A NEW HOME!!!

Saturday we travelled to Maumelle, Arkansas! Our Uncle Matt and Aunt Tasha have moved to a new home!! They had been living in Little Rock looking for a home. They found one about a month ago and are now moving in and making it theirs.It is a FABULOUS WONDERFUL BIG ROOMIE house! They have been working on some changes to it the past weeks and have had family up working hard with them. We were soo impressed with all their hard work. It looks soo good!

Connor took the drive there pretty well, playing, singing, reading, talking...we never had to break out his ipod to watch a "movie"!! When we got to the house, the moving truck had just come with furniture. Connor was thrilled to see Grandmomma and Grandpa. He helped unloading things like-pillows! We love Matt and Tasha's new yard...it huge and fun!! Connor was impressed with all the big rocks!! It was GORGEOUS weather! and Connor spent a lot of time outside playing! We tried helping around the house as mothers and grandmothers painted...Connor and I put on wall plates and unpacked some kitchen boxes.Brad and the boys worked on light fixtures and ceiling fans. Connor got to get a plumbing lesson-fun time- with Grandpa.I'm not soo sure they were successful with that project?!!? Connor also helped Grandmomma with loads of laundry.We had a nice lunch and dinner out on their deck. Connor even took the first nap-in the new pack n play- for their baby!!! It was a great time. I know we didn't do a whole lot of work but we tried. We are VERY PROUD EXCITED and HAPPY for Matt and Tasha and their new home on Coral Cove. We wish them all the best in getting it just like they want it and ready for our new family member coming soon!!

On the drive back home Brad took me by the Laundry Mat that we co-own in West Memphis. I was not quite prepared for what I saw!!??! Keep up the hard work Knuckleheads- is all I can say!?!?

Libarie...story time

We enjoy going to story time at our local Olive Branch Library. Connor LOVES books! He loves listening, sitting on the colored squares , playing and picking new books!! We have been trying to go consistently lately.

Thursday, we had almost a private session of story time at the "libarie". As we got there I was a little worried that it had been cancelled, but our teacher told us that it was just a super slow morning. Connor and Eli and one other little girl enjoyed a full story time together. IT was pretty neat to see the teacher work soo one-on-one with them. They loved that she let them move to different colored squares. The song this week was the monkeys and the alligator and Connor was in heaven! He "SNAPPED" those monkeys right out of the tree. Eli and Connor did a FABULOUS job of listening and interacting. I was sooo proud of them. Connor also was very insistent today that in the library you are "QUIET"!! And he for the most part is a very quiet boy in the library. He did pick out a few new books to bring home...his favorite right now is veggie tales and winnie the pooh. I being the seasonal teacher/mommie wanted him desperately to pick some Easter books...he was not interested one bit. I slipped one "Bunny my Honey" book in and now it is his favorite to read at home!!! Hopefully next week our "libarie" friends and group will be back to normal attendace. It was a nice change though!!

We were soo excited to be home for this past weekend. We do seem to be the travelling VanYoung family!!ha!

Friday night has been a night in waiting...THE GVB was coming to DeSoto Civic Center. Our church had gotten tickets and I had reserved 3. My mom and dad came. Connor went to our church's "Date Night", that hopeyfully one month soon Brad and I will actually get to go on a "date". Brad had a few hours to himself.

Knowing how long I've listended and followed Bill Gaither and his bands was quite an eye opener for me. What a ministry of talent! for many generations...yes mostly the elderly enjoy and attend the concerts.What was more exciting for me was getting to see Wes. I grew up with Wes Hampton and his family. They are dearly precious to me. To be able to see him in concert made me soo proud and happy for him and what God is doing with him and his AMAZING talent. I truly feel like the GVB is on a great new track with Michael English and of course, Mark Lowry back in action. We did clap, sing, and laugh well into midnight...Sweet HOMECOMING!

Saturday was a day at home for Connor and I. Brad was off working at the laundry mat. We did get out and run a few errands. For dinner we headed to our favorite cheese fry place...Outback! It was quite funny to look up and see Brad and Connor doing their best to eat their broccolli.

Sunday is always the day we look forward to. We just love our church. Connor wore a strikingly hansome new spring big boy outift. He looks and acts more and more "grown up" each day.

We had mexican potluck lunch with our Sunday School class after church. The Simmons are fabulous teachers and friends. It was such yummy eating and fun fellowship as always. I keep hoping one day a little girl will come around...there are just soo many boys amongst us all!!How blessed we are to have friends!

Brad and I teach Sunday night children's church called "Upside". It is WAY COOL FUN! We have a youth praise band that leads our music worship time. I teach the lessons and Brad oversees the games. We use the Team Kid curriculum. Tonight was a packed out house!! Lots of kids, our band sounded incredilbe, all the kids had fun. It is truly a blessing to see God at work in children's lives. They are such sponges--soaking it all up and spitting it back out!!

We look forward to a fun and busy week.

For the first time ever...because we've finally lived in one place long enough...I have been summonsed for jury duty. I will just keep calling in each night to see what awaits me. My prayer is that God will "pass this cup from me". Not that I don't think it would be cool or that I don't want to serve, but that just does not fesibly fit into my daily life schedule. We will see!??!

Creative Boys! Tuesday, March 24th

Today Eli was with us and we were very creative!

Painting on the easel was a serious thing. They loved every minute of it but were very quiet and focused...quite unusual. But another beautiful masterpiece was made. "God makes pretty solors"!Connor said.

I have confirmed that Connor has inherited his mother's allergies. I always struggle with them and now my poor boy does. He is now taking Children's Zyrtex and we will see how that helps him.We had not been outside very long before both our noses started "runnin"!!! We did have some great swinging time and picking up sticks is an endless fun game.

We did try out the sidewalk chalk for the first time. I knew that rain was coming later so it was a good opportunity to see how Connor likes it...as always-he loved it. He and Eli "solored" really well. I drew several things for them and then we played my own version of Simon Says...except I'd like to call it "obey mommy...the first time!!" They would jump on the circle. Stand in the rectangle. Color the triangle. Stomp on the sun...etc. It was a great time! They both were very proud and when Dad made it home. Connor had to go show his chalk art off.

Brad was back at the Laundry Mat tonight. So, Connor and I hit the gym for and hour and then home for dinner...He finally ate "radibodi" (raviolli) for the first time (we've tried it many a times) and BOY did he gooble it up! Who knows next time?!?!?He was soo proud he wanted to call Mimi to tell her! and their phone conversation actually lasted a few minutes...both understanding each other!!

In his prayers tonite Connor said thank you for "rain" without any prompting or memory of it. I thought about how wonderful rain really is-especially for all this pollen bothering us!??!

Zoo Day! Wed. March 25th

We spent the morning/afternoon at the ZOO!! It has been a while since we've been. We met our friends Amanda, Wesley, "baby Davis", Elizabeth and Seth. It was a BEAUTIFUL day out. The boys all enjoyed the animals, being outside, and each other. Connor still has his favorites...giraffe "like Melman", elephants, zebra-which were not out today, and polar bears. I chose to take the wagon as usual and Connor had himself a little accident at the elephants...somehow he fell backwards on to the concrete! His precious head hit! It did hurt and scare him-and ME! But luckily a knot started coming outward and his eyes seemed to be fine. After he was consoled soo sweetly by Wesley and he calmed down he was ready to go find the hippo "like Gloria"!?!? I did contiune to seriously watch him- all these boo-boos boys get daily-Big and little ones. Thank you ,God, for protection and healing! We certainly enjoy having a zoo membership and gettting to go often for such FUN-especially with friends and family along!

March 17, 2009

O.K.
I have finally taken time to sit down and do this!
I know you have been patiently awaiting when I would finally quit talking about doing this and actually doing it...the day has arrived!!
I want to let it be known that I will use this as a way to show what FUN we're having on a daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal basis.
Today just happens to be a holiday!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! or as Connor and Eli are calling it green clover day!
Although I did not "plan" for anything, we have had a fun time with the day.
Connor was up late last nite (9:00) so he slept in until about 9:00! Eli had been patiently waiting for him and just hangin with "Juji".
We ate a quick bfast of bananas and raisin toast and got busy playing...trucks, cars, trains, baseball, in the tent and then OUTSIDE! It was still a little damp but absolutley gorgeous sunshine! The boys pulled out all the toys and played. Mostly playing with sticks and leaves rather than toys.
We came in for some GREEN craft time. We painted. "yellow and blue makes...GREEN!" We used yellow and blue markers on coffee filters then sprayed them with water to make GREEN!
We surprisingly didn't get very messy. These little artistic boys did GREAT and had FUN!
For lunch I tried making shamrock cheese toast. The boys loved it. We also had green pudding that luckily I like bc they did not!!
Picking up cleaning up potty time and nap time came quickly.
WOW! How the few hours pass during nap time. I did finish all my laundry and get to check my email. But no sewing today!?!

Snack today was sharing one RAINBOW cupcake!!How lucky I was to have that left over?!!?