Cookeville Passion Play

During the last two weekends in March, our church did a Passion Play for the community. Ryan was (once again) a disciple, and I helped out with the girls' for the last song of the play. Everything went well, and thanks to Brent for making me a stand, so that I wouldn't have to balance on a chair. This was our second year doing the same choreography, so it was easier for me and definitely less stressful. I always enjoy the extra time with the girls, and of course, Tera:)

Here's Ryan and the boys with the camal:) I love how the church uses animals in the play...the donkey that Jesus rides in on and the baby goats:)

Here are some of the girls...there are a few missing, but this is most of them.

a jumping shot! yeah!

quote of the day

"We like boogers. They're yummy and juicy!"

~Josiah

We have beds!

At long last, we have beds! YAY! We can now move Aedan into Josiah's room, to make room for Mercy. We beds arrived on Wednesday, and Ryan put them together this morning. They look great...the room no longer echoes due to lack of furniture:) Eventually, these beds will be bunked. We are thinking that maybe around the time when Aedan is 4 will be okay. At this point, I don't trust Aedan on the top bunk at all. (He may try flying off like a pterodactyl, or they may have a wrestling match on top.) We put them down in separate rooms for nap this afternoon, but they will be together tonight. They are excited to sleep in the same room:)

Josiah on his bed.

Aedan on his bed. We went ahead and put the railing on the bed for him. We thought this would be a good transition from the crib for him.

Josiah

Aedan

Ryan reading a dinosaur book to the boys before naptime.

Thank you, Mom for the beds! They are great!

Josiah's first campout!

Josiah began asking to go camping this past winter. Of course, we had a VERY cold winter, so that wasn't going to happen. We think he's an outdoorsy boy. He's much more interested in climbing a tree then throwing a ball...but, we'll see as he grows more. Josiah has recently started climbing trees by himself. He climbs the dogwoods quite well, but still needs help getting up onto the bigger trees.

Anyway, back to the camping story...Ryan wanted to take Josiah before the baby came, so last Thursday night it was! The low was supposed to be 40 degrees, but it ended up being like 33. Ryan came home from work on Thursday and we headed out onto the land accross the street. There was an old fire pit that needed to be cleared off. Ryan cleared it and then the boys (and Ryan) dug around the fire pit so the fire wouldn't spread. Ryan said the ground was very moist, so that was good. We came inside and cleaned up a bit, and fed the boys a little. (Sometimes hot dogs are not a hit.) At dusk we headed back out with the hotdogs, marshmellows, and sleeping gear. Ryan got the fire started, and cooked up the hot dogs. They were REALLY good:) Josiah liked his hot dog, and well, Aedan...he just wanted the bun and marshmellows. (Good thing we fed them before going outside.) The fire made me a little nervous...mainly with Aedan because he is SOOOO accident prone. (Also, he didn't nap that day. I think it was the first day EVER that he has never napped. He was a little whiny, but not bad...considering.) After the hotdogs, we sang some songs, and then it was time for Aedan to go to bed. I took Aedan in, gave him a quick bath, and put him to bed. Josiah was soooooooooooooo excited to go to sleep in the tent. He and Ryan stayed up till around 9:00; waiting for the fire to be completely out. Ryan said that Josiah went right in the tent and went to sleep (no problem). Josiah woke up around 6:00 the next morning (which is a little early then normal...but he was able to function pretty well till nap) and I heard them come inside around 6:15.

I am so thankful to have a husband who spends time with his sons and is willing to go camping, even if it isn't his favorite activity. Ryan enjoyed his time with Josiah...he says, though, that he needs to get some type of air mattress to sleep on in the tent for next time. Not only did he go camping that night, but the next day he took Josiah and Aedan to the park to walk the big loop. The boys were especially excited since it was the first time going since the fall. Ryan is a great dad, and I'm thankful for him:)

Here's Ryan cleaning out the fire pit. I made sure the boys stayed clear of him while he did this.

Ryan and Aedan getting the rake from the house.

Josiah and Aedan digging around the fire pit (with their sand shovels).

Ryan with Josiah and Aedan...Josiah looks so big here, to me.

hanging out around the fire

cooking a hot dog...yummy!

checking to see if it's done

Ryan and the boys

Sing for Spring:)

Josiah's choir class at church did their semester performance last Wednesday night (on St. Patrick's Day). I took some videos, but the video uploader is sometimes moody...I couldn't get it to work after numerous tries. The children sang various songs about spring and also a few Easter songs. Josiah did a GREAT job! He did what his teachers asked of him, and tried:) I wasn't sure that he exactly understood what was going to happen. I tried to explain it to him beforehand...oh, I forgot to mention that he didn't nap that day...so there was really no telling what he'd do. Aedan enjoyed it as well. He was attentive and watched Josiah:) Here are a couple pictures from the performance.

They set up a little picture spot...Aedan wanted to get in the picture as well:)

Irish Boys!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

bellies

I'm not the only one "expecting":) Check out these bellies...

Rocket Ship

In the air shots:)

The video:

To Aunt Francie...

Thank you for the box of baby girl clothes and also the goodies for the boys. They were super excited! Everything was great...thank you:) Here's a picture of Aedan sleeping with the Pterodactyl.

Josiah's quarter

On Sunday mornings, our church does a children's church, which is like a children's worship service. Every week they do an offering, and (usually) every week Ryan and I forget to give Josiah money for it. Today, (after putting a note on the door to remind us) I remembered and gave Josiah a quarter to give right before going to children's church.

After church, I went into the gym where the children meet, and Ryan was hugging Josiah. Ryan told me that he had lost the quarter and was upset. I gave Josiah some more change to give, and we headed home. On the way, I was asking him questions about what had happened to his quarter. I asked him, "Did someone take your money?" Josiah's response was hilarious...he said, "Yes...Zacchaeus took my money." (Yes, I had to look up in my Bible how to spell him name...Zacchaeus the tax collector!)

(almost) 34 weeks

Okay...here's a belly shot:) We took several, and this is the most flattering one. Yes, in other shots it does appear bigger. We also took a couple "belly" shots (of my actual skin). I've never done one of those, and since I don't plan on having any more children...I figured, why not? I'm not confident (or bold) enough to post them, though...so, this one will have to do.

Last weekend, my Sunday school class gave me a baby shower. I got a few packs of diapers, wipes, and some girlie clothes. It was very nice, and I really appreciate every one's generosity. I posted pictures of a couple unique gifts:

a personalized wipe case for Mercy's diaper bag!

I think this is adorable and so creative. There are onesies around the bottom, and the flowers are made out of socks! I don't want to undo this gift...it is so cute:) Josiah and Aedan like it too...Josiah keeps asking me if he can smell the flowers!

A question I've been getting lately is, "What do you need?"...so I thought I'd list some things that I need (just in case you want to know):

~diapers (I actually have more 2's right now then 1's)

~wipes

~a changing table

~bibs

~socks/booties

~breast milk storage bags

~disposable breast pads

~lap pads (for the changing table)...they used to have these at my Walmart, but ours doesn't carry them anymore

~pink crib sheets

~infant gas drops, infant Tylenol, and Infant IB Profin

~butt paste

~head to toe baby wash

~wash cloths and baby girl towels

I'm still feeling pretty good, and am not too achy...the longer that can hold out the better. I'm sleeping pretty well at night; just waking up a couple times to go to the bathroom. My blood pressures have been so surprisingly good. Last week it was 118/68, which is great for me:) I hope it stays that way. My next appointment is next week with the one doctor in the practice that I have never met. I've heard good things about him (like all the doctors there)...he was actually the doctor on call when Aedan was born, but Dr. Gernt did the C Section for me. (She's a great doctor!) We have a busy next couple of weeks, with the Passion Play coming up...then it will be April, and even closer to Mercy's birth:)

this week OUTSIDE!

It has finally been warm enough for me to take the boys outside. There has been a threat of rain all week, but has only rained a little...during naptime yesterday. I was surprised it wasn't raining this morning. I think it's supposed to hold off till this afternoon. The boys have done great playing yesterday and today. Today I even opened the screen door, and stayed inside to fold a load of laundry while they were playing. I told them to stay in the back yard, and they did:) I kept a close watch on them, though, just in case. I heard Aedan say to Josiah, "Hey, let's go to the front yard." Josiah replied, "No, Mom said we have to stay in the back yard."

They enjoyed digging in the dirt. I pulled out some sand shovels from their beach toys, and they had a blast with them.

They were completely dirty afterwards, and baths were needed.

Today, they rode their bikes down the hill in the back. They did well, except for when Aedan attempted to ride down the steps and had a hard fall.

Josiah climbed a tree!

Aedan playing with air planes.

a car ride conversation

Josiah: "Aedan, is sin bad or happy?"

Aedan: "Sin is BAD!"

Josiah: "That's correct, Aedan. Sin is bad."

They repeated this conversation two more times. Guess Josiah wanted to make sure that Aedan would answer correctly every time.

around the house

tent time

a ski slope! the animals are contestants

more skiiing...the effects of Olympic watching

cheese!

Josiah eating his lunch:)

Praise God for warmer weather and for no cancellation of school this week. We were able to go to CBS (the kids' "school" on Thursday and my Bible Study). It's supposed to be 60 degrees on Sunday...bring on Spring!

To Molly:

A Great CVS Deal

The past several months, I've been a little slack on my CVS shopping. I've gotten deals here and there, but have been slacking in the coupon department, which effects CVS shopping for me. I've gotten several toothpastes in the the last several weeks...all for under 50 cents, or so. (With the purchase below, we now have 5 tubes of toothpaste under our bathroom sink. It's good toothpaste, too:) Yesterday, though, I was able to get a great and bloggable (is that a word?) deal. Here's a picture of my purchases:

I started with $9 of ECBs. I also had two coupons for the toothpaste (one for a dollar off, and one for 75 cents off). I had $1 coupon for the body wash, and $2 off for the diapers. With two transactions, I ended up getting all of this for around $13! That is a GREAT deal! (In case you're unfamiliar with diaper prices, a box that size usually costs around $20.) I also got $4 back in ECBs to use for next time. I love it when they have the ECB diaper deals...I wish they did it more often.