Twirls 'n Curls

 This year we had an amazing week leading up to Easter Sunday. With so many great memories and new traditions, I just had to share: 1. We began our celebration of the resurrection by attending a Passover Seder with our Jewish neighbors. The girls each got their own kippa (yamaka) and a coloring book explaining the dinner. The food was amazing, and it was such a moving experience to see Old Testament traditions actually performed by some of God's people. The feast celebrates how God led His people out of slavery in Egypt to their own nation, and there are many parallels to the cross as well. 2. On a slightly less spiritual note, the girls loved coloring Easter eggs with a dear friend from church. We did this while my 1-year old napped one day, and it was great just to be able to focus on the older ones for awhile. 3. I let the girls dress up for their Easter egg hunt this year, so a ladybug, a lion, and a cute little rabbit scampered across our yard looking for candy. 4....

Hugs and kisses at the door, Laundry sprinkled on the floor, Pillow fights with giggles galore, My favorite place to be is home. Little feet run down the hall, "Mama, I love you the most of all!" "Treasure the time your children are small..." My favorite place to be is home.   A place where booboos are always kissed, And chances to laugh are rarely missed. The place that's at the top of my list Is our amazing, crazy home. Where the weary find some rest, Where I don't need to pass the test. I think that Dorothy said it best, There's just no place like home.

In whoopie cushions, as in life...   Not every great idea needs to be acted upon. =)

I can't believe our youngest will be two next month! She is bubbly, energetic (keeps me on my toes!), and incredibly photogenic.  Here are a few of our favorite recent pics: I <3 Dora!!   I <3 Grandma's house!   I <3 doing things myself!! I <3 music!

"Be ye kind, one to another; be ye kind one to another; be ye kind, one to another - Ephesians 4:32." We sang our hearts out during Bible time, then we each told something we could do that day to be kind to each other. Linsey was especially thoughtful, "I can do something with Hannah that she wants to do, even if I don't want to." I was excited to see how this played out during our day, and several times as I reminded the girls to "be kind," it actually seemed to be working!  That afternoon, though, Hannah really wanted to play something Linsey thought was 'babyish.' When I heard them arguing, I pulled Linsey aside and reminded her of the lesson we'd had earlier. "You said you would be kind to Hannah by doing something she wanted to do, and now's your chance." "But Mama," she cried, "I didn't really mean it!" To her credit, she soon relented and played with her sister, but her honesty got me th...

If you're trying to send something back, always use the original packaging.

 I love magazines. I'm convinced that Good Housekeeping will one day publish an article that will solve all my organizational problems in 3 easy steps, and I fear that if I canceled my subscription to Family Fun , my family wouldn't have any fun. So when the magazine in question promised five "tried and true romance tactics," I eagerly read on. This article assured me that simply replacing the regular lightbulb near our bed with a red bulb would both create a sensuous ambience and cleverly conceal any personal flaws I might be self-conscious about. Just what I needed!! So on our next trip to Wal-Mart, I went all out and bought the party pack of red bulbs, feeling adventurous already. (I'm blushing, knowing that my mom is reading this right now!) The bulbs did their job, I suppose, but the real adventure came a few months later. I was watching a friend's three kiddos along with my three, and they were all quiet. You know, tooooo quiet. I realized something...