Re-living my childhood?

So, today after supper we decided we would take Isaac and Grace to the playground. We stopped at one in a neighboring town, one we had never been to before. It was so fun... Isaac is so much braver this year then he was last. He climed on a set of rainbow monkey bars (that's the best way I can describe them) that had a pole in the middle and he slid down it. He still shows his timidness, but is overcoming it each day. We were all having a grand ol' time running between the slides, the swings, etc. I spied the teeter totter and thought how fun it would be to go on again. So, I called Francis over and we did the whole "snoopy, snoopy let me down... what will you give me charlie brown?" thing. Of course, by then Isaac and Grace wanted in on the action and we thought, well, why not? BAD idea. Isaac sat with Francis and I held onto Grace. Everything was going great until it was our turn to go into the air. Well, we went up quick, bumped a little and because I was holding her on my left leg it was enough to throw me off balance. I started screaming to Francis to put us down, but he couldn't because he had put his legs out straight in front of him and wasn't able to get the leverage to get us down. The only other thought in my mind as we were falling was to not fall on Grace. We did fall, and we fell hard. Even though I've lost almost 40 pounds I'm still a big girl! :) Somehow (I know God had His hand right there), I managed to roll enough onto my side and back that I took the brunt of the landing... and I am feeling it. Grace only has a scratch on her leg from getting caught between me and the handle of the teeter totter. I hit my shoulder and head pretty hard on the ground, but my worst injury has to be my right leg. Because I was trying so hard to stay on the teeter totter, I ended up pulling my hamstring. Thankfully, I am able to walk and Trainer Nah (aka Jessie) says I will be sore, but fine in a few days/weeks. So, the lessons we have learned: We aren't getting any younger, though we are getting smaller :) No more re-living childhood experiences (at least with Isaac and Grace around), and that God is good and He watches over us even when we aren't very smart :)

Laundry...

Today was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful!!! We spent most of the day outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I knew that one day this week I would wash our blankets and hang them out to dry. I wait all winter for the smell of laundry hung outside. I don't take the time to dry all of our laundry outside, but it is such a treat to get to have our blankets done this way. Well, today was the day to do it. I managed to get all of the blankets and sheets hung, dried and brought back inside... all except one comforter which needed a little extra time. Unfortunately, by the time I got to bring it inside there was a long white strip running down the middle of it... if you haven't figured it out by now it was bird poo!!!! *sigh* So, grumbling under my breath, I brought it back inside, washed it AGAIN and hung it out, praying the birds would stay away :) And they did. I guess, with all of the times I have hung out the blankets, if this is the first time I've had to rewash something, it's not too bad! So, I'm ready to snuggle into my freshly washed blankets and get a long nights sleep... looking forward to another gorgeous spring day tomorrow!!! :)

4 years ago today...

Okay... I know I've eluded to it several time in the last few days... but TODAY is the day. 4 years ago, my Isaac was born. It is hard to believe how quick it has gone. No longer is he a helpless baby, dependent on me for his every need. Now he is a fun, energetic little boy who still needs his momma, but can do so much for himself. He will forever be my baby boy... but as each year goes by I am excited to see the changes he goes through. Each new day he is learn and exploring the world around him. This new year he will venture off to preschool.... how am I going to do this? Letting him go... that has to be one of the hardest things to do, but I know that it is all a part of life, a part of allowing him to be independent, allowing him to be himself, allowing him a chance to do things apart from us, allowing him to grow. So, today, we cherish the moments we have with him, the times to hold him, cuddle him, and love him... knowing in our hearts that all too soon we will have to let him go his own way. Happy Birthday, Isaac!!! :)

Mission Accomplished!

Whew... I did it... I actually did it. I almost can't believe it. Isaac absolutely loved his cake. At first he didn't like the idea that we were going to eat it... but when the time came he was all about having some. In fact, he wanted a piece of the Oil car, Thomas, and then the Troublesome truck (in that order). He had so much fun today. This morning he got up and was surprised by all of the decorations we had put up after he went to bed last night. There were streamers and balloons and pictures of Thomas all over the kitchen. The real fun came just before supper time when the real party began. It was really only our normal pizza night with our friends from church except for all the decorations, cake, and presents. But, that was enough for him. We debated about having a "real" party with more of his friends (from MOPS, too), but I'm glad we stayed small. It was a lot of fun and we all had a great time. The kids played pin the #1 on Thomas and ran around playing with the balloons we had blown up. They had fun watching as Isaac opened his presents and they all ate enough pizza and cake!!! :) It was a fun, though exhausting day. But it was all worth it to see the joy on Isaac's face! :)

Cake Making Night...

Tomorrow is Isaac's birthday party. I can't believe he will be 4 years old on Sunday *sigh*... but that is for another day :) Tonight I have been working on his cake for tomorrow. I have spent the better part of the late afternoon, evening, and up until now baking and freezing and frosting his cake. I'm tired... but I think the effort is going to pay off. As you can see in the pictures it is still a work in progress, but it is coming together slowly. I'm hoping that it semi resembles Thomas, a Troublesome Truck/freight car, and an Oil car when I'm done. I'll post the finished products tomorrow night! Hopefully they won't fall apart before then. :)

American Idol

I will admit that we are big fans of American Idol, since season 1. We love the show, love the songs, love rooting for our favorites, have even been known to vote a time or two. We've always been excited when one of the idols will sing a Christian song and think how courageous they had to be to go out and sing that song on tv. Well, this season, something different is going on. Actually it has been these last 2 weeks that have been the most surprising. Two weeks ago, they had a new band on the show performing. This new group played an upbeat version of "This Little Light of Mine". Needless to say, we were a little caught off guard, but hey, it's a new group, they don't have anything to lose, right? That same night, Dolly Pardon was on and she sang a song called Jesus and Gravity. Here are some of the words from her song...

"'Cause I've got Somethin' lifting me up Somethin' holding me down Somethin' to give me wings and Somethin' to keep my feet on the ground I've got all I need, Jesus and gravity. Jesus, I've got Jesus, I've got Jesus He's my everything He lifts me up He gives me wings He gives me hope and He gives me strength and that's all I'll ever need As long as He keeps lifting me up He is my life He is my God He is my wings He is my flight Lift me, I've got Jesus, I've got Jesus and that's all I need."

That is quite a powerful message, but again, it's Dolly Pardon. I'm not a fan of hers by any means, but I know she is a huge star, and if she wants to sing it I'm sure there aren't too many people who would tell her she can't! :)

So, that brings us to tonights show. The contestants who haven't been voted off yet sing a group song each week on elimination night. Tonight nearly blew Francis and I away. They sang Shout to the Lord... all eight of them who haven't been eliminated yet. What an amazing performance and in front of so many people. I don't know what is going on... if these decisions are being made by producers or what, but I have to say how neat it is to see such a willingness to have these songs sung and performed for such a large audience. It may only be a shortlived thing... but how amazing it has been to see! :)

Mom's Night Out

I was able to enjoy a wonderful evening with 5 other moms from my MOPS group tonight. We went bowling for our monthly Mom's Night Out event. It was so much fun... none of us could bowl exceptionally well, though we had a couple of girls score above 140. My first game I bowled a 93... my 2nd game only a 54... sad, I know. We all just had a great time being together and laughing and fellowshiping. Grace had a hard time with me going tonight... she didn't even want to give me a hug or kiss... she was definitely put off by my leaving without her! Francis said she did well though and managed to make the most of the evening without me around. It was nice to be able to get out for a few hours, have some fun, and know that Isaac and Grace were enjoying some special time with daddy. I'm looking forward to the next Mom's Night Out, later this month, already! :)