Last Snowman of the Spring...I hope!

On Wednesday morning we woke up to snow! My first thought was UGH. But then when I saw the excitement and joy on my kids' faces I realized that snow, although annoying in April, was still a big treat for them. So after breakfast I bundled them up and we went outside to play. Eliana was at Grammy and Grandpa's, so I had fun with just C&Z. The snow was amazingly perfect for snowmen so Zaza and I made this cute little guy in about 10 minutes flat!

She was more than happy to pose by him and say "cheeeese"!

On the other hand, all I could get Calvin to do was one of his super cheesy cheeses and he was more interested in trying to run over the snowman with his Tonka truck than in standing next to it for a cute picture for his Mommy!

But my favorite picture of all is this one of Zahara looking at the snowman's face. My sweet, thoughtful little Zaza.

I wish I had photographed it, but 2 hours later the snowman fell over...It looked kind of pathetic laying there...like it was praying or something....begging God for a few more hours! Tony set him back up for us. But the poor thing lived only to later be run over by Tony in the church bus. It was a sad sight that cute little snowman all squashed with carrot here and arms there with a HUGE tire tread down the middle. By the next morning the snow was gone and all his little appendages and clothing were the only thing left!

Happy Birthday, Miss E!

My girl is 4! How can this be?

That tiny little baby girl I brought home from Ethiopia....

Even then I could tell you were full of it!

I held you in my arms that first time and suddenly I was a Mom!

I love you, Eliana Marda...you are my little spitfire. My little strong-willed, in charge girl! So full of life and ideas. So full of laughter and song. You are special, girl! Happy Birthday!

Dressing up!

The kids were full of joy and sunshine today! Maybe that was because the day itself was full of sunshine and melting, dripping snow, and hope for spring. I love days like this....delightful and happy and fun.

Eliana decided this morning that she wanted to wear a "pretty dress", so I let her pick one out. This was followed shortly by Zahara wanting to wear a "pretty dress, too, Mommy". SO, we got one out for her. What I wasn't expecting was for my rough tough little boy with pecs and a six pack to ALSO ask to wear a dress! He was insistent, so I let him pick out one of Zaza's. He picked a lovely blue and white gingham with white bunnies around the bottom. They made a lovely bunch!

What followed was general silliness and I just sat, snapping pictures and laughing at them. I was reminded again what a BLESSING these kids are. Beautiful, full-of-it, little presents strait from God!

They ran around doing pirouttes...even Calvin.

But, Calvin seemed to gain his shyness back after his inital romp around the house in the dress.

The girls made silly faces and raced around...

Calvin was DONE with the dress by shortly before lunch. We went outside to play and he reverted to ALL boy...covered from head to toe in mud from jumping in every tiny bit of murky water he could find! :)

YOWZA!

 

Things that go bump in the night...

Kids are so funny. Really they are. And the closer Eliana gets to 4, the funnier she is. She just has SO MUCH TO SAY...anyone who's been around her KNOWS this is true. She can T-A-L-K!

Last night she started crying shortly after she went to bed, and Tony went to check on her. And he came back laughing. Apparently, this was the conversation:

Tony: What's wrong, Eliana?
Eliana: I'm scared!
Tony: Of what?
Eliana: There are wild animals in my room!
Tony: OK...I'll chase them out. (which he proceeded to act out)
Eliana: What kind of animals were they?
Tony: A Rhino, a monkey and a hippo.
Eliana: What were they doing?
Tony: They were playing ring around the rosey.
Eliana: Why?
Tony: Because they wanted to.
Eliana: Oh...well, where'd they go?
Tony: Outside.
Eliana: I bet they are going to play with the toys out there.
Tony: Yeah
Eliana: I'll go see them when I wake up. Good night, Daddy!

And that was it....not another peep from her!

Home over a year...

It's hard to believe that Calvin and Zahara have been home over a year! On August 6th we celebrated 1 year home. Recently I took them in to have pictures taken in their Ethiopian outfits. They are made from 100% cotton that the people spin and weave themselves. They then are decorated with various designs and hand embroidery. Very beautiful....

"Oh where, Oh where has my daddy gone?..."

Eliana is 3, and with that comes all the drama and fun you could possibly imagine. Just this week Tony was gone all day from dawn to dusk. Tony would normally be home for supper, but he still wasn't home when we were done eating. So, as Eliana was sitting there at the table she started singing:



"Oh where, oh where has my daddy gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short
And his tail cut long...

Daddy doesn't have a tail! He has a BUTT!" (Then hilarious 3-year-old laughter)



It made me laugh so hard that I know she realized she had said something funny. So, the word BUTT is now the new "it" word in our house. Oh well....