My Sweet Little Devil Princess

Elizabeth is the roughest toughest girl on the exterior. She rarely cries because she has been physically hurt. However, she is a complete softy on the inside. She cries b/c her feelings have been hurt.

Today was no different. She was playing rough with her brother and driving me mad. I thought that I wouldn't make it through the morning, and if I did, I thought that she wouldn't. We both made it through. I let her and Andrew play in the tub together - after she peed on the carpet, and I'm pretty sure the boogie man entered my house while they were bathing. The screams in the bathroom likely cause the boogie man to exit the house before we exited the bathroom.

After the kids hopped out of the tub, got dressed, and got their hair done did (always a serious chore with the curly tops & tangles no matter how much conditioner I use), I got to rock Lizzy. We prayed, and I told my sweet girl about how I wanted her to love Jesus first and foremost. I told her about how we sin (like she did all morning long), but that Jesus came as a perfect man so that we didn't have to be - and can't be at that since we are depraved. I explained that Jesus died for us, and she added that she was so upset by the bad men hitting Jesus and pushing him over on his way to the cross. She remembered the stories!!! I was thrilled. So we got to talking about the only way to spend forever with Jesus was to ask him to be in our hear and a allow him to be a part of our life. She said she wanted to do that, and in the sweetest voice she said, "Jesus, please come live in my heart."

I know she's super young, and I'm not very sure she knows quite what all she asked means. I do know that she understood the simple way I explained salvation, and I know that we will continue to teach her the ways of Christ. What an exciting and awesome moment I shared with my daughter today! She is a very special and precious little devil princess!

Being a Mommy

Yesterday was mother's day. A day to celebrate being a Mommy. And while I do love being a Mom, I find that it becomes more challenging the older my children get. I'm currently experiencing the terrible 2's with Elizabeth, but that doesn't compete with the challenges that I have with Andrew. He's becoming so much more aware of the world around him.

I want to be there to protect them. I want to prevent not only their bodies from being harmed, but I also want to protect their hearts. I'm finding more and more that I am not in control. It hurts my heart immensely to see one of my child get their feelings hurt. I find more and more that I need to be on my knees for my children, AND I need to be there to hug them and encourage them when they do get hurt. I can't always prevent the hurt, but I can certainly be a good band-aid.

I pray that I will always be sensitive to my children so that I can be a source of encouragement to them no matter what hurts them...even if it's me. I also pray that they will turn to their heavenly Father first.

Being a Mommy is the most challenging AND rewarding gift of all!

ECOSafari

Today we (my family minus Mat) woke up early and drove across Florida to go to Florida ECO Safari. During the ride over, Lizzy was trying to harass her brother by whispering (b/c she knew she'd get in trouble if I heard her) "boobies" to Andrew. He kept asking her to stop at which she responded by repeating the word at least a hundred times...or quite possibly a thousand. I pretended not to hear her as I giggled from the front seat. Then when it became necessary for me to get involved, I had to force a firm tone free from giggles to get her to stop. Try saying "stop saying boobies" with a straight face.

We (our home school group) got to ride on a huge safari truck for over 2 hours. We learned about animals and nature. We saw some tiny and some gigantic alligators. We watched a sea otter play in the water - adorable! We saw lots of cows and wild horses with their babies. The baby animals were just the cutest. The weather was just perfect....not too hot and just the right amount of breeze! The safari was far away, and while it was pretty wonderful, that most wonderful part was that Lizzy had a dry pullup all the way there, the whole time on the safari AND on the long ride home. Wow! I was so excited that I stopped at a store on the way home and bought her choice of a treat which was a beautiful bunch of sweet smelling flowers (oh, and some pink goggles).

Andrew and her have been at their antics. If you read my facebook, you saw the following 2 posts:

1. We were just sitting at the dinner table eating dinner and conversing so nicely. Then Andrew said, "Daddy, you're the best. At first, I thought you were gonna be kinda lame, but you're the best."

2. Now my children are pretending to work at a restaurant, and they are cooking me things. Lizzy is writing down the orders and making Andrew deliver them to us. She is also requiring payment, and when Mat told her he didn't have money, she told him to wash the dishes.

Since Andrew has officially finished kindergarten, we have taken a more relaxed approach to home schooling for the summer....and the kids are obviously enjoying the little bit of freedom. I'm mostly enjoying their antics (so far), but other at other times, it's just a good thing that underwear still work even when you put them on in-side-out...and yes, I'm talking about my own.

We Love Having Visitors!!!

Living 8 hours from Georgia is pretty great b/c we still get to see lots of our old friends. This year alone, we've gotten to hang at Disney with some pretty cool peeps, and friends just keep rolling in town. Love it!

The Kincheloe's have come twice already this year, the Goldsmith's have come for a brief trip, and Amy has also come twice already! We've even been able to reconnect with friends from long past as the guy who was instrumental in Mat's salvation brought his fam from NC to Disney for vaca.

While we don't always get to go play at the parks when visitors come into town, we sure do love visiting when we can. If you and your fam come to Disney, Orlando, or heck ... even within 2 hours of us, give us a call. We'd love to play if we can!

Airboats and Alligators

Mat and Andrew had the opportunity to go on a field trip with Science Partners. They went to the coast, learned all about sea life, searched for things in the water (yucky water with their shoes on), and learned about how people and God play a part of the lives of the animals. Mat could go into a lot more detail - since he was there and all - but all I know is that they got to hold an alligator and ride an airboat. Andrew seemed to have the time of his life, and Mat was pretty excited himself. I think the pictures show much more than I can say with words.

Random April Happenings

We have had a whirlwind of an April, but every month seems to be like that!

The month started out with a trip to Atlanta where we got to share lots of fun times with friends. We even got to climb Stone Mountain with a great group of peeps, and then we shared a picnic on the lawn in front of the carving. Lovely times!

I was in a wedding at the beginning of April. One of my besties that I've known from middle school got married in downtown Atlanta, and the wedding could not have been more beautiful - nor could the bride. I spent 3 days with the wedding party, and it was so relaxing and fun. Mat had the kids, and they had so much fun with their Papa. Andrew especially bonded with Papa as they fixed a toilet together, made a walking stick and stuck together like glue. Andrew cried for Papa on the way home from Atlanta back to Orlando, and it melted my heart.

The following week, a precious girl AMY came to visit us in Orlando while Mat took his annual trip to NAB in Vegas. Amy helped me with the kids, and we had a packed out week of fun. Our favorite trip was a day trip to the coast. We went to Ponce Inlet where we visited the lighthouse, ate a delicious lunch on a pier while we watched dolphins playing in the water, drove onto a beach and played at the water for a great afternoon, walked down a gorgeous pier, and ended the day with the most amazing cinnamon rolls any of us had ever tasted at a little seafood restaurant. Amy stayed for a full week, and we are excited to have her come back soon for the summer!!!

Andrew finished up kindergarten. This past Friday was his last day of school. The parents were invited to the school for a performance. I was delighted that Andrew had the leading roll of Daniel Boone in the play, and he did fantastic. I hope to get a video of the program as Mat wasn't able to see it. I believe Andrew found his calling in acting. He was so good!!! I have to find an outlet for his acting abilities!

Lizzy is potty training heavily...and even wearing panties. I'm super excited to ditch diapers, and Z is pretty proud of herself!

While Andrew is technically finished with school for the year, we are going to continue learning throughout the summer. We have a whole bunch of field trips planned for the next 3 weeks including a historical trip to Savannah and St. Augustine. I'm very proud of our first year as a home school family. I'd take credit for it, but I'm pretty sure Andrew is just that smart. We are very excited to go to the home school convention here at the end of the month.