Three Little Piggys

Well, haven't I taken a bit of a vacation from blogging! Things have been quite busy around here and I have plenty to update on. Hold on to yer hats, its gonna be a doozy!

First up, the kiddos:

I don't remember if I posted about this or not, but Ailey started saying bye-bye and opening and closing her hand in the process back about a week before her 1st birthday. At the time, it sounded more like dah-dah. Now, she's got the "b" sound going. Today, she also started standing up from a crawling position without pulling herself up on anything. She was even picking things up off the floor on her way up in the process...like my house shoe, which she then proceeded to munch on a bit. Yummy. She has two bumps where her two top front teeth are working on coming in. I thinks its a matter of days before those teeth cut through. I am so grateful for motrin and orajel swabs! Yay! Oh and I got her tutu in the mail! It is so stinkin' cute. We put it on her and did a little photo op. I tried to post it to facebook, but it didn't upload, so I'll have to try that again. Here are the pics:

Oh, yes, I believe I have a future rock-climber on my hands. She's already managed to crawl up onto the top bunk bed in the boys' room via the ladder. I'm sure she'll branch out eventually and go up via the head/foot boards.;p I'm glad I saved my climbing shoes and hand chalk! I think she'll need them. Okay, what else...what else..... Ah, yes, her little personality is really starting to take shape. She apparently has a definite opinion on things and boy does she love to laugh. She thinks some of the silliest things are belly-laughing funny. She likes to stand in between me and the kitchen cabinets, barely bump her head backward on the doors and then wait for me to say bonk, bonk, bonk and then giggle gleefully. She also has the same reaction when Braden drops stuff in front of her like a ball or whatever toy he is playing with at the moment. So, cute! She'll also just sit in my lap and we'll just be looking at one another and giggle, giggle, giggle. Tha's my girl! Oh and she's taken to walking like Mogley in Jungle Book when he's marching with the elephants. Its really funny and I hope I can get a pic of it.

Okay, Zekes....what a big boy he is! He's not far behind Braden in clothes exept for the length. He has also started wearing pullups and he will let me know when he's poo-ed his breeches. He also has started coming in and asking me if he can go tee-tee on the potty several times a day. He's getting there. Its neat to see him start comprehending about his body and knowing when he needs to go. I think he will get the hang of it very soon. He's been very much in need of my attention lately and it gets a bit comedic at times when he and Ailey try to vie for the prime spot on my lap. Its always a good training moment to show them they can share and enjoy each other's company while both getting Mommy's attention. No need for sibling rivalry there! :) Let's see...what else.... Zekey is learning his colors and shapes right now and doing a very good job! He's such a wonderful little boy. He is a lovely snuggler. He wasn't at first, but the older he gets the more snuggly he becomes. Such a sweetie-sweets!

Braden...my big helper! He is now able to get Zekey and himself cereal in the morning. Yay steppy stools! He has such a big heart and just LOVES people. He gets so excited about people coming over to our house. He will sit and talk for hours if he is allowed. Seriously! He made a tank book where he drew all these different kinds of tanks (he played the tank game on the wii play game) Anyway, it was definitely a labor of love for him! He showed everyone he came into contact. He would talk about it constantly with me, add more stuff and talk some more about it. His attachment to this book was great indeed. We had some friends come over for dinner and at the end of the night, he gave his tank book away. Without sorrow or misgivings, he just gave it up joyfully. There's definitely a lesson about having a child's heart where our love for our precious Lord is concerned. He has also been such a great big brother. He does such a good job playing with Zekes and Ailey. He picks Ailey up and carries her around and pushes her in the little car outside and she eats it up! He can go and get her out of her bed and she loves to give him kissies! What a sweet boy! He is still doing so well with learning. He is reading all of his Hooked on Phonics books in review, one a day. We are still going through the My Father's World curriculum as well, but its a bit more difficult to do because he already knows how to read. For that reason, I am just doing the projects, reading the books and the manipulatives and leaving it at that. I might actually just save the worksheets for Zekes....if I don't do Hooked on Phonics with him as well. Anyway, I know Braden is looking forward to when we do the butterfly garden and the ant farm! Also, Braden has found a best friend in the house across the street. They are very close in age and can play outside together, with only the occasional mishap, from dawn to dusk.... LOVE it!

Okay, so the reason for the title of this post is this. Do you remember this post a while back? I've been intending to get braden one of these Money Savvy Piggy banks for a while and actually decided to go ahead and get one in the next few days. Well, today I went to the newly opened branch office of USAA today to take care of some biz-ness and guess what they were giving away free when you opened a youth savings account and/or make a recurring transfer into your already opened youth savings account? THAT'S RIGHT, THE MONEY SAVVY PIG BANKS!!!!!! Yeah, I know! So, I came home with three. Hey, $1 in each of the kids' accounts every two months is more than worth it!;p I'm just saying. Here's a pic of our pretty piggys:

Next, Sam. Sam has been in a lot of pain lately. Its kind of been a slow downhill slide. His back started hurting about a month and a half ago. He started to decline rather rapidly, so I made him a chiropractor appointment. At first it seemed to help, but then the pain started getting worse. I made him an appointment with a physical therapist who is also a massage therapist. He came home in even more pain. He went to the chiropractor more frequently. The pain got worse. So yesterday, he went to the doctor. The doctor thinks he may have a herniated disc. Sam is now in much better shape after only a few doses of steriods, anti-inflammatories and pain meds. He has an MRI on Monday to see for sure. I'm just sooooo grateful he's feeling better! Praise you, Lord! Work is going well. He is actually getting sent to San Angelo in about 2 weeks for a bit. We are hoping that it won't be for too long. Its going to be an interesting time, that's for sure. Our rv is still in the shop getting some work done and we certainly don't want to go back to living in it. Right now the plan is for Sam to be there during the week and home on the weekends. We will probably rotate weeks of going and seeing him and hanging out for a few days. Oh, I forgot to mention that we now have a second vehicle! Yay! Anyway, another major thing that has occurred is that Sam is now the discipleship pastor for our Killeen church campus. He's really in his element here. Sam actually went to school for this, so its neat to see that God is bringing him back around to doing what He planned for him in the first place. Sam thinks that God-willing, he won't be working with aircraft for too much longer. I think God is going to do even more amazing things in our family than He already has. I'm excited to see it all unfold!

On another note, Sam has already done a few upgrades around the house. He changed out the light in the dining room:

BEFORE:

Yeah, kinda speaks for itself, huh?

AFTER:

Much better! The funny thing is we are considering putting a ceiling fan in instead....I want a short blade fan in the kitchen, too....gonna get pretty sticky in the kitchen if I keep up all this baking!

He also changed out the kitchen faucet. It was pretty terrible. I don't have a before pic, but here is the after:
Didn't he do a fantastic job?! SOOOOOO much better! Now I can actually get pots and pans under the faucet to wash and rinse them. We are talking about changing out the sink basin, too. One step at a time....

Okay, here's what I've been up to....you still with me so far? You might need to stop and take a break...maybe get another cup of coffee to keep you going....Bueller....Bueller?

Well, first of all I've been asked to take over the children's ministry at our Killeen campus at church. I'm a children's pastor. That's sounds so funny to me. I must say that I LOVE it! I said no a couple of times first, but then God let me know it was time to step up and do it. What an exciting new adventure! Let's just say there will be puppets and felt boards and lots of hands on stuff! I still have lots of felt pieces to cut out, but I'll get there.

I started making bread instead of buying it. Its just plain cheaper and I LOVE the smell of fresh baked bread. I'm trying several different recipes til I find the one that best works for us.... I think eventually, I'll make french bread and possibly even yeast rolls. I don't know if I can compare with Sister Shubert though! I've been making Amish Friendship bread, too. I think I'm in love with the chocolate chip version I did. Yummy! Its such a great way to meet the neighbors. I still have about ten more to meet, but every ten days I make lots of loaves, so I'll get around to everyone!:) I'll try to remember to take pics next time I make some, which should be today, if I can get it in.

I tilled up one of the flower beds the day before yesterday and my poor muscles really let me know about it the next morning! It felt good, though. One thing is for sure, I now have a list of gardening items I need to acquire. ;p I know I'm getting older because one of the items is a knee pad. Yeah. I also realize that I need another seed starter tray. By the looks of the other one, we are going to have a ridiculous amount of tomatoes this year. Hope the neighbors like tomatoes! I also planted some lemon seeds from some lemons I got from the grocery store. We'll see if they pan out. I REALLY want a couple of lemon trees! I really want some dwarf lemon trees, so I'll just have to let them grow to the size I want and then shorten the tap roots so they don't get any bigger. Same idea with the bonsai trees. Gonna grow some of those, too....eventually.

I now have a pretty good idea of how I want the kids rooms to look. I've got my eyes open to acquire necessary furniture items, paint and accessories. I already found a little chest of drawers for Ailey. Don't you love yard sales on your route home?!:)

What else? Ah, yes...cloth diapering is coming along...sort of. I'm not full on cloth diapers yet. I use about three during the day right now, just trying to get the hang of it. I'm trying to figure out the right combination of inserts. I'm crocheting some out of bamboo yarn. Gotta see if that works. I also made up a new batch of flannel wipes and will put them in rotation soon. I've knitted a few wash cloths and tunisian crocheted one. I like both ways and intend to make myself a decent supply, IF I can stop giving them away first. ;)

Just finished this:

Can you tell what it is?

Maybe this will help:

Finally have a place to put all the bows that Ailey refuses to wear. ;p

I've also got this other little project going that is about half done. I saw this idea online, of course, and decided I needed to try it. I found the shape of the flower online, Japanese Cherry Blossom and printed it out and then traced it onto white paper several times. I also shrunk it and traced that several times, too. Then I printed it out on card stock and cut them out. I've painted all the big ones with water colors and still have plenty of the little ones I have to paint. I hot glued the big ones onto a branch I found in the yard. The little ones will just have to wait their turn. I'll probably get it done soon, though, so I can stop thinking about it and just have it done!

Starting on my Japanese inspired style for the living room.....I'm thinking this will be a drawn out process... :)

Okay, after this post, I realize I need to get out and take some pics of our yard.....Oh, and I'm sure you need a nap after all this reading. Its okay, I won't tell...just a little snoozy.