A Little Bit of Easter

It's been hard to have the time or energy to blog lately, and I blame it lovingly on my kids. One of them is growing inside me and that wears me out. And the other one, a certain little boy I know, has needed a little extra discipline these days. Also the other honorary child who's here most days (Frankie) just adds to the zoo that is our home. It's a busy place, ya'll.

Let me give you an example of how a certain little boy I know has been testing the limits as of late. This is just one of many anecdotes I could share. We were at the park yesterday and I saw him licking a metal stake that holds together a retaining wall on the playground. I'm sure he was just curious as to how it would taste and feel on his tongue. Of course I told him, 'no mouth, that's yucky.' He literally looked me in the eye and started licking it again immediately. The rest of the time at the park was spent intercepting him from licking everything. He was pushing limits big-time as he attempted to lick: the bench, the ladder, the mulch, the slide, the stroller, etc. You get the idea. We're using a lot of "Look at me. Mommy said 'no' You need to obey" these days. And maybe a swat here and there. But I may need some new strategies. He's definitely stubborn. And I'm worn out, so you get the picture, right?

On top of extra discipline, Graham has also needed extra attention, and I am happy to give it to him. He's always asking to sit on my lap. He constantly brings me books to read to him. Right now, he's in love with Goodnight Moon and we read it morning, noon and night. He especially adores the pages that have the red balloon on it. So we've had lots of extra snuggles and reading and playing and dancing together lately.

But Easter. The church service was beautiful. It was so full of people, glad to worship. And the rest of the day was laid-back and lovely. I always have big ambitions for holidays and as they draw near I lose my creative and energetic steam. So I was thrilled when our friends invited us over for a casual (but very delicious) dinner. Jenny and I hang out several times a week and Graham enjoys playing with their little girl. We are thankful for our friends here! A few years ago it felt like we didn't have any and now we are so blessed with good company!

Pictures:

Graham coloring. He saw his little friend coloring and just had to join in:

Easter egg hunt. Graham pretty much just found 2 (one in each hand) and then threw them over and over, all the while yelling 'ball!' Well, they do kind of look like balls.

 This is the best family picture we could get. Oh well. My boy just does NOT cooperate for these things.

This photo is at home. Graham is really into filling his little wagon with rocks and pulling it around. It's cute :)

And now I must go Seize The Day Naptime.