April 12 So MUCH JOY!

Tuesday:  Ah, another Tuesday--already?!?!? My the weeks fly by, don't they? We decided to stop and play over at Dwight Lydell Park on our way to my house today. I'm so glad we did!

The kiddos had so much fun climbing, exploring, playing ... I just loved watching their joy.

This park has "new" equipment, newer even than last year! These modulars are full of interesting things to learn about and to do. Above, Erin is making beautiful music by pressing various buttons ...

Erin is an enthusiastic playgrounder. She just turns into a little monkey when around anything she can climb. I cracked up watching her. She really has no fear whatsoever, but she isn't stupid about where she goes or what she tries ... she looks all around her and finds a way to safely do what she wants to do.

Aidan on the other hand, is pretty hesitant--especially with heights; but he doesn't like to be outdone by Erin, so he trudges along and tries stuff just a little bit at a time ...

Look at Erin's expression as she reaches the end of this log ... isn't she so funny?

There is a very cool climbing apparatus at this park. I'm not sure you can see how cool it is from these pictures--but there are ropes and little perches and rope stairways, etc. all over this thing. It's really fun to play on. If I were younger I would climb it like crazy ...

Aidan climbed about two feet off the ground and was quite contented to stay put. He said he found a comfortable chair right here ...

But Brendan had his eyes on the heights ...

Aidan stretched out and now called this "his bed."

Higher and higher climbed Brendan ...

I love LOVE LOVE these pictures of him. My heart aches as I look at his face, his expressions ... his heart is so precious and I just love him so much.

Erin was watching Brendan with a lot of interest. I wasn't sure if she was going to venture higher or not ...

Aidan felt SUPER brave using this rope ladder (it was all of 3' above the ground) ...

But Erin looked up and around and discovered a way up to the top that she thought she could handle ...

Look at the determination on her little face!

Aidan climbed another "rung" of the rope ladder and I thought he would burst from the pride of his accomplishment ...

Ah ... Erin made it to the tippy top ... it's really quite high up! I was a tiny bit afraid for her, but she is a very smart little cookie ... she held on with both hands and moved cautiously along ...

Aidan is asking me in this picture (below) "how on erf can I get down fwum here?" You can see how LOW he is to the ground in comparison to Brendan and Erin ...

Erin found a pathway back down and spent some time with Aidan ...

Aidan is still trying to figure out HOW to get down ...

... which is cracking Brendan right up ...

Look at Brendan's dear face ... 

His dear heart ... he has had MY heart since the day he was born ...

My favorite picture of Brendan (below) ...

And little angel Erin ... I could look at her soft little face and drink in her love for a very long time.

Such blessings! My heart is so full ... thank you so much, Lord.
 

April 7 and 9 with dear Kaitlyn

Thursday and Saturday:  I have no pictures to prove it, but I did get to spend time with Kaity on Thursday afternoon as well as Saturday. Kaity is not agreeable to pictures lately, so I have reluctantly put aside my camera when she is over. She only makes horrible faces at me when I point the camera in her direction, and I have enough of those kinds of pictures of this rascal to last me quite awhile.

There was nothing remarkable about the time we spent together, not on either occasion; but here's the thing: Kaity knows how sick I have been and she is old enough now (and tender too) to adjust herself to a quieter time with me when necessary. 

So what did we do? We ate. We watched funny videos. We made a card for Matt's upcoming birthday. One of the afternoons, Kaity stripped my couch of all pillows and blankets, hauled all of the kitchen chairs into the main room and made a very interesting and well-built "fort". We hung around in there for awhile with all of the puppets, who were busy taking naps or generally making a fuss and needing Kaity's attention.

I also got out my Easter egg set that helps to teach the story of the last few days leading up to the very reason Jesus came to earth. Kaity has loved these eggs since she was a little girl. So ... we did the Easter story, opening up each egg to find the cool visual for each part of the story. The best part is when you get to the last egg and it is totally EMPTY. It's amazing to me how well Kaity will listen to a story with visuals and with something for her to actually DO during the telling of the story. We talked about how much Jesus loves us and how amazing it was for Him to come, be willing to suffer for our sins and to give us new life. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for these hours with Kaity.

April 5 I have missed these kiddos!

Tuesday:  Just when I thought I had fully recovered from this nasty non-COVID virus and was feeling almost "normal" for five days, it reered its ugly head and came back with a vengeance. This time, however, it was not "the crud" in my head, nose, and throat. It was a very sore throat, achy joints/muscles (every single one of them), a horrid headache, and a never-ending deep cough. I am beginning to wonder if it will EVER go away and leave me alone. So ... this is why I haven't had grandchildren over. I certainly don't want to pass these nasty germs onto them! 

But here it is, Tuesday again! I had cancelled everything off my calendar from last week--which was very sad to do! Since I was feeling back to about 80%, I decided to give it a go with the littles today with the stipulation that I couldn't stay to play with Cal after I dropped the kids off at 5:45. Here are just a few pictures I took of them while they were playing:

Erin was wearing a very beautiful princess dress today--she was SO pleased. She wanted to play with the magna-tiles immediately!

I picked out a bunch of interesting books at the library, and Brendan got comfortable and read a LOT of them today.

Aidan got right to work on a literary piece of art ...

Later in the day, I showed them the video Kaity had made for them the week before, using all of the puppets who somehow turned into balloons in the middle of the night and had a big balloon fight before falling back to sleep and turning back into themselves!

I was going to have these guys make another video for Kaity, but I could NOT get PhotoBooth to work correctly today ... so ... we did some other stuff instead.

It was a fun and busy day. I did a LOT of reading to the kiddos again today and by the end of my time with the kids, I had almost no voice left (once again).

Below is an assortment of "Get Well" cards that Aidan gathered from around his house to give to me today. He was so proud of them! Notice that they are actually NOT get well cards ... one is even a "Just Married" !! card -- yikes! Not me, for sure! 

Aidan had added a bunch of words to one of the cards on the inside (the bottom left card) but since he has just turned 5 and isn't a genius (he's pretty smart--but not QUITE a genius), his words are not quite correct--but super sweet of him to put so much effort into trying to make his old grandma feel better. Thank you, Aidan!