Little Miracles

Little miracles are everywhere around us, if we choose to slow down and see them.
I could have totally missed this miracle, but instead I chose to see the beauty in the chaos. Last night, after the worst behavior day ever for my two oldest, we decided to head off to the Good Friday service at our church. We have been looking forward to this, especially me, as I don't get to attend worship anymore because I'm working. (But I still go to Sunday school class, which is totally amazing!)
I just knew that once I got all 3 kids to church, the chaos would slow down, and I could pray and sing and find peace. All this was true, but not in the way I expected...
First of all, after a difficult trip through the parking lot, (losing Skyanna in the middle of it) we finally made our way into the church, and there is a big sign on the entrance door that reads, "Enter In Silence."
HAHAHAHAH! I knew at once that I would be chasing after three kids somewhere down the hall, but most likely not in the worship service. I prepared to put on my martyr cross, and let Adam go to service while I patiently and humbly watched the three kids I'd been working so hard to get away from all day! Inside I was fervently praying, "Lord, I know this is my season of life, but I so wanted to worship! I wanted to have some ALONE time with you, to focus my thoughts! Instead, here I am trying to keep 3 kids quiet, with my youngest straining to escape the stroller already! This is NOT peaceful!"
As I was entering my sad state of acceptance, in walked a wonderful gal named Joy, who is the wife to Rob, the music leader and minister for this evening's events. She had her two kids with her, one 3 months older than Ben, and her daughter close in age to Skyanna. She was their to support her husband, and then usher her two kids quietly out the door. Here is the miracle:
We ended up not going to service, but letting the kids loose to run up and down a huge ramp in the church. Screaming and giggling, our kids ran and chased each other, the joy in their eyes unbelievable! I found my own dissapointment greatly lessened having a friend to talk with, and not only that, it was HER husband who was putting on the service and leading it, and she stayed in the hall to visit with me! Now granted, it really was a matter of survival, our wild hooligans would never have made it quietly through the service, but God brought someone into my life to minister to me in a simple, friendly, down to earth way. Instead of the time of deep contemplation and communion I thought I was going to have, I got to chat with another mom about blankies, shopping with rowdy kids, discipline, napping, and plans for summer outings! Deep, spiritual stuff? Maybe not to some, but in my book, this is as deep as it gets!

April Flowers!

What a great month April has been! We've been getting lots of sun, and the kids have loved playing outside! Anthony is loving the June bugs that come out at night, and I let him go outside with his umbrella and hit them! We are so excited for Easter, Adam will be performing a song, and it's beautiful! I'll try to get it recorded.

Benjamin loves the outdoors as well, and is a daredevil! Here is just one of his many stunts, climbing the slide. He's a beefy little dude, and takes lots of tumbles! He can also climb on the coffee table, and is working his way up to the couch.

Well, well....look who has "Bieber Fever!" She found this shirt at Walmart and totally got excited, so I had to let her get it. It's so cute! I don't think she even knows who he is, she just knows that her little girlfriends at school think he's cool.

This is Anthony's soccer uniform for this spring, his team is called the Rams! He scored his first goal in a game last week, and is really, really, loving soccer!

Just another pic of my stout little guy.....notice the adorable curls!

Skyanna loves to watch Anthony try and climb trees!

Oooh look! He made it up a tree!

Dry hair....

Wet hair!

Here we are at Anthony's soccer game. Ben is mad that he's strapped in the stroller, he wants out! Hahah!

Yard Work

Seriously the sweetest cats in the world, Princess here, and Sam below!
Ben's best friend, Sam the cat.
My least favorite stage, learning to feed themselves. Yuck!
Skyanna and Sophia, best friends from school, putting on make up!
Benjamin finally adopted a blankie! All my kids have blankies, and I was worried he wouldn't want one. This is his froggy blankie he got for Christmas, it comes with a cute matching pillow.
Curls, curls, and chubs!
Pretty Skyanna at Chuck e Cheese for her friends party!
Ben's first time playing on the toys!
Check out my little man's cute shorts!

Okay, here are some pics of our recent yard work. We hacked down dead trees, (one that had been killed by lightning) and hauled all the wood off. It was a big job, and really noisy.
The trees that we took down are in our backyard, so now it adds space to the yard, and takes away hiding places for snakes! We hope to get some hammocks out here.
Daddy and his girl! We've been busy here, ready for summer to come so we can go swimming. Although, we could go swimming now, it's in the 80's, but the pools not up yet! The kids have swam in the little pool a few times this last month. With Adam and I both working full time, this is a crazy time, yet somehow manageable. I'll keep ya'll up to date on what decide to do with our yard....it's slow going for us, just getting a hammock up would be a plus!