A Slithery Friend

Our New Arrivals

"They 'lellow eben!" Was Hannah's delighted exclamation when the first chicks came out of the box. Yellow just happens to be Hannah's favorite color. And to have brand new, adorable chicks in that color? Beyond exciting.
And so, with our mail-order chicks, we are now chicken farmers. At least for the next couple months.
I think it'll be a good experience for our girls, but to be perfectly honest, I'm excited too.

My Little Seamstresses

Heidi and Hannah made their own skirts this week! It's been a long-asked for project and I finally made it happen. They chose the fabric, determined the style, helped me measure and cut, put the pins in themselves, then sat on my lap and guided the fabric through while I operated the pedal.
I made them some shirts to match and I had two (very) orange girls.
and one bewildered looking little boy.
Who felt he needed to taste his sisters since he didn't get an orange outfit.
In the end, however, I think he approved.
Great job girls!

A Sping Walk

Sisters Share

...even the hard-won trophy of a captured frog.

Map Fun

Maps seem to fascinate Heidi. The other day while driving home from her friend's house, she asked if we could draw a map of how to get to all of her friends houses. I thought it a grand idea and we did so immediately upon returning home. We talked about compasses and directions and she began to drive her fingers from one friends house to another, telling me when she was turning East, West, North or South. That gave me an idea. I sent her to get her hot wheels and put a large piece of paper on the floor.
I proceeded to draw a very large, very not to scale, map of our area, including the homes of a couple of friends.
Heidi and Hannah spent the next couple of hours coloring it in (making sure our driveway looked very muddy) and driving their cars from one place to the next.

What a lot of fun from a couple minutes worth of outlining and instruction on my part!

Dandelion Queens

One of the princesses was happier than the other about having her picture taken. I'll leave you to determine who was who.
But if Momma cracks enough jokes, it gets harder and harder to hide that grin...
and before you know it, a little smile breaks through.

Marveling At The Wonders In The Ditch

A Garden Of Our Own!

The girls are the proud cultivators of their very own piece of land this year. It was planted, of course, with much fanfare.
I look forward to seeing what their little garden produces.

All Better

This little fellow was a sick boy last week with fevers up to 104F and a very turbulent stomach. It's wonderful to see him exploring with enjoyment once again.

Searching Scripture Together

"Then it goes 'vroom' like this"

There's been lots of airplane building going on around here lately. Heidi has plans to build a craft large enough to transfer herself and all her friends to Grandpa and Grandma's house in California. (The boys have to sit in back because they're sometimes loud.) The only thing she's asked for Momma's help with is procuring batteries to make her cardboard engine run.

Easter 2011

Easter was a little low key this year as I was fighting a kidney infection, but we did manage to do a few things to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.
Heidi had asked if we could have an Easter tree since we have a Christmas tree every year. I was more than happy to work together with her on that and we decorated a branch from the yard with coffee filter butterflies and a"He is risen" banner.
(Thank you Auntie Summer for our beautiful gloves!)
We also made our own Easter baskets. Mostly from things I would ordinarily throw away.
We covered margarine containers with bunched coffee filters that the girls had dyed and wrapped electrical wire with floral tape for the handles.
I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome.
We also dyed eggs and had an egg hunt.
Then headed off to a family gathering where the girls were thrilled to hold baby cousin.
Mostly I was thrilled to have two little girls old enough to interact with and talk to about why we celebrate Easter and hear them praising God for sending His Son to die in our place and bringing Him back to life for eternity.