Easter - long overdue

Okay, so Easter was like three weeks ago or something and I'm just now updating my blog with pictures. I'm sorry it's been so neglected. No excuses.

We spent the long weekend in Mississippi with D's Grandmother and Aunts and Uncle. It was lots of fun. The kids L-O-V-E riding the four-wheelers!

Enjoy!

Little Ballerinas

For those who don't know, Lianna started taking ballet with Gobel's School of Dance in January. For those who know we are on baby step 2 please have no fear... it was important to Lianna's Gram that she got involved in different sports, activities and such when she was old enough. :) Please feel free to hold us accountable though. Anyway, I thought some of you might enjoy seeing our little ballerina practice her dance for the recital they'll be performing in May.

Lianna was actually commenting to me before this class, that she didn't want to go because they were learning a dance and it was hard. :) I explained that if she kept going it was get easier and easier and soon it would be SO easy! She agreed to go, and after class said it was easier. I love having such an agreeable child. God has spoiled me rotten. I know, but then again, I AM his favorite. :D

I believe the teacher called this a jete'

Attitude maybe? Ah! Can't remember them all.

First position
And again the jete'

Mommy.... mommy.... mommy

I'm sure we all went through this stage, I vaguely remember Lianna doing this for a while, but now Brooks has started into it as well. Ugh! My dad used to say, Allison, you sound like a broken record. Well, my kids don't even know what a record is, but seriously... they sound just like one! The other day in the car went like this:

Brooks: Mommy...

Me: Brooks?

Brooks: Mommy...

Me: Yes sir?

Brooks: Mommy...

Me: I'm listening

Brooks: Mommy...

Me: Is there something you want to tell me Brooks?

Brooks: Mommy...

[pause] (by now I'd just given up)

Brooks: Mommy...

[pause]

Brooks: Mommy...

Canaan likes to play the game too.

One day we'll carry on real conversations with our kids right? At first I think, yeah, that'll be great, but then I remember it'll be conversations about why she can't wear the bikini to the pool party or why he can't smoke stogies until he's 18 or have a motorcycle.

Edited to add images of the kids from the same night this was written. We went out to play just as it was getting dark. It was last minute, so some were dressed more appropriately than other. :)

Notice his fancy belt he borrowed from Lianna, and his socks, but no shoes. Those socks were filthy by the time we came inside.

And My Favorite! He wanted to ride his sisters bike, I told him if he put on some shoes the pedals wouldn't hurt his feet. So... he brought me his boots. No socks or pants! Ha! Like any other momma, I put them on for him, then ran to get the camera.

So Blessed!

D and I decided the bunk beds my brothers grew up on just wouldn't work for our boys. It was not a set that we could separate out into twins, and even though Canaan was ready for a big boy bed, Brooks was not ready to be on a top bunk. Our wonderful friends blessed us today with these hand-me-down beds and chest of drawers that match the room perfectly. Check it out!


Notice the step stool for Canaan to climb into his big boy bed. And yes, he fell out of it after laying down for maybe 10 min. As I type, D is in the garage piecing together a guard rail.


Pay no attention to the two big kids hiding under the bed. I told them to get out of the picture... this was their solution.

Bummer

So Lianna didn't get into the Charter school. I really thought, given her personality, and her abilities so far, that she'd do very well there. Alas, God apparently has other plans. Sooo.... unless someone wants to fork over $250 a month for her to attend private school here, she'll be attending the public elementary we are zoned for. D and I were both raised in the public school system. I'm not really knocking our education, but I was hoping to protect my daughter from some of the things we struggled with. I guess, I just want to keep her safe in a little bubble for as long as possible. Is that bad? Is she really ready to face the world, the pressures of fitting in, and the realization that not everyone loves Jesus, at 5 years old?

Uneventful Saturday *Update*

According to my sweet Mother In Law, this sort of activity runs in D's family as well. Apparently when he was young, he once pushed the emergency exit door open while shopping with his mother at a department store. Hehe! Oh the joy that must have brought!


Given my new goal of not posting without a picture, I dug up an image of my MIL and Brooks when he was a newborn at the hospital. I was trying to find a picture of Darrell as a boy, but no luck this time.

An Uneventful Saturday... until...

D was starting to get a little stir crazy, as he often does on Saturday afternoons when we have nothing planned. As I am transitioning Thornton Photography from online ordering to in-person ordering, I've been ordering sample images and told D I needed a large art portfolio bag to carry them in. So off to Hobby Lobby we went. All of us.

On our way there, we drove past our old brown truck. (yes, the one we've been trying to sell for FOREVER). It's now parked in front of Excel Car wash where many drivers by can see it. As we pass it, Lianna pipes up, "Look, there's our truck. It's for sale, but nobody wants it." Ha! She really is a bright girl.

We pull into Hobby Lobby and unload all three kiddos with no problem. As we enter the 'foyer' area Canaan of course hollers "Ah!" a couple of times so he can hear the echo. I grab him as we go through the second set of doors and make a bee line for the shopping carts. Our kids stay as confined as possible in Hobby Lobby. There are just too many breakable objects within reach. Well, as I'm lifting Canaan into the cart I hear Darrell in a panicked voice, "No Brooks! Don't touch that!" Then... Flashing lights and loud noises and of course, tears.

That's right, Brooks had pulled the fire alarm. My little 3 year old, who hates loud noises will never again go near one of the red pull boxes. The manager, thankfully was able to call off the fire department before the trucks arrived. The alarm continued to sound for a good 10 minutes before he was able to enter the correct code to shut it off. My sweet son, apologized most sincerely, and though the manager could have been a bit more forgiving, we'll cut him some slack. I'm pretty sure half the store patrons left within those 10 minutes the alarm was going off. :/

I didn't think it'd be appropriate for me to pull out my camera and photograph the experience, nor was that even in the back of my mind, but I will share a recent image of my baby, who barely escaped a police record. Thank goodness he pulled it at Hobby Lobby and not his Jr. High like his uncle AJ did. :P

Anyone want to share my gum?