Recurring Theme

O came up to me today and said something rather alarming, something he has said a few times over the past few days:

"It is time to give No-nos to some other people."

"WHAT?! WHY?!"

"He is getting bigger and we need a different tiny baby."

Only after explaining that we love, love Noah and do not want to give him away, that if God chooses to give us another baby, then we would have three children, not give one away, does O seem satisfied that Nosy can stick around.

The only reason I can think of for this new development is that as Scooter is getting bigger, he definitely gets in Owie's way a lot more. I can see O getting more frustrated that Noah plays with his toys and walks off with his things.

Tonight before bed though, I overheard a precious conversation O had with Noah:

"I love you, Nosy-Posy. You are a good Brother and I share toys with you. Thank you for sharing back with me." Then he blew kisses in Noah's direction.

I know O loves Noah and the brotherly bond they share will last a lifetime. May I foster affection and respect in my Boys, Father. May they realize what a precious gift you have given them in each other.

Notice

I just finished Episode 1 in The Story of O. Check it out, if you like. As some of you know, O's story is long and complicated. I wanted to record it all here for him to read one day. Do not feel obligated to read any or all of it. There will be many more episodes to come!

Live It Out

This morning I was searching for a particular verse in my Bible. I had begun the hunt before the kids got up and I still couldn't find it. After I put Nosy down for his morning nap, I sat down with my Bible and my cereal to continue the hunt. Owie plopped down beside me.

"Is Jesus talking to you, Mommy?"

Brought tears to my eyes, just as it does right now writing about it.

His next words:
"I want to learn about Jesus too!"

I realized then that my kids probably don't see me read my Bible much. I usually spend time with God before they wake up or during nap time, mostly because that is when I have time to focus in the stillness. I should probably be setting a better example, let them see me reading the Word more often, live out my relationship with Christ in this tangible way.

And so, O and I spent the next little while reading Proverbs together (where I was hunting) and talking about what some of them meant. We also found our next verse to memorize and decorate:
Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good."

By the way, I still haven't found the verse I was looking for. It's bugging me! I can't even remember any of the words exactly to do a search for it. I guess I'll just keep reading and eventually I'll come upon it.

Rainy Day Fun

Today was a torrential downpour, stormy, wonderful sort of day! We had no plans, so the Boys and I enjoyed a pajama day at home.

We started off by playing in the rain before the cold front moved in and it got too chilly. My Guys had a blast!

After a good hard romp in the rain, we hopped in the tub to warm up and sponge off. Mini English muffin pizzas for lunch! That's always a fun treat! Our next event: an up-beat, original concert performed by Owie on the drums and ri-tar, all while singing his great, big heart out. Some of his repertoire:"Kitty Cat Trashcan," "Spiky Shoe," and my personal fave, "Juice Baby Goes to the Moon." Then it was off to bed for lovely long naps.

When the Boys woke up, I had a special surprise for them: an Easter Egg Hunt in the living room! O is quite the egg hunter! Even Scooter caught on really fast. And once he figured out that there was a yummy fruit snack or M&M in each egg, I have never seen his chubby little legs toddle so fast! O was such a sweet brother, directing Nosy to where the eggs were tucked away and helping him to get his treat out. I had so much fun watching the Boys interact. What joy they bring to my days!

After egg hunting, O helped me make yummy muffins for dessert (My first attempt at a Deceptively Delicious recipe. They turned out great and everyone snarfed them up!) so the house would smell yummy for Daddy when he got home from work. (It makes me so happy to greet Jeremy with a clean, good-smelling house and clean, good-smelling children when he walks in the door after a long day. I don't know how many days I actually succeed in this mission, but it is always my goal...unless my goal is just to keep everyone alive until Daddy gets home...that is sometimes the case too!)

We topped the day off with a rousing game of family hide and go seek, flashlights and spy glasses sported by all. O won the prize for best hiding spot: behind all the pillows on our bed.

What a wonderful, quiet, home type of day that I will treasure always!

Bright, Bright Sunshiny Days

Oh how the Boys and I have enjoyed the last week or so of sunny, beautiful weather. We are outside every chance we get!

I think I have a tiny poser on my hands!

Happy St. Pat's

Green stripes keep the pinchies away...and the willingness to sit still for pictures, it seems!

(3 guesses as to what we did yesterday? Arbo pics soon to come!)

It's Raining Eggs!

Thank you, Friend, for the great photo!

Easter Egg Drop

I know you are all waiting with bated breath to hear how the much-anticipated egg-drop went. Well, here's the scoop!

We had three huge bounce houses, carnival games, and breakfast treats before the service started.

Our friendly team of greeters and parking lot attendants.

Roughly 300 people attended the Palm Sunday tent service! What an awesome turn-out!


Here comes our zebra helicopter occupied by none other than the Easter Bunny himself!

The Easter Bunny has landed!

Our trusty guys hauling the 5000 eggs out to the chopper to load them up.

We had a slight problem stuffing the egg boxes into the helicopter, but eventually they worked it out.

And then my camera battery died. Alas, I have not one picture of the rainbow colored eggs trickling down to earth from the hovering helicopter. Let me just say, it was very cool! The approximately 400 people that gathered to witness this hallmark event were duly impressed. I hope to have pictures donated from another camera, at which time I will post them. The whole event went off so well and was a huge success. Thank you, Father, for honoring all the prayer and hard work that went into this day!

A Good Ol' Fashioned Tent Raisin'

Our challenge:

Raise a tent that seats 250 people in gale force winds. None of our guys had done anything like this before, so it was a big task!

(The tent is for our huge Eggs-travaganza on Palm Sunday. These guys worked almost twelve hours straight in the park to prepare!)

Here is the tent all laid out. After this we all kind of stood around wondering, "What now?"

O had a good chat with Papa

Jeremy took the plunge by starting to pound in the stakes

Even the Boys pitched in by "hammering" these tennis balls on top of the stakes

Here's something you don't see every day: Three grown men consulting the directions! Desperate times, call for desperate measures!

I set the Boys up with their picnic lunch so I could be of a bit more help.

One of the hardest parts was holding the tent poles steady in the gusty winds while the guys tightened down the chains that secured the tent

Up goes the second corner!

We almost have a tent!

And there it is in all its glory! Way to go guys!!

Empty Baby Books

Confession:

My baby books are practically empty. This is a fact that saddens me greatly and plagues me with guilt. My only consolation is that I have been a fairly faithful blogger. One of my Christmas gifts from Jeremy was the printing of my blog that could serve as a substitute baby book. When I was reviewing my blog to prepare to print it, I realized that there were a few events that I would like to add more detail about. And so I am (slowly) going back and adding posts here and there. When I do this, I will jot a note like this one to let you know I posted something new. Take a peek, if you'd like. It's all old news, but there are some good stories that still need to be told!

Noah's Birth

http://houseofhalpin.blogspot.com/2007/12/noah-emerges.html

A Very Important Date

What an initiator I am! I asked an incredibly handsome Boy out on a date this week...and he excitedly accepted! There was much discussion about this eagerly anticipated date ahead of time. What should we do? Where should we go? Will there be food involved? It is not often that I get alone time with Owie and we were both super-excited about it. We had made a plan: The new Veggie Tales movie was showing at the $1 theater ( The price was right!). We could even get some yummy popcorn to share. "Oh, yes! That sounds great!" declared O. But when date day dawned, O changed his mind. "At-ually let's go to the Science Museum instead, Mommy." So we dropped Scooter off at my parents' house and headed to Fair Park. We had a great time spending the morning together, making sweet memories.

Silly and the Champ