My girls ...

Saturday afternoon, April 13:  I picked up kiddos at 3:30 over at Jesse's house. The boys had other plans, so it was Kaity and Emma who came along.

We ate dinner over at my house and then we played for a nice, long time. We built a very big train layout (I forgot to photograph it). Kaity and Emma played with LEGOS for awhile too. I did some clean-up of dinner while the girls played a quick game of "Trouble." 

 It was certainly colder than I like it to be for outdoor play ... but Kaity badly wanted to visit a playground. So WE DID. 

 I need to tell you what a GIFT this time was for me. It's difficult to put words to it. But you see, we drove over to the playground off of Rogue River and 7 Mile ... there is a playground but behind the playground equipment are trails ... beautiful ones. Emma caught sight of one and immediately headed towards it! We had actually been to this exact place last fall when the colors were at their prettiest. There was ZERO color there today!

 But that did not stop us from taking a very nice exploratory hike in the woods. We started out kind of ... precariously! The path leading into the woods is very steep ... and completely irresistible. It's narrow and bumpy and ... yes ... I FELL, almost head over heels, landing upside down! But it was so funny when it happened, that I couldn't stop laughing. The girls were a tiny bit worried, I think! But I think they were relieved that I was laughing and hadn't broken any bones or teeth! This happened at the very START of our hike too! We continued on and winded around the woods until we reached the Rogue. It was rather damp out there ... downright muddy in places ... but we forged ahead!

 We came to this little spot and I said, out loud ... don't even think about trying to cross on that log ... but before it was out of my mouth, Emma had crossed over to the other side!

 She promptly stuck her tongue out at me. I did NOT follow her! Aren't you glad? Me too! And Emma very kindly didn't wander far in that direction. She checked out around the bend and then carefully crossed back to Kaity and I. Emma was filming herself doing this. I'm super thankful she didn't end up in the creek with a soggy phone!

 This half hour in the woods was the highlight of my week--no debate whatsoever. I was with my two girls, and they were happy and laughing and exploring ... I was so FILLED with joy I thought I was going to burst. It doesn't get any better than this.

We had to take Kaity home--it was time--and that's when it got sad--when Kaity realized that Emma was going to be spending the night with me and NOT going home to play with her. That's hard--to see Kaity sad like that. Her little heart is lonely. It was difficult for both Emma and I to take her into their house and then return to mine. I told her that when she grows up a tiny bit more, she can spend the night at my house too. 

Emma and I returned home. It has been a very long time (way too long) since I had done any Bible story time with the kiddos. I keep thinking that they ALL have to be here together for me to do a lesson. We've been studying the kings of Israel and the stories are SO GOOD. But I decided to just do the lesson that has been prepared for weeks now with Emma, even though no one else would hear it. We studied Solomon's completion and dedication of the Temple, his prayer to the Lord, and God's blessings on his life. We also learned about the Queen of Sheba coming to visit Solomon. Emma was coloring a nice illustration of Solomon blessing the people, and then she asked if Solomon remained faithful to God, after all that God had blessed him with! So I had to tell her the sad truth about King Solomon. Emma was appalled. We'll do a lot more talking about Solomon in the next few lessons. I loved our Bible story time so much. Oh! And then we watched, "The Little Princess," which is a favorite of ours! What a wonderful ending to a perfect day.