Okay, round 2... the computer ate my first Eternal Encouragement Magazine and More review... and to be honest, this round is not going to be as good as the first... warning you now!!!  So, in honor my being perturbed, I threw in a picture of one of our past-dogs, Audrey... now that's a bad hair day :)

Moving along, the main theme of the Spring 2012, quarterly magazine was hospitality.  J and I have always wanted to have an open home, a hospitable home, but just have not really known how.  Growing up my house didn't have people over a lot, and most of the time, I went to my friends house rather than her coming to mine.  J's house had people over on occasion, but usually for an event, like a birthday or holiday meal.  These examples kind of skewed my view of hospitality.  But, I was reminded in several articles, that hospitality is not always "entertainment".  This was very refreshing.  In a way, it releases me from feeling that having someone over has to be an event.  I am kind of shy, so having a purpose helps me know what to say and do.  

One of the articles mentioned piles of laundry, which reminded me of dropping into our best friends house in VA... there was almost always a load of laundry on the couch, a pile of books by the shelf and dishes scattered across the counters... and I loved it!  Having something to do with my hands made "small talk" easier (thank you SAB for your wonderful example)!  I hope, that I can be more open and spontaneous in having someone over now and then... until that happens, I will be praying that my children don't scare off every visitor we do have :)

They're not that bad, just a tad overwhelming :)  Anyway, I'm not sure what the theme of next quarters magazine will be, but it's pretty easy to head over to EE and purchase a subscription... there are some extra goodies you get too with the subscription, but I won't squeal, I'll let you find them on your own!!!

Just a reminder, I got my magazine in the mail for free, so that I could honestly review it as part of The Gabby Mom's group!  My review in a nutshell:  portable magazine that surprises you in the mail box (or in your e-mail in-box if you'd prefer) with lots of uplifting articles for your encouragement and edification... definitely recommend :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I had so many stinkin' pictures this time that I picked all but 2 of them!  Here goes!!!

Smaug's new car seat came in the mail :)  He's so cute!  I actually ended up putting his carrier car seat back in because it's easier to put the carrier in the cart at Target :)  But, we'll switch it back soon!!!

Okay, so you have to look carefully at this one...  TW (with Daddy's help) put his pulley up on the garage door opener and then attached a bucket (via rope) to it... in this shot, Pretty Girl is raising/lowering the bucket!

Did Mr. E get a black eye???  No... but when I saw him from a distance, I sure thought he had... it turned out to be sand!

For whatever reason, TW spent an entire day in a BK crown... even when he played "memory" with contractions :p

In science we just finished up the integumentary system... so, of course, we had to fingerprint ourselves (by ourselves, I mean TW)... he has all arches and loops, no whorls in his fingerprints!

We got this survival book recently, TW loves it... he read (i.e. looked at the pictures) about building a fire, then went outside and did this...

TW made me this flower in Sunday School last week :)

Smaug has been scootching backwards, headfirst... he started in the toy room to the right!

Pretty Girl kept me company while I made breakfast one morning!

Here are the bunks in the girls room... everyone was playing on them one morning!

Daddy needs a new phone, and the van needed an oil change.  So while we waited on the van, we went and looked at phones (they're next door, conveniently)... the kids were entertained (for a very brief amount of time) on the rug!

TW caught a frog (actually many frogs) last week... he put one on a leash...

Playing together one morning...

On Friday, Daddy left for Savannah for the weekend for some training flights (before I forget, he fueled up in Andalusia :) )... we got everyone up and left the house at 5:57... they were a little grouchy later during the day...

... Berry recovered and ran around with a box on her head for a while!

Today, we made cookies...  And that about sums everything up!  Grammy, I almost have Pretty Girl's dress done.... I just have to hem the lining :)

In Other News:  Apparently Mr. E can climb up on the dog food to get down the last two boxes of special treat juices, open the straws up, stab the boxes and guzzle down the insides very quietly and without making a mess.  Fortunately, This One is not a liar and fessed up to the crime... how could I be upset about that?  However, when TW said he watched it but didn't say a word, well...

Hello March

Daddy has been home more often lately, well, some days, and our routine has been a bit "off"... but we've still been busy doing stuff

... like math...

... and block sorting (or drooling)...

... and yogurt making (Bing and Pretty Girl are the only ones who like it)...

... and sleeping with the baby cradle...

... building "hidden caves"...

... awing over our open paper whites (which were moved outside a last month)...

... sleeping cross legged (like Mama)...

... finishing one Easter Dress (IT'S SO FLUFFY)....

... showing off the "twirl"...

... going sailing (or something)....

... making music with wine (water) glasses...

... having glow in the dark baths (thank you Sandra :)...

... communicating via cans and string...

(can you hear me now?)

... swinging...

... popping balloons that had sentence fragments written on them...

... stealing drinks and hiding away to slurp them up...

... still swinging...

.... splashing in water...

... watching for fish...

... watching the cool boys-only trick ("Mr. E - what doing?")...

... and rushing home carrying two kids...

... after Mama remembered she'd left this on the stove boiling (I've been wanting a new pan anyway)...

In Other News:  Smaug got his first tooth, and we put the girls' bunk beds together (Pretty Girl on top) to try to tone down the afternoon and evening sleep over party :)