Acrylic Art Easel Fun

Last summer, I built this acrylic easel for our backyard.  It is so much fun to create on it for hours in the backyard without worrying a bit about mess.

When we are done painting, we can just hose off the girls, and the masterpiece so that the "canvas" is blank for the next time.  Jillian believes painting should be a whole body experience as you can see. She is hosed off often.

It was so easy to build, and I love seeing my little artists busy on it.

Molly was painting a tiger because she is all about animals right now.  She even mixed red and yellow to get the perfect shade of orange for her creation.  She made a momma and a baby tiger of course.

I only wish four years old could last forever as she is so sweet right now.  I know it can't, but I will sure savor as much of this time as I can while I have it.

County Fair

Daddy and Emily returned home on Friday night, and our hard, hard week of flying solo is a distant memory.  WAHOOOO!! We didn't let Daddy rest too long because we were dying to head to the county fair.  We had so much fun last year, and this year didn't disappoint.

Molly LOVED seeing all the animals.  Our favorite were the three day old baby goats.  They were so adorable drinking milk from their momma.

One of our favorite spots is the giant sandbox in the corner of the barn.

It didn't disappoint as Ellie Grace was a fan.

I continue to marvel at how easy going and adaptable this baby girl's spirit can be.

This girl is growing so big.  I love who she is becoming.

When our baby is tired, she sleeps.  This personality trait is a huge blessing.  Isn't she just sweet?

Most activities, like face painting, are free at the fair.

It is such a huge treat to have this done each year.

There are lots of exhibits of historical nature that are hands on.

This was a civil war campsite, and the girls loved exploring it.

It wouldn't be the fair without junk food.  Molly loved this ice cream sandwich.

Ride Time is always a thrill.

When the swings started, the look on the girl's face was precious!

Smiles abound!

As always, I spent a good part of the day marveling at this 8 year old of mine.  I never, never dreamed she would look at a camera while smiling.  It wasn't in her skill set for a very long time, but just look at this girl.  To watch her in the midst of this chaotic, loud, unpredictable crowd enjoying herself was a miracle before my eyes.

It was a beautiful day.  We are so thrilled to have Daddy home, and I am certainly praying more diligently for those who do this parenting thing solo.  Being without him for a week makes us give thanks for him even more.

Stinky Pants Are So Funny

Little stinker can have some mighty dirty pants.

And, she is usually very proud of herself.

Mashed Potato Finger Paint

Because we have a bit of a hard week this week, I looked Monday morning straight in the eye, raided my pantry, put down a disposable tablecloth, and let my little girls go to town.

We made mashed potato finger paint/dough.

We used some left over instant mashed potato flakes, water, and koolaid for color and scent.

It created a really fun substance to explore.

When left thicker, it was so fun to put in icing bags and "pipe" out in rows.

Mixing it up was half the fun.

You could sculpt with the thicker stuff, use a paintbrush with the thinner, and, of course, there was plenty of squishing.

Uproarious laughter could be heard throughout my house!

It is good to have a little JOY in your day to soften the hard.

It was a giant mess, but I rolled up the tablecloth and tossed most of it away pretty easily.

It provided us with nearly 60 minutes of creative, sensory play that was well worth the mess to this momma. 

I mean..

Who couldn't use a little mashed potatoes squished between their fingers and toes to brighten their day?

Her First Rainbow and the Treasure at the End

This morning we woke up to the most magnificent double rainbow!  It was like an amazing gift at the beginning of a hard, hard week for us.  I couldn't ignore the JOY at 545 AM this morning from these little girls as they saw a real live rainbow for the first time ever.

What an incredible amazing gift these moments were.  Then, as my dear artist always does, Anna Mei headed to her easel to process the moment.  How I absolutely adore how this baby girl is wired.  She got out her paint sticks, rolled over a fresh canvas, and began to draw.

Suddenly she started writing something at the end of the rainbow all on her own.  She is so interested in writing and words right now that I wasn't surprised letters made their way into her art.

When she had finished, she looked up at me and said, "Mom, you are the treasure at the end of my rainbow."

Blessed this morning, and every single morning of my life by the presence of these babies, but this morning in particular I was reminded of it.  Reminded to give thanks that God has allowed me to stand beside them as their mom when they see their first rainbow.  Reminded of the gift, that truthfully can feel like a burden if I am honest, it is that I get to shape their little hearts for Him.  Reminded that therapy and medical appointments, while sometimes can make me so weary, are a privilege, that because of God's provision, we are able to provide our precious daughters because they are just that..daughters and no longer orphans.  Heading into this hard, hard week doesn't seem so overwhelming on this Monday morning because God allowed me these moments to remind me that He is always there, and that each day is a blessing because my baby girls are in them.

Spelling Out Messages on Her NOVA Chat

This girl has such a mind.  She may not be able to speak verbally, but she has so much going through her head that she would just say if she could physically do it.  I thought this might happen one day as our girl is so bright, and here she is..typing out messages on her nova chat to us. She typed "good job help bite" because she is all about chewing right now! I know that she has been working hard on CVC words at school, and we reinforce that at home, but here is a complete message spelled correctly with many different kinds of words.  She may have picked up the spelling while working on core words or just by selecting them on her NOVA..either way it is AMAZING!

As she gains more and more skills to help get out her words, I am so thrilled to be able to catch a small glimpse of her thinking and heart.  Her first language was sign language, and it was darling the other day to see her signing to herself while she translated those thoughts to her NOVA.  I didn't have my phone to video, but she would sign "dirty hand wash".  Then she would find garden dirt hand wash on her NOVA.  All the while I was beaming.  What a precious treasure our girl is to us!  We are thrilled to see her transferring some of her communication skills to her NOVA as it is much more widely understood.  This girl is so incredible, and we are thrilled to hear each and every thought she is sharing with us!  What a few weeks she has had!

Look Who is Chewing

We have been home with Ellie for about two months now.  During that time, I have been pushing along with her feeding therapy activities.  These are exactly the activities that I did with Jillian for years.  We pulled back on pushing Jilly any further about two years ago because it was just psychologically too much for her.  She was gaining weight, growing, and participating in life eating only pureed soft food so we just took a break.  Well since coming home with Ellie, our Jillian is very very interested in all things Ellie Grace.  Many of the techniques and strategies that are helping Ellie are the very ones that helped our Jilly back then so it makes complete sense, but I never expected this..

I just thought I would offer her a rice husk a few days ago, and she bit!  Not only did she bite it, but she kept the pieces in there and tried her darnedest to chew it!  I have added a few more things like these puffs, and she keeps eating them.  Miracles never cease!  

Playing at Great Grandma's

Recently, we went to visit my Grandma..the little girl's great grandma..to introduce her to our Ellie Grace.

It is always precious to be with my babies at my Grandma's.  Both of my grandmas are still living and it is such a gift.

My babies are loved and cherished by our family, and it always warms my heart.

Ellie Grace was a fan of Grandma's mardi gras beads,

and Grandma was a fan of our Miss Ellie Grace.
What a blessing these babes are to all of us!

The Beach

I couldn't be more thrilled for the hot temperatures these last few weeks as it was perfect beach weather and we LOVE the beach around here.

We got two trips in last week and it was glorious to be there!  All of the girls love being in the water.

Ellie loved the beach too which is a good thing because we spend a lot of time here.

It is so fun experiencing so many firsts with her.

She soaks up the sun like our Jillian and just runs her hand through the sand.

It is going to be a fabulous summer!

It always goes too fast, but we have many beach days planned!

By the end of the summer these three may turn into fish if they have their way!  Oh that summer could last forever!