Hats!

Good Book, Chap?

John looks absolutely adorable in his daddy's outfit. I can't believe how much this little boy LOVES hats. I took the hat off his head and he got MAD! He is just so darn cute!

Look, he already loves books!

I have some good news...

I decided that it was time for me to have my first "tea party" with Libby. We've had tea parties before, but this one was different; this time, I had intentions. Grace had heard us talking about the tea party earlier in the day and was SO excited about coming down to the "brownie party" so we let her come down and enjoy some tea and a cupcake with us first. She was such a good girl at our party, she even left politely when she was finished to spend some time with daddy.

After she left, Libby and I got down to business. We read the book The Story of Me by Stan and Brenna Jones. This is the first book in a four part series called God's Design for Sex endorsed by Focus on the Family. It is recommended for 3-5 year olds and I decided to push it to the upper brink of the recommendation. The series builds on itself, and you only read one book every few years. This one was the story of how babies are born. There were a few parts that were, of course, uncomfortable for Libby and mommy, but overall...I'm glad that it is ME telling her this information rather than anyone else.

I don't want one akward "birds and the bees" talk and hope that suffices. I want my children to have a godly foundation that has been well built. If Libby is put in a situation ten years from now, I want her to have a strong fortress of truth to be able to pull from. My other desire, through the tea party, is to do this more often and talk about character values with my girls and build relationships with them. I want my children to see that they can open up and talk to me about anything. I want them to know that I care about what they care about and am willing to carve out that time to be with just them...one on one, or as girls. I was glad for last night and need to be more intentional about carving out time for my girls in this crazy, hectic world of preschoolers and homeschooling.

This picture just about stopped my heart. Look how old Libby looks. She is growing up way too quickly! Both girls look beautiful! I guess with all the rushing to get ready on Sundays, I haven't taken the time to see the beauty of my girls. Breath taking!

Set up for a night of cupcakes and tea.

My beautiful girls waiting patiently to be served...notice that we have an extra edition. Libby asked for me to grab a candle for our centerpiece. I did so gladly!

...And some bad news!

Yesterday was a very productive day for me. That is a GOOD thing! I was cruising through and by the time afternoon came I was still ready to push on. I had cleaned up from lunch and Libby offered to sweep the floor if I'd help her pull the chairs out. We put the chairs on the rug in the living room, as we always do, and Libby got busy.

While Grace played, Libby swept, and John ate a cracker in his high chair, I slipped off to the bedroom to get a lesson plan or two completed. I knew I was only going to get a tad done, but it would put me that much further ahead. I settled down and picked up a weekly overview...and then heard Grace crying. She is our drama queen and does that frequently, but this time the cry was different. I jumped up and started out to the living room. I heard Libby say, "are you ok?" and then start crying out, "Mom, it's an emergency! Get here quick!" She about bowled me over trying to get to me as I was trying to get to Grace.

As soon as I saw Grace I saw the blood literally pouring from her head. I whisked her up and to the kitchen. I put a wet paper towel to her forehead to get the blood to stop and as soon as I got the blood to slow down I knew we were headed for the ER. What I saw was a laceration that looked like a nickle slot. The length didn't bother me so much as the width. I had Libby grab my phone so I could call Chris and let him know and then I swished her up again and got her locked down in her car seat with the paper towel to her head. I packed the other kids up and off we went. I did put a bandaid on her head and it did a very good job at keeping the blood where it belonged...inside of Grace.

Of course, once we were at the ER we had to wait an hour to be brought into the ER; total time in ER was three hours. I was seriously beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake by coming. With the bandaid on her head and her running around like a banshee (STILL!) I was ready to pick up my three children and go back home. Boy, was I glad that I didn't when the nurse pulled the bandaid off her forehead. All the ugliness of it came back in a flash! All three kids did an outstanding job with the waiting. John got a little squirly, but finally gave up the battle. Grace whimpered a few times, but ultimately...she just wanted to get up an PLAY! Chris came in towards the end of the ordeal to hold Grace's hand while they glued her head shut and help momma keep the other two occupied a bit. It was definitely a family affair that started out pretty yucky and ended a-ok. Libby was quite upset that we had to go to the ER. My response was, "Honey, when you have a family with three children, it would be a miracle if you didn't have to go the ER at least once." For some reason...I knew the first trip would be for this little darling. Here is her story in pictures.

CSI: Dubuque...Gracie version

Seriously, I've never seen blood look this gross!

The carpet area...that was a bear for my dear Chris to clean...as much as he could!

Smile for the camera! Still as sweet as can be.

Yeah! So glad we made an ER run.

Three of the most expensive stickers ever...and a bloody mess!

So proud of her crime scene.

Crime Fighters!

Look, I have my own kung fu crime fighters! Glad they've got my back!

Can I go outside please?

I LOVE These Kids!

I went to CRW (Christian Retreat Weekend) for the third year this past weekend. It is an amazing getaway where God is VERY present! This year I was in the kitchen so I was WAY too busy to think about missing the kids. Sunday morning, though, I whipped out my cell phone to show my new friend pictures of my kids. I should have known better than that! By Sunday, you are so tired that it doesn't matter what you are doing...your mind wanders. Boy, did I miss my three blessings the rest of Sunday! So, now you can have a chance to be blessed by my babies, too! :)


Yes, that really is bacon she is holding up as eye brows!


Kisses!

Just Fun!

orignal picture

doctored with Picnik

Fun with the Tuckers

I think John sat there for 5 - 10 minutes while Grandpa just brushed and brushed.

Reading is ALWAYS a favorite!

John was literally throwing himself on Grandma...over and over and over.

The Great Thinkers!

Daddy and grandpa teaching Libby to play checkers. She's actually quite good...she just doesn't like to lose!