Zoo Crew

Our family finds fun, adventures, and activities together all the time.  I love doing things with my kiddos.  But, there are a handful of days that I can look back and think "that was one of the best Mom Days".  You know the ones... when everyone (mommy included!) is at their best... when meltdowns are few and laughter is in abundance.

Last Friday, Jackson, Hannah and I had one of those best days.  We went to the zoo.  The weather was perfection.  The kids did not whine, argue, or pester each other at all -- not on the hour + ride there and back, not for expensive zoo snacks, not when hoards of field trip kids blocked their view -- seriously, amazing! 

Since we have a membership, I never feel pressured to do the WHOLE zoo.  Our zoo is quite big and to cover all territory takes some hiking.  We usually use the trams and skip sections.  But, that day was the exception.  The kids were so well behaved that I determined we could see and do more.  We did every exhibit.

Chimp smooch!

Super excited about the tram ride.

Being silly as we wait for the tram... terrible pic, but proof I was there.  :)

Top moment of the day was watching these 2 black bear wrestle and chase each other around.  At one point they were both on their hind feet and looked like they were dancing.  Jack was chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" and laughing his head off.

We learned.  We laughed.  We took it all in.  We were silly.  It was just a fun, fun day together. 

Making memories.

Even on the tough and trying days, I would not change my role as their mom for anything.  Investing my time, energy, and love into these two cuties is the most precious thing in the world to me.

Spring Track Out

I admit, I am loving this Year Round school calendar!  My little guy in on a 3 week track out from school.  I love having him out this time of year when we can be outside and do so many fun things.  We made a list of things we would like to do during this time and have been plugging away at them...

We went to the Spring Day football game at UNC.  See previous post.

We hosted a Scavenger Hunt with a some friends at our neighborhood park and greenway.  There were about 12 kids.  It was a blast and I was surprised at how much Hannah got into it!  The girl LOVES bugs, rocks, sticks and dirt. After we collected a host of things from nature, we had prizes and a picnic lunch.  Jackson is still talking about it.  Wish I had pics, but I forgot to take the camera out of the bag!

We've had many different playdates with buddies from school, church, and dear old friends.

We went to the zoo again.  Jack missed out the last time I went so I promised him another trip.  More on this later.

We've spent countless hours at parks, playgrounds, and in our backyard. 

We've been to the library.  We've read lots of books.

We He has played Wii.

We have played more hands of Uno than I can count.  He LOVES this game and is pretty good at it.  And, I am uber thrilled to not play Candyland or Chutes and Ladders for a few more years.  :)

We've seen Tangled twice and think it is one of the best movies to come along in a long time.  All four of us loved it!

And we're not done yet...

April 16, 2006

Five years ago the doors were officially opened to a new church in our town - The Bridge Community Church.  A year had been spent in preparation for this event.  There were countless hours of prayer, launch team meetings, paperwork, planning, praying, dreaming, investing, and more praying.  My feelings of fear and inadequacy faded as we were certain of our calling to start up a new church and eager to be used by God in this endeavor. 

But the real test was on Easter, April 16, 2006 - would people show up?  Praise God they did, and they continue to do so.  For five years we have been blessed beyond measure to have front row seats to God's hand at work in our community.  Yes, it has been a hard 5 years with lots of sweat, tears (at times), and financial testing.  All pale in comparison to the lives we have seen changed by God. 

Just look at this video for a glimpse at this life-change.

Today at church we celebrated.  A large crowd of beautiful faces.  It was wonderful!  During the lunch, a self-proclaimed atheist man who occasionally attends with family came up to me to congratulate me.  He commented on how wonderful it was to see our "business" grow the way it has, especially during such tough economic times.  He marveled at how we can do it when most of the workers aren't paid - just volunteers.  And, he said we should be proud that we really had "something going". 

I kindly thanked him, but insisted we owe it all to the Lord.

And, I can say that with 100% certainty.  It was and is by His grace, His strength, and His provision alone.  And today our goal was for God to get ALL of the glory.  It is His alone to have.

I am blessed beyond words by my church family.  They are much more than a face in the crowd.  So many coming from unchurched or warped church experiences.  Nothing is more beautiful seeing those far from God come near.  Bridgers, you are my heartbeat.

I am so grateful for those who have come along beside us and partnered with our ministry.  Those who left perfectly good churches to come serve sacrificially to launch our church.  Those who lifted us up in prayer, who financially contributed, and who served many hours without complaining.  Those whose came to know the Lord and jumped onto our vision to grow the church. 

Like me, I pray that they feel as blessed to be used by God on this mission field.

Daisy

We love our sweet kitty! Her nicknames include Dayz, princess, and furball. She spends 80% of the day asleep, often on our bed. She has a keen internal clock and as soon as it is 8:00PM, she ventures downstairs to have time with Mike and I without the threat of small hands.

Her relationship with Jackson has been sketchy at best - until the last year. She has decided that he's pretty OK and often comes to him for lovin'. He LOVES this and they are finally developing a special little bond.

And, Daisy is more tolerable of Hannah than she was of Jackson at 22 months of age. Hannah has a much gentler hand! But, if Hannah had her way, she would make Daisy her very own baby doll. Good thing Daisy is way too fast and smart to have any of that.

Hard to believe that she'll be 10 later this Summer!

UNC Spring Game

Last Saturday we headed to Chapel Hill for the Annual Spring Game. Although we missed the autograph and meeting time with the team, due to a birthday party and class, we made it to some of the Kidzone fun and the game. Both kids enjoyed the inflatable obstacles and slides.

It was Jackson and Hannah's first time in Kenan Stadium and they were amazed! We saw the Blue and White teams scrimmage. Hannah, unprompted, said "Go Heels!" over and over. We got to see the new addition being built to close the stadium into a dome. It was impressive.

Jackson with Ramses statue outside the stadium.

Animals with the girlies

Animals seems to be the theme for the last two weeks. Thursday we went to the zoo and last week to the farm.

We made a day trip to the zoo with Brooks and Ellie. It was the perfect weather and such a fun day. How fun to experience the zoo through the eyes of 2 (and almost 2) year-olds! We have definitely gotten our money's worth out of our membership there. The HUGE male gorilla came up close and gave us quite a show by rolling around, yawning (yikes - those teeth!), and stretching just on the other side of the glass from us. Hannah was constantly labeling the Mommies, Daddies, and Babies of each animal. Also a hit was the ride on the zoo tram (aka choo choo).

Last week we went to one of our favorite annual events - Farm Days hosted at NCSU. All the spring baby animals are on display - baby chicks, bunnies, colts, calves, lambs, piglets, etc. And, free NCSU ice cream! Unfortunately, word has gotten out about this event and it was super packed. Hannah and I met up with Christy and her girls, Emily and Kate. So fun to see them! Not sure what Hannah enjoyed more - the farm or the picnic lunch at the playground with Emily and Kate!

Hannah saying "Cuuuute!" She loved the baby chicks.

Melts my heart!

Daddy Playdate

Last Saturday, Daddy took Jackson and Hannah to the park with our buddies Mr. Kevin, Elizabeth, and Jacob. They attempted to fish, fed the ducks, played on the playground, strolled the greenway, and had a blast together!

Oh, the sassiness

We have some new Hannah-isms to share with you:

She will hold up a hand to us and say, "I'll be right back".

Already she wants to pick out her own clothes, own socks, own shoes, own hair bow. I hear, "No, Mommy. I DO IT". And yes, we've had some interesting wardrobe choices - pink shirt, jeans, brown socks, rain boots, and bright green bow! Lately she wants to wear her sassy pink heart rain boots everywhere and ALL THE TIME.

She loves to pray to "G-Z" (Jesus). Often it is just, "Thank you, G-Z. [insert weird babble words] Aaaaahhmen". It's a start! :) She's almost got the words down for "Yes, Jesus (G-Z) Loves Me".

Hannah loves to come up and ask me a bazillion times a day "Whatcha dooooo-ing?". I always turn the question back around to her. Her response is always "Ummm...[insert weird babble]. Ok, Bye".

Name game. She will just ramble off the names of people she knows. And she often asks about the whereabouts of family members and friends - "Daddy is sweeping [sleeping]? Daddy at werk? Jackson school? Mimi and Pete is all gone? Rees at house?".

All things come in families. She named the Mommy, Daddy and Baby polka dots on her jammies. The ducks at the park are also labeled a Mommy, a Daddy, and a baby.


Thank you for the smiles, little one!

Grandparent visit

Mimi and Granddaddy Pete came for a visit last weekend.  We were beyond excited to see them!  The weekend was jam-packed with activity - boys went golfing, girls went shopping, eating out, playing at the park and in the backyard, watching the Carolina v. Duke game (yay heels!!!), and did some projects around the house.  We painted 4 outdoor light fixtures (bye bye brassy ugliness, hello bronze beauties!) and planted a new flower bed. I'm sure they were glad to be back home just to catch some rest!  We sure appreciate your help!

Had to snap some shots of my 'lil Tarheels.  Hannah now says "Go Heels!"  :)