Spring Has Finally Sprung!!!

What a beautiful day it was today! We spent almost every second outside. It was wonderful. Madelyn loves outside so much. I don't think she fussed one time the whole time we were out there...which was for hours. It started out just us. Then the boys (Cooper and Warren) went to the "Highway Nursery" (really it's called Greenway, but Cooper calls it the highway...I guess because it's on...um...the highway!:) to get some plants, fertilizer, and some other things needed to start our garden. Cooper is his gardening buddy and they already have plans for a big garden this year.

After a little while, Warren's parents came over. Warren's dad tilled up our garden (wow!! it's big this year) with his new tractor. It was so much easier than Warren having to use the walk behind tiller. Plus, Cooper thought the tractor was really really cool.

Cooper presented me with some lovely petunias he got for me at the "highway nursery". He is so thoughtful. That's the fourth time that he's brought me flowers. Some girl is going to be lucky one day. His daddy is teaching him right.

I hope to have some pictures of the garden soon. I didn't get any this afternoon. I did take some of the kids this morning when we were out. Notice Cooper helping daddy with the gardening by watering the weeds! ;)

I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful day! It was gorgeous!

He is Risen!!!

This Easter was so special. Cooper is able to understand that Easter is more than eggs, more than bunnies, and much more than candy. He's been studying about Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross for the past month or so. Some of the questions have been hard and some Warren and I weren't sure if he was old enough to discuss, but overall it was such a wonderful lesson for us all. To remember that Christ died for us and see it through the eyes of a child learning it for the first time...it was truly touching.

Warren and I had been struggling on how to handle the easter bunny thing. We want the focus of Easter to be on Jesus...not on some bunny. But we didn't really want to eliminate the bunny, egg hunts, etc. altogether. So we decided just to down play all of that and have a tradition of our own. We did easter baskets and egg hunts. Cooper had fun at all of those. We colored eggs and decorated them. But, the most important thing that we did, and the most excited Cooper got about anything was the new tradition we came up with. We got a big box, and on Friday night (Good Friday) we discussed Jesus' death. We had a loaf of bread that represented Jesus' body. We wrapped it in a cloth (graveclothes) and laid it in the box (the tomb). We sealed the tomb...Cooper helped with each of these things. AND it stayed on our ottoman in our living room for the three days. Easter morning the seal was broken and the bread had disappeared. ONLY the cloth remained. On Easter morning, Cooper didn't go looking for his easter basket, candy, anything like that....he went straight for the tomb...he knew it would be empty!!! He said, "Mommy, Daddy, He has risen!!!" WE told the true Easter story. AND it was one of those times that you feel you got it right as a parent (there aren't too many of those).

Thank you, Jesus for your sacrifice! He is Risen!!! He is Risen, Indeed!!!

Play Ball!!!

Cooper has started T-Ball! He loves to hit the ball, play in the dirt, run around, throw his glove up in the air, and wear his "form" or "costume" (those are the two things he calls his uniform). We are so thankful that he has three really patient coaches. His main coach is one of Warren's really good friends, and he has been so understanding and encouraging to Cooper.

Cooper's team is made up of some really cute kids. Every kid on the team seems to be really sweet. The parents are great. I think it will be a fun fun summer. Hopefully, Cooper will learn some baseball skills, but more importantly, I hope he learns a little discipline, has a great time, gets some great exercise, and makes some lasting friendships.

He plays for Pizza Inn. My sister, Cherise, informed me that this is where Will (my nephew) got his start. ;) That made Cooper so proud. He looks up to Will in every way. Cooper got to pick his baseball number. He chose 5! When we were taking pictures before we left the house for his game he said, "Momma, get a picture of my number!" :) He was so excited and so proud.

He looks so big in his uniform (that is huge on him...and everything is xtra small!), but out on that field...he looks so little. I can't get over it and each time I see the pictures..I grin and say "AWWW!", but a little part of me tears up. My baby is getting big and pretty soon he won't be throwing his glove in the air and playing in the dirt. I know it won't be long until he remembers to wear his glove on his left hand instead of his right. I'd like for time to stand still for a little while, but I know it won't so I am enjoying these days to the fullest.

I hope you enjoy some of these pictures. They are from Cooper's first t-ball game and group pictures!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling!

Madelyn has learned a new trick. She likes to roll all over the living room to get where she wants. She doesn't like to be on her tummy for any length of time, so I'm not sure if she will ever learn to crawl. But, she doesn't seem to care. Why should she? She is getting what she wants by her new found skill. Let me tell you, she's FAST!!!

She is getting to be such a big girl. Now that her tubes are in her ears, she is a happy girl most of the time. She started sitting up in March and is eating 3 times a day (cereal, fruits and veggie babyfoods). She is a picky eater. She has to have her veggies one bite after her fruits, or she will refuse! :) It took her a month of trying to finally eat cereal. She would make an awful face and refuse to open her mouth. She would gag before you even touched the cereal to her mouth. It was funny.

Cooper was always my one that was ready to hit each milestone before he should even be able to do that. Madelyn is way more laid back. She is happy where she is and if she learns something new, great...but not that big of a deal! It is amazing how different they are already. Maybe she will really turn out to be laid back. That would be a good contrast to Cooper's energy.

Here are some recent pictures of my sweet sweet girl! By the way, she can say Mama. I have no doubt she learned that word from her brother that says, "Mama, Hey Mama!!!" ALL DAY AND NIGHT LONG!

"Moe Krin Troll" and "10 Doe DS"

Cooper is getting so big and is quite the talker. I have no idea where he gets that from. The rest of us around here are so quiet. It is funny to hear him talk, at times, even speaking better than some adults. But, this week he has had us laughing at some of the things he has said. He told Warren that the car he was playing with had a "Moe Krin Troll". When we finally figured out he was talking about a "Remote Control" we laughed and tried to correct him. He wouldn't hear of it. We didn't know what we were talking about...It is a "Moe Krin Troll!"

Then later on that evening, he told us that one of his friends from school had a "10 Doe DS". We didn't even try to explain that it was actually called a "Nintendo DS". We had learned our lesson. He is one funny little guy and brings so much joy to our lives every single day. I can't wait to hear what he has to say today.

Surgery was a success!!

We woke up at 4:30 AM to get ready to take Madi to the hospital for her ear surgery. She slept until we left at 5:15. She slept on the way and through registration. Then, she woke up HUNGRY at 6:30. She cried (hard) from 6:30-8:00. Then, she fell asleep in my arms.

The doctor came in about 8:15 and they took her back to surgery. It only took about 30 minutes. He got both tubes in! :) Yay, God!! The doctor said that the right ear was super easy and took 5 minutes to cut, clean out, and insert the tube. The left ear was badly infected and was inflamed even on the outside, so he had a much harder time with that one, but he took his time and got a good cut, lots of fluid out, and got the tube inserted. :)

She woke up a happy girl! THEY LET HER EAT! She has been happy all day ever since. She woke up a little loopy and kept looking with her head tilted to one side. Too funny. She took a 4 hour nap and is now up playing, laughing, and just super happy. I hope this is a glimpse of things to come.

Thanks to everyone for all their prayers and well-wishes.
Here are some pics from today.

Before Surgery























Playing in the water so I won't be fussy about not being able to eat!
















After Surgery

Madelyn will have surgery tomorrow

If you all could please say a prayer for Madelyn, I would really appreciate it.  She will be having surgery in the morning at 8 to put tubes in her ears.  She has had ear infections for 3 months (see the blog before this one).  The ENT said that she already has some hearing loss, but this should be cleared up after the surgery.  While this is a "routine" surgery, she is so young.  The doctor said he could not guarantee tube placement, but that his success rate is really good.  So, I am asking
for all the prayers I can get.  :)   Thanks you so much in advance.  I
will try to update when we get home on Thursday.
Love, Liz