Easter 2013

A few months back we celebrated Easter.  Yes, I realize its almost June.  In case you didn't know, I took a three week subbing job at the end of school.  I have a new-found admiration of you full-time working moms.  Now that summer is here, I have a little time to catch up on everything else in life.  And because Easter happened over two months ago, that's all I can tell you.  Easter happened.  Here's proof.

Windy Day at the Farmer's Market

Tornadoes, Teeth, and Toes

Saturday night was the first time I have ever really "prepared" for a tornado.  I grew up in Kansas so spring weather feels pretty normal.  This tornado was different.  We had several days to prepare and even then, I didn't get concerned until the news told me to have sturdy shoes such as work boots in case we needed to walk through debris.  That scared me. 

Yes, I was one of those people who went and bought water and packed a small bag of clothes, just in case.  I packed important papers and medications in the basement ahead of time.  And, yes, when we saw on the news that the tornado was headed right for our part of time, we went to the basement.

The girls had been asleep a few hours before we woke them up.  They did surprisingly well.  Taylor saw the weather map on TV and said "Wow!  Those are beautiful colors!"  She then followed up by telling us she was hungry.  They never got scared and went back to sleep right away.  And, yes, we had a snack.

The storm took a different turn and missed our neighborhood by three miles.  Unfortunately, others in town weren't so lucky.  Thankfully, there were no deaths. 

Followed are a few fun facts that are completely unrelated.

*Taylor has a very loose tooth!  Yeah!  I can't believe she's old enough for that.
*I had a hole in one of my socks that showed one of my toes.  Will said, "throw that thing away!  We're not in Willy Wonka!"  I laughed pretty hard and then threw the sock away.
*While walking in the grocery store parking lot following a young lady with too small shorts on, Emma says loudly, "Her shorts are too short!  You can almost see her bottom.  She needs to put them in the garage sale."  It makes perfect sense.  That's what we do when her shorts get too small.

The Old Rugged Cross

Not the greatest, but the best I got.

I feel like I'm breaking the rules a bit.  Sure, its cool to show your Easter pictures a few days after the holiday, but to actually write a full-blown religious post that isn't shared on Easter?  Nobody does that.  Well, I'm going to.  Don't worry, I'll share pictures, too.

Yesterday was Easter.  The day to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The day started out kind of rotten.  My daughter was difficult.  I got in a fight with my husband.  I tried to focus on the message during the service, but Satan kept throwing other thoughts my way.

My family and a few good friends came for lunch at our house.  Things went well, but when all was said and done, my heart felt heavy.  I didn't feel the joy that I should be feeling on that day of celebration.  I was exhausted and wanted to take a bath and start reading The Hunger Games.  That's what I wanted to do, but I felt a prodding from the Spirit to do something else.

I pulled out some study notes on the Holy Week and read the scriptures to go with it.  I know the story.  I had been talking to the girls about it all week, but I hadn't taken the time to make it personal to me.  All day long I had been hearing "The Old Rugged Cross" in my head.  Not the lyrics to the song, just the title.  I finally pulled out my old hymnal and looked it up.

Verse three says,
"In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, such a wonderful beauty I see.
For twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, to pardon and sanctify me.
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down.  I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown."

In that moment my heart was full.  I was right where I needed to be, knelt before the Savior who died for me.  I hope that your Easter was a day of celebration and I pray that you know that He died for you, too.

My sister Tricia, and her family.

We had a great time celebrating with extra friends this year!

I wish we could of taken with us looking at the camera.

Me, with two of my sisters.

Tulip Time

We spent the morning at Botanica.  It was wonderful.  The tulips can't help but inspire the photographer in you.  Here are my morning pics.  I'm sure you've all been waiting for them.

Not only is it stylish, its functional too.  It provides shade in just the right spot and keeps the hat free of sweat rings.

I promise.  We didn't pick these flowers.

They always have a good time.

Love these girls.

Updates

I wanted to write a few updates since this is mostly a journal to help me remember things.

The girls really like their bedroom now.  And, for some reason, they keep the room cleaner.  Maybe its the still the newness.  Maybe I've created better organization.  Maybe they're just older.  Whatever the reason, I like it.  I never got the mystery stain out of the quilt so I gave in and bought a new one.  That is something I would normally NEVER do, but I got a great deal on the first one and had a little money left over.

They have transitioned to taking a nap every other day.  They were still sleeping well every afternoon, but bedtime was getting more and more difficult.  Some nights they were still awake when Will and I went to bed.  I miss the time alone each afternoon, but I enjoy my evenings even more.  There are nights they are asleep by 7:30.  Heavenly. 

I have an important announcement to make.  Emma is almost five and is finally sleeping through the night!  No more blanket problems.  No more sleep walking.  No more night terrors.  No more waking me at 2:00 in the morning just to talk because she's bored.  Hallelujah.  We are all happier in the mornings.

Spring has come early this year and we are thoroughly enjoying it.  I have been spending a lot of time on these super cute, comfortable, gliding rockers that I bought last fall. My parents gave me some money for my birthday and told me to "do something for yourself".  These chairs provide me serenity, comfort, and the perfect reading place.  I can also watch the girls play in the front yard, which is loads of fun.

On a somewhat side note, while they were playing two days ago, Taylor was stung by a wasp.  They are too terrified to go out front now.  Don't worry, I have set up a home-made wasp trap.  I have not caught anything yet.

Worms

This week is Spring Break.  It has rained everyday so far.  Now, yes, my kids only go to school three mornings a week, but I will still hoping for a little more "outside" time.  I finally let them play outside in the rain yesterday.

We took a walk with umbrellas up and down our street.  We did some guessing and experimenting with things that sink and float and watched things "float down the river".  The best part, though, was the number of worms that had made their way into the street gutter.  There were TONS of them!

I don't really mind bugs (except when a large spider surprises me in an unexpected place).  The girls LOVE bugs.  They would search and catch bugs all day long.  Yesterday there was one particularly huge worm.  Really long, fat, and squishy.  Almost reptilian.  My stomach turned a little bit just looking at it.  Taylor picked it up.  Emma then tried to pick up a smaller.

Emma:  I can't pick it up.  He's too slimy.  Can you do it for me?
Taylor:  You can do it.  Just use your finger nails.

My stomach turned a little bit again.  About a month ago, our pastor talked about a book in his sermon,

That's Disgusting Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion by Rachel Herz.  It explains that many of the things we believe to be disgusting are learned.  We are taught that certain things are disgusting, even if it is based solely on opinion.  I have thought about this a lot since then.  I don't want to pass on my irrational fears to my kids.  

So.....I didn't say anything about the worm.  About how incredibly disgusting it was that she was digging her fingernails into that juicy grossness.  I just made them wash their hands really well when we got in the house.

Emma was cold by the time I brought out the camera and just wanted to go in.  I did get a few shots of Taylor, though.

Annual Manuel Easter Egg Hunt

For 40 years (at least that what my mom says) her family has done an annual Easter egg hunt at the same park - the Will Rogers Park in Oklahoma City. Her maiden name is Manuel, which has resulted in the name "The Annual Manuel".

As with all of my family traditions, I have the fondest memories of this outing. It started the night before with the filling of plastic eggs. My grandma made this a super secret activity that only the adults could participate in. She had a rule that if you shook the egg and you could hear the candy, it wasn't full enough.

The next morning we would all color eggs. This would have to be done in shifts because we couldn't all fit around the table.

That afternoon we all packed up and headed to the park. The kids would immediately head to the play equipment while the women hid the eggs. We couldn't wait to get the call that it was time to find the eggs. The anticipation made it seem like forever to get them hidden. Will was excited to marry into the family because you got to hunt until you had kids of your own!

We gathered our baskets and waited at the starting line. It was a mad dash to find the eggs - little kids to one area, and big kids to another. We knew when every egg had been found because grandma had counted them ahead of time.

Egg hunting was followed by hotdogs and an exciting game of softball. Now, because at least half the players were under the age of 12, the rules were modified a little. Amazingly, the game always ended in a tie.

Time, naturally, has passed. Family members have moved further away. It is rare that everyone can be there. But when they are, it makes it even more special.

The park has changed - cleaned up quite a bit! The wooden play equipment I played on as a child has been updated to a sleek new plastic unit. I guess that's safer or something.

The past few years the location has been modified a bit because of weather. Who would think, snow in April?

Grandma and Grandpa have now both passed away, but it is important to all of us to have the tradition continue.

I think the next post may be some photos from past years, to present of our Annual Manuel Easter Egg Hunt.

Planting Dandelions

Spring is a season that brings fresh air, budding trees, green grass, and dandelions. Emma and Taylor love beautiful things, so why then, would they not love dandelions.

Their fascination began last week when they found a small clump of beautiful yellow flowers growing in a friend's yard. These beautiful flowers were a new experience because their daddy has worked extra hard to make sure they do not grow in our yard.

They picked the dandelions to take home to Daddy. I knew he would love them. We arrived home and they presented him with the beautiful bouquet. His response what just as I expected. He smiled and said, "Thank you! These are beautiful!" Then, through a forced smile asked, "Where did these come from?" I knew he really meant, "Do WE have dandelions growing in our yard!?!" I assured him that our yard was still weed free.

A few days later, the girls and I went shopping for flowers. Walking down an aisle, they spied some bright yellow flowers and exclaimed, "DANDELIONS!" Several adults around us chuckled and I explained the difference between the types of flowers.

Later that day, Taylor took an extra long nap so I got to have some time alone with Emma. This was a treat that rarely happens. She helped me plant the new flowers. Lately, she has been super sweet and cuddly - I like this stage. She stayed by my side for a long time and even told me that I was a very good digger. I truly took it as a compliment.

She finally asked if she could plant some dandelions. Her determination was not thwarted even though I told her no. Emma went searching in the neighbors' yards for dandelions and then she planted them on her own.

Taylor finally joined us outside and, or course, had to plant her own dandelion garden.