Grandpa Jim

Yesterday we lost Grandpa Jim. He came to live near Jerry and Jill because he needed more help than the assisted living facility he was in could handle. Around Christmas he came to live here. We were all glad we would get to see him a little more but I know he missed being in Ohio. After a few weeks he went to live in a nearby nursing home. We went to see him a few times. I wish we had made it up there more. Aaron went alone several times because he had fallen and his bumps and bruises were more than they thought the girls could handle.
Something happened at church yesterday that upset me and we left before we even sat down. I was upset and grumpy but as soon as we got home Aaron said he was leaving to visit Grandpa. I'm so glad he did ...and almost glad that situation at church happened or I would not of left and Aaron may of not made it to the nursing home. He was able to see him. A few hours later we got a phone call that he had passed away.

When we told the girls I explained that Grandpa was not living at the nursing home anymore but that Jesus had come to take him back to heaven. Reese gasp with excitement and said REALLY! She was very excited for Grandpa Jim. She obviously doesn't understand this all but her response is exactly what it should be for a fellow believer. She has heard the wonderful exciting things that lay ahead for one who believes and she knows that Grandpa is experiencing that now! She did ask if that means he is dead, to which we said yes and she asked why we were crying. We explained that when someone dies we can't see them anymore and that makes our hearts sad but we will get to see Grandpa Jim again one day in heaven.


Things I remember best about him in the very short time I knew him was how much he enjoyed sweets! He would throw chocolates at us :) And how much he enjoyed my girls. I'm sad for Aaron's family. Pray that they are comforted during this time. We will miss you Grandpa Jim!

Resurrection Egg stories

Two funny stories...

We were doing our day two of the resurrection eggs we talked about how Judas turned Jesus in for money. We opened the egg to find coins but as I read the story Reese gasped really loud and said "Oh my that isn't nice."

Ya think? But I was glad she was listening and started to "get" this some.

Tonight, talked about how Jesus was whipped and we opened the egg to find a small brown whip. Saige, who is looking down and appears to not be listening at all, pops up and said "if you beat someone with a whip you have to say you're sorry!!"

Hmm...well, first we don't beat people with anything Saige! :)

Love these little monkeys!

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

Our neighborhood had an Easter Egg hunt today with lots of other activities as well. Aaron had to work, Momo had to work, and KK had other plans so we went solo. Saige is pretty busy so extra hands definitely help but that wasn't an option today. We walked to the park in the wagon (meaning I walked and the girls rode)We tried to be smart and got in line for the face painting right away. The girls BOTH did it this year!! Saige normally doesn't like this at all. She requested her entire face to be painted PINK but we talked her into a pink butterfly. She was beside her self excited to see glitter on her face too!








Next we went over to the egg hunt. Saige was READY to go and we almost had a big scene when pull her back because they hadn't said "go" yet. She went right out and ONLY picked up PINK eggs. Seriously, this girl has an obsession!!!!!





Next Reese wanted to visit the Easter Bunny. Saige did not want ANY part of the bunny but stood and watched. Reese has always loved pretend things like this. The first one of these we ever went to she chased that bunny around and wouldn't leave him alone. LOL!!



Then it was Reese's hunt time.





We also got to see a clown with a real monkey!



We also got to pet/hold real bunnies. I felt sorry for the bunnies and told my girls to just try and pet them. Several came and snuggled with Saige.




We also rode a train and did a cake walk which Saige won! There were a few other games to play but I felt like we had done enough and we still had that walk back to make! The girls ate candy for lunch and I was pretty tired! Successful morning!!

Strawberry heaven

We went to King's Orchard on Wednesday with some of Reese's school friends. We went the back way and drove through lots of two lane roads with trees. It was a nice break from the freeway driving. :) The girls were very excited to get there but when we did Saige wanted to be held. I think she gets overwhelmed by new places/people sometimes. The girls all got their boxes and went to picking. Reese and Saige quickly learned to watch out for the squishy strawberries and I was thankful we had last years summer clothes on. :) The girls both didn't pick a ton (to which I was also thankful) but enough to cover the bottom of their boxes. We paid for our strawberries and had a lovely picnic lunch. The kids all played in the "forest" aka trees nearby while the Moms talked.

When we got home Reese wanted to eat the strawberries but I wanted to make something with them. We decided on jam. I googled a quick recipe (seriously, how did people survive w/o google before? LOL) and we got busy. We washed and then cut the strawberries. I gave the girls a butter knife and they cut them with me. Reese LOVED doing this with me. She was so into helping me in the kitchen. We then got to mashing and Reese was happy to help. We added the important stuff...sugar and cooked it up. After dinner the girls had toast with their homemade jam. Reese also had toast and jam for breakfast and a peanut butter and JAM sandwich. Her teacher said she talked about it all day at school too. Mrs. Burris said "you certainly made a memory with her." She was spot on.

Spring Show

Reese had her spring show at school. I think it was called under the sea. The kids all sang sea/ocean/fish songs. Reese was all the way at the top row second from the right. We sat all the way in the back row so it was hard to see her. Then a lot of parents stood up. But when she sang her song her class came down to the front and I elbowed my way in to see my baby sing. :) Her Nana, Papaw, Momo, Aunt KK all came to see her sing. She is truly loved!

*When we were getting ready I put her shirt on and the kids were to wear jean something (shorts, pants, skirt). Reese choose a skirt-no surprise-but when I put her shirt on she threw a fit. It was too big so I bunched it up and she started LITERALLY crying and said "this isn't beautiful enough for me" REALLY??? How on earth did I end up with this child? I am soooo not like this and she is!! We put a bow on her shirt and rolled the sleeves. After that she was almost ok with it but finally I had to say "dry it up" and we moved along. Can you imagine how much worse of a diva she would be if I was into the glitz and glam. WOW!

Saige...

Saige got a much needed haircut. Daddy likes the girls (and mommy's) hair long but he doesn't get that it needs to be shaped. I got her a little bob and oh my goodness...it is CUTE! I always thought her hair was going to be really thin but once we cut it her hair seemed to thicken up. Here are some before and after shots. I went ahead and used a round brush and blow dryer the other night and could not get over how fluffy and cute she looked.

Zoo

We went to the zoo with a few of Reese's school friends. She had so much fun. I often pulled three girls in my one wagon. They all wanted to squish in. We also rode the carousel. We have never done that before and they loved it. They have a new African part that we have seen before but they now let you FEED the giraffe's. It was so neat...and of course I forgot my camera and couldn't get the iPhone camera up fast enough. But we're members so we'll do it again for sure. We stopped off to see daddy for some ice cream before heading home. It was a great day!