Adventures With Grandma And Grandpa!

 We wanted to do something fun for Grandma and Grandpa's last day! We planned on going to the park, but since it rained so much last night, we traded that in for the playground at Burger King.

 

The sun finally broke through the clouds mid-morning, and it got a little warmer! Bella's wearing her new, flower shirt from Grandma that she got for her birthday!

Grandpa and Evelyn, playing peek-a-boo with Grandma

 Evelyn loves playing with my phone and keys, and she's just started holding the phone up to her ear. We asked her, "Do you want to call Daddy?" and this is what she did. Cute!

The little princesses at Burger King!

 

 

If you ask, "Where's Evelyn?", she lifts whatever is in her hands up over her head like she's uncovering her eyes!

Only someone with Steve's personality could have a quiet moment in the middle of a fast food playground! Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come!

Our future yoga instructor. She may have to work on her expression, though.

Bella loved the slide! She was timid of the whole structure at first, but when another little boy encouraged her to play with him, she jumped right in! They played really well together and she was very sweet. The boy was about a year younger than she is, and you could hear her up in the tubes, saying, "Come on, you can do it!"

Bella slid down the slide without kicking Evelyn in the face! Woo hoo!

Cruising like a champ! She is so eager to walk, but she's got to stand on her own, first!

We had a great time, and it was a good distraction for Bella, who was disappointed that we weren't going to spend the entire morning getting muddy and looking for bugs. Now that the sun is out, she and Grandma changed their clothes as soon as they got home, and they're outside, digging right now!

Visiting Steve And The Museum

We got a chance to meet Steve for lunch and take a quick tour of the Federal Reserve. It's a very secure facility, so we aren't allowed to go into the actual work area where Steve is, but there is a small museum on the first floor that you can tour. 

We had to go through a metal detector when we walked in and the security guard asked us to store our diaper bag in a locked cubby that is provided for you.

We parked the car in a lot and walked a few blocks to Willy's for lunch. The weather was perfect! Sunny and a light breeze; thankfully, we found a table outside in the shade, so we could enjoy the weather without getting too hot.

Doesn't Squirt look so big sitting at the end of the table? She is becoming such a little human with her own personality.

Grandpa and Evelyn

Done with lunch and walking back to the Federal building.

There it is! You can't see the entire building in this picture, but it's fun to go inside. (Okay, "fun" might be a stretch; it was interesting to go inside. The only reason we thought it was fun was knowing Steve works there.)

In front of the statue with the eagle on it.

Best museum visit ever. You get to take bags of money with you when you leave! The Federal Reserve shreds 10 million dollars worth of money every, single day!

Steve's on the 7th floor, but this isn't really his office. Since we weren't allowed to see where he actually works, it was nice to have some sort of visual idea.

This cow was inside the front door, but, of course, we weren't allowed to take pictures. Bella loved it! She was pretty thrilled and amazed that Daddy got to work with a giant cow statue!

This was my first visit to the actual building, and we had a great time exploring where Daddy works! It's right off of the interstate, so it's easier to get to than his previous banks where we had to maneuver Peachtree Rd. Bella and Evelyn were in great moods the entire time and obeyed so well! I was very proud of them; it made the trip that much nicer!

Worms, Pill Bugs, Earwigs, And Dirt.

 We have loved the sunshine these last few days! Bella has taken full advantage of having Grandma's full attention and almost all day, we hear, "Grandma, come on!" or "Grandma, wanna catch worms?"

She loves bugs and loves the dirt! I found her a bug collection kit at the Schoolbox store; it came with a net and two specimen jars. I cringe a little to think how many earthworms she has tried to stuff in those jars. I keep telling her, "Worms need dirt! Worms need dirt!" We upgraded her to a large tupperware dish today and she had her own little worm farm going on in the back yard.

Her little fingers had a hard time digging in the red clay, so we armed her with a stick.

 

Adding her creatures to her jars...we found pill bugs, earwigs, centipedes, spiders, worms, and June bugs!

Evelyn woke up and got in on the action! Her little feet and fingers were covered in dirt by the time we stopped to go inside!

We brought the jars inside to get a closer look...

Pill bugs! The table that dad built for her was perfect for the bugs because it has raised edges. Luckily, that meant the pill bugs didn't get loose!

BUGS!!!

I had to include this picture, because our little snail actually came out of his shell! How cool is that!

You Crack Us Up, Kid!

Bella's moments from this week...

"Mama, Prince Phillip is going to be my HUMS-band!"

Her knew thing is to try something new, look at us with a big smile, and say, "Mom! LOOK! I did it!!! I'M LEARNING!!!!"

She loves bugs! Loves them! She always asks to lift up rocks around our garden to see if we can catch any bugs hiding. A few days ago, we found a dead salamander; for the next three days, she wanted to tell everyone about the dead salamander in our yard. She and Steve would look up pictures of real salamanders on his phone. I see a future Science lesson building itself...

Yesterday, when she was swinging with Grandma, she saw a June bug. She was thrilled because it was something different than the roly-poly bugs that we normally find. But she can't pronounce it, so she announced that we were going to go look for "Judah bugs". Love the loyalty to Israel! Papa will be so proud!

When I wish I had my camera...when she grabbed two hangers, put the hooks between her fingers and said she was a dragon. "RRrrrrooooaaaawwwrrrrr!!!!" When she saw me on the elliptical and asked to ride in front of me, so I let her climb on and watched her little legs pump up and down to keep up!

I'm cleaning up Mel and I's old dollhouse from when we were kids to give to Bella for her birthday. The furniture and people are fancy, but pretty banged up, so I decided to go and get her some animals to go inside instead. We're really excited to show her the finished product!

A sneak peak of birthday decorations!

The little human painting away!

I've been working on some painting projects for her birthday, so Bella's been really eager to paint, too!

An Exchanged Life

I have a little bit of extra time this morning, so I'm doing more than one post!

Trey preached in big church yesterday and taught about living an exchanged life. I know I won't be able to convey all of it, but one of my favorite things he said was that God is complete righteousness and He fulfills every aspect of our relationship. It's not about me or my attempts at being righteous; Christ is the picture of perfect righteous and has already made me complete. Trey said a new life is only possible when we stop working to please God and resolve to trust God. It was really a great message, and God really spoke through him.

Later in the afternoon, I was working in my Stuck Bible study, and I came to a page that just stopped me. I love this author, because she often writes in a way that makes me think, "I'm so glad someone else said that out loud." She's very well-spoken, but also very real. It's part confession, part encouragement, and part therapy for her readers. 

I feel like she wrote my own thoughts better than I could have, so I'm going to include what she said (it's a little long...hang in there).

If I am completely honest...I felt stuck because I thought this life was supposed to make me happy, and I spent most of my time and energy building it. I needed my life to succeed. I needed to matter. I needed my kids to be happy. I needed everything to work out now. Letting go of this life freed me to receive whatever God has for me. We are going to see Him in just a little while, and that matters.

I felt stuck for so long because I did not believe God. I didn't believe in the gravity of my future and what my future cost. I did not believe that these minutes mattered so much, that they held so much purpose. I didn't believe God when He said that in order for me to live, I had to die. I felt stuck because I didn't understand how broken the world is - how broken I am. I didn't understand the bigger story and my part in it.

I felt stuck, most of all, because I was far from captivated by God's love for me. I thought He wanted my performance. I thought to know Him, to find peace and joy in God, I needed some secret formula. But he just wanted a relationship.

I could articulate the right stuff beautifully, but I was not living as if it were true. It did not punch me in the gut every morning. It did not get all of me. I did not move me to the point of change.

 God seemed off in the distance somewhere, watching me build up my fancy, cute little life all around me, like a sand castle He knew would fall.But He patiently watched me build until I woke up and saw the sand. I saw the fragility of my work, he waste of it. Then He swept in with all that He is and all that He has for me. And I am done now with sand castles.

God is saying, Die. Die to all you think you want, and trust Me. The overarching question of this study...Are you willing to die? Because until our pride, our expectations, our plans, our desires, our will, our idols, and our very self dies...we are stuck.

Now, I'm not claiming that I have completely reached the same place that the author has. I'm still in the middle of struggling and "waking up" up to realize that God wants my life to be so much more. But I'm learning and I'm getting there. Trey's message and this Bible study was a huge step in moving me forward.

April...Whew!

This month is going to be a lot fun, but very crazy, too! We're definitely not the only busy family family around here, but I get a little dizzy looking at our calendar.

Steve's mom and dad are here this week, and we're already having a great time! We've played outside, ate at a cool restaurant called Salt, and played outside some more! We're going to grill some steaks and celebrate an early birthday for Bella and Evelyn tonight. Bella and Grandma are going to make the cake this afternoon, and I'm going to work on dyeing the icing pink (of course!).

Tomorrow I get to meet Whitney for breakfast while mom and dad are with the girls and then we're taking them to Target to get some pictures of the girls together (say a little prayer!) We're all really excited to meet Steve for lunch on Thursday because we also get to go to the Federal Reserve Museum. 

And that's just this week! Wow! Mel comes homes on Saturday from India, and then we have Bella's actual birthday, a celebration at preschool, my parents come into town with Rachel, and we have a birthday party for Bella and Evelyn next weekend!

The only thing I'm not looking forward to this month is that Steve got scheduled for a last-minute trip to Florida to examine a bank. We thought his first trip was going to be in May, when the girls and I would go down to Florida to spend time with my parents, but his boss thought this would be a good way for him to get some extra practice and experience. I'm very thankful that my mom and dad will still be here for a few of the days that Steve will be gone, and Mel will be here the entire time, so hopefully, the girls and I survive without him during his first trip!

Easter Morning

 Sunday morning was a wonderful experience! We were able to sleep in a little bit, get dressed without too much stress, serve in our various volunteer spots, and hear a great sermon about the empty tomb! 

Because of traveling and working with the three-year olds, Steve and I have been out of big church for the last month. It was refreshing and calming to worship with our congregation and hear Pastor David's message.

He spoke on the true joy of the empty tomb, and how Jesus should be our one, true source of peace and joy in our lives. Steve and I were volunteering as parking lot attendants/welcome hosts for visitors, so we missed the music this morning, but I'm so thankful we got to be there for the entire message!

Yep. This was me during Sunday School...standing on the street corner in front of church, holding a sign to direct visitors to the right parking lot. Steve had a sign at the opening of the lot to show them where to park. I felt a little bit like we should have been offering car washes to visitors, or at least telling them about a really good pawn store.

 

Getting Evelyn to smile ended up being a breeze since Mel was behind the camera! It was almost impossible, though, to get Bella both looking at the camera and smiling.

 

I knew the yellow door would pay off in future photo-ops!

 I went with dresses in jewel tones this year instead of pastels. I loved it! Bella wore her dress from Evelyn's baby dedication, so that made it easy to choose Evelyn's!

I had to include this one, because it's so...natural!

 Steve wore one of his new suits from work, and I saved one of the new dresses I had gotten for Christmas.

My beautiful sister! Mel leaves for India in 3 days; I'm so excited for her!

Checking out her Easter basket...

 

"What up! I got stickers!"

We call this "special occasion hair"! After Bella's bath last night, I separated her wet hair into 6 different braids so it would be thick and wavy this morning!

Bella was really excited that her necklace was just like Mama's!

Celebrating her goodies; we included some the loot from Grandma's Easter box into our own baskets. Sneaky!

 

Love this joyful smile!

"Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?"

Happy Easter and praise our risen Lord!