the mom song- in honor of Mother's Day

Shrek 4

Anyone excited about this? We are looking forward to Toy Story 3 more...

Meeting Seth

Look at all these cute cousins!

Tonight the Websters came to visit us, bring the tiny new baby Seth for us to meet for the first time. The kids all had a great time as usual while John and I had the best time holding the baby all evening.

Mary Beth touched Annie's hand at one point and turned to me saying "I like Annie." :) So sweet. They stuck pretty close together all night doing a bunch of girly things.

There's probably nothing John loves more than holding a tiny baby. I think I still managed to get in more time than him but it was pretty close.

Look at this precious little peanut! I just wanted to squeeze him so tight and kiss him a million times but I controlled myself and acted appropriately. Gosh I love babies... is there anything better???

Jeffrey loved the baby. He says he wants one and even promised to change the diapers to sweeten the deal. :)

We were so nervous for Mickey to hold Seth(after the goat incident). He assured me that he wouldn't drop him or throw him down if he kicked or cried so I put a bunch of pillows around him and prayed for the best.

He didn't drop him and was so careful and cute about it. Mickey has never shown much interest in babies so it was really nice to see this.

Mary Beth: quit sucking your thumb!!!!

Poem

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

by Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,

I'd do less correcting, and more connecting,

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less and know to care more.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I'd run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging, and less tugging.

I would be firm les often, and affirm much more.

I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd teach less about the love of power

and more about the power of love.

I always pray that I can raise my children without (too much)regret and that I can savor every single moment of the precious few I have with them being my little peanuts...

HAPPY MAY DAY!

Like many other of the insignificant holidays, my children LOVE celebrating May Day.

This year we decided to make paper flowers to leave on our friends' doorsteps instead of "baskets" of candy. They are prettier, healthier, and a fun craft project for the kids.

These were a big deal in Texas(I lived there for 4 years during high school)- especially around cinco de mayo and "Fiesta"- an annual celebration in San Antonio down on the Riverwalk.

We spent all morning making these... the kids took breaks here and there but we managed to get them all done.

This isn't all of them- we had already delivered a bunch by the time I took this picture.

These bright colors make me so happy! I wanted to keep them all for myself!I had some little bees left from Mickey's homemade Valentine cards this year so we decided to glue them in the flowers. Mickey is learning about bees right now in science so he thought this was a good idea.

I made little name tags out of some cute springy cardstock and tied them on with some ribbon. I think they really turned out cute!

The one downside was that it was a really chilly, gloomy, rainy day outside. Not very May Day-ish at all! So they tried to deliver them in between bouts of rain showers and they also had to leave them inside the doors so that they didn't get ruined by the rain if the people weren't home.

Mickey said "this was the best May Day ever!"- they say that every year. :) They never got caught but Mary Beth did catch their little friend Stella so she got a kiss! Hope all of you had a great May Day too!

this moment

a friday ritual (inspired by soulemama) a single photo capturing a moment from the week. a simple, special, extraordinary moment. a moment to pause, savor and remember. if you're inspired to do the same, share a link to your 'moment' in the comments!

Mary Beth's last time having "share bag" in her preschool career. sniff sniff... Contents: Suzie in her new yellow dress, a white zhu zhu pet dressed in a tutu and a tiara, and in honor of letter X week: a real x-ray of her abdomen. Bet the teachers didn't think we could successfully pull of a show and tell that starts with an X!
PS: In case you haven't noticed yet- she hearts headbands.

Shia's home!

This is Mickey and Jeffrey's good buddy Shia. They have been friends since they were 2 years old. We lived near them in Bismarck and then we all moved to Fargo at the same time almost 2 years ago. Shia is the sweetest little boy and can do the BEST monster noises. He and Jeffrey love to "snuggle-wrestle" and all the kids have the greatest time playing together.
Last week Shia and his family found out that he was very sick and need surgery this past Monday in St. Paul. The surgery went great but Jeffrey and Mickey were VERY worried about him. Jeffrey cried for days and even had to go see the school counsler one day because he was so upset. Today Shia came home and we all walked down to his house to welcome him back. He looked and acted just the same as he did before so the boys say they feel better now. :) We all prayed very hard for Shia and we are SO happy that he is home and doing well.