Easter

Happy Easter!
Nana and Pappaw refinished my old babydoll cradle and make a bed out of it for Emma's babydoll "Debbie". The blankie has "lulabah" (ladybugs) on it.

We did an Easter egg hunt for Emma and put a chocolate chip in each egg.

We walked to the neighbor's and fed their horse "Ace" a carrot.

We made a bonfire and sat around it and roasted hotdogs.

And played in the leaves and dirt and twigs and such.

My dad and Jarrah played "chase the stick"

And we all slept great that night. Emma has been doing MUCH better at night. I am hoping that is here to stay.

Happy Easter- Christ is always a reason to celebrate- the grave couldn't hold Him! He is risen, He is risen indeed!!!

Now I lay me down to scream

I hear it's very normal for kids to go through a phase of crying when you put them to bed, and again when they wake up in the night. Separation anxiety, temper tantrums, call it what you might, I call it "sleep deprivation for the whole family"!
We were making progress by putting Emma to bed with her baby doll "sammye" and praying with her, reassuring her that we could still hear her and were not far away. She'd immediately start crying... LOUDLY! We had made progress from her crying for about 45 mintues or so, down to only 5 minutes. Last night felt like we were starting over, only worse. Her night time schedule was messed up due to a later church service last night- but still... 2 hours of crying!!! It was after midnight before she finally gave in and fell asleep. So we are trying to be patient, and compassionate, and consistent. That the best advice we've gotten. It's hard to hear her crying for you and not go in to pick her up. I have given in a couple times, but I know that only makes things worse in the long run.

I was frustrated last night. I mean, REALLY frustrated, but she eventually stopped and this morning when she woke up and I got her out of her crib she was no worse for the wear.

And later when she crawled off the couch with her cup and ran across the room, curls bouncing... I just have to smile.

Challenge

The Lord has been giving me this verse everywhere I look: "love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength". I feel He is challenging me in a few things. (only a few because He knows my ability, not because He's running out of things to challenge me in:))
I feel God challenging me to love HIM more. I am being challenged to serve more, compare myself to others less, envy less, and trust more. It's a tall order but I also see how God is encouraging me and holding my hand each step of the way. I'm in the process of picking out a couple verses that I can (in the words of Gary Smalley) "chew" and digest so that they are in me and available when I need the reminder/encouragement. It's fun to see when your usual response is replaced with a new one. One by one, I want to replace my responses and reactions with Christ.

Spring fever

Emma got sick this week. We had to sleep in a chair to keep her propped up at night.

Mommy's lost a few nights sleep too.

But we still got to enjoy this incredible spring weather!

Church dress

Emma was very excited to go "buh bye ursh" (bye bye church) on Sunday. She danced all around and then played peekaboo. She has been so happy and lively since she got over her last cold. What fun:)

Two words together

Emma is putting more and more words together! Well, maybe just two words together but she's doing it on purpose and it helps me know what she wants and needs. Watching her learn is so fun!

Cabin fever

Jon plays volleyball on Thursday nights at the Y and this week Emma and I had cabin fever so we went to watch. I had a romantic idea of us going to the gym and Emma running and playing- chasing a ball and me taking pictures of Jon playing. We'd leave and get home in time for Emma's bath and I'd put an exhausted girl to bed who would sleep through the night. Here's reality...

Jon played volleyball and we watched. He served and bumped and Emma...

sat on the floor and played with keys from my purse and my camera case.

But we watched Jon some more and finally (about ten minutes before time to leave)...

Emma joined the fun by throwing and chasing a ball.