelcome Terrible Two's

It is when I reach this stage in a child's life that I remember why I really prefer them when they are about four years old. Even though her birthday is a few weeks away, Rebecca has officially entered the Terrible Two's phase.

We have regular spankings around here due to her point-blank train hurling and her random smacking. Her favorite person to torture is her brother. You know, the one who is two years older and about a foot taller. His tender-hearted nature is to recoil in horror, sometimes scream at her, and maybe even run out of the room. I definitely didn't birth a linebacker.

I am reminded yet again of a phrase I heard often growing up. "And this too shall pass."

Reading!

I am so proud of Hannah and Zach. All of a sudden, they are both reading! I spent the summer participating in reading programs and getting various DVD's from Netflix. I think The Letter Factory and the Talking Words Factory were most helpful to Zach. He is truly sounding out the words. Hannah is little more impatient and prefers to learn the words by sight. Either way, we are on our way to reading!!

Cinderella

I got the opportunity to take Hannah to her very first ballet on Saturday down in Dallas. Keeping with her love of princesses, I chose Cinderella. We went with some other moms and girls from our homeschool co-op and, as a bonus, Amy and Keely came as well!

Here are a couple of pics Daddy took in front of our pond while the curls were still clinging to Hannah's hair.






And here are the giddy cousins getting ready to head to lunch at Corner Bakery.



After lunch, we headed down to the Winspear Opera House. The ballet was 2 hours 20 minutes, but the girls really did quite well. We tried to meet some of the company players afterwards, but the line seemed to go for about a quarter of a mile, so we passed and settled for just gawking at them a bit from the sidelines.

Here are Amy and Keely looking so beautiful in our fourth floor seats.