Gone to Florida!

Hi All! The kids and I (Arin) are leaving in the morning for Florida to visit all the Florida folks! We are very excited and can't wait to see everyone! Dusty is bummed that we're leaving for over a week but he himself will be traveling quite a bit while we're gone. We'll let you know about our trip when we get home! Here is our tentative itinerary:
Friday May 23 - Go to DeLand
Saturday May 31 - Go to Melrose
Monday - Home
Have a great week!

Our First Carnival

The pony ride!

Sand art

Face painting

Today we went to a little carnival in our neighborhood! We walked there with our friends Sharon and Sagan... Sagan is Anson's little friend. They giggled and talked about what they were going to see all the way there. He was soooooooo excited to see the horses! Then when he found out he could ride them... oh my. He immediately picked out the biggest pony as the one he would ride. Her name was Lexy. When in was his turn to go, the "horse lady" put him up on the pony's back and he had the biggest smile! I wasn't sure if he would get little scared so I was prepared to go walk beside him but he just sat up and held on like an old pro. In fact the older couple who brought the ponies asked if he had been riding before because he sat so straight and still. He did really well. I just stood back with Ella and took pictures! Ella had a great time watching everything!

After the pony ride, he jumped in a bouncy thing, got his face painted with a little red lady bug, did sand art, and a fishing game. This morning when we were talking about the carnival I asked Anson what he would have painted on his face.. he said he wanted a pink butterfly!! Dusty immediately said, "How about a black spider or something!" He compromised on a red lady bug! He forgot about the pink butterfly I guess. :0) So anyway, we had a great time at the little carnival.

Dusty taught a seminar at our church today on "How to start and run your own Christian business"... "What to do when your calling doesn't fit into a job". When we were starting our business, there was plenty of advice from people who were great at business but definitely not from a Christian perspective... the dollar was king and you do whatever it takes to get that dollar. So Dusty has been working a few years now on how to help other people start and run a business from a Biblical stand point; to bring glory to God firstly, and to make a great living. Today was his first run at his seminar and I am anxiously waiting to hear all about it! I'll let you know soon how it went.

Well, have a great weekend!

Our little crawler!

A Hallelujah Heart!

This morning at breakfast Anson told me that he has a Hallelujah heart. ("Hallelujah Heart" is a song that they sing in the toddler worship service at our church called "Wee Worship".) Then he pointed to his tummy and said "My Hallelujah heart is right here!"

Well later on this morning as he was drinking some milk he said "Quick, Mommy, quick! I need a napkin! I spilled my milk!" I looked at the counter where he was standing and I only saw a drop, so I said "There you go, it wasn't that bad", to which he quickly replied, "No Mommy, not there, I spilled it on my Hallelujah heart!"

I had to write that down before I forgot it! :o)

My kitchen helper

Anson is really becoming helpful in the kitchen! He and I both enjoy his helpfulness. Today he emptied the dishwasher (most of it...) and then asked if we could make muffins! So we did! Here is my famous recipe for

Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins:

Set oven to 425 degrees

Open one packet of Martha White Muffin Mix

Add milk, stir, and pour into muffin cups!

Sounds great, right? :o)

Well, Anson made them all by himself and he was so proud!

Ella is really moving now! She can crawl across the room and have something in her mouth before you can turn around! Now I have to actually keep my floors clean again and vacuum every day! She is also eating some finger foods like the little fruit puffs.

Fun stages!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day! Hope you had a good one. We had a great day! We went to church and out to lunch. Dusty's allergies were acting up in the morning so he and Anson made my Mother's Day breakfast for dinner! Doesn't the french toast look amazing? It was awesome. Anson had so much fun serving me and was so sweet. What a joy it is to be a mother! I reminisced with Anson about the first day I became a mother and how special it was when he was born... and he actually listened and asked questions! :0) I can't believe that it has been almost 3 years!

Our pastor spoke on Jochabed sp? (Moses' mother) and how she protected and prepared Moses. Who would know at the time that her child would impact history? Who knows what he has planned for your children and ours? It's exciting to think about. All we have to do is do our best to raise them in the fear and knowledge of the Lord... He does the rest! It's a big job but well worth it!

Ok, enough preaching! Yesterday, about an hour into nap time, I heard Anson in his room talking. I opened the door and asked what he was doing and why he wasn't sleeping. He said "I called Gramma and Papa (on his toy phone). Papa pinched Gramma's finger and I had to get her a band aid!" What an imagination! I later had to call Papa and tell him to stop pinching Gramma and he got a kick out of the story. The day before, during nap time, he said he read five books! Maybe he did!

Well, have a good one!

Georgia Outdoors... Ahhh Choo!

Our roses just bloomed in the front yard and came in even bigger than last year. There are still a ton of buds that haven't opened yet! Anson picked some "flowers" (weeds) from the empty lot next to our house and made a beautiful bouquet. We had to keep them outside because Dusty's and my allergies have been horrible this past week. Hopefully it will be over soon! We had some rain last night which may have helped a little. A friend of ours told us to get some local honey and take a teaspoon every morning so we're going to try it!

Anson had fallen in love with one of Dusty's fishing hats and wants to wear it everywhere. He looks so cute in it that I just let him. Yesterday as we were getting ready to do some errands, I was explaining to Anson that he needed to have clothes on and could not go out naked. (I guess every boy needs that talk at least once :o) and he came back with.."Yes, Mommy. ONLY naked mole rats go out naked. NOT EE's!" - Now for the explanation: There is a new exhibit of Naked Mole Rats at the zoo... and Anson still, from time to time, refers to himself as EE. What a kid.

We hope you have a great weekend!

Bath time for Ella...

I just wanted to share these pictures... I always love the bath time pictures. I try not to take pictures that will make them want to kill me when they are teens but sometimes I just can't resist!

Yesterday we were loading up to do errands and I buckled Ella in her seat, walked around and got in my seat. Anson said "Mommy come buckle me! The police will get mad!". (I had to explain to him a few weeks ago why he had to be buckled in and that's what I said along with the safety issue). He went on to say "They'll take your joy!" I don't know where he came up with that phrase but it made me crack up!

Last night at dinner, Anson had to cough so he turned his head away and covered his mouth. I said "Wow! That was very polite. You are a real gentleman!" He looked at me very seriously and said, "No I'm not. I'm ANSON!!!" Poor kid thought his Mommy forgot his name.

Well, enjoy your day!

Weekend Pictures

Anson loves dandelions! He looks out the window and says, Mommy I see one that's ready to blow!

At the zoo on Friday, the otters were all huddled up inside a log. He yelled "Otters, come out here! I came to see you! Oh, you're sleeping? Oh, OK. Maybe I'll see you next time". He carries on both sides of the conversation!

The kids are enjoying the new bench around our tree in the back yard. (I can never seem to get them to look at me at the same time!)

My little monkey can stand now! She started playing with this toy yesterday and even danced a little bit! Well, she bopped up and down, which is considered great dancing in our home! And she's crawling pretty fast now! She made it across the living room today to get one of Anson's toys!







This is Ella after church today. I had Anson and Ella both dressed in blue today and they looked so cute. Thanks for the adorable outfit Uncle Chad and Auntie Amber! :o) (Please ignore the sweet potatoes on the collar... I have a great stain remover, though. I can't live without my Oxy Power spray stain remover! It works on everything!) Ella did really well in the nursery today! This was the first Sunday that I didn't have to leave the service to feed her!

Summer? Close enough.

Little Mommy

Two munchkins

Ella hanging out in the back yard

Anson playing with his shark in the freezing pool

OK so it's not technically summer yet but we graduated the baby pool and bought a bigger one for Anson to splash around in. I have to admit that I will be doing some spalshing right along with him... but not yet! It is freezing!!!!!!!! I put one foot in yesterday and decided to wait. I don't know how he can stand it but he has a blast. Ella shares my sentiments so we'll just wait until the sun can warm the water a bit. So you'll have to wait a while for cute pictures of Ella in the pool. She is just as happy crawling around on a blanket for now.

Well, have a great weekend! We're off for a walk around the zoo...