glen ivy

March 29
this post has nothing to do with kids. they stayed with daddy all day. i don't know what they did. i know sy didn't nurse and didn't die. okay. about me...
i went to glen ivy hot springs today! my bestest friends went with me! it was incredible. i had a massage, steamed myself, soaked in the (stinky) mineral spa, ate a super yummy lunch, listened to my friends speak kindly about me, was blessed in prayer, relaxed in the hot tub, covered myself in (clay) mud, baked myself dry, cleaned the mud off, felt cleansed and refreshed.
what a day!
THANK YOU hannah, heather & jen! the Lord has truly blessed me with your friendship!

mommy's birthday!

March 28

we had chocolate-chip smiley face pancakes this morning! i really like spending my day with my family and not going off on my own, so today we did some things that were not necessarily my favorites, but turned out really fun. like gardening. :) i always wanted to grow some foods, and i know that the labor is part of the experience, and i've put it off not knowing where to start. but the kids had seeds, so today we planted watermelon and corn. i think we planted way to much in too small an area, but we're all learning together! after planting we went to watch daddy play soccer. i did get to choose my favorite pizza for dinner and we had "brownies" (chocolate muffins) and ice cream. then we played croquet in the backyard and the day was done. i'm not worried - tomorrow i get spoiled!

centennial farm

March 27
parkday goes to the farm. with the first photo i was annoyed that the sign was so high. then i turned and noticed right behind me there was a lower one. hence the group photo.

we saw model pigs and cows, then the real things.

jojo found this yoke and was so excited because we're reading farmer boy (of the little house series) and almanzo, the main character, has just received a yoke from his dad to start to break his first couple oxen. this trip to the farm came at the perfect time, because the boys are really into the book which talks all about everything we're seeing today!
the kids got to see a lamb and goats and baby pigs all born in the last 2 months.
we also saw a bull.
as with every other trip this month, we incorporated our "reader rally". so today we checked out farm books at the tustin, mesa verde (costa mesa), and garden grove west branches. this was the end of the line for us. we've had a great time and i now have several libraries that i'd like to visit regularly that i would have never found were it not for the rally. :)

play all day! crafts and cookies and colanders, oh my!

March 26
today was an all play day - fun fun fun!
this morning we did an easter craft (i was sick the day our parkday group did it together). better late than never. :) we melted crayons in wax paper and put it between construction paper with a cross cut out. it looks like stained glass when in the window.
then we baked chocolate chip cookies.
while baking we went to the neighbors to get lemons. (in our neighborhood, there is no reason to buy lemons, oranges, tangerines, or avocadoes - this is why we planted an apple tree, so we too could contribute - i don't know how soon we'll have enough to go around...)
we made lemonade! yummy! (this is where we use the colanders - mentioned in the post title - to strain the juice for a pulp-free lemonade!) the photo shows the straight lemon juice which we put into a mason jar with the sugar for the kids to shake up. :) they jump around like crazy - on the carpet - and get it mixed well.
then we distributed all the cookies that could not fit in the cookie jar to neighbors. 8 plates in all. everyone loves when the boys make cookies!
i was tired, but the kids had so much fun. yet another fun-tastic day.

bikes & tires

March 25
last night we went to... walmart. sorry if you're offended. jojo required a new tire and tube for his bike. it set him back $15 with tax. the bike only cost $26 to begin with - seems it would have been a better deal to buy another bike. :) in any case...
this morning was grandpa tuesday so grandpa and jojo worked out on the driveway putting the new tire on. it was the back tire so they had to get greasy and mess with the chain, which i could probably have figured out, but really, it was much more fun for my dad.
consequently, the rest of the day was spent on the bike! another great day.

turtle

this is the turtle we found on our driveway after church. she belongs to our next door neighbor, but escaped to entertain my kids for an hour. :) they found out she does like lettuce, especially fresh, wet, romaine. and she will not eat grass when there is lettuce offered nearby.
the best part of the turtle visiting is it brought our neighbor out too, and we'd not spoken at length for some time. her husband passed away 6 months ago. we try to check in on them, but life is so busy that most times we just wave.
today we got to speak for atleast a 1/2 hour and share God's love with her. really this was an incredible easter.

Easter!

March 23 He's Alive! Praise the Lord for the gift of His Son and for this Resurrection Day when we celebrate!
i have to admit, it did sneak up on me. with jojo's birthday, then the triathlon, then the party, then ky's actual birthday, then easter - it got a little mixed in. :( sometimes the traditions of the old testament seem like they'd be a real blessing. it would probably also benefit me to just plan ahead - but oh well. here we are. God is so good!
daddy played drums at UP in fullerton this morning. it was good that it was scheduled because otherwise, we'd have had to decide where to go. lately, if he's not playing somewhere, we "church" at home or the park or the beach. we fellowship with believers, just not on sundays. sometimes i have a hard time with that, but there's no simple solution.
so... Easter...
we took pictures in our own yard before church. when i announced to the kids we would do photos, jojo asked "whose grass will we take the pictures on?" because last 4th of july, we only had dirt and took our photos on the neighbors' lawn. :)
after photos we churched. then i attempted more photos at the school/church. the kids were not really into it. we came home and had naps then an easter egg "hunt" in the backyard.
we had easter dinner with the neighbors across the street and their extended family. we hadn't made plans with our family because we'd been together so much this month! mom & dad made the drive from arizona 4 times! anyhow. it was a blessing to be with the neighbors, our extended family here, and to have fun with them.
part of that extended family, one neighbor, has been in the hospital and had just been moved to a rehab center. we visited friday night and he didn't seem right. saturday morning he was taken to emergency and was basically on life-support all day. this morning another neighbor requested prayer for him and her entire church prayed. we received word that afternoon that our sick neighbor was doing well, he was breathing and even eating on his own! what an incredible answer to prayer! we were able to rejoice with our neighbors on Easter day, celebrating the Lord's goodness, even with those who are not yet believers.