Happy Birthday to the Sweetest Girl

So our sweet little Ainsley turned 4 years old today. I know everyone says it when they get older but time really does fly. I can't believe she is already 4. One more year of preschool and she'll be off to kindergarten - scary. I asked her if she wanted to stay 3 for another year and her response was, "no mom that would be silly, I can't be 3 again but maybe I could be 6." At least she said 6 instead of 16!

Ainsley has grown up so much in the past year. She is no longer a toddler she is a big girl. Not only does she know it, she makes sure you know it. She has quite the personality and is a ball to be around. I love her little giggle and the way she loves life. She spends a typical day "reading" books, doing puzzles, coloring or hopping around like a frog or kangaroo (yes, she is still doing this. A few weeks or maybe it was months ago I wrote a post about her jumping everywhere. I thought it wouldn't last but it has.)

The Lord has blessed us with a wonderful girl that has brought us so much happiness and joy. We love her desperately and are looking forward to what the next year brings.

Here are a few pictures of our "big girl". After not having a camera for months we finally got a new one. Problem is I still haven't gotten around to downloading all the software. Maybe this week I'll get it done and will be able to download some current pictures. Until then enjoy pictures of her younger (bald) years.

PJs and Ice Cream

What better way to end a glorious day than with PJs and ice cream? Bruster's Ice Cream is right up the road from us and every year they have a PJ party. Anyone that wears their pajamas gets a free waffle cone of ice cream. So after dinner we put the kids in their PJs and headed to Brusters for free ice cream. The kids loved it and so did we because when we got home we just put them straight to bed since they were already in their pajamas!

Today was a wonderful day. It started off hanging out with friends of ours we knew in Chicago that now live in the Winston/Salem area. The Clemmons stopped by on their way to Hilton Head. It is always fun to see old friends. Unfortunately the visit didn't last long because I had to go teach swim lessons and they had to get on the road. While I taught lessons Monte took the kids to Home Depot to do the monthly project. Today's was a tough one and since it was 2 on 1 (Monte vs the kids) only one project got done. When I saw the finished product I was quite impressed - 2 ramps for little cars to race down. From there he took the kids to Target to get popcorn and a drink - which the kids love doing. I got home and packed a lunch for us to take to the park. Today was a perfect day - sunny, not too hot and not a cloud in the sky. It was great to be outside. It's funny to think that the kids had 2 snow days this week and it was in the 70s today. We spent the majority of the day outside enjoying the weather hoping it stays like this. All in all it was a great day.

Verse #5

I'm a day late posting but here is verse #5 for the first two weeks in March.

"Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding." Proverbs 2:2-3

Snow In March?

Snow Day in March? In the South? Yep! We got about 3-4 inches of snow yesterday. Can you believe that? We haven't seen that much snow since leaving Chicago. Of course school was canceled and the kids got a snow day. Both kids were up bright and early this morning begging to go play in the snow. What does one do if they live in the south and they don't have attire or sleds to go sledding? Improvise!! The kids were in miss-matched layers of clothes. And the sleds - cookie sheets. FYI - They work great! We do have an old sled that Monte's dad and Monte used when they was a kids. It worked well in this time (in the past there was never enough snow for it to work).

After bundling the kids up we headed out to the golf course to do some sledding. By the way, I'm am thankful we don't live up north because I would dread bundling the kids up everyday - it took so much longer than just throwing on a coat. The kids had a ball sledding until their feet and hands got cold (no boots just tennis shoes and only one pair of knit gloves per kid). After coming in to warm up Ainsley and I decided to venture out again and build a snow man. I'm sure he won't last but he was fun to make.

There are a few nice things about snow in the south - it doesn't happen often and it's gone by noon. That's my type of snow! Here are a few pics from our snow day in March!!

Beckham making the first run down the hill

Beckham at the bottom

Ainsley's turn

Monte's attempt on the cookie sheet

WIPE OUT!

Our Snowman

(the sun shining on Ainsley's face is a pretty good indication that the snowman won't last long - maybe until lunch)

Verse #4

Once again I'm a little late posting this but I did pick out the verse on the 15th I just haven't had time to post it in my blog. Here is verse #4:

My dear brothers and sisters be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. Your anger can never make things right in God's sight.

James 1:19-20

I picked this one because we have had a few issues with sibling anger lately. Now when the kids get angry with each other we quote this verse.

New Names

Ainsley informed us tonight at dinner that we all have new names. Dad is now Coopster, Mom is Chippy, Beckham is Taco and Ainsley is now Boo-gee. We'll see how long it last but she thinks it's a riot and cracks up every time she uses our new names. Ahh, to be 3 again. By the way, she is still hopping everywhere.

First Heart Break at age 5

After Friday I realized 1. I don't want my kids to grow up and be teenagers and 2. there are going to be a lot of hearts broken between now and when they grow up (not that it stops then). Here's a play by play summary of what happened after school on Friday:

Me: Beckham, how was your day?
B: Not good. I had a rough day.
Me: why what happened? (wondering what could happen to a 5 year old to make him say he had a rough day)
B: I'm sad because I asked Meredeth to be my girlfriend and she said no.
Me: That's too bad. maybe she's not ready for a boyfriend.
B: I asked her nicely and said please. I even told her the reasons why I wanted her to be my girlfriend.
Me: (This peaked my interest I had to find out the reasons a 5 yr old wanted a girlfriend) Really? What were your reasons?
B: I told her that she is a nice and she is the most beautiful girl on the playground.
Me: Aw. That's sweet. I'm sorry she doesn't want to be your girlfriend.
B: That makes me sad.
Me: Well, girls sometimes disappoint you. The only person that won't is God. Should we have lunch?
B: Can we have chips?

I felt so bad for him he was truly heartbroken. Guess Monte and I are going to have our hands full when Beckham is older. Especially if he is already getting his heart broken. He's our sensitive one. Ainsley on the other hand will be the one breaking hearts.