Laura Ann's Mondays

I have so enjoyed still having Laura Ann at home on Mondays & Fridays this year. She usually gets up, plays in her room for a little while, eventually makes it downstairs for some breakfast and cartoons, then heads back upstairs & sometimes stays for hours, literally. She just plays and plays and plays. I can always hear her sweet voice playing with her dolls or in her kitchen. And if she is coloring, she is singing. I LOVE to spy on her......she is so precious and innocent.....wish I could freeze her at this age (yes, I realize I say that at every age!:-) Today, she played with her make up in my bathroom for a little while and came out all 'sparkly'. On another note, the ice cream truck is getting geared up for summer! It came last week, while Laura Ann was gone & Daniel got a treat, and it came today while Daniel was at baseball practice and Laura Ann got a treat. She was thrilled. Guess I need to start a change jar for summer!

Super Fan

Actually, Laura Ann isn't a super fan at all......hardly watches any of the games, but doesn't she look cute in her Braves tshirt that I made her wear?? :-)

No School!

Daniel was excited to be out of school today for an unused weather day and we were so glad to have him at home! We met the Smileys for lunch at Munoz and then headed to the rock playground for some fun. It turns out that several of Daniel's baseball buddies had the same idea to spend their day out of school at the rock playground too, so he was in heaven. And I have to say that those boys were so sweet to Laura Ann. They never complained about her tagging along & let her play all afternoon with them. And it is no surprise that she has no trouble hanging with the boys. Just when we thought the day couldn't get any better, the ice cream truck came by........snow cones for everyone!

More Baseball

Baseball is life these days and I am happy to report that we are all enjoying it.......even Laura Ann. Dan and Daniel both love the game & ballpark life in general. Laura Ann loves the ballpark too, but her love of it has absolutely nothing to do with baseball. She loves the playground and the dirt. Yes, the dirt. Check her out in the slideshow. That is how she looks by the end of most of Daniel's games. She is usually dirtier than he is. Such a girlie girl!! :-) Oh, and I forgot the ballpark food........they both love it & we end many of our ballpark visits with a funnel cake.

Garden Time!

Dan and Daniel worked hard today getting the garden ready to plant. I can't wait to have fresh veggies in a few weeks!

No Longer......

Amy, Melissa, Me & Carrie Anne at the founding dinner.

I have some amazing friends who have responded to Christ's call to 'look after the least of these' by ministering to and providing for orphans. They founded an organization called No Longer (because inaction is NO LONGER an option). The organization will fund & staff a village in Haiti for orphans along with/through another organization called Global Orphan Project. No Longer hosted a founding dinner tonight and presented all of its plans. There will be a team on the ground the end of May in Haiti to begin the process. SO EXCITING!!! You can visit their website at www.no-longer.com to learn more and be sure to like their facebook page too.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

*And since this is my blog, I can give a big shout out to Dan for the awesome Wooly tees he did for them.....check them out in the store section of the website.*

How Is This Possible?

It was a surreal moment today when I filled out papers for Paine Primary with Laura Ann's name on them!! How is it possible that she is old enough to go to kindergarten? Time, PLEASE slow down!!

Daniel's 1st Grade Pics

Gotta love the school pics!!!

McWane Day

Laura Ann and I enjoyed a day at McWane with Allison, Amelia, Noah, Michelle, Parker & Merritt.   I didn't take my camera, but snapped this pic of the big kids with my phone. They had a blast!

Quote of the day from Laura Ann while straddling the big catfish for this picture.....
"I've got to get down, this is hurting my nuts."
Think she spends too much time with Jeb & Daniel?? I can't convince her that she doesn't have any!!! :-)

Pancakes with Gran

When Gran spend the night, there are always pancakes for breakfast the next morning......

Kate Turns FOUR!

Laura Ann had a blast tonight at Kate's pajama party. Aunt Heather went all out with all of the food & decorations! Kate was definitely in her element with all of her friends. I can't believe she is four......no more 'baby Kate' in our family!!!

Boosterthon Fun Run at Paine

The fundraising side of the Boosterthon is kind of a pain for parents, but the event itself is SO MUCH FUN. At least it is for Daniel......it is a great time for him to do his most favorite thing......RUN! And run he did, mixed in with a lot of skipping, jumping & dancing. He had a blast!

The Johnsons Visit & Meredith's Birthday

Me, Laura Ann, Melissa & William were so excited to get to spend a little time with Natalie, Lee & Davis yesterday on their quick trip to Trussville to check on their house. We met them at the playground & the kids played while the mommies got to catch up. Laura Ann missed Meredith's birthday last weekend, so we picked her up from school today for a treat at Yogurt Mountain and a trip to the jewelry store. Fun times!!

He Is Risen!

"The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said."   Matthew 28:5-6a

We had a great day today celebrating Easter with our family AND celebrating Kate's 4th Birthday! I am especially thankful that we were able to end our Easter Sunday this year at home and not in the ER with a broken arm!!!

Easter Egg Hunt

We were super excited to have our friends over today for an Easter Egg Hunt.  The kids had a blast hunting eggs, eating candy and running WILD and the grown ups had a pretty good time chasing them too!    The best part is, we collected $100 from the kids' $ eggs to buy rabbits & chickens through World Visison for some families in need.   Seems like nothing to us, but a couple of chickens and/or rabbits can drastically change the life of a family on the brink of starvation.  Visit www.worldvision.org  to see how you can help too.   It was definitely a great day all around.  We are so excited to celebrate our RISEN Savior tomorrow!

Good Friday

Daniel was out of school today so he & Laura Ann made the most of it! They dyed eggs & we said a jelly bean prayer with our jelly bean snack this morning. It was good time for us to reflect on what Good Friday is and what Jesus went through for our sins. Then they played outside in the sprinkler & with water guns all afternoon. We headed to the ballpark this evening to make up Daniel's game that was rained out last night. Gran, Papa, Nanna & Big Daddy met us at the ballpark to cheer on Daniel. It was a fun, busy day!

Our Little Artist

We enjoyed going to the Art Show at the WEE Center tonight & seeing some of Laura Ann's art work. There is definitely nothing my girl loves better than creating art!! I somehow deleted some of the pics I took at the show of her work, so I took some of them hanging up at home.

A Busy Day

We decorated our Easter tree when Daniel and Laura Ann got home from school today & enjoyed chocolate covered peeps for a snack. Laura Ann 'helped' Daniel with his IXL math homework and then we were out the door for a fun night of baseball. Laura Ann is loving the ballpark this year and has made a new friend, Crystal. Crystal's brother, Juan, plays on Daniel's team, so it working out great that she has a playmate for every game!

Top Dog

Check out who was Mrs. Johnson's Top Dog this week! He was super excited to take pictures & items to share with his class about himself this week. Dan went to eat lunch with the Top Dog today & got his picture in front of the Top Dog board in his class.

Palm Sunday

I never get pics before church anymore because Dan & Daniel leave an hour before me & Laura Ann, so the after church shot will have to do complete with rumpled clothes & messed up hair! :-)