I'm beginning to think the snail doesn't like his new home! He has "escaped" three times since he moved there from the dead-frog aquarium he used to live in. But I have to say, I'd rather have an escaped snail than an escaped lizard or frog or hamster. He's so easy to "catch" when he escapes. :)

We planted four trees on Sunday. One Shumard Oak, one Tulip Poplar, and two apple trees--one Fuji and one Yellow Delicious. We still need one more for the front yard as a shade tree, but not too big, maybe about 40-50 feet tall...any suggestions? I think I'll put in an Arbor Day order soon to get some cheap trees for the back/side yard.

We've been trying to get quotes on new windows. This time of the year, when the weather changes, we have essentially zero visibility out our windows because they're all fogged up. You have to get up really close to the window and look through the lines where a drip has gone down. There is such a range in prices, wish I knew which ones would really last.

Hannah was so funny yesterday. She was having a difficult time trying to draw a picture. She asked me for help, but we were trying to get ready to go to the dining hall for lunch, so I told her to bring her paper and pen, we would draw it when we got there. She stomped off to the other room and I could hear her saying (more like crying), "I asked you to help me and you didn't! (sob, sob) I don't understand why you won't help me. Just for that, I won't be an artist for you anymore, God! If you won't help me, I won't be an artist for you! (sob, sob)" Then she composed herself and came to the living room. I asked her if she got all her frustrations out to God. She started to cry again and told me what she said to Him. I told her that God doesn't always just give us whatever we want, sometimes we have to work at it. That's how we learn. I compared it to cleaning the house: God doesn't just make me clean the house, I have to work at it, as much as I would like to just have it done for me.

Carrie has been adding words everyday, I am amazed at how much she can say and comprehend. It's so funny to listen to her. She says "thing" or "one" at the end of everything. Like this: she will point to an apple and say, "Apple one. Yeah, apple one. Right." Or, "Puzzle thing. Right. Puzzle thing." (Thing sounds like "sing") And even better she says them together like, "I want thing one." What thing one? "Apple thing one." Hannah says it's like The Cat in the Hat with Thing One and Thing Two! Carrie's so cheerful! She comes running with a skip in her step. When she gets to where she's going she jumps once at the end. She likes to be the family clown. She says Hannah like this, "Heeenah" And she says Trafalgar like this, "Tfeelgor" And she LOVES to eat! The funny thing is she loves meat!...and Chocolate! She asks for "Choclit chips" several times a day. I usually trick her with sugar free gum or something. At supper she will eat all her "chickin" but leave the bread or veggies while the other girls do just the opposite. But she never stops moving for long, so she's using all the food she eats.

Alli can spell her name and count to 30! She recognizes most letters, all colors, shapes, and she loves to cook. She is such a sweetheart. She loves to help her sisters ("stisters")! Today at lunch, Hannah and I were playing. Hannah put her arm into her sleeve and ate one-handed, then she told me to, so I played along. Then she said to put both arms in. We were laughing about it, but Alli immediately thought to help out. She offered to feed me!

I love being home with the girls. I can say that today since I've had a good day so far, but it's true even on difficult days. I'm so glad I get to enjoy all those sweet/silly moments from Alli, all the funny words and clowning from Carrie, and all the preaching from Hannah. Thank you, God, for giving me this blessing.

Easter, Field trips, and Bunnies

EASTER
We were able to celebrate Jesus' resurrection with Papa Gene & Gramma Kathy and Mark & Julie's family in Plainfield! The week before saw lots of excitement in a not-so-good way with a hospital stay for one of M&J's kids, so when we were able to all be all together at M&J's house, it truly was a celebration! The kids of course enjoyed playing together, and I love having Julie show her pictures and tell all the great stories about her trip to China! G&K stayed with us Good Friday night and watched the kids so we could go on a date. I love Chinese food, so we took a friend's request and tried a new place...YUK!!! The food was cold, I'm sure it was just because they weren't busy on Good Friday, but either way, we got our money back and went to the food court in the mall for some good Chinese.

FIELD TRIPS
Hannah's preschool went on a tour of the elementary school where she'll be a kindergartener next year. We got to meet the principal and he led the kids around the entire building, answering all kinds of questions. He let the kids have a snack of chocolate milk and goldfish crackers before we left. Hannah loved it! She's so excited about kindergarten.

Then we had Kindergarten registration and screening. The lines were long, the entire process took about 1 1/2 hours, most of that time spent in lines. But it was so neat to meet some of the other kids her age and their parents!

Today we went to the Not Just Popcorn store in Edinburgh, IN. They took the kids into the back room where they pop 2 pounds of popcorn at a time and sort and flavor it. They make 273 different flavors of popcorn, and it's all grown a few miles away! The kids loved it, and it smelled wonderful! The kids got to taste-test kid's flavors like cotton candy, bubble gum, strawberry, and dill pickle (not my idea of a kid's flavor, but lots of the kids liked it). The adults got a grown-up taste-test with flavors like vanilla bean, key lime pie, and prailenes and creme. Each kid left with a sample packet of confetti flavored popcorn that tastes like fruit loops, and the adults got a sample pack of caramel corn.

BUNNIES
Our sweet neighbors, the Burketts, found a nest of baby bunnies and they gave us two of them to keep. We brought them home and fed them milk with a medicine dropper. It's so cute to watch their little mouths drink. They won't eat solid food, though. The girls love holding them gently, and it's so cute! I don't have any pics...I left my camera in Plainfield on Easter!