Sunny Pictures

The girls are crazy about the idea of sunshine and summertime.  In the house, they have taken to wearing shorts and t-shirts, which, I guess, is fine, except I have to redress them to go out.  I, on the other hand, am in my uniform hoodie, jeans, and socks, usually accompanied by slippers.  It is quite the extremes around here.  So, I have posted about the sun and even two token pictures of us.  But we did something we haven’t done for probably a year – went on a picnic!!!  These are from Tuesday evening.  After swim lessons, we went to the park….

    

….and braved it for a picnic.  It was just on the brink of being too cold for the latter, but we powered through (until dessert… we did that at home!)

    

Today, it snowed – beautiful, quiet snow showers all morning, maybe an inch or so.  By afternoon, there was no snow, just sunny skies and dry sidewalks.  We made it out of the house for at least a breath of fresh air!

Hopefully, you can make it out to refresh your mind and body with some sunshine on these days.  Really, you can take a break from the March Madness on TV to enjoy the March Madness weather-wise that God is sending us.  Blessings in your weekend.

The Sun

“In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.  It is like a bridgegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.  It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.”  (Psalm 19:4b-6)

We enjoyed God’s glorious sun today and were not deprived of its warmth.  I hope you had a chance to do so, too.
   

A glimpse of spring

Did you experience it?  We did.  On Friday, it was beautiful!  Although I wouldn’t say spring is my favorite season because of all the rain, the transition from winter to spring reminds me of fall because of the cool temps.  And fall is my favorite season.  As soon as Ellie woke up from her nap on Friday, Madison hoped on her tricycle, and Ellie grabbed her plastic baby stroller, and we took off.  Sandy joined us for the first 10 minutes or so to the end of the sidewalk and back.  The girls wanted to continue on to the park.  It was a perfect day, so I said yes.  They both made it there.  Then, we played for about 10 minutes.  Ellie is now big enough to go up the steps without crawling.  Madison learned how to do the fireman’s pole (while being spotted, but not held).  The journey home was a little more tiring because Ellie wasn’t as excited to walk as she was on the way there.  So, I alternated carrying her and making her walk while I carried her baby stroller.  Madison was a trooper and made it all the way home!  It will be fun to get out more, breath fresh air, and soak up the sun.

Because I didn’t take my camera to the park, and I think a picture always makes a better post… Ellie is always ready for action at our house

One last final note, Madison went bowling for the first time.  Jeremy and her went to the bowling alley to have some fun with his cousins, while Ellie took a nap (and I supervised her).  She used the bumpers and a little ramp to send the ball down the lane a little faster.  Jeremy has a video on his phone; I’ll see if I can upload it later.  Apparently, she is a good bowler – she had an 88 the first game (beating her daddy by 5 pins!).  The next game she had a 76 (Jeremy won this won with a 113).  She had a lot of fun!  We may need to start family bowling nights!

Advice from Grandma

One night my parents were over for supper.  Afterwards, Madison was sitting on Grandma’s lap with her sparkly black shoes on.  They are pretty tight, bordering on small, but her favorite shoes nonetheless.  Grandma noticed how hard it was to slide these shoes on and says to Madison – a FOUR year old, “It would probably be easier to put those shoes on if you cut off the straps.”  And we all moved on.  Until the next day.  May I present Exhibit A:

    

Yep, you suggest to a four-year-old to cut something that is not paper, and they are ALL OVER IT!  She managed to snip the straps with her little safety scissors before I noticed her.  Oh, well, I thought, they are almost too small anyway, and they are too wore out to pass on.  May I present Exhibit B:

    

Ellie apparently thought this was a good idea, and asked Madison to please cut her straps off her favorite sparkly pink shoes that are just the right size AND in good shape.  By the time I noticed this the deed was done, and I was much more unhappy about this one.  Madison realized the error of her ways, started crying, and pledged not to cut anything but paper without my permission. 

Please, don’t suggest cutting things that are not paper to small children, they will take this as permission.  Trust me.  We learned the hard way.  (At least it wasn’t their hair!)

[Posted with Grandma’s permission]