Our Tent

When I was a kid I remember putting sheets over our dining room table and pulling as many blankets and pillows under the "fort" as we could find. We made it as cozy as possible and then spent hours reading and playing in it.

From that, I got the idea of giving Karis and Thia a "fort" although they do not call it a "fort". They both call the contraption a tent. On this day they both had to have their pillows to lean against and Karis had to be dressed up in her Cinderella dress. They both grabbed a number of books and then piled on Karis bed. I threw the blanket over the top and they laid underneath their tent for a while. It was not as long as I had hoped because Thia realized that when she sat up completely her head brushed against the "tent". She then realized that she could completely aggravate her sister by making the tent go up and down. After a while the tent completely fell a part which caused hysterics on the part of Karis. Needless to say, it sounded like a good idea at the time. Maybe the mixture of a 4yr old and a 2 yr old under the tent is a bad combo. Karis has enjoyed the tent for much longer by herself and during her naps. Maybe Thia will catch on to the "point" as she gets a little older. Oh well....it makes for great stories.

Bye Bye Nassy

Thia said goodbye to her passy at the end of last week. Here is a video of her saying goodbye...

Page and I expected a really big fight at her next bed time. Her first nap was pretty rough, but she has gone to bed every other time with very little trouble. It took about 2 or 3 days and she has completely stopped asking for the "nassy" all together! YAY!!!!!

"I like crusts now, Mom!"

A few days ago I made myself some toast for breakfast. While I was eating the toast, Karis decided that she would like some toast for breakfast as well. It is amazing to me that my girls timing is so exact. It seems that right as I sit down to eat, they have another immediate need that needs to be met. For this reason, I am not sure I remember the last warm breakfast I have had. However, this is a topic for another day. The topic I am writing about today is Karis and her overnight love for crusts.

Each time I make toast or a sandwich for Karis I usually get a very long speech about how she emphatically "DOES NOT" like crusts. I heard the long and the short versions of this speech. It usually goes something like this...."Mom, you know that I don't like the crusts on my sandwich (or toast). I have never liked the crusts on my sandwich (or toast). Even when I was a little baby, I did not like the crusts on my sandwich (or toast). You are not going to leave the crusts on it are you, Mom?"

Well, on this day I told her that I was leaving the crust on the toast because it was still hot. I have always found hot toast easier to eat with the crust on. It is less likely to burn my fingers that way. At least this is the excuse I gave her at the time. I really do find toast easier to eat with the crusts, but the real reason I left the crusts on was because I was hungry and wanted my breakfast. For some reason she decided to actually try the crusts. The next thing I hear is...."MOM!! I LIKE CRUSTS!!!

Just think, another few seconds of doing the "old way" and my daughter would have never experienced the joys of crust eating. :-) Thank goodness I was so hungry that day.

Picture of Karis eating the crusts.

MOM!! I LIKE THE CRUSTS!!

Dressing Up

My girls have wonderful imaginations which I try to encourage as much as I can. They enjoy dressing up at least once a day. Here is some of the latest pictures of dress-up time.

Thia is dressed as a ballerina/bride. This costume was Karis' Halloween costume. They both have gotten a ton a wear out of it.

Karis is dressed up as an African Princess. Nana and PopPop gave her this costume for Christmas this past year.

You can see one of my shoes behind Karis. They also enjoy wearing my shoes. I can never keep them in my closet nor can I find a pair when I need them. I can usually find one but not the other. Oh the fun of having preschoolers! I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Royal Wedding Tea Party

As many Brits and Americans tuned in to watch the Royal Wedding at 4am, I chose to hold off and watch the Youtube recording at 4pm instead. We made a fun time of it. The girls and I went shopping for tea snacks (little cakes, scones, and sandwiches) and then we got out my china for the tea party. Mawmaw (Vickey Tassin) surprised Karis and Thia with their owntea cups which they learned to use and during our tea.

We set up the wedding on the computer and then oohed and ahhed over the new Princess Catherine's wedding dress. We watched her walk down that really long isle and say her vows with Prince William. Then we watched as they rode through London in their "open carriage" as Karis called it.

After the wedding and festivities were over, Karis and Thia decided they wanted to watch

Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement. The movie gave Mawmaw and I time to talk, which was lovely as well!

Painting

Both of my girls are very artistic and enjoy painting, drawing, and coloring. They especially enjoy expressing themselves through the arts. Here is an example of some expressing that happened today on Karis' birthday. Hope you enjoy!!

Conference Success!

We are so excited to announce the success of the marriage enrichment conference we had this past Saturday. We spent six hours talking about a number of different topics. We looked at the truths from Song of Solomon for marriage relationships. We discovered our personality types and discussed how our personalities can impact the way we think, feel both emotionally and physically, communicate with others, and relate with God. We saw how different personality types interact with one another which has direct impact on our marriage relationships. We discussed how each one of us speaks a certain love language and the need for spouses to fill up their significant others love bank by learning their language and speaking it often. We also divided up into small groups and discussed how all this information ties together to help you cultivate a beautiful marriage relationship.

The day went extremely smoothly. Each one of the couples were excited about what they learned and seemed to be motivated and determined to apply the information to their relationships.

I feel so blessed that the Lord gave me a husband whose passion for enriching marriages matches mine. I also am blessed to be able to do a job that is so rewarding. Thank you for your prayers. We definitely knew we were being prayed for. We look forward to the next Enriching Your Marriage conference.