Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Newest Love!

Two weeks ago I went to the dentist… that is NOT my newest love!  BUT… while I was there I got to read a few magazines since they were running behind schedule!  I actually didn’t mind their tardiness because I was really interested in reading a Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.  One of them had an idea that has now become my newest love….

They suggested putting all of your children’s socks in a lingerie bag as they get dirty and then zipping it closed before putting the whole bag in the washer.  It works like a charm!  There is no sorting and no finding a lost sock in a pillow case!  I can see myself really using this… it would be really helpful for those families with many kids – they each have their own bag so you don’t have to figure out if this sock is Peter’s or Paul’s.

The bag only costs around a dollar which is totally worth it.  I just have to train my girls to put their socks in there and not in the hamper.   

Try it… it will be your newest love as well!

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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter 2011

 

Here are the Easter 2011 pictures from IA….

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Here is our adoptive family for Easter… we invited these friends over for dinner together!  It was a lot of fun to be with friends for the holiday and as you can see the girls loved playing with Charlie! 

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Friday, April 22, 2011

Six Month Kiddos

I was looking at the pictures of each of the kids when they were 6 months old… I can really see the similarities!   Can you?

Grace:

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Hannah:

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Josiah:

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Grace learns about Easter

Notice her writing….

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In case you thought I forgot to post about Josiah lately….

 

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In Love with shoes!

Hannah definitely is related to her Auntie Shell.. she is officially in LOVE with shoes – flip-flops, heels (she calls them fancy shoes), slippers, sandals, sneakers, velcro shoes, laced shoes, mommy’s shoes, daddy’s shoes… she loves them all! 

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She also loves trying on other clothes – in these pictures she has on mommy’s shoes, Grace’s jacket and daddy’s hat!  So cute!

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Egg Hunt

This Easter season our church encouraged the congregation to get out and share the love of Jesus with our neighbors through an Easter Egg Hunt. So the Lightners decided to take the challenge.  We teamed up with our Life Group who helped provide candy and eggs and we passed out invitations and put a sign in our yard. Since we are the newest additions to the neighborhood, many were excited to meet us.  It was easy to tell them where we lived; we just had to say that we had the abandoned house on the corner.  They knew what we meant – the house that had grass up to their waist last summer! 

As the days got closer for the hunt, we were very disappointed that the weather was going to be rainy and cold, but we were praying that God would do a miracle.  AND HE DID!  The morning of the hunt we had all of the goodie bags ready and the eggs were stuffed, but we didn’t put the out because it was rainy and cold – 39 degrees!  We didn’t really expect people to come, but we were ready in case they did.  Bart and his kids (from our Life Group) came… so we knew that we would have SOMEBODY there.  The Hunt would happen!  So.. Bart and Danny hid the eggs and I stayed in with the kiddos.  Well, from that point on the doorbell kept ringing and ringing.  “Are you still having the Egg Hunt?”  “YUP!”    These Iowans are tougher than you would think! 

Kids came from all over the neighborhood…eighteen kids total!!!!!!!!!!  Many of the moms came too!  They decorated bags to put their eggs in, and then the hunt began outside.  It was FREEZING…BUT SO MUCH FUN!!

When they were finished, they came inside to warm up and see the candy that they got.  We gave each of the kids a goodie bag with candy, Rice Krispie Treats, a wordless bracelet with a paper describing what the colors meant, and an invitation to our church!

Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves… I think we have started a tradition that we will have to keep alive for many years to come!  We have since seen a few of the neighbors and it is great to know who they are by name!  We are praying that this street comes to know the Lord!

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Preparing for Florida

In preparation for our time in Florida, we got out the bathing suits, hats, and shorts.  It seems so weird getting those things out at this time of year, but boy, is it fun!  The girls and Josiah have loved playing with the flip-flops and sandals as well as sunglasses.  I can’t tell you how much ‘siah loves them… he is just adorable!

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SURPRISE!!!

 

Yes, after 10+ years of marriage, my man still loves me!! I didn’t have any doubt, but it was nice to get this surprise!  I’ll keep him for a little longer!  Smile

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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Cupcake fun!

 

I didn’t know what to make for small group tonight, so I grabbed the cupcakes from the freezer, a can of frosting, and the leftover jelly beans from our Egg Hunt (I will blog about that later) and I decorated!  It was a lot of fun… and so easy… and hopefully, so yummy!

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The Cross

Grace and I do “school” everyday when Hannah goes down for a nap.  It isn’t a long time, but it is a good time for us to spend some time together learning and making memories.  This week she was learning about the letter C.  We cut out pictures from magazines and colored and practiced writing Cc.  BUT our favorite part was making these stained glass crosses to hang in our three windows at the front of the house!  They came out so beautiful!  Aren’t YOU thankful for the cross!!  WE ARE!

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                                                    Hannah had to get her picture taken too!

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To make these stained glass pictures:

You will need transparency film (or clear contact paper), tissue paper, construction paper, scissors, a small paint brush and glue (watered down).  I first cut out the outline for the shapes that I wanted using construction paper.  I used black for a high contrast, but you can use any color.  Then I had Grace brush the glue onto the transparency paper and we glued down the outline.  Then she put glue on the inside part of the outline and we put small pieces of tissue paper to cover every part of the inside.  If you want to put a cross in the middle of the frame, then you will need to glue this down before you put on the tissue paper.  If you are using contact paper, you will not need to use glue and it is A LOT LESS messy.   Hold your masterpiece up to the light so you can see if you missed any spots.  Let it dry… SO PRETTY! 

My babies being babies!

                            

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