Big Changes

Our Saturday project was to put Hope and Aliyah in "big girl beds".  Hope has been sleeping in a toddler bed and Aliyah in a crib.  It was time for twin size beds for both of them.  Aliyah has climbed/fallen out of her crib twice now.  I really don't want her to get hurt so we've decided to make the big switch.  Samuel was younger than Aliyah when we moved him to a bed (but I guess that was out of necessity b/c Hope and Aliyah both needed the cribs!) but Aliyah is still my baby so she seems like she is still too little!

 Samuel and Hope loved helping Daddy.  We gave Samuel's bed to Aliyah (b/c it is a day bed with railings on both sides) and then gave Samuel and Hope the two beds without railings.  We'll see how many times we have to pick kids up off of the floor tonight!  At bedtime tonight Samuel said that one of his favorite things during the day was "helping Daddy carry the wood for the beds".

 Aliyah's last time in her crib (sniff, sniff).  This was taken after her nap this afternoon.  When she fell out of her crib earlier this week it was because she was holding onto the railing and jumping and she just jumped right over the railing . . . . literally!

 This was Hope's reaction when we told her that we were going to take apart her little bed.  She threw herself on the floor and pouted.  She told us that she likes her "cozy bed" and she doesn't want a big girl bed!

 Saying good-bye to her toddler bed.  She LOVED it - especially her satin sheet! :)

 Aliyah's bed (without the railings on)

 The girls room all set up and ready for two big (little) girls!  Why do they have to grow up so quickly??  When we asked Hope if she was excited about her big girl bed she said, "Just a little, but not a lot!"  She noticed right away that her "cozy sheet" (satin sheet) wasn't on her new bed.  I was hoping to not buy satin sheets for her twin size bed (b/c she wears a satin sleep cap and sleeps with/on a satin lovey sheep) . . . maybe I'll just buy a satin pillowcase and see if that's good enough for her.

Samuel's room with his new bed.  

Hope and I definitely had the hardest time with the changes.  I told Daryl that now this just frees up our cribs for another baby. ;)  That's my only consolation in this change!!  Samuel and Aliyah are both very excited about their new beds.  Hopefully they all sleep well tonight!!

This is what you do . . .

. . . when it is pouring rain outside and the kids want to have a picnic!

First backyard bonfire of the year!

The perfect end to a perfect Saturday - a backyard bonfire with pies and s'mores!  As soon as we started building the fire, Samuel asked, "Can we have marshmallows too?!"  How could I say no to that?  Thankfully my Mom was going to the store anyways so I had her grab some marshmallows. :)

 Grandpa helping Samuel roast his marshmallow

 Hope and Mommy

 My silly girls :) - Samuel likes to suck in his cheeks too, just like what Aliyah is doing.  

 Samuel loved his s'more!

It's still chaos but a more controlled chaos now that the kids are a little bit older than last summer - 3, 3, and 21 months. :)

A New Swing Set!

We were blessed today with a new-to-us swing set.  Our little swing set/playground broke 2 days ago.  Samuel, Savannah, and Aliyah were swinging on it and one of the posts cracked.  It's been wobbly and precarious for awhile so we knew this was coming.  My kids love to swing (especially Aliyah) and they were very sad that their swing set no longer was usable.  I was shocked at the price of new playgrounds and swing sets when I checked them out online.  I was telling my Mom yesterday, ""All I want is a simple but sturdy wooden swing set. Just a simple a-frame with 4 swings."  But when I checked those out I was surprised to see that they are about $800!!  Daryl was throwing around the idea of building one himself when I decided to just put it out there on facebook to see if any of my fb friends had any ideas for me.  Almost immediately a sweet family that I used to babysit for commented on my status and said that they had a swing set in their backyard exactly what I was looking for and if we wanted to come and get it, it was ours!  We went on Saturday morning to look at it and by Saturday afternoon it was being hauled back to our house on a big trailer.  

Daryl, my Dad, and our neighbor Mike carrying the swing set from the trailer back into our backyard.

Hanging up the swings - the kids were very excited to try it out!

Samuel loved the rings

What a blessing!  The kids weren't the only excited one.  God answers even our littlest prayers, doesn't He?  

Trying to figure out what to do with the old swing set.  Daryl ended up disassembling it and giving it to my Dad to take to trash pick-up day at the park.  We kept the slide . . . just in case.  The kids do say that they miss having the slide. 

The kids swung for a long time!  

I had to try it too!  What you can't see is that Hope is behind me.  I promise!!

My Dad even tried it out (and Hope wasn't behind him!)

A pretty swingin' girl!

This girl could swing all. day. long. 

This is the thank you note that I sent to the family that gave us the swing set.  I think it sums up my thoughts and feelings quite well!

Thank you SO SO much. I put some pictures up and tagged you in one of them. My kids LOVE it! I think I might love it more.  Aliyah and Hope probably were swinging for 45 minutes plus after it got here. Then they were all on and off and on and off (but mostly on) it for the rest of the evening. It's definitely a big hit!
It's so crazy because I was just telling my Mom yesterday, "All I want is a simple but sturdy wooden swing set. Just a simple a-frame with 4 swings." Did God answer that specifically or what? I'm amazed at how He provided. And so quickly too! Our swing set broke on Thursday night. My kids swing every day so I really wanted to find a new one quickly but I had no idea how quickly God was going to answer that prayer! I was looking online yesterday and a swing set kit (no slide or anything) was almost 700!!! Definitely not affordable for us right now. Thank you for being so generous and for blessing us with exactly what I was asking God for. No prayer request is too silly, right?  
It was weird pushing my kids on it tonight and thinking that 13 or 14 years ago I was pushing YOUR kids on it. Who would have thought back then that one day my kids would be swinging on that very swing set. I know it all sounds silly but I seriously wanted to cry tonight when I was watching my kids enjoy the swing set so much. You have blessed our family. Thank you!!
Sara

Easter Egg Hunt 2012

We did our Easter egg hunt a week late this year.  It was such a hit that I think we'll do it again next year!  The candy was on sale, Easter weekend wasn't so crazy, and we all had a blast!  We did the hunt at our friends' house from Church and another family (we all used to be in the same small group together) that recently moved to GR.  We were thankful they wanted to make the drive and join us!  After the Easter egg hunt we all gathered inside for a super yummy brunch. :)

All of the kids were peeking out the back window to watch their Daddies hide the eggs!

Samuel did a much better job egg hunting this year - last year he was scared to touch the eggs because the ground and the eggs were wet.  This year we had the same kind of weather but the wetness didn't phase him!

Hope didn't get as many eggs because she was more interested in opening them right away to see what was inside!

Trying to reach one up high in the tree!

Aliyah was serious about her egg-hunting!

I had cute little Easter buckets for them - Aliyah got one and the handle broke on the other one.  Samuel used a Meijer shopping bag and Hope used an ice cream bucket.  Works for me!

Aliyah spotted one way up high!

So did Samuel.  He needed some help getting that one down!

Opening the eggs and finding the treasures - candy, coins, necklaces, bouncy balls, and little water toys!

Markin' Glen Park

Today we did a picnic at Markin' Glen Park with my friend Becky and her 2 little girls and my Mom and Savannah.  It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine . . . but a little windy.  Without the wind I'm sure it would have been perfect.  But we still had a great time!

 Eating lunch

 Savannah and Samuel playing in the sand down on the beach.  Savannah thought it was a lot warmer than what I really was. ;)

 The teeter-totter was a big hit.

 This is my messy girl.  She could care less how dirty she gets.  Hope loves life and goes at everything 100%. She thought she was in trouble when I told her to show me how dirty her hands were.  Nope - not in trouble! Kids are supposed to get dirty!!  (But I still haven't been able to get those mud stains out of her clothes!)

 Static anyone?

 On the playground "the boat" with Grandma

 Samuel was the captain of the ship

 Playing peek-a-boo with Grandma.  Aliyah sure does love her Grandma!

 "Ka-Boo!!!"

 Attempting to climb up the slide.  That's about as far as she got.

 Aliyah's turn to be the captain

Hope on the teeter-totter

Aliyah on the teeter totter.  You can't help but smile when you see this precious face!