Gallery Night

Tonight was a very important night. Both Harrison and Hudson take art classes at a kids' art studio called Van Grow and tonight they got to take part in Gallery Night, which is an annual event down in the cultural district.

Harrison is in a Boys Only art class that meets once a week, and Hudson and I go to a Mommy and Me painting class once a week. Tonight Harrison's art work was on display, so we all went to see everything. He chose to display one painting of Alvin the Chipmunk, and one of Boba Fet (a Star Wars guy, if you're like me and have no idea). The owners, Maarten and Hanna Vanderstoel (who we have quickly grown to love), did a great job. All the kids' art work was displayed wonderfully, they had fun projects for the kids to do (check out their cool hats and sunglasses) and there was a cupcake-making station (Hunter was especially loving that!) We had so much fun!

If you have kids, you need to check out their website (see the link above). Mr. Maarten and Mrs. Hanna are SO GREAT with the kids, always have fun ways to spark their creativity...the boys are always so excited to go, and very sad if we have to miss. They offer weekly classes throughout the Fall and Spring, as well as weekend workshops, spring break camps, summer camps~ so fun! Those of you who know me well know of my love for all things artsy and creative, so it is important to me to encourage my boys to love it as well. So far, so good.

Two Boys and Their Dog

Can I just say that we are loving our puppy so very much? It's hard to believe that anyone would just give up this sweet animal to roam the streets, but we are glad they did, because now we get her! Addy has quickly become an important part of our family...we couldn't have asked for a better pet. The boys are constantly hugging her, wanting to play with her, sit by her, pet her, etc. and she is always so patient to let them. We are very thankful for the sweet addition she has made to our family.

Easter Morning

Is it just me, or is Easter morning always complete chaos? I feel like every year we are always running late on that day. With all the Easter basket stuff, getting into our special Easter outfits, trying to get pictures...it's a wonder we make it to church at all. But thankfully once we do, I'm quick to remember why we celebrate this day, what our Savior did for us, and how I wouldn't make it one day without Him. Hope your Easter was special too.

Easter Egg Hunting

This year it was a perfect day for our church's Eggstravaganza~ it's a big event at a park near the church. The boys had a great time and found lots of eggs, jumped in bounce houses, ate popcorn, etc. Happiness.

Hunter figured out the egg hunting thing right away. This is my favorite age for that~ there's no mad dash, no one getting trampled~ it's just a bunch of sweet little babies toddling around, carefully picking up one egg at a time. So sweet. When it was time for the three to five year olds, then came then madness. Hudson was not a fan of all that. He wanted me to hold him and help find eggs. Thank goodness for my friend Kecia, who watched Hunter for me (Brian was helping with the hunt, so I was on my own). Hud and I found some, and he had fun. Harrison, of course, had fun with his friends and loved having more freedom this year to play. They all had a great day, and wore themselves out just enough to take good naps when we got home. Happiness for all. :)

Snow in Texas. In March.

So very weird, but yes, it is snowing today. This is the first real snow we've had all winter, and it has been so fun! The snowflakes were huge, and it is so pretty. It didn't take long before the boys were asking to go out and play, and they played hard. And way longer than I thought they would.

When Brian got home, he quickly joined them to build a snowman. Addy, on the other hand, is definitely a girl dog, because like me, she wanted no part of it all. She was happy to watch from the window like I did. :)

So fun, and unexpected...we are hoping it continues through the night so we can stay cozy in our house all day tomorrow.

Walking and Talking

My baby is becoming a toddler. This week he has taken several steps at a time, standing up and taking off until he falls, and then crawling from there. His preferred mode of transportation is still crawling, but I don't think it will stay that way very long.

And apparently we could have saved a bunch of money on toys, because all this kiddo wants is a phone or a remote control. And you can't fool him with a fake one~ he wants the real thing. He loves to chat it up...

Can't Get Quite Enough...

...of Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht. With the whole writer's strike thing that had gone on FOREVER it seemed, I thought there wasn't much to watch on tv. Which I honestly didn't miss as much as I thought I would. Usually I have to DVR everything and watch it late at night anyway. But it wasn't long before I was drawn to Jon and Kate Plus Ei8ht, and I am seriously hooked. And although I have missed watching new episodes of Private Practice, Grey's, and ER, this amazing family of 10 has me completely intrigued.

For those of you that have never heard of this show, or don't know much about it, Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht is about a couple who has one set of twin girls who are now seven, and a set of sextuplets (three boys and three girls) who are three. It is a reality show that comes on TLC that documents their day to day life. What I love about the show is that Jon and Kate are about the same age as Brian and me, and are very much like we are with each other. Kate is fun, funny, and seems incredibly approachable...someone I would want to be friends with. Jon is laid back, hard-working, patient, and very hands-on with the kids. They are incredibly real, so real that it is has been a little uncomfortable to watch at times~ there have been a couple times that Kate has gotten upset with Jon over something, and just when I start to think that the guy is a saint for putting up with her control-freakiness, I am very quickly reminded that I have done the same thing to Brian way more often than I should. And Jon isn't perfect either...but their relationship is sweet, fun, and incredibly committed~ together they are raising a houseful of children who are smart, incredibly sweet, compassionate, fun, and all so very different. It is fascinating.

What I love most about them is knowing they are Christians. They are fairly open about their faith, but not to the point that look like Bible-beating weirdos. In fact, they make Christians look so very normal...in a good way, not as people that aren't trying to make a difference in the world~ it is so refreshing to watch a family on tv trying to do it the right way...knowing they aren't perfect, but forgiven. Knowing that bad days are going to happen, bad choices are going to be made, but that God is bigger than all of that, that He is in control, and tomorrow (God-willing) is a new day to do things even better. And to hear them talk about what a miracle their family is (they had fertility problems, and are very open about it) is inspiring. And they are incredibly honest about how difficult it is raising a family this big, but that God has provided for them through one miracle after another. I know by watching them that they wouldn't have done things any other way.

As a mom of three, this show inspires me so much. I watch Kate successfully feed, bathe, dress, play with, etc. 8 kids every day. This family goes and does stuff all the time. They go to the zoo, to some Chocolate Land place in Pennsylvania, out to dinner (so very brave) and they even took a trip to Disney World last season. Kate has made me realize that if she can handle six 3-year-olds all day while the twins are at school, I can certainly handle my ONE 3-yr-old and ONE 1-yr-old while my ONE 7-yr-old is at school. Wow. Talk about perspective. I am in the one, in fact, who has it easy.

This show has reminded me that there is great big world out there, and we are going to get out more and explore it. So this family of 5 has become much more adventurous in the past few weeks...it was the Jon and Kate factor that made me realize I really could handle a day at the zoo by myself with the kids while Brian was away. And not only did I handle it, we had a perfect day. So now we are on to the next adventure, as soon as this way too cold weather warms back up.

If you haven't watched this family yet, check it out. It comes on Monday nights at 8:00 on TLC. Let me know what you think!