Felt Boards and Fellowship

Since this Wednesday was a "fifth Wednesday" we set aside our Practice of Godliness study and picked up our scissors! What better way to start working with our kids on their letters, numbers, shapes, and colors than with a good ol' fashioned felt board? After putting in an hour or so of tracing and cutting felt we headed outside for a pizza picnic on the grass with the kiddos. I'm always so blessed by my time with these ladies and their little ones.

Summer, Marie, and Rachel hard at work tracing and cutting the felt.

Mesmerized by Cedarmont Kids

My happy boy in his "playpen"...who needs a playpen when you have a baby pool?

All four toddlers were fighting for a spot in the "playpen" with Jonathan. And yes, that is my baby chewing on a Mardi Gras necklace (aka: choking hazard!) Can you tell that he is my second baby?

Aden LOVES "biiiikes" as he calls them and points them out whenever he sees them.

Andrew deep in thought.
Perhaps he's pondering how much he loves Jonathan =)
Andrew is always so sweet with Jon Jon.
I can tell he's going to be a very loving and attentive big brother!

Sweet Maddie Girl

Vasquez Rocks

Jonathan and Mommy

Aden and Daddy

On Saturday we went hiking at Vasquez Rocks. It was great to get out and do something as a family. We're SO looking forward to this summer when we will have more time to do stuff like this. Thanks Wayne, Tandi, and kids for spending the day with us!

Not so BabyWise!

Yes, Gary Ezzo would totally disapprove! Oh well. Jonathan had fun and since I knew he was going straight to the tub afterward I let him go to town. If you're wondering what was on the menu this evening...banana chunks (half of which ended up smooshed between his legs and the seat), oatmeal (that's what's smeared all over the tray), and zucchini puree (what you see on his face and in his hair.) Although you wouldn't know it from the picture, a good amount of food actually made its way to his little tummy. =)

Thanks Mom!

Grandma and the boys

In the days before Aden and Jonathan whenever my mom and I would get together we would go shopping. We always had such a good time and when we'd leave the house in the morning our husbands would just chuckle and say, "So we'll see you sometime tonight." They knew that when we shopped we embraced the phrase "Shop 'til you drop!" Well, once Aden arrived those marathon shopping trips weren't so easy to pull off. There were nap schedules to coordinate around, nursing sessions to squeeze in, and fussy moments to deal with. And of course, things got even more challenging once Jonathan's naps, nursing, and fussy moments were added to the mix. Needless to say, shopping doesn't happen too often any more when we're together and when it does it is usually more of a mad dash into a store to grab one or two essential items.

Well, this weekend my mom was down here for a visit and thanks to Auntie Stacy (who babysat on Friday) and Daddy (who spent Saturday with Aden) we got to go shopping. We had such a nice time and my sweet mom totally spoiled me! She wanted to help celebrate my weight loss and she did so by buying me a bunch of new clothes. It's so fun to have a closet full of cute clothes that fit me well. Thank you so much Mom for your generosity! You're the best!

88 ¢ and worth every penny!

Hmm...which one should I choose?

Jonathan loves to play with balls. I would say he spends at least an hour a day rolling around on the floor playing with his basket of balls. His two favorites, however, are the squishy baseball and football that you see him playing with in the first few pictures. They are the perfect size for his little hands and (as you can see) he loves to bite on them. The best part about them is that they were only 88 cents each at Wal-Mart. Now that's what I call a cheap thrill.

It is SO challenging...

to get a decent picture of Aden these days. Either he won't hold still or if he does hold still he won't look at the camera, or he'll move just as I'm about to take the picture, or he'll look right at me with a goofy, squinty-eyed grin, or...you get the idea. Anyway, these are a few from today's attempt at capturing a good one. He had just finished running through the "inklers."

A Sweet Moment

This isn't a great picture but I had to post it anyway because it was so sweet. This morning Aden was sitting in his chair reading his children's Bible and he turned to me and said, "Mommy, Jonathan sit?" as he patted the spot on the chair next to him. I put Jonathan next to him and Aden began "reading" to him from his Bible. Jonathan was very interested in the pictures and it was just so cute to see them sitting there together. When Aden was done he closed the book and said, "Bye-bye God!"

Hooray for 30!

Since I had gained about 5 pounds every year since we got married (plus you throw in a couple of pregnancies ) in January I decided I needed to do something about my weight. I found myself to be uncomfortable in even my "big" clothes and my energy levels were at an all-time low. (Which is never a good thing when you have a toddler to chase after and a baby to care for.) So, I joined Weight Watchers (thanks to my mom's generosity!) Anyway, three months later I am 30 pounds lighter. I feel great and I have actually really enjoyed and benefited from the discipline that I've had to have these past few months. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I have about 10 more pounds to go!

Sittin' Pretty

or, um...handsome.
Jonathan loves to sit and pull all of the toys out of his little toy box. Although he is not officially crawling yet he is quite mobile (rolling, pulling, grabbing, scooting, etc.) and therefore very capable of "getting into things". Needless to say I've had to keep a bit of a closer eye on him lately.

Irons up

On Friday I spent a couple of hours at Grace Community School teaching the girls in the Home Economics class how to iron. It was fun to be "Mrs. Moore" for a bit and I enjoyed the chance to interact with some of Daniel's students. The girls were very sweet and very excited about learning how to iron. Go figure? Of course, they all plan to ask Mr. Moore for extra credit since it was his shirts that we spent the afternoon ironing. =)

Inspiration

Is there anything that you have been needing to do for quite some time and have been continually putting off? Well, perhaps you will find inspiration in this quote that is tucked in the back of a lovely little book called Shopping for Time. The book was written by Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters but the quote came from a man named Alexander MacLaren. Here it goes:

No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God. If there be lying before you and bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.

May you be inspired and, more importantly, may you find tranquility. =)

More from Dixon

Yay! They're all looking at the camera!

Sin nature on display. Can you tell that Aden and Andrew are playing tug-o-war with the book?

The Boys

Aden, Jonathan, Andrew, and Ranger

They're growing so fast!

Brotherly love

Aden the little climber

"Inklers Daddy fwease, fwease" (Sprinklers Daddy please!)

Sweet! Big brother hooked me up with some tunes.

Hanging on!

Jon Jon loves his bath time!

Teething is hard work!

Jonathan Asher...such a sweetie!

Since it has been several months since I last sent an email update I figured you'd enjoy some recent pictures of our boys. Aden turned 2 in February and Jonathan is already 7 months old!

"The Three Mousketeers"

Aden: "Andrew, don't do it!"

Saylor: "Don't touch me!"
Andrew: "I didn't do it! I promise!"
Aden: "I'm outta here!"

Dixon or Bust!

On Monday Rachel and I piled into the van with our boys and a bunch of luggage, strollers, toys, etc. and headed up to Dixon, CA to visit the newly expanded Sheldon family. It was great to see them and spend time with them and it was great to finally meet their sweet little son Ranger Titus (born March 3, 2008.)
I tried to get a nice picture of the "Three Mouseketeers" at the park. Needless to say, I wasn't very successful.