Coolest Field Trip EVER!

A couple of weeks ago, we had the privilege of going on the best Preschool field trip.  One of the girls in Kiera’s Preschool class is the daughter of a pilot.  They come to our church (which is where we had Preschool) and because of that connection, all of the Preschoolers, their younger siblings, and the Moms got to go on an airplane ride!  We were the last ones to go on, so we enjoyed the beautiful morning outside while we were waiting.

My friend, Luke, is also a flight instructor there, so he’s in this plane getting ready to take off. We also passed by each other on the runway as he was coming back and we were getting ready to take off.

Here are the kids listening to a story

Blake decided he didn’t want to come on the airplane with us, but he enjoyed running around and watching everything

Haley just got her first tooth the night before, so she’s chewing on everything

One of the Moms made an amazing cake

Here’s Kiera in the plane, and she got to fly it for a bit. When she pulled, we went up, and when she pushed, we went down :)

Where I circled in yellow, that’s our house!

Here we are after we landed.  Since Blake didn’t come in the plane, another lady came along instead.

It was SO much fun and Kiera talks about it all the time!  The problem is, people don’t believe her when she tells them she went on an airplane ride and got to fly the plane, ha ha!  I’m incredibly thankful that we had that opportunity!

Memorizing Online

Last year, I blogged about my goal of memorizing the book of Colossians and I managed to finish it before Haley was born.  After that, I still worked on memory work a bit, but very slowly.  This year, I found out about http://scripturetyper.com  I LOVE it!  This website helps in Scripture memorization by using both visual and kinesthetic memory.  Kinesthetic memory combines your sense of touch and your ability to remember patterns and feelings (like typing).  So, you pick a verse, or a section of verses, and you can import them or type them out.  Clicking the Memorize It button takes out every other word.  Clicking the Master It button means you type the whole thing for memory.  It records your fastest time and your average typing speed.  It also ranks you against everyone else using the website according to how many verses you have currently memorized, in case you care.  How often you have to review the verses is based on a ratio of 2 factors: the number of times typed from memory and the number of days since last typed from memory.  I mostly memorize verses in groups of 2 or 3 and I find that makes memorizing a whole chapter easier.  This website really accelerates memorization.  I memorized the Sermon on the Mount in 2 months, which is Matthew 5,6, and 7.  I also joined the Sermon on the Mount group and you can post prayer requests and updates on there, as well as give and receive encouragement.  I usually go on there several times a day to type out verses.  Oh, and it also has an app for the iPhone, in case people prefer that.  For me, it makes memorizing easier and more fun.  I highly recommend it!

9 Month Comparison

I know that my kids definitely resemble each other, but I was surprised at how different they look from each other in these pictures.

Such a cute age!

Deals Galore

I posted on Facebook earlier this month that I had found a whack load of clothes for my kids at a community garage sale.  I was so thankful since new wardrobes for 2 or 3 kids every season would be expensive if I bought all new clothes.  Haley is able to wear a lot of Kiera’s old clothes, so that’s really nice!  Here are my recent purchases:

Necklace from the thrift store

Blake’s clothes (he was quite excited about the Cars pajamas)

Kiera’s clothes

More of Blake’s clothes

Kiera’s clothes including some pajamas

Kiera’s shirts and an Osh Kosh outfit for Haley that I found for $1 or $2

I just kept buying and buying as I found stuff and when I got home and laid the clothes out, I realized that a lot of Blake’s shirts are striped with collars.  I guess he has no choice but to be a preppy boy! :)

My Mom got this shirt and jeans for Haley…totally cute!

Blake modeling one of his shirts and his Nana’s shoes

Kiera wearing her new sweater. She didn’t realize that it’s supposed to be worn with a shirt underneath, but since she was just at home, we let it slide.

Blake got his very first professional haircut and Jared said we’re never going back to doing home haircuts, which is fine with me.  I’ve butchered his hair enough times, so it’s worth the $8 to get nice haircuts! 

I probably spent about $50 for all of the clothes and now, except for a few sweaters Kiera will need when she starts Kindergarten, they’re all set until next Spring!

Counting in the Spring

“The more I count these blessings, the more I realize that they really are not the product of my own efforts. They are truly gifts of grace from God above. It’s incredible to open my eyes to them week after week. And humbling. That I should be graced with such wonders? Me… whose heart is weak and black, yet covered with much mercy. How great is Your unfailing love, Lord God of all!” ~Sharaya Crossan

I have still been writing in my thankful journal regularly, but I don’t have a lot of time to blog these days.  Well, I have had some free time lately, but I’ve been reading some REALLY good books that I just finished as quickly as I could!  Here are some more gifts on my thankful list:

1301. The Sisters of the Quilt Series, probably some of the best Amish books I’ve read!  Yes, maybe Amish books sound boring, but these were anything but boring. :)

1302. Kiera + Blake saying, “I love you very much,” to each other and hugging each other this morning and Saturday morning (without anyone telling them to do that)!

1303. Catching him asleep…a rare thing

1304. Watching 2 horses and their baby horse with my kids at my aunt + uncle’s house

1305. This Strawberry Shortcake outfit I found for Haley at a store for $1 (the bottom is a skort…so cute)

1306. Going shopping with a friend, which was my Mother’s Day gift from Jared

1307. Seeing her first thing in the morning

1308. Jared buying me a peach smoothie on Mother’s Day

1309. The kids doing lots of puzzles these days

1310. Monarch butterflies, which Kiera loves to chase around the yard

1311. Accessorizing

1312. What happens when I tell my kids to smile

1313. Cuddling with Haley right before bed

1314. The Bob the Builder theme song…yes, I like it.  It’s catchy!

1315. The Bailey Flanigan series that I just finished and I happen to own all 4 books!

I’m Normal!

Some of you reading the title of this post might be thinking, “I beg to differ.”  Allow me to explain what I’m talking about.  In March, I went to see the ophthalmologist because my eyes had been red for 3 months and I was feeling intermittent pressure behind my eyes.  The specialist didn’t find anything wrong with my eyes and the pressure had basically  gone away.  She sent me for a LOT of blood work, like 16 vials worth.  I called back 3 weeks later because I hadn’t heard what the results were.  They said they would look into it and call me back.  A week later, they finally called back and said that everything was good except that my white blood cell count was slightly low.  I made the mistake of googling what that could possibly mean.  HUGE mistake!  Did you know that leukemia is the first thing that comes up on Google?  I immediately went into major stress mode and started feeling pressure in my head again.  I’m thinking stress is the trigger for that.  I started wondering whether or not I would live to see my kids grow up and my train of thought was just horrible.  After praying a lot and another reflexology treatment, I felt better.  The person who called with my results suggested I should follow up with my family doctor.  I don’t have one, but I saw a doctor who said he would test everything to make sure I’m healthy.  That was over 2 weeks ago.  Today, I went in to find out my results and he said that my white blood cell count is normal!  Praise Jesus!  He said normal is around 4.5 and my number was 4.7.  He asked if I wanted to see on his computer screen, so he showed me and there was a long list of things they had tested and beside each one, it said normal, normal, normal, all the way down the screen.  When I got back to my car, I cried and praised God.  I have never been so happy and so relieved to be healthy and gloriously normal!!      

Trampoline

At the end of March (I think), the kids were given a trampoline, which was a belated birthday/Christmas present for them.  It sat in the box for a couple of weeks as we waited for warm weather to coincide with Jared having free time to help set it up.  On Easter week-end, we set it up and the kids LOVE it!  We had Haley set up on a picnic blanket right beside the trampoline.

We started while the kids had their Easter hunt outside.

These were taken while we were setting it up.  We hadn’t put up the net enclosure yet.  SO thankful for that!

Jared also bought them a big ball to bounce on there, which just adds to the fun!  I grew up with a trampoline and spent hours on there with my friends, so I’m excited for them!