Resurrection Eggs

Last year, in my MOPS group, we made "Resurrection Eggs." They are 6 plastic eggs to help tell your kiddo the Easter story. We did it with Em last year, but needless to say, the main point of them was utterly lost. This year, however, she's now old enough to comprehend much of the story and so, the eggs were much more enjoyable... once I figured out that I forgot to take out the bread from last year and washed the eggs out (EWWW!!!!)

Em with egg #1, which talks about the Passover meal and how Jesus shared a meal with his friends.

Cooper was more excited to wave the contents around, but I'm sure the concept will grow on him as the years pass.

Todd really appreciated how much attention the kids gave him. He was able to tell the whole story before Em moved on and Cooper lasted halfway through, which for him is amazing.

The last egg is empty, to represent the empty tomb. Em was rather happy to know that Jesus would get "all cleaned up today" as the Easter pageant on Good Friday, where she saw a dirty/bloody (ketchup and mud) Jesus on the cross, which was quite disturbing to her (she kept saying Jesus needed a bath and needed to clean up his mess). She was also pleased to know that Jesus was in Heaven with his Daddy... but then she wanted to know who was God's daddy... hum... maybe next year we'll tackle that one! :)

My Girls

The girls and I stayed home while Todd, Cooper and Marilyn went out. We decided Pride and Prejudice was in order, but somehow, I get the feeling that Em was more happy to have her sister to herself than her mom or even the TV.

Adjusting

Things are a bit different around here, but all in all, we're doing great! I think the biggest complaint anyone is having right now is not getting enough time with Harper, which is MUCH better than jealousy/anger at her being around. Em has turned into the mother hen, and Cooper just wants to point and say "baba" all day long... or at least while his attention span lasts on one thing.

Daddy enthralled by his new girl... and she's just as curious about him it seems!

Apparently, bath time is an acquired taste for this little lady.

I just... I just... I just want to give kisses!

But at least evenings are still fairly normal, and both kids are rockin' their footed pajamas. I didn't even know they made them big enough for Em. She's in love though, and won't take them off unless forced :)

Harper Adeline Leslie

Early Sunday morning, I came to the realization that we would most definitely be having a baby before Easter... which has been my hope all along. Everything ended well, although there was some... drama, and all was said and done, I was EXTREMELY thankful for the prayers of friends and family (especially the LINKS churches of Pennsylvania) who have been praying for the safe delivery of this little girl. Every prayer was needed and each were obviously heard. Thanks again to everyone who have kept us in your prayers.

Harper Adeline was officially born at 2:07pm local time, 17 April. She weighed 3.77kg/8lb 3oz and was a perfect squish. We brought her home first thing Monday morning and Em and Cooper were thrilled with their new sister!

I'm NOT happy to be in the cold!

Seriously Mom! NOT HAPPY!!!

Playing Peek-A-Boo with the car seat cover... glad we had this as it's gotten rather chilly here lately.

As soon as we got home, Em and Coop attacked, so Daddy got the wonderful task of sorting all three kids out... and in true fashion, Em was up asking to hold the baby, and Cooper was wanting to play.

And while we're still working on not "petting" Harper's head, he was very gentle and sweet... and totally fascinated by his new sister.

Emme getting to hold her sister for the first time.

My girls are as sweet as they come, even when one is totally angry about being woken up by the other! I have a feeling, this won't be the last time this happens :)

Soon and Very Soon

Because I know that very soon, most pictures will be around a new addition to the family... and because it was one of those days when I needed to get out of the house and remember that my kids are wonderful, we went to a park of sorts and I brought the camera. Hope you enjoy the time we spent!

He's not too sure about the spinning.

One of the few smiling pictures of Mr. Grumpy-pants.

She thinks these weeds are amongst the prettiest flowers and loves to blow the petals to the wind.

Just the two of us...

Of Houses and Washing Machines

Just about every wife and mother worry about "vital" equipment failing from time to time. You hear the mini-van making noises on the way to soccer practice and send up a silent prayer that it'll limp through another season. Or the vacuum starts spitting out dust and you immediately go into panic mode and try to clean every hose and nosel in an attempt to unclog whatever is malfunctioning. For me, the "Oh-please-Lord-let-it-last" prayer has been said many times over the washing machine. Between the kids, the dog, and the cloth diapers, that poor machine sees more than it's fair share of work. It's been patched and duck taped more times than I wanted to admit, but when it finally refused to drain water (with a full load of dirty diapers in it), I knew it was time to call in the big guns. Unfortunately, it was Friday afternoon. Nothing is open here, so we had to go all weekend and Monday (public holiday) without a washer. The repair men came and I promise you, I nearly cried when I found out that it would cost more to fix than to buy a new machine. I nearly cried because had I known that on FRIDAY, I would have made a plan. But everything got sorted out, Todd met me for a washing-machine-hunting lunch and soon, I was back in the business of cleaning dirty clothes.

The box from the machine, however, became of great interest to the shorter members of the Leslie house. So Todd obliged and cut out a door, windows (because apparently Cooper isn't too keen on being in the dark) and even attached a Coleman lantern for the kids. There are times when you're so thankful you keep the camera out and ready, just in case, and this was one of those times. The giggles and laughter that can only come from a too-tall Daddy squeezing into a too-small house for the sake of his kids, brought me away from my sewing machine and I stumbled onto the most beautiful scene...

of my family crammed into the washing machine box/house reading and playing with blocks.

Daddy was a good sport and kept reading, even through the elbows, knees and other boney appendages that kept stabbing him in the ribs, stomach, and thighs.

Not sure how much longer the house can withstand the constant abuse but I'm pretty sure this is something the I'll look back on fondly for a long time to come... and Todd will be nursing the bruises almost as long!

14-Inch Mistakes

With each kid, I realize more and more that I'm a decorator. I love to pick out fabrics and get exactly what I see in my head. I LOVE everything we did when we were expecting Cooper. I loved the painting Todd did, and I loved working on all the surfboards and sewing the bumper and all the rest. In fact, Cooper is still IN those things, which could be an issue. He's not ready to be out of a crib, although I know that by home assignment this coming February, I'll need to get him ready for a "real" bed.

In the meantime, though, a friend here in South Africa gave us her antique crib (SIDS advocates, don't panic, promise, it'll be okay). She used it for her kids, but her youngest is 3 now and no longer needs it. I love the dark stain, I love that it has a removal side, and I love that it's four-poster. Before Em was born, I was a serious proponent of the ideas behind helping a baby soothe them-self to sleep, be in their own room, and all the rest. After getting two kids (JUST 2) out of infancy, I'm convinced that there are just as many temperaments and sleep patterns for infants as there are books about getting an infant to sleep well. I gave up on trying to use books to figure my kids out, and I was so much more... settled when I did. So with this one, I've thrown in the towel before beginning the race! I'm not going to try and fight to get this baby to sleep in his/her own crib in his/her own room because... well, I'm out of rooms. And, it takes me forever to fall asleep again once I've had to get up in the middle of the night to feed and then put a kid back down. So, I'm following my friend's advice, and I took the one side off the crib. It'll be pushed up against my side of the bed at night as a modified co-sleeper type. The only problem is, if babe is asleep, but Todd or I want to read or have the light on, that might cause issues. So I bought some black-out curtaining and have been working for three days to make a canopy cover. I figured this way, I can close off the babe (especially since our room is the brightest room in the house!) and still have use of the bedroom. I stumbled across a really cheap duvet a few months after we got here, but I didn't know what I was going to do with it. I've also carted some khaki curtains my folks bought for me when I was 19 from California to Illinois, then to Kansas, and now to South Africa. They've served as everything from curtains to pillows to table cloths, and now on to canopy cover.

But, as always, there's a fatal flaw. I measured from the bottom of the front green valance instead of from the top railing. So now, I'm three days into work, exhausted and sick of looking at this khaki/green/teal conglomeration of fabric, and I have to go back and fix my 14-inch mistake. Sometimes, life feels like it's a series of 14-inch mistakes all piled up on top of each other. You say the wrong thing, at the wrong time, or to the wrong person. You get to the grocery store check out only to realize you don't have your wallet. You go to change a kid's diaper only to discover that you grabbed a diaper bag that didn't get packed after it's last use. But what I'm coming to realize is that even though you made a mistake, a 14-inch mistake which shouldn't be that big of a deal, but after so much work seems monumental, it doesn't take away the work you put in. Often times with my kids, I wonder if they'll ever "get" the lesson I'm trying to teach them, and when they don't, again, it's like another 14-inch mistake after so much work. But the work is laying a foundation, and just because they didn't say "please" or forgot to wash their hands, it doesn't mean that some day they won't... and when that day comes, I'll forget about all of those 14-inch mistake moments when I felt like a failure because the time, the energy, the work will have all been worth it.