Easter Egg Hunt

Another fun activity that we did last week was an Easter egg hunt and picnic lunch at a nearby playground. This was organized by a MOPS mom and let me say...she did an awesome job with making it a success. Each child left with 10 prefilled eggs each! We had lunch with my table group under the picnic shelter. The kids had a great time together, and the moms loved getting to talk...if bits and pieces of conversations count. :)








Baby K

Baby Shower and MOPS Spill...

I think I have mentioned MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)in previous posts, but I haven't really talked about my precious table group in enough detail. We only have two meetings left together, but our bond is quite strong. I think we have made some lasting friendships. Let's break down the details of our MOPS group: there are 9 of us moms at our table who all have children; most of the children are under the age of 4; between us all, we have 19 (and 1 on the way and a possible adoption in the making) children, four of the moms have had babies within the last year!!! Four of us live in the same neighborhood and two of the moms attend First Baptist with me. Our church is actually full of MOPS and is our meeting place. Each table consists of 1 group leader, 1 angel, 1 mentor mom, and 1 steering member. We meet about twice a month at MOPS, but we also get together for Girls' Night Out and playdates. Each year, the table group changes, and you have the chance to get to know other mommies. Last year was my first year in MOPS, and I had such a great experience. I was nervous about starting a new year with with new moms when...Esme, my group leader from last year, asked me to be a group leader. I was excited about the opportunity but nervous about the responsibility. I agreed and immediately started praying for the girls that God would place in my group. I just wanted Him to use me to meet their needs. Support of one another as moms is a huge part of MOPS. I knew I may be faced with all kinds of situations and a variety of unique needs. Not every mom is a believer, married, etc. God placed nine very special moms at my table with me...Esme, Becky, Kelley, Denise, Stephanie, Laurabeth, Andrea, Shawna Lee...all bring something very special and unique to the table. We love one another and can relate in so many ways, yet we can be very different. We have the crafty and noncrafty ones, the talkative and the quiet ones, the easygoing ones and the worriers, and so on. We each add a little perspective, and the table wouldn't be the same if even one mom was missing!

A couple of weeks ago, Kelley and Rebecca, were very sweet to throw a baby shower for me. Rebecca opened up her house to us, and the two of them did an amazing job with each little detail. We received so many nice gifts that we are definitely going to use! Best of all, I was able to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our new little guy with many of my MOPS table group friends, as well as, many other friends and family members. It was so neat to recognize how God had placed each person into my life.



The Hostesses

Discovery Place

Preschool started back today...HALLELUJAH! I love spending time with J, and I believe he enjoys our time together. However, the boy loves school and my at home activities really can't compare to touchscreen computers, letter BINGO, and live baby chicks! Also, 33 weeks pregnant leaves me pretty tired these days. Anyway, his teacher walked out this morning looking quite refreshed and ready for the day! I pretty much looked exhausted. J and Ms. Collins were both all smiles, and at the end of the morning, Ms. Collins reported that he had a great first day back! I drove away so thankful preschools exist and that there are such people as teachers!

Our spring break consisted of many fun activities. One was a trip to the Discovery Place with my MOPS group! We were able to get in completely FREE, so the 30 minute drive was totally worth it! We were able to have lunch with our friends, Kelley, P, and baby K...like old times! Here are some pics from the day.

T-Ball Time at Home

So, Dave and I decided NOT to sign J up for any team sports this spring. We know we want our boy try each sport in the future, but we just were not sure he was ready. Actually, the sign ups came, and I really didn't realize it until it was almost too late. We had just finished swim lessons, and I really didn't work hard to find out more about them. Well, in the last few weeks, guess who has rediscovered his t-ball set and wants to play every.single.day??? We're glad J has an interest in it, but we are now wondering if we should have signed him up. I had even thought soccer was going to be a better choice, since it doesn't seem as organized. He could run A LOT, which he loves doing. Here he is tonight with Daddy...



Celebrating after a hit...in football, we call it his touchdown dance, not sure what to call it in baseball






This is a TOTAL Dave look-expression

Naptime, yet????

I made our bed this morning. Thanks for your help this afternoon, J!! Tell me again why preschools need a spring break??? :)

Disney LIVE-Magic Show

We're off for a FUN Night

Last night was a special night for our family of three! Dave and I decided about a month ago that we wanted to take J for one last hurrah before baby brother arrives. We take J lots of places but rarely do we center a whole night around him nor do we often spend money on things like we did last night. After thinking about the things/people that J really likes, we decided to take him to a Disney show. So, we started our evening with an early dinner at Arby's (only fine dining for us) since the show started at 6:30. Our boy is just like his parents...he loves to eat out! Then, we decided to take the light rail system uptown to the arena. J LOVES to take the train anywhere, so he was excited about this alone!
Daddy and J getting our train tickets


Being silly on the train




An escalator ride...another one of J's favorite things


We got to the show a little early, so we took a look at the souvenirs for sale and all of the refreshments. Our child went home with no souvenirs since we really couldn't justify paying $22 for a spinny toy that is only $10 at Walt Disney World!! Also, taking into consideration that he already has one from the circus two years ago courtesy of Grandpa and Grammie, as well as, one from Disney courtesy of Guapo and MeMe. Nothing else really caught his attention. J was perfectly content with eating junk food and watching Mickey, Donald, and Goofy!!

Helping himself to Daddy's Diet Coke


They have his attention


Intermission




This last hurrah was so much fun! We know that J had a great time, and he was such a good boy! We are encouraged to do more things like this once baby brother comes, too. We are so grateful for a night like this with our firstborn!