4H Animals

Last Saturday the local 4H held a fundraiser where you could go pet the animals and even get a picture made with them! This was our first year to go to this event, and it was fun! Mackenzie loved getting to see and pet the animals; Josiah was quite timid and only wanted to pet the animals that were in cages. So, as you scroll through these pictures, please realize that Josiah refused to be in some of them...that's why there are some extras of just Mackenzie...he just did not want to be that close to those animals! :) Mackenzie and Josiah peering in at the Momma Sheep with her Baby.
Mackenzie petting the goat.

Mackenzie petting the Aricotta (sp?) chick.

Mackenzie in the "photo" area with the lamb, rabbit, and two chicks.

She LOVED getting her picture made with all the animals! She was really happy with the way it turned out. I am, too! Too bad Josiah wouldn't get in a picture, too!

Here's one of both kids looking at the sheep.

Josiah reaching into the pen to pet the sheep.

Both kids enjoying the sheep.

School Craft, Egg Dying... & Destroying!

To back track to a couple of weeks ago...Mackenzie had a craft day at school. I put another Mom in charge of this one and she did an amazing job of creating an idea and gathering all the supplies for the kids! The kids made flower pots with tissue paper flowers in them. They even got to paint the pots! Obviously, this was a fun day at school for all of us involved! Mackenzie's finished flower pot.
Mackenzie and Alison painting their pots.

One day last week, I surprised Mackenzie after school. She had been begging to dye Easter eggs, but we didn't have a kit yet. So, Josiah and I went to the store and bought a kit while Mackenzie was at school. Josiah didn't remember (from last year) what Easter egg dying was all about, so he was excited to try it out, too.

Up close of Mackenzie.

Both kids dying their eggs. I had boiled one dozen for each child. They had so much fun! (I did, too!) :)

Hard at work with their eggs.

Josiah checking out his blue egg.

A happy boy with blue hands and lots of blue eggs!

Mackenzie (artsy little girl!) busy dying an egg half one color and half the other color!

Josiah proudly displaying as many blue eggs as his hands could possibly hold at one time!

Mackenzie with her finished product.

Josiah with his finished product.

Up close of Josiah's sweet little face peering down at his eggs.

Josiah, shortly after displaying his finished carton of eggs, discovered you can crack them! (Mackenzie was cracking hers and eating them. Josiah was cracking them for the fun of it!) He took this yellow egg and cracked it on the side of the garden box, then he threw it on the paving stones until the round yolk came out of the middle of the egg! (Yolk in his left hand; Egg white and shell in his right hand.) He was so proud of his cracked egg. Then, he proceeded to crack (ahem, destroy) eggs until I had to remove his carton lest they all get cracked (mutilated) in the yard!

We all had a fun time together, that's for sure. :) I hope to dye eggs with them one more time before Easter...we'll see. :)

Church Easter Egg Hunt & Unnailing

We enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt at our church yesterday. The kids were SO excited, and we all had a great time. The above picture is the best one I got of the two kids together.
Mackenzie holding up the green egg she found in the grass.

Josiah hunted eggs so fast that all my pictures are just blurs of him! So, here's one of him in his favorite climbing tree just outside the building.

Mackenzie proudly showing me her pink egg. (Isn't her dress adorable?! Granna got it for her, and it came with a matching dress for Bitty Baby, too! Thanks, Betty!)

Josiah enjoyed pilfering through his loot. :)

Last night, as I tucked Josiah into bed, he asked me, "Mom, can Dad unnail?" I told him that Dad can unnail. (I'm thinking he means to remove nails, like with the backside of the hammer.) Josiah did not miss a beat in saying, "Then I want Dad to unnail your side of the bed so you can move it in here and sleep with me!" Funny boy. I laughed out loud at his logic, as I have explained to him before that I sleep in the same bed with Daddy, not with him. Guess he figured if Daddy could "unnail" my side of the bed, we could just move it into Josiah's room! Ha. Sorry Kiddo. I love to cuddle with you as I tuck you into bed, but I'm not about to give up my current bed buddy. ;)

Seems like the kids have said some funny things lately, but that's the only one I am thinking of right now. SO...maybe there will be more funny stories coming later...if I remember the others! If not, at least I got one more recorded. :)

Aquarium

This week was Zearl and Betty's Spring Break, so we were blessed to have David's parents here to visit! Since it was not our Spring Break, we mostly stayed around here and continued with our usual routines. Above is a picture of Granna reading to the kids.
We spent the day Saturday doing some extra special activities. First, Granna and Z-pa took the kids to eat at Cracker Barrel while David and I went to the gym. Then we all went to the Aquarium in Gatlinburg! Most of the pictures I have are from the Aquarium.

Here's Mackenzie near the entrance.

Josiah enjoying the interactive areas.

Josiah in front of the large ocean aquarium.

Josiah and Mackenzie watching the fish go by.

Mackenzie "in with" the sea horses! :)

Josiah "in with" the sea horses. :)

We had a wonderful time and a great week. Thanks, Granna and Z-Pa, for coming to visit!

Dr. Seuss Day!

Today was Dr. Seuss day at school for both kiddos. That means they had super fun activities and got to dress up as any character from any Dr. Seuss book! Here's my Thing 1 and Thing 2!

A huge thank you to Mrs. Tina for making the kids shirts! Avery was Thing 1, so naturally, Mackenzie was Thing 2. They even made an extra shirt as Thing 1 so Josiah could have one, too. Whether Avery and Mackenzie were together, or whether Mackenzie and Josiah were together, we had a Thing 1 and Thing 2!! (In other words, there is no particular order to the 1 and 2.)
Thing 1

Thing 2

I absolutely could NOT get the two kids to stand still together for picture. The one of them jumping on the couch at the top is probably more appropriate for Thing 1 and Thing 2 than standing calmly and smiling anyways...right?! :)

Mackenzie's Five and a Half!

It is hard to believe that our Mackenzie is 5 1/2 years old today. Seriously, I don't know where the time has gone, but it has been an absolutely wonderful 5 1/2 years. We have a tradition of having half a cake for celebrating half birthdays. So that is exactly what we did as soon as we got home from school today!
The kids just could not wait! We put 5 and 1/2 candles on the cake. Mackenzie loved her heart shaped ice cream cake. Actually, we all did! :) (Josiah had a pajama day today, just in case you were wondering.)

On a separate note, my momma gave me a Bible of my very own, with my name on it, as soon as I learned to read well as a child. That happened to be when I was in first grade as a 6 year old. That has always meant so very much to me. It is a memory that stands out as I think back to learning to read and those early years. So, now that Mackenzie is reading well, I decided it was time to carry on the tradition! I picked out a purple Bible and had her name put on it in silver script. It is a complete NIV Bible in a small size, just right for her to carry. I wrote a note on the inside cover, which seemed to mean a lot to Mackenzie. David and I sat her down in the living room this afternoon to give it to her. I told her the story of my own childhood, too. She LOVED the Bible. She immediately opened it and searched for Psalms. Then she wanted to find the 23rd Psalm. She memorized the entire 23rd Psalm for school last semester. She received a 100% on that one, which impressed me! Anyways, it was precious to see her curled up on the couch with her new Bible in hand reading the 23rd Psalm!
I do pray that she will read it often and always seek answers within its pages.

The things kids say...

I was completing a Shutterfly photo book (from a vacation we took almost 2 years ago!) on our computer this evening. I did it! I finished it! I just started it this week, though it had been on my mental "to do" list for quite a while. It feels GREAT to be finished. Now...I just need a good sale on photo books so that I can order it! Ha. Anyways. Mackenzie was sitting nearby and I needed input about the background color for a page in the book. I asked her which one she liked better. She told me; I agreed. As I moved on to the next page, Mackenzie announced, "Mom, do you need my appendix on anything else?" It was all I could do not to burst out laughing, which would have totally embarrassed her at this point in her life. She does not like to say or do the wrong thing, and she is very sensitive to what others think about her. Inside, I was falling apart laughing; outwardly, I managed to maintain composure. I thanked her and assured her that I would ask for her opinion on the next page, too. She paused, obviously processing the word I used and the one she used. I think she figured it out, though I never said anything more about it. Appendix...Opinion...hey, they do sound a lot alike!

As I tucked her in tonight I asked some broad questions, just to see what she would say. I try to do this occasionally, usually choosing different questions but always using broad ones. Her answers were so priceless that I am recording them here.

My first question: "Mackenzie, what is one thing you are really happy about today?"
Her response: "I'm really happy that God made you so that you could be my mommy!"
I melted. I don't know what answer I expected, but that was not it. What a compliment!

My second question: "What is one thing you are sad about today?"
Her response: "I'm really sad about all the people in the world who don't know Jesus."
Wow. I, once again, was floored by her answer. I am so thankful that church, school, and home are all working towards the same goals in her precious life. I am awed at her response.

My third question: "What is one thing you are wishing for?"
Her response: "Hmm. To loose some of my teeth!"
So funny. Several of the kids in her class are loosing their baby teeth. A lot of the kids in her class are older than she is. She wants to loose her teeth! Cracks me up. Wonder if she'll be that excited about it when it actually happens? Ha.

I totally enjoyed my time visiting with her tonight.

Earlier in the week, Josiah looked out the van window as we were driving along. He spotted the dirty snow piled on the edge of the roads. He did not miss a beat in saying, "Look at all that rotten snow!"

I cooked cornbread muffins this week. To my amazement, both kids ate and enjoyed them. Last time I made them, one of the kids...I sadly don't remember which one...peeled the paper off the muffin, took a big bite, ran to the trashcan to spit it out, and announced, "Mom! Those muffins are rotten!" I think the child was expecting something sweeter...like blueberry muffins or cupcakes! Every time I eat corn bread I think of that announcement about the muffins being rotten. Kids are so much fun. Their perspective can brighten the gloomiest of days.

Here's to hoping you all have a wonderful day with lots of laughter!