Sprinkle On Some Fun

Big Sister, Little Sister

 On our morning walks, Elise usually talks to her baby and has to be reminded several times not to get too far away.  And usually, I can look down and see my sweet Buzz right under my feet. 

 

Sometimes it seems these two are as different as night and day, and while I love experiencing their different personalities, I have found my response to them to be troubling.  I often find myself saying, "Well, your sister..."  Had no trouble sitting still, ate all her food, put her toys away, isn't yelling, doesn't do that, is minding, etc.  The list goes on.  Amelia pointed out the other day while I was in a "Well, your sister.." moment that God made us all different.  And oh, did he.  So, I will be making a concentrated effort to not compare behaviors or try to get something out of one girl by pointedly praising the other.  Less sister discipline and more individual.  We shall see how it goes.  Because the last thing I ever want to do is create conflict between these two angels by my poor word/parenting choices.

Need to make a change?  Just do it!

The Henderson Four + The Halsted Four = Tons of FUN

Steph and Derek brought the girls over for a full day of water fun and yummy food.  The girls all played on the sun porch, which seems to be the gathering place in this sweet little house.  It is so sunny and full of life out there.  There were wagon walks and bike rides; off-roading and scootering.  We ate an early lunch of breakfast casserole and then headed out to our big, fancy, new pool.  I love how easily impressed the girls are at this age and I cherish it.  Before we know it they will be teenagers and we will have to majorly up our game, haha.  They splashed around and had a blast together inventing silly games and jumping---a whole lotta jumping.

The girls ALL napped like champs.  I was so proud of them for getting good rest so that we could get right back to having fun.  It is so special to me that they are all so close and age and I just crack up realizing that we couldn't have planned it this way if we had tried.  Steph and I never talked about trying to get pregnant and we obviously had no control over them being all girls.  I am so thankful for these four and hope they are a constant source of fun and encouragement for each other. Ross grilled the most amazing steaks for supper and the fun didn't end until time for bed. 

I will end this post with two happy sisters whose hearts are full from the most splendid day of fun with the people they love so dearly. 

We're Heeeere!

We have moved in and officially live in AR again!  I was such a nervous ball of stress those four days it took to get one house loaded and packed and unpacked here.  Sheesh.  So thankful for all the help that we had.  I cannot imagine doing it without Mom having the girls.  It makes my heart ache for those that don't have help in big, life-changing occurrences because I know there are those out there that are on their own.  Amy Jo came over and helped me get everything arranged for the girls because I was most concerned with their room being perfect. 

The transition has been incredibly smooth.  God's blessings have been poured out over us- most definitely.  The girls have not said anything about Ozark or missing our old house or anything that I was worried about.  So far, so good.  I'm so thankful the move was in the summer because it is such a fun season.  Water and sun and popsicles help every situation, ha.

We Are Loving:

Our street.  We live at the end of a dead end street and in a small cul-de-sac and so there is virtually no traffic.  Coming from a house on a VERY busy street, the girls are amazed they can ride bikes and scooters and their little car out in the street.  It has been so wonderful to let them just get those things out to use without having to drive somewhere safe enough.

Dance.  I was pretty upset when I couldn't get the girls in gymnastics here (we are on the waiting list) so I signed them up for a little summer session of dance and they are crazy about it!  They seriously are loving their Tap/Ballet combo class.  It is adorable to watch and Amelia even added an extra Jazz class she liked it so much.   I loved dancing when I was younger and it makes me happy to see them trying something new and building confidence. 

The Library. For a town this size, the library here is amazing.  It is so new and clean and has a wonderful book selection.  The girls have their own cards and can self-scan and checkout their own materials.  Amelia was so thrilled by this.  There are cute reading areas and computers and we are doing the Summer Reading program right now.  So, so happy.  Also, there is a precious attached to the library and we had a yummy lunch on the patio.  We are also doing the three week puppet class in the afternoons and it has been a lot of fun.  Really exciting programs offered.  I feel like I should be their spokesperson...

Crawdad Days

 We were so excited to watch Ingrid dance at Crawdad Days a few weekends ago.  The three spectators dressed in adorable matching dresses and we all waited anxiously.  Ingrid did so good!  I have never felt that kind of pride as an aunt and literally must have thought it was my kid up there. All day I just kept re-living how precious it was.  And little did I know, we ended up missing the big recital because Elise was sick.  So thankful for this day and the star dancer.

 After some pony rides and lemonade and walking around at the car show with Gampy, we went and had lunch with Steph's crew at her house.  Then, after a quick nap, we got talked into going back to the carnival part for more fun. 

The next day, Mom, Dad, Steph, Liv, and Ing came to see the new house because the previous owners had moved out.  We at at El Chicos and all were pumped that the house was finally ours.