I had the privilege of telling the Bible story to ages 3, 4, and kinder.  That meant that of the five rotations of the day, I was teaching three of them in the Bible Barnyard.  Keeping 3 and 4 year olds interested in the story instead of the horses proved to be no easy task (the kinders were easier)!  I couldn’t blame them though; they were the only animals on the farm at the time and, well, who doesn’t want to pet and feed them?

With April being still quite young and nursing exclusively, she was the one I was concerned about.  Turns out that once again I found myself fretting about the wrong child.  April spent all five mornings in the nursery and was the perfect gem the entire time.  The easiest one they had and each day they fought over who would get to hold her.  I think this crew had one of the toughest and thankless jobs of the week, so here’s my shout-out to them and all the diapers they changed.  Y’all rock!!

What I hadn’t expected was for Abe to have a tough time with things.  He suddenly became quite clingy and wanted to spend the whole morning in the barn with me.  It wasn’t that this was a problem, but I knew how much he would love doing the crafts, singing the songs, and playing the games.  Thus, I  spent the two rotations that I wasn’t teaching in his class with him so he would see more of VBS than the barn.  However, Abe wasn’t the only 3 year old having trouble so I was comforted that this truly was an age thing.  The tantrums of the week reveled that the “trying threes” are going to be much tougher than the “terrible twos.”  I commented to a friend that I didn’t know if I was going to survive age three; she sweetly reminded me that I really didn’t have a choice.  I can only dream how the next years are going to stretch me.

We did have some amazing moments of shining beauty and I’m choosing those moments to remember the week by.  I tried to pick the top one from each day: Monday – While story telling, I asked the group to name who they love; Abe rose his hand and said, “Baby April.”  Melted my momma’s heart.   Tuesday – I had the pure joy of watching him during worship time sign all nine of the fruits of the Spirit.  Wednesday – The whole day was beautiful!  He did all the rotations on his own and loved every minute of it.  No “three-year-old” moments this day!  Thursday – He was so proud of the barn that he made in craft time that he just had to show it to me right away.  He LOVED the flaps and the animals.

Friday‘s memory came at the evening program which took place at a local park.  I was sitting down next to a friend and her husband when I glanced at the one water feature in the park only to see my son naked from the waist down, in the process of removing his shirt.  (Most children if they aren’t in swim attire and want to get wet they just do so fully clothed; mine gets naked.)  To my relief I saw that Daddy, although too far to prevent full nude running, was en route to rectify the situation.  I was more than happy to let Mike handle this one and he was able to convince Abe to at least put on his undies.  (picture coming soon)  And things only got better when he agreed to get fully clothed and sing his song for the actual program.

Each day over lunch I would ask Abe what his favorite part of VBS was.  His answers typically rotated between the barn and the songs.  Every once in awhile snack would creep in there.  I’ll still catch him signing certain fruits or telling me what they are.  And I still find myself using the lessons we learned to teach them to him, and myself, again.  Yeah, I’m going to need grow a lot of that patience that God calls us to.

Unfortunately, it was really too early in the season to get a good showing of the bats as they left the bridge well after sunset and it was too dark to see them.  We all got a enough bat guano to make it a true experience though – that’s all that really counts.  We’re hoping to take Abe back in August when the bat population should be at its peak and the “mass exodus” from the bridge will happen while it’s still light enough to see them.  Maybe Ben and Matt will come back and join us!!

One of the best parts of the night was watching some impressive choreographed “dancing” on the side of the Hyatt Hotel.  It was clear this wasn’t random repelling, but we don’t know if it was for a music video or what.  In Austin, it could easily be for a low-budget independent film or a high-profile music artist – you just never know.

Matt ended up leaving town on Thursday so Ben came to hang exclusively with us.  We went to the Oasis one night for dinner and the boys spent Friday at Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool.  (Of course, they didn’t take any pictures and Abe went in his pajamas – boys.)  Ben is always a pleasure to have around and Mike enjoyed being able to get out for some night life for a change.  I’m pretty sure Ben enjoyed Austin too.  When we were trying to decide what to do on Saturday, he replied, “I know what I want to do.  Find a job, a place to live and maybe a nice Texan…”  It’s hard no to love the jewel of Texas.

Despite best efforts to the contrary, I still enjoy chewing/sucking my fingers, fist, and thumb.  (I even try to sneak my thumb in while nursing, but Mommy doesn’t let me.)  This month I discovered something new to grab and chew:  TOES!!  Those things are the great fun!  I also have a fun big brother who likes to play with me and make me smile.  He’s even gotten a laugh or two.  He can make some crazy noises!!

I had my 4 month doctor’s appointment today.  I weigh 11 pounds 9.5 ounces (14%) and am 24.25 inches long (52%).  My doctor was very surprised at my rolling capabilities and is very pleased with my development.  She even says I can start some “solid” foods, but Mommy says we may wait another couple of weeks before doing that.  The shots weren’t any fun, but I calmed right down after they were done.  They tired me out though, so I’m off to nap.  Later!

Luke mostly played in the dirt/mud and Chris actually went to town picking berries (not always the best looking ones, but at least he picked berries).  Abe picked a couple of berries when prompted, but overall he didn’t seem all that interested.  He did lots of running around with the box of berries.  Although, when I asked him what his favorite part of the day was he said, “Putting the strawberries in the box” so maybe he enjoyed it more than I realized.  April spent the majority of the time at the farm asleep in my arms.

The animals were a big hit for all three kids.  The goats were the crowd favorite. Who wouldn’t like an animal that eats whatever you give it?  Some grade school kids were there and feeding the goats their random lunch food: saltines, gold fish, etc.  They were nice enough to share some with our little guys and I was proud of Abe for asking them so sweetly.  They also had a two week old donkey colt there and he was my favorite; and his momma looked GOOD for just having a baby two weeks ago!!  Chris also wins the prize for most interaction with the horses.  It was tough getting all three boys in the same picture, but we got a couple.  In the top one it’s Chris, Luke, Abe and the one below is Abe, Luke, Chris.  Such sweet boys!

April: One of the big attractions was certainly meeting April for the first time.  Just like Grandma Glenda, Grandpa Roger was quite surprised at how responsive April is already.  She quite smiley, wiggly and coos like crazy; it’s hard not to love someone whose entire being lights up just at the sight of you.  I think we forget how quickly babies start to interact with the world around them.  And, of course, she’s the smartest baby ever.  I can’t believe she’s almost 3 months old already…

Abe: Abe pretty much becomes buds with everyone and Grandpa was no exception.  He’s got the sweetest way of asking you to play with him that I find very difficult to ever turn down, but sometimes you have to.  Luckily, with three of us around those times were quite few.  Needless to say, Grandpa is quite impressed with what a bright and mature little boy Abe is.  It’s hard not to be.

Projects: We didn’t go out and do a whole lot, but that’s not to say that a whole lot didn’t get done.  As I mentioned earlier, Grandpa Roger is quite handy to have around and Mike is always motivated into action when he comes to visit.  The only thing that’s better than one handy guy is two handy guys, and that is what you get when Mike and Roger get together.  The first and biggest project of the week was recessed lighting in the kitchen.  (We’ve been without a kitchen light for about two years now since Mike moved the cheap fluorescent light into the garage.)  That was done by the end of the first day.  By the end of Roger’s visit the doorbell had been replaced, the squeak on the our bedroom door was gone, and the rear car window was fixed (this last one was quite an accomplishment!).  The water on the refrigerator still doesn’t work and sink in the bathroom still leaks, but there’s always next time.

Sophie the Steam Engine: One kid-fun thing we did do was ride Sophie the “Steam” Engine (this was April’s first train ride!).  Sophie isn’t an actual steam engine (only modeled after one), but she gives quite a beautiful 15 minute ride for only $2.50 and isn’t far at all from our house.  I have a feeling we will be taking many rides on Sophie in the years to come…

Blue Bonnets:  With our cold (for us at least) winter and the rain this spring the blue bonnets were fantastic this year (sadly, they’re already starting to die).  We did two shoot sessions and were blessed to be able to photograph many of our friends as well.

Children’s Museum:  After some play time at Zilker Park on Wednesday, Daddy met up with us at the Children’s Museum.  Abe got stuck for a little while at the small Thomas train set, but we were able to convince him to move past that to the air flow exhibit.  However, once we discovered the Global Train Station, Abe was lost and we didn’t really see much of the rest of the museum; he would have gladly spent all night there .  It was a pretty impressive set up and he was very focused starting the train, blowing the whistle and running all around to catch sight of it at every opportunity.  (What was Mommy’s highlight of the evening?  When Abe stopped playing with the train station – amazing! – to tell me he had to go potty.  And then, without hesitation, he went with Daddy and used the big potty!!)

Cameron Park Zoo:  On Thursday we drove to Waco to visit the zoo.  I had heard incredible things about it and it did not disappoint!  Great design, lots of trees, not huge, and fun animals (the giraffes were my favorite;  I’ve never looked one in the eye before.  Very cool.) .  We’ll definitely go back!  I was bummed when I realized that Mike and I hadn’t communicated well; turns out he would have taken off work if he’d know we were going, which I thought he did.  Sad.  We’ll have to take Daddy to see all the animals soon. Both kids did amazingly well.  April slept almost the entire time, waking only to eat at lunch time (so nice of her to wait and eat with us) and then “play” on the grass before the drive back.  Abe was a huge trooper and hiked the entire thing, played on the play scape, and loved seeing all the animals.  I think we hit every one that they had.  The otter slide was a big hit and he must have gone down that “Just one more time!” about 15 times.  So adorable.  Of course, Abe didn’t want to leave, but by 4:00pm it was time.  Thought we’d sufficiently worn him out; he did fall asleep on the drive home, but it took much longer than Grandma and I thought it would.