A Day on the Farm

On Saturday, we visited Lazy D Farms in Canton for the annual "Shawl to Sheep" Event. Our friends, Natalie, Brandon, and Emma invited us to come along with them to spend a few hours on the farm. Each year the Dobson family, who own Lazy D Farms, have festival to showcase the sheep they raise. We got to see a group of Jacob sheep being shaved to harvest wool. Other tents were set up with homemade soaps, ladies weaving and spinning, and musicians playing the banjo. Lily and Emma made homemade candles and Bear had a blast helping a sweet lady churn homemade butter.

We didn't last too long at the farm - it was not Lily's cup of tea. I've never thought of Lily as a "girly-girl", but she was not a big fan of the farm. She didn't like that it was hot outside, that dirt got in her shoes, and she wanted her daddy to carry her the entire time. After we looked at all the different events and craftsmen, we headed back home. As soon as we were back in the car, she was back to her normal self; laughing, singing, and smiling. I guess it's a good thing that we live in the comforts of a suburban neighborhood. I don't think our little princess would survive very long on a farm!

Bear checks out a sheep

Emma pets a newly shaved sheep

Bear loved the baby sheep - he wasn't scared to pet them at all!

Lily and Emma

Emma makes a candle with help from Natalie

Bear churns butter - this was his favorite part of the festival.

Lily samples the butter - and notice Bear still churning in the background.

My only somewhat successful kid group photo

My Daddy, My Hero

Daddy,

Thanks for rescuing me last night from the playground at Chick-fil-a. I wanted to be just like my sister, so after spending some time on the little low slide, I decided it was time to venture higher. Much higher. A little too high for such a little boy. I got scared to come down the big slide. Lily couldn't help me down, momma couldn't help me down - but you did. You're my hero!

Love,

Bear

Lily's Prayer

Josh was tucking Lily into bed tonight. He read her a story and then they said her prayers together:

Lily: "Dear God. Thank you for Momma, Daddy and Nanny and the other Nanny, Bubba, Mammy and Paw and Bear. Amen."

She didn't want to forget her little brother tonight :)

Happy Easter

We've had such a wonderful Easter Sunday! The Easter Bunny came to visit Lily and Bear last night. Lily got some "non-chocolate" candy (she doesn't like chocolate), a new blue leotard for gymnastics class, and a fun large bubble wand. Bear got chocolate candy, a book about the Easter story, new sandals.

We went to the 9am service at church this morning and had a quick egg hunt afterwards. Since Josh's parents are away on a spring break cruise, we hosted Easter dinner at our house with Joey and Jessica. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of spiral ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, and homemade rolls made by Jessica. We had a great time and spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Masters and taking naps. Here's a slide show of our Easter:

Our Easter was full of family fun, but it is such a humbling day and we definitely thought about the true meaning all throughout our festivities. What a glorious day that Sunday was when the tomb was empty and He had Risen! Thank you Jesus for going overcoming the cross and death to save me!

Easter Egg Hunting

This morning, Josh, Nanny, the kids and I went to the Cartersville Country Club for Easter lunch and egg hunt. The hunt was to start at 11am and we were told to be there early, so we arrived and anxiously awaited in the cool morning air for the egg hunt to start.

The kids were lined up by ages, so Lily and Bear were in the same 0-3 age group. We lined up with all the other little ones behind a rope and waited patiently for the hunt to begin. While waiting, we ran into the Jones family. Bear and Katie Anne entertained each other for a bit comparing baskets and mapping out where the best eggs would be! They both got a bit impatient and kept scooting under the rope trying to make a dash for the eggs.

Finally, the egg hunt started and boy was it a whirlwind. I stayed with Lily and Josh took Bear. I never thought how hard it might be to try and capture a few photos of both kids during the egg hunt. We were almost done collecting eggs before I found Josh and got a few shots of Bear. Lily did well after realizing that she could keep the eggs in her basket. At first, she'd see one, touch it, and then walk away. The ground was a bit wet and muddy, and her hesitancy was a combination of not wanting to get dirty and being mesmerized by all the kids around her. Josh helped Bear get a few eggs as well, and managed to cover his cute khaki pants in mud as well.

When the egg hunt ended, Lily and Bear compared their treasures with Katie Anne. Lily got about 10 eggs and Bear got 5. As we began walking toward the clubhouse for lunch, we ran into some friends from church, the Englands. While we were chatting, Lily took off running across the golf course. She was in her own little world - and ignored our calls to come back. Finally, Daddy's stern voice got her attention and she ran back over towards us. We surely have an independent, and at times defiant, little 3 year old on our hands right now.

Josh's aunt and cousin, Carol and Chelsea, joined us for lunch after the egg hunt. We had a yummy lunch of soup, salad, chicken and fruit - at least the girls did! Josh needed "red meat" before he was going to play golf that afternoon. We had a fun day and are looking forward to the rest of our Easter weekend!

Good Friday

Precious Savior - Words can't express how grateful I am that You suffered on the cross to save me from my sins and to give me eternal life. To think that You loved me so much brings me to tears. May I remember Your sacrifice not only on this Good Friday, but each and every day!

Easter Egg Fun

Tonight after dinner, Lily, Bear and I dyed our first set of Easter eggs. I had bought a dye kit last week thinking that Lily was probably at a good age to try this activity. We boiled our eggs this afternoon and after eating dinner we mixed our dye up. Lily and Bear were fascinated with the dye tablets dissolving in the vinegar. After the dye was made, Lily chose to make a blue egg first and Bear picked orange. Bear's interest didn't last long and after his "accident" of spilling the entire cup of orange dye he left the table to go play with other toys. Lily made an assortment of eggs with very little help from me. Her favorite was the hot pink one, of course! This was great fun and I've found a few more ideas for dyeing eggs - so we may try it again next weekend!

Getting Ready to Dye Eggs

Don't touch, Bear!
Bear and his orange egg, before the spill

Lily at work on her 1st eggPretty pink egg

Lily putting together her egg centerpiece