Waiting out the winter weather

Here's a little glimpse of what we've been up to the past two weeks.

First Sunday wearing a big-boy shirt with buttons on it.

He loves playing on the play mat with his toys.

It seems to me he gets more excited about toy play than the girls did at that age, but I could be wrong. :o) 

Perhaps I should publish this picture and title it, "Where is Hope?"

She's in there. Can you find her?

Their pre-supper play that day turned into a grand game of "haul all our stuffed animals and books into the living room and make a big pile out of them!" :o) I think they had been playing train and wanted their "stuff" along for their trip.

Watching his sisters at play. This boy loves to be entertained. I'm afraid he's addicted to third child privileges already! :o)

Creative place to sit, Hope!

Playing dress up with Daddy's clean laundry. 

A happy happening in our home - the piano got tuned!

And our piano tuner was kind enough to ask Hope to "help" him. :o) She was thoroughly entertained for about 40 minutes, watching him work.

The fixing of a not-so-happy-happening in our home - the bursting of the hot water line under the kitchen sink. Thankfully, Josh was home when it happened and was able to jump right on it, and thankfully I was not holding Philip when the hot spray began shooting out from under the sink. And hey - under the sink needed a good clean out anyways, so this made that happen. :o)

The kids love it when Daddy brings out his tools.

My growing baby boy, who loves to play with his socks and pull them off his feet, as you can see he was in the process of doing.

 Thanks for the grin, little man.

A pile of happiness - sewing projects cut out!

Added a ruffle to the hem of this dress from last year, making it suitable for her to wear again this year.

New flags for worship for the girls and two of their little friends. :o) I was so blessed in sewing these. I hope they bless the heart of the Lord and others as the children wave them as we sing the high praises of God.

Sibling snuggles first thing in the morning. I think I was late getting up that morning, so I let them out of their room in their jammies and gave them their juice while I got the day started. That seldom happens in our home, but this day it did. :o)

Routine is that they stay in their beds/room until I come to get them and help them dress and make their beds.

And Philip sure knows when his sisters are up! His eyes perk up and he turns his head towards their noise, wanting to be with them. 

Milk mustache. :o) Nice.

I love his boy-ish little face.

Watching the snow fall. I sang him, "You are my sunshine," that morning, doubly appropriate because of the grey day outside, and because he was wearing an all-yellow sleeper. :o)

"I'm gonna get that iPhone if it's the last thing I do, Mom!" He is doing really well with his hand-eye coordination, and reaches out to grab almost any object, then putting it right to his mouth just like big sister Joy did. :O)

And he loves his toes, and he found them before bath time. :o)

Our Easter Weekend

Having just been blessed by seeing an abundance of family at our place recently, Easter weekend was a quiet one for us, one of time as our little family. It was very good to have Daddy home for a three day weekend after his many long hours recently. 

And yes, we both missed our families on Easter morning, but we rejoiced each other and in the children God has given us here, as well as in the family of Christ that surrounds us. 

Good Friday.
A day of laundry and cooking for me. I'm so thankful the girls think folding laundry is fun! I have given up on trying to keep clean laundry off the floor, because you know what? The floor is just the most practical place to fold it with little kids. :o)

Activity time.

The cute little man.

He sits so well in the Bumbo. It won't be long before he's sitting on his own, he'll just need to learn to hold his legs still. :o)

You read your children the Bible, pray with them, sing with them, read them Bible stories, and pray that they will understand in their hearts and come to share in the faith. You seek to live Jesus before them, and pray that they will know. Know Him.
Then one day, your four year old tells you - "Mom, before we can finish the empty tomb craft we have to do the crosses. You need to draw three for me, and I will colour them in." Understanding. :o)
Wow. I stop and whisper a prayer of thanks. Then I draw the crosses and write Is 53:5 from the AMP for her to trace over. And I help her colour in the crosses too, because she said they were pretty big for her.
"But He was wounded for our transgressions  He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities  the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole."

Simple gifts.
I often make myself a cup of tea in the afternoon when the girls are napping. This day, I made two - one for my hubby and one for me.

And the sun was shining so nicely through the living room windows, I got in a photo-snapping mood and played around a bit. :o)

After naptime, Hope was ready to start working on her Easter poster. :o) 

I cooked a turkey for us on Friday night, since it was fresh, not frozen, when I bought it on Thursday.

The smells of fresh baked bread and turkey cooking are blessed smells to have in one's home indeed.

This is our meat-loving child. You wouldn't believe how much turkey she ate!

Blue-striped guys! :o) Love 'em!

Hope was "babysitting" Philip while we cleaned up the dishes.

He likes that book that plays music.

Then, on Saturday, before the girls got up from quiet time, Josh and I dashed into the back yard for a few minutes to prune our rose hedge while the roses were still dormant. :o) Philip barely fit in that snow suit, and wasn't too sure about having direct sunlight on his face, but it all worked out in the end. :o)

Happy to have their Daddy around. :o)

Easter morning, in the dresses they picked out from Costco. We were shopping together one day, and when I told them we were going to buy them Easter dresses they both started talking excitedly about the yellow ones they saw, and so those were the ones we bought. :o)

This was the kids during the worship service on Sunday morning. Philip was content in his carseat and played with his toy for quite a while. Hope and Joy rotated between standing, sitting, dancing, being held by me, and playing with Philip. :o) And yes, I-took-a-picture-with-my-iPhone-during-church. Not something I plan on making a habit of, but it was blessing me to see the girls interacting with Philip, and I wanted to capture it. :o)

Hopey's and Mommy's finished project. :o) I think I'll be keeping this one around. :o)

Can't believe I've never thought of making "flowers" from celery and peppers before!

Crafting with Hope must have a good effect on my creativity engine. :o)
We had chilled turkey, veggies, and snacks with some friends who came for a visit and a game on Sunday evening. It was a blessed day indeed.