Rocking in the New Year!

We decided to dance the night away with the kids on New Year's Eve this year and so Doug pumped up the volume on the stereo and we danced away to the music (old and new) that the New Year's special on TV was playing.  We had quite the jamming session and Joshua got quite sweaty in the process.  What a way to bring in the new year!  The kids were put to bed around 9:30...not quite ready to keep them up until midnight...and then Doug and I settled in for a movie and watching the ball drop at midnight in Times Square.  Here's to a brand new year filled with great memories and exploring the world that God created for us!  Happy New Year Joshua and Taylor!  We love you and can't wait to see how God shapes your lives in 2012! 

Christmas Loot!

A list of Joshua and Taylor's Christmas Gifts:

Joshua:
3DS Nintendo game system
3DS games:  Tetris, 3D Mario Kart, Carnival games, Phineas and Ferb, Monster Jam Trucks
HexBug Hive Track
Hexbug-green
Schwinn bike container
DS game case
Ninjago small lego kit
1600 piece lego kit
maze
headphones
small Cars movie radio
from Aunt Chris:  3DS Star Wars lego game, Cars movie giant pen, marshmallow Yoda sucker, Merry Madagascar movie, hotwheels car, straw glasses
little boy and lamb ornament
from Aunt Tricia:  3 in 1 lego kit (truck, etc)
from Aunt Angela and Uncle Doug:  Nerf bow and arrow, Veggie Tales book, lego pens
from Gran and Grandaddy:  Lighthouse lego kit, wind up flashlight, headlight, Operation game, Hexbug glow in the dark dual level kit
from Grandpa and Grandma:  Spy Trakr R/C spy car, "Heaven Is For Real for Kids" book, "Auto B Good" DVD,
from Mrs VanAmeringen:  Vixen reindeer stuffed animal, Scholastic book
from Julie Jones:  survival bracelet and bday gift:  survival kit
from Mary:  Smurfs movie
from Melissa Beard:  All about the Ocean Facts book

Taylor:
Rapunzel "Tangled" movie barbie tower
Little Mermaid boat and castle for the tub
My Little Pony baby room
Littlest Pet Shop pets
"Yogi Bear" and "Rio" movies
"Six by Seuss" book
Disney wood puzzles (4)
barbie clothes
Hex bug-light blue
headphones
2 pairs of princess slippers and 2 pairs of princess shoes (Snow White and Cinderella)
1600 legos
small princess radio
body glitter and nail polish
Hello Kitty socks and ornaments
baby Jesus ornament
Mickey mouse watch
Hello Kitty doll
Care Bears Christmas book
Princess rings
from Aunt Chris:  smurfette house, Papa Smurfs laboratory, princess pen, Littlest Pet Shop mini pets, straw glasses, "Merry Madagascar" movie
from Aunt Angela and Uncle Doug:  Flynn Rider barbie doll (from "Tangled" movie), Thumper board book, play make-up, princess floor puzzle and minnie mouse puzzle
from Gran and Grandaddy:  Littlest Pet Shop playground, house legos, Rapunzel hair and make-up doll
from Aunt Tricia and Rob:  Hello Kitty coloring books and hair accessories
from Grandma and Grandpa:  ukelele, "Heaven If For Real for Kids" book, "Far from Home" movie, play toaster, miniature nativity set
from Julie Jones:  hair extensions, bee headband, Minnie mouse headband
from Mary:  Princess Santa hat, princess zip up hard case
from Melissa Beard:  Biscuit stories book

Jib Jab Mania

This Christmas, the kids have had such fun dancing and laughing to Jib Jab videos with their faces attached to the characters that their Aunt Chris made over the past year.  She made several new ones while she was here (per the kids' request) and they have begged to watched them over and over.  The favorite "oldie" was the elves breakdancing starring our kids and their cousins.  Too funny!

Our Christmas Angel!

Taylor was cast as an angel in the Golden Start Preschool K4 play this year.  I found an angel costume for her online and some wings as well.  They played the navity scene and Taylor was one of 4 angels who came and watched over baby Jesus.  She had no lines and was a little cutie walking out onto stage and Doug and I both had no idea what she might do when she stepped out on the stage...but she did great!  We wondered if she might run around and be silly, get scared and start to cry, or maybe get silly and say something loud, but she played her part well and we were so proud of her!  During their song, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" she was busy putting her finger in her nose and didn't sing, but she new the words, because she practiced singing it candidly at home.  She was getting over a cold, but Doug and I wonder if this isn't a nervous habit for her because she seems to do this in new situations.  Oh, we'll have to tease you about this when you are older, Taylor!  We have our growing up "stories" that parents love to share with others!  This is one of yours:) 

You were a beautiful angel and we got some cute pictures of you afterwards.  Santa came to visit Golden Start as well and Joshua went with you to get your picture taken with Santa.  You weren't willing to sit on his lap, but you sat on a stool in front of him and shook in nervous excitement as your picture was being taken. Joshua stood beside Santa and we got several snapshots!  You then got a book about penguins and so did your brother!  How exciting!  Great first play, Taylor! 

Lake Lanier Magical Nights of Lights

Gran , Grandaddy, Aunt Tricia, Rob, Jaeson and all of us went to Lake Lanier to the beautiful Christmas lights drive through experience.  We followed behind Aunt Tricia's car as Jaeson sat in the trunk of the SUV with the lid raised up on a quite a chilly night.  As we first got there, the kids saw other kids in convertibles standing up with their heads sticking out and decided that this was a fantastic way to see the lights so we went along...at first.  Doug opened up the sky roof in his car and the kids wiggled back and forth as they both tried to have their heads stuck out the roof at the same time.  As space was tight and patience seemed to get thinner as well, we opted to watch the rest of the lights inside the nice warm car.  Although, Taylor came up front to sit in my lap and wanted the window rolled down.  We were quite chilly with a blanket wrapped snuggly around us for half of the ride until we got a bit too cold and rolled up the window.  At the end of the tour, there is a Christmas village with a live performance, roasting area for marshmallows and carnival rides.  The kids were more than ready to get on some rides so we bought some tickets and they each rode two rides.  The first was chosen by Taylor, who saw the ferris wheel and decided that this was the one she wanted to do.  I reluctantly went with her, as I am more susceptible to motion sickness these days, but thank goodness, she wasn't one to rock the seat much so it ended up being a lot of fun and it was well worth the trip to see the smile on her face as she rode her first ferris wheel.  Joshua rode with Daddy right behind us and this was his second trip on a ferris wheel.  The boys made funny faces at us and had a great time as well as Aunt Tricia was snapping pictures and the grandparents were waving to us as we went around the wheel.  The kids got to ride two more rides each and they rode the spinning hearts ride first which was like the Disney teacups but in a heart cage instead (so thankful that I did not have to do this one!).  For their last ride, Joshua chose the bumper cars and Taylor wanted the swings, but the wait was too long so she rode the boats instead.  A great Christmas filled evening that I'm sure the kids will remember for a long time.  Taylor's favorite light display was Pooh Bear falling into a pot of honey and Joshua seemed to think that one was quite funny as well!

Wig fashion show

During our Christmas time with the Harding side, we pulled out the Rapunzel wig and Doug's 70's wig and we all took turns putting them on and posing for pictures.  I have to say that I think Doug enjoyed sporting the Rapunzel wig the most and posed many times for the camera and even grabbed the guitar for a rocker pic.  Aunt Tricia and Rob and Jaeson joined in on the fun, but we couldn't get Joshua or Gran or Grandaddy to try on the silly wigs.  Maybe next time!!!  Too funny.  Taylor put on the 70's wig for just enough time to get a couple of snapshots and then the wig was off.  Oh well, she's already got curly hair so it wasn't quite as dramatic as the rest of us:) 

Air Tran Flight Extravaganza!

Joshua went with his class to Air Tran for a field trip today. What an experience!  It was jam packed with so many great experiences for the kids and the chaperons.  We started out the morning meeting on of the Customs dogs whose job is to sniff out fruits, vegetables, and meats that are in bags.  His name was Vance, a beagle, and the kids LOVED watching him in action.  The kids tried to find the hidden foods in the bags under all the chairs before Vince got a chance, and Vince was much more accurate than the kids at finding the foods either by sniffing or looking through the bags.  We then went to a room where two flight attendants helped the kids with a craft of coloring wooden airplanes to take home.  After that, we walked over to the Boeing building across the street.  Each student got to get into a 20 million dollar flight simulator machine (the same ones that commercial pilots train on) and do a take off, flight and landing.  This was a really cool experience.  They did not turn on the movement part of the simulator (thank goodness), but it felt like we were moving as we looked out the cockpit window and saw everything you would see if you were a pilot.  Joshua loved this and took off a little jumpy, but then got the hang of it and had a great landing per the trainer! The kids also had some air traffic control training as they had to listen to direction to move themselves along the runway to take off area without running into each other.  Pizza was provided for lunch and then we headed off to the hanger to look at some jet engines (no planes were in for maintenance so the kids didn't get to see an actual plane) and get into a airport fire truck and watch the truck shoot off a seriously strong stream of water on the pavement.  They also got to go up in a bucket ladder (as I did, too, and got to go almost to the top of the hanger...perk of being an adult!) and they sat inside a vehicle that pulls planes to the hanger that need to be worked on.  All of the kids seemed to have an incredible time and it was a great experience for all!  The kids got to end the day with going down the escape slide in the training center as I did, too, and that was quite fun!  Awesome day!

Joshua's Christmas Concert

Joshua had his first speaking part in a school Christmas concert this year.  Most of the kids spoke and they all did a great job!  They sang about the trip to Bethlehem for Jesus' birth and Josha's line was "Imagine...you are on the road to Bethlehem".  He spoke loud and clear and didn't rush through it.  He was  real pro up there and I hope that he'll get more chances like it in the future.  Great job!  The 2nd grade classes sang a couple of songs and Joshua looked a little sleepy through one of them with a yawn, but he made it through and his class did so well.  Doug went up close and got some pictures of Joshua speaking and we got a lot of the singing on tape. Great evening!

Lucy Lou Hairdo!

Today, we went to our annual Hands on Christmas craft outing at the Smyrna First Methodist Church. The kids had a blast making Christmas and Thanksgiving crafts...wooden nativity scenes, snowmen, smores snowmen, and wooden spoons made into Indian women. They also frosted graham cracker houses and put lots of yummy candies on them. On our way around, there was a hair beading station. Taylor LOVED the idea of having her hair done, so we sat down and watched her get her hair beaded. She was so excited when she saw the beads in her hair and sat still the whole time. The next station over was a "Lucy Lou" hairdo from "The Grinch that Stole Christmas". She wanted her hair done here, too, so the girl put a pony tail on top of her head, and then two more on the back. After that, she put shiny silver pipe cleaners twisted on her head and it looked so adorable. She was totally thrilled and her mouth went wide open when Joshua put the mirror in front of her to show her her new do! So fun! The kids had a great time today once again.

Joshua's first written song!

Joshua decided to write a song about Jesus, and I thought that I would go ahead and "publish" it for him on this blog.  Here it goes:

Jesus is the man
Jesus can heal the sick and poor
Jesus has all the power in him.
We in the world are weak but Jesus is strong.
Jesus created the world and we love you O Lord.

Wow, Joshua!  So beautiful and true!  Your heart give your Daddy and I so much joy.  Your light is shining brightly!

Rapunzel and Obi Wan head out for the candy hunt!

The kids had another great trick or treating extravaganza this year!  We had Rapunzel escorted by Obi Wan.  We strolled down our road and then around the corner and hit every house with their lights on.  Our neighbors across the street had their house so scary with Danny waving a fake knife around and dressed in an outfit fit for a horror flick that the kids didn't even want any candy and were ready to head for the road when Danny stepped out of  "character" and held out candy for the kids.  I'm thinking his house was better suited for teenagers out for a good scare!  The other houses were much more tame and the kids filled their buckets with loot before they got tired and cold and called it a night.  We ran into our neighbors/babysitters Mary, Annie and their Dad and chatted with them for a bit and also saw Connor Miller (another neighbor) who is a CCS student as well.  We had fun finding their house and they filled the kids buckets to get rid of their extra candy!  All in all, they had a great night and filled their bellies with chocolate and candy before heading to bed!

Trunk or Treat at Golden Start

Pumpkin Carving!

Sipping baby fruit through a straw??

Joshua describes the angel

Joshua remembered more details about the angel he saw over my head recently. He said that the angel was female, was all white with a black outline around her, and was wearing a crown. He said that she was glowing and hovering above me that morning when he first woke up. He said that she had a glow all around her. Sounds beautiful! So happy that you were able to see an angel, Joshua. What a gift! Your sister was describing angels in the car tonight as well we weren't sure if she was describing angel that she had seen or ones she had seen in a book or described to her. She talked about them on the road coming toward us and then baby angels. I can't wait until she can communicate a little bit more clearly so we can be sure of her thoughts vs what she has actually seen.

Daddy's out of town

We are roughing it with just the three of us for the night and all day tomorrow as Doug is in Melbourne with NS. Joshua's lip is looking better, although, a couple of boys at school were teasing him about it at recess and it made him cry a little bit (which made my heart cry). Kids can be so harsh and cruel at times! I told him that we need to pray for them to feel better about themselves so that they don't have to hurt others to make themselves feel better. I told Joshua that he is a lovable and likeable boy and that he has many friends...this is not something he has any control over. I pray that tomorrow will be a better day for he and these two boys. His lip really is looking better and it's only been 4 full days. It's amazing how fast the mouth heals from such a traumatic blow. Taylor and I spent some quality time this afternoon working on homework that she missed from last week when she wasn't feeling good one day at school and came home and then had a bloody nose in the carpool line the next morning and refused to go back to school once I got her home to change her. She worked very diligently on her homework today and finished every single sheet sent home (and there were at least 6 sheets). She was very focused and did a great job. She does not follow the arrows in which it tries to teach how to write the letters and numbers, but she does trace them and colors the areas she is supposed to (I had to remind her to use the colors that it says to use...this concept is not one she enjoys). I can tell that her skills are increasing and she seems to enjoy doing the sheets. Her teacher wrote an email to me yesterday saying that she has really good fine motor skills and that she is coming along in the classroom. I'm so glad that she seems to be settling into a routine at school and getting used to the structure a bit more. She still has her moments where she would rather stay home, but we are slowly getting there! Great job, kids! I love you both and am so proud of you!

Joshua's first stitches!

We had a roller coaster of a weekend with Joshua. On Saturday, while I was busy trying to get the house organized for family coming the following weekend, Doug took Taylor and Joshua to the park. Joshua really wanted to go to Kidscape Park...so that's where they ended up. They had been playing for a couple of hours when Joshua got up onto the 4 feet tall monkey bars (not the first time this trip per Doug) and was walking on top of them when he slipped and his mouth collided with the metal. Doug heard the thud of his face hitting the bars and turned to see him on the ground crying and holding his mouth. As Doug ran over there, Joshua's mouth was gushing with blood and Doug couldn't tell how bad the damage was, but by the amount of blood, he figured that they were heading to the ER. When he squirted water on his mouth, he saw that his left side of his lower lip had been fileted open and his was afraid of what his teeth might look like. He called me on the way to the ER and I met them there. After 45 minutes of Joshua holding napkins to his mouth in the waiting room, we were called. They were really busy that night and so it ended up being a four hour ER visit. Taylor was a trooper through most of the stay. Joshua held up pretty well, but started declining as he got hungrier and hungrier. At 8:45 they started stitching up his lip and Taylor and I stayed in the waiting room for the first 15 minutes while Doug held Joshua's hand through the stitching. He couldn't feel anything as they kept putting Lidocaine on his lip and had given him Loratab elixir painkiller which made him really relaxed. He didn't even realize what they were doing to his lip. They covered his eyes with a paper towel so all he could see was scissors. They thought his teeth looked ok, but told us to take him to the dentist within 5 days. Taylor and I left and went to McDonald's to get her some cookies and him a milkshake. They got home shortly after us and he gladly drank most of the milkshake. He ended up sleeping on the couch that night (falling asleep to "Sinbad"). His lip made me quite queasy to look at, but thank goodness that all can be healed and he will be fine! I took him to the dentist today and they ended up pulling a tooth that was starting to get loose on it's own, but got twisted into an odd position upon impact. The tooth behind this one on top had been shoved up into his gums and was impacted, but she told us that it should come back down on it's own and we'll have to watch it to see if there's any nerve damage from the impact. It will be a wait and see game. I held his hand through part of the procedure b/c he wanted me there, although, they really didn't want Taylor in the room, so I was needed in two places at once. They decided to let Taylor stay in the room so I could be with him and he did great. So...we are very thankful that both teeth that were affected are baby teeth and that no permanent damage seems to have occurred from this other than a small scar that he will have on his lip. He is a blessed boy!!!

Guardian angel!

The most amazing and beautiful thing happened this morning! I was doing the early morning school routine and made my way upstairs to wake Joshua up. I opened his door (which usually startles and wakes him up) and he peeped his eyes open at me and then shut them again. The room was dim, but there was enough light to see each other. He opened his eyes again and said, "Mommy, your angel is above you". I said, "What?" And he said, "I saw your angel above you when I first opened my eyes". I said, "What did it look like?" He told me that he didn't remember and didn't know if it was a man or woman, but that he saw the wings and it was above my head. He said it so calmly and matter of factly, like he sees angels all of the time. It made me wonder if he does see angels frequently. And, was this my guardian angel, or an angel that had been watching over him while he slept who hovered over me when I walked in the room. Either way, it was the most amazing gift that he gave me. I have never seen an angel (that I know of!) and so to know that right there in that moment...where I wasn't in any iminent danger...just a typical day in the Harding household, that God sends his angels to watch over us. It was very humbling and it made me so grateful to have such a loving Father to give us such a special gift here on Earth. Thank you, Joshua, for sharing this with me. It means more to me than you know! Your heart for God is so beautiful and we love watching you bloom and grow in your faith.

School Blues

Well, it's been another roller coaster K4 beginning with another child! Taylor is finding the adjustment just as difficult as Joshua did, but on a different level. Whereas, he didn't want to go and didn't like school or his teacher initially, Taylor likes school and her teacher, but wants to do her own thing and not adhere to rules. Today, she pushed another child out of line (a first for pushing), talked out of turn (not too concerned with this one...that will come with time) and ignored her teacher (am concerned with this one!). We are having to punish her for the bad behavior at school (no chocolate after school, etc) and it seems to work at times, and sometimes not. She has this independent spirit and is not yet willing to yield to authority. We are all praying for her success in school. Joshua told me today that he prayed for her at school today that she would have the best day yet. I had tears in my eyes as it was exactly what I needed to hear after another rough afternoon of finding out that she got another "unsatisfactory" behavior mark today. Grandma and Grandpa are praying about this and we are too, so Taylor, we are all in this together and praying that you will soon adjust and have a great year at CCS if that is God's plan for your academic early years!!

First Day of School

The First Day of School has arrived and Taylor and Joshua both seem to be excited! Joshua wore his blue shirt and khaki shorts and Taylor wore a yellow shirt and skort (which ended up falling off of her b/c it was too big in the waist!!). She really wanted to wear a belt just like her brother so I let her put on a purple belt over her skort...well the belt came off at recess and so did her skort. Her teacher said that

First week of school over!

We are done with the first week of school, and I must say, it has been an emotional roller coaster for Taylor and I! Taylor has had quite a bit of adjustment to learning the ropes of school etiquette and structure...mainly obedience! She just isn't used to having to be in such a structured routine and has had the run of the house for the past four years. The teachers have had trouble with her listening as she just did what she wanted to do. Mrs Helms was the most supportive and was wondering if her creative mind was just out there in creative world and then she would have to draw Taylor back into the classroom situation to get her to follow along. Taylor had some trouble with helping clean up and sitting still in chapel, staying away from the door when carpool was in progress, etc. It will be a huge learning curve for her, but we are praying for her that she will come through this with flying colors. My biggest concerns are her learning style as she hasn't been able to count to 10 successfully (skips around) and knows about 1/2 to 75% of her letters. I'm not sure if this is just from her not being in a routine school setting or if there might be a learning disability going on. I can't get her to recite her bible memory verse either without much coercion. It may just be a learning curve of adjustment to school for her and then she will fall into the hang of things or there may be an underlying situation that we will have to get her some help for. Time will tell. She does seem to enjoy school overall and got out of the car without tears or refusal to get out (as well dealt with with Joshua the first 6 weeks of school in K4). Big praise for Taylor...NO potty accidents this week at school! Yea! One huge blessing at the end of this week. Joshua came through school this week with flying colors...his teacher is singing huge praises about him and wrote that he is a good, sweet boy:) Makes his mommy proud:) Great job, kiddos! We know that you both will be successful in life with the dependence on your Lord, Jesus Christ and know that you are being prayed for throughout your life journey!

First Day of School

The first day of school has arrived! Joshua and Taylor were both excited to go and decked out in khaki shorts and blue shirt for Joshua and yellow shirt and plaid skort for Taylor! We took pre-school pictures and then took off for school. I walked Joshua to his class first and he settled in immediately. Mrs VanAmeringen has a huge heart and he is in great hands! Next, I walked Taylor to her class with Mrs Helms. Mrs Helms is new to the school this year and has a huge personality and tender heart. She is very welcoming and Doug and I both liked her from the moment we met her. Taylor walked into her classroom and was OK until I began to leave and then the tears came. She did not want me to leave and wanted to go home with me. Of course, I felt horrible, but I knew that she would be OK once she got accustomed to the situation. She did OK, but missed her mommy per conversation from Mrs. Garrett. Taylor wanted to wear a belt to school just like Joshua so she got a purple one and put it around her waist which I ended up liking the idea (even though is was against uniform) so that it would help hold up her skort which was a bit big on her. I don't remember the skort being so big when we tried it on, but it is a size 4 which is as small as they come. She ended up losing the belt on the playground and her skort fell down at school so that had to roll it down on the waist to help keep it up. Poor thing! First day of school and she loses her skort! I guess that she was quite embarrassed so mommy needs to do some surgery on the skort to make it fit better...I found out later that this happened to many K4 kids with either shorts of skorts! When she got home from school I gave her a stuffed animal kitty as a special gift for the first day of school and gave Joshua a stuffed dog. He had a great first day and really likes his teacher! One day down!

Down under the deep blue

Joshua has discovered the world of diving under the water! He took huge strides today in the pool. First diving down to touch the bottom of the pool, then diving down to get his dive sticks, then holding his breath underwater, then swimming face down in the water to me about halfway down the short length of the pool. Way to go, Joshua!!

Taylor is on her way, too. Enjoying swimming with swim wings or a flotation device on her back. She's on her way!!

Melting Mommy's Heart

Taylor and Joshua are trying to sleep in Joshua's room tonight, with the TV from the kitchen and a DVD player. We're hoping that they can make it through the night sleeping b/c they have both been sleeping downstairs lately (Taylor for months and Joshua for the past week). He didn't want to be the only one sleeping upstairs. Doug said a nighttime prayer for them and then right before I closed the door, I said "Love you" and Taylor replied, "I love you, Mommy". This is the FIRST time she has ever said this to me! As I shut the door, I about cried. Doug realized the moment, too. I have wanted to hear those words from her for a long time, and she finally said them tonight!!! I LOVE YOU, TOO, Taylor!! Thank you for your sweet little miracle tonight!

4th of July Weekend in Charlotte

We headed to Angela and Doug's for the 4th weekend to spend some time with them as it's rare that they have a three day weekend away from work. The kids had a blast playing together...Joshua and Daniel were inseparable, Taylor and Lindsay played well together most of the time (with only a few instances where they wanted one or the other's toys), and Ashley is growing up and mainly watched the kids play or she would wander off to do her own thing. She changes each time we see her. Last time she was reserved and quiet, and this visit she was engaging and warm and smiled at the kids funny antics during the weekend. We went to the Reed Gold Mine near Charlotte on Saturday and went through a small museum and then a self guided tour through the old mine. The kids then got to pan for some gold. Joshua and Daniel both found a tiny piece of gold in their pans, but Ashley didn't find any this time. Both boys were very excited to find their tiny treasure. On Sunday, we went to their church and then went to the mall for lunch and shopping/playtime for the kids. I got Taylor and Lindsay matching flower bags with a little flower that snaps on them and they were ready cute strutting through the mall with their bags over their shoulders. Monday was the big day and we spent the earlier part of the day preparing food for the lake party and just having some down time. Doug and Angela's church has a party each year at one of their church member's homes on Lake Norman. This will be the last year, though, because he is trying to sell his home. It was just finishing up raining from a pretty strong storm that had blown through as we arrived. We had a pot luck dinner and then the kids were anxious to get into the water. Once the thunder subsided, the boys took turns using the paddle boat and Taylor and Lindsay got into a double seated inner tube as Doug pulled them around in the water. Doug, Taylor and I took a ride on a pontoon boat as Joshua went with Daniel and Uncle Doug on the speed boat for a ride. We played chicken a couple of times on the water and had a "fake" boat race with the speed boat zooming past us and the kids grinning ear to ear. Angela, Ashley, and Lindsay were on the pontoon boat with us and we had a nice time taking a tour of the lake and having a tour guide telling us about some of the homes, etc on the lake. Taylor LOVED the ride and when we got back, Glen (the home owner) asked us if we wanted a speed boat ride next. Of course, we couldn't not turn down this offer and so we all jumped into the boat and Taylor headed straight for the front of the boat to grab a seat...our little adventure seeker! She, Ashley and I sat in the front and felt the wind rushing past us as we sped around the lake once more. Taylor was having the time of her life in this boat! No fear...During this time, Joshua was busy playing in the water and on the paddle boat with Daniel. When it got dark, we watched a spectacular fireworks show from some of the homeowners near the party. We sat on the peer and watched. We were amazed at the amount of fireworks these people had invested and it was literally as good as any city fireworks production. After awhile, Taylor decided that she wasn't crazy about being out there in the dark and so we went inside until it was time to go at 10pm. Lindsay was already inside as she does not like the loud booming coming from the lake...just like her mom was at her age! The kids managed to stay awake (Daniel rode with us) as they were munching on food for half the ride home and watching a movie. Taylor zonked out first, then Joshua and Daniel stayed awake the entire ride! This was definitely one of my favorite 4th of Julys and wish we could do it again next year!!

7th Birthday Party Water Wars!

We had Joshua's 7th birthday party at the Fellowship pool it was quite the splash! Our guests were Jack Powell and siblings, Ethan Harper& friend, Patrick Scott, Maddy Maddox, Matt Drye and siblings, and Jackson English along with most of the parents. The kids had a blast shooting each other with water guns...it was definitely the hit of the party. Not only did the kids enjoy the shooting wars, but the parents got just as competitive with each other!

Joshua turns 7!

Joshua had his much anticipated 7th birthday today! He couldn't wait and so he was allowed to open one gift over the weekend which was a lego semi truck from Grandma and Grandpa...it has already been assembled and then crunched by Taylor. So...now he gets to re-assemble on another day. He woke up this morning and came into my room all excited and happy. Poor Mommy was really tired and so he let me sleep a little longer. I had to get the house picked up some before we had a visitor (the previous PTF treasurer) who dropped off all of the records and treasurer info for me. Next, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch and games. The kids had a great time running around and we spent a couple of hour there. All of Joshua's tokens earned him some fun dip that he gobbled down in the car. Our next stop was Dollar Tree for some bday balloons and a few odds and ends for his upcoming birthday party at the pool this weekend. We then went to Publix and purchased a yellow cake with chocolate frosting with balloons on top. The kids, of course, got their free Publix cookie during the cake choosing process and then we headed home. Daddy was already home when we got home and so Joshua got to open another gift from Aunt Tricia which was a Zhu Zhu Pet police station and police car. Joshua immediately put it together and stuck his Zhu Zhu Pet in it...have to admit that these Zhu Zhu pets are cute:) We then grilled burgers and when it came time to sit down, Joshua decided for a hot dog instead so we popped one in the microwave and with mac and cheese on the stove for Taylor, our individualized meals were almost ready! Prior to dinner Joshua got to talk with Gran and Grandaddy and thanked them for the body board they sent money for and chatted for a little while. We got the cake out and had 6 little candles plus the big "7" candle put on the cake. We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Joshua, even though Taylor has insisted all day that it is her birthday! We dove into the yummy cake, sporting the cherished "Happy Birthday" plate and "Celebrate" plates and then Aunt Angela and the kids called to talk with Joshua and wish him a "Happy Birthday". He had just opened their gift about an hour earlier which was a pirate lego set and dive torpeoos to give him practice diving down in the pool. Daniel and Lindsay both made him birthday cards as well as the joint card from everyone. After the cake, we all settled in the living room for the moment that all kids live for...the opening of the gifts. As they all sat there all pretty with their bows on the couch, Taylor was hoping that some were for her. She just couldn't accept the fact that it was not her birthday. But, she enjoyed Joshua opening his gifts and even helped clean the paper debris from the party scene. Joshua received many of his "wish list" items and seemed very excited with his gifts...thanking us after each gift! He received a sonic boom lego set, bubble plane flyer, zhu zhu kung fu pet and military vehicle, Scourge transformer, nano habitat for his hexabugs, a remote control boat, a voice changer and Star Wars plane with ripstick. After all of the gift opening, Grandma and Grandpa called and sang "Happy Birthday" to him and chatted for a bit and then we were off to the pool for an hour of swimming and playing with the R/C boat until the pool closed at 9pm. Aunt Tricia called earlier in the day, but we missed the call, and Aunt Chris called at 10:15, but missed the boy to sleep by 15 minutes. We warned her that if we woke him to speak with her that he would probably cry the whole time. He was one tuckered boy whose rational function had reached it's limit! Hopefully, he will be all rested and ready for a day of play with his new toys tomorrow!!
Happy Birthday, Joshua!! We love you:)

Jumping off the Diving Board!

Our little 4 four year old JUMPED off the diving board at the Fellowship Pool tonight! We just joined the pool three days ago and Taylor has taken off in her swimming skills/risks! She saw Daddy dive off the diving board tonight and decided that it looked like a lot of fun...so she walked over to the diving board with her princess pool ring and walked up onto the board. She walked out a little past the rail and decided it was too high and walked back down, but then turned around and decided to give it a go again! She didn't turn around this time and jumped right into her daddy' arms below! I was shocked that she went ahead with it...and then she jumped in about 20 times after that. Since she doesn't know how to swim yet, and has decided to just jump ahead (literally) to the diving board, we decided to work with her on learning the doggy style swim so that she could start learning how to swim. I have a feeling that she will be swimming like a fish by the end of the summer.

Joshua met a new buddy tonight at the pool named Daniel, and two nights ago, he met a girl named Reeve that he hit it off with, too. He's been having fun with his flippers and body board as well as his water guns. He's a little bit more cautious in the water, so it's great that we could join a pool so close by for him to get plenty of pool time to work on his swim skills and get more comfortable swimming around again. We are really enjoying being members of the pool this summer! Yay for summer fun!

Leapin' Lizards...it's a tick!!!

With it being Memorial Day, we spent the day preparing to have our sump pump removed by Doug removing tile and me washing clothes as we will not have access to the addition for several days while the concrete cures. We wanted to get the kids out of the house, so we first checked out a potential pool membership for the summer and then went to Thompson Park to feed some very fiesty geese...one of which bit Taylor on the hand (luckily not hard as she didn't seem to be disturbed by the event). After playing a bit, we came home for some yummy burgers and then went for a walk/scooter ride to the Silver Comet Trail. On the way, Doug encountered a cute little turtle who seemed to be lost and out of sorts from his typical environment. Doug decided to relocate the turtle and Joshua excitedly followed. They ran through some tall grass to place the turtle back in the creek and then we continued on our journey to the trail, stopping every so often to pick some wildflowers/daisies along the way. On the way home, we enjoyed the first lightning bugs of the season and I caught a couple of them to show the kids. When we got home, Doug went outside with the kids to catch lightning bugs and then we decided to take quick baths before bedtime to wash off the stinky deet bug spray. I noticed that when Joshua took off his shirt, he had something black on his back. Doug soon noticed, too, and realized that it was a TICK!! Doug quickly got the tick off of Joshua and the tick hadn't seemed to bury his head into Joshua's skin yet. YUCK!! So, we all began scanning our bodies for bugs and I'll probably have nightmares about bugs tonight! Oh, those pesky bugs. The one downfall to summer!!! Otherwise, it was a great night!

Headmaster's Award!!

We are SO proud of you Joshua!! You graduated from first grade with the Headmaster's Award for all A's all year!!! That is a huge accomplishment and we know that you worked hard for this. You are becoming a such an amazing young man and we enjoy watching you grow and change and develop that traits that the Lord has given you. Wow! I was so honored to be your mom and watch you receive your award! Way to go! Now, you can sit back and relax this summer and have some quality family time in the pool and traveling around. Love you so much! Oh, and to top off the award, you lost your fifth tooth at home on this day as well! For your big accomplishment, you picked out an big Army Jeep to play in the driveway with. We love you!

Bible Memory Award

You brought home the "Bible Memory Award" for excellence from your class today. You have done so well memorizing scripture this year and it constantly amazes me how much you are able to memorize. It helps me memorize scripture as well by helping you! Way to go on a wonderful accomplishment that you can carry with you throughout your life. Keep those verses in your heart!

Walking pneumonia....again!

Joshua has had a fever on and off since last Tuesday (6 days) with coughing, fever (high of 100.8), sore throat, and headache. He missed two days of school last week and missed school today which is the last week of school. It was an up and down week...feeling better one day, run down and fever the next. So...we headed back to the doctor's office today to find the verdict. He was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, and right ear infection. He also had been blinking his eyes frequently and complaining of itchy eyes. He had an vision test which came back 20/20 and Dr Matthews said that he had some conjunctivitis which is related to allergies. So, we headed out of the office with three prescriptions for Azithromycin, albuterol inhaler, and QVar, a new inhaler for long term maintenance of asthma. We should have used the Pulmicort on him to keep his asthma under control, but we thought he was under decent control and so we didn't give it to him. I was told that if we need to use his inhaler more than a couple times a month, he needs to be on a maintenance medication. Live and learn! Maybe now, we can prevent a future case of pneumonia!! Praying that he can enjoy his final week of school relatively sick free with all of the meds he is on now!

Critters in the yard

Bailey had his first official "kill" in our yard today. He caught a mole and held it in his mouth at the door until I saw his catch. He dropped it on the deck and ran inside and the mole did not survive Bailey's jaws...The kids were quite interested in his catch and Taylor asked me if the mole was sleeping! The same day, Taylor had left the garage door open, which is a chronic thing in our household. The other garage door was open as well to the outside. Taylor came up to me and said, "Bird in the house". I said, "What did you say" and she said "Bird in the house". I asked her to show where the bird was, and sure enough, she trotted into the kitchen and pointed to the window. This poor bird was desperately trying to exit the house through a closed window. I opened the one window that is not permanently shut and shooed the bird towards it. The bird quickly found the open window and bolted out of the house. A little excitement in the Harding household today!

I tattooed my daughter...

Well, not really a tattoo! We were helping out at the CCS Booth at the Jonquil Festival and I helped out at the necklace/information area for an hour and then face painting for about a half an hour. Once Taylor saw me paint a heart on a little girl's face, she wanted a heart on her face...a red heart. So, after I was done painting the kids that had come up, I painted a big red heart on her cheek. Her first face painting experience...and it was done by Mommy! I was so honored:) She looked really cute and we had to get a picture of the whole experience. Joshua had fun working the booth and making a cross necklace as well. He got to eat a huge grape flavored sno cone AND a fruit flavored ice cream pop. One happy boy! Next time, we will have to get there even earlier to enjoy the festivities.

First Rainbow

Taylor came up to me today and handed me a beautiful, colorful rainbow. I questioned whether she or Joshua had drawn it because up until now, her only drawing has been smiley faces. It was so good. Joshua told me that he didn't draw it. So, I asked her if she could draw me more rainbows, and she proceeded to draw four more. Yay for Taylor! Or little arteest!!

"Dinosaurs Before Dark" book report

Easter Morn

The Hunt is On!

We had our Easter Egg Hunt today for Joshua...tomorrow was just too far away, so we went ahead and had the hunt today. The kids had a great time hunting for eggs and Taylor had a little help from Mommy and Daddy as her big brother was faster and better able to spot eggs faster. They both ended up with a basketful of eggs, both candy and money. The kids were trading candy that they liked/didn't like. We also dyed eggs today, a dozen to start out. I just had not gotten around to doing it in past years, but it will definitely be a tradition from here on out. Taylor and Joshua both LOVED dying the eggs and probably would have colored three dozen if we had them. I was going to hide them along with the plastic eggs, but then we decided that they may end up cracked in the process and Doug pointed out that the kids really wanted the eggs with candy in them, so we put the dyed eggs in the fridge. Mary, our babysitter, brought over a couple of stuffed animals and marshmallow suckers for the kids and they didn't want Mary to leave. They just love her and I think that she feels the same way. She is very considerate and always bringing over goodies for the kids on all of the holidays. I don't know what we would do without her! Looking forward to an amazing church service tomorrow and celebrating that our Jesus is Risen!! Thank you Jesus, for your amazing gift to us!

A little bit of youth gone...

The day Joshua lost his 4th tooth, Joshua asked me if there really was a tooth fairy and I dodged the subject. Then yesterday, he asks me if there really was a tooth fairy or the Easter bunny because he really didn't believe it but he wanted to hear it from me. I felt like this was the time to tell him the truth because I don't want him to not trust me when I tell him something. When I told him that there wasn't a tooth fairy or Easter bunny, he smiled and said, "I knew it". He didn't seem sad or glum about the fact which relieved me and then said, "So you are the tooth fairy and Easter bunny" and I said yes...another smile. Our boy is growing up and it was a little sad for this era to end.

Our Disney Princess!

Taylor has discovered the life of a princess. We recently bought the movie "Tangled" about Rapunzel. She fell in love with the movie and continuously watched the movie over and over for a week straight. I bought her the Rapunzel play dress and she wore it non-stop as well. The past few days have been back to Minnie Mouse and she has been sporting that outfit out and about town...to bible study, shopping, riding her bike! Today, I had to wash the two dresses and she was seriously distraught about the idea that she could not wear either dress. I told her that she had several other princess dresses in her room and she lit up...so we had Cinderella for half of the day and Aurora for the rest of the day. She went to Costco and Home Depot as Aurora and got quite a few comments about her princess attire. Our little princess has literally become a princess. She even wore her princess shoes to the store tonight! I have already fixed the Rapunzel dress several times as it definitely was not made to "play" in! Maybe I should start sewing my own princess dresses for the heavy duty princess wear!

Taylor's new bedtime routine...no sleep for the weary

So, since the recent thunder storms came through and Taylor was scared and decided to sleep downstairs...we have had problems. She was fine in Florida when she could sleep in the same room with her brother. Now that we are home, every night is a struggle. She is afraid to sleep in her room now and leaves her room after being tucked in every single night. Doug and I are both frustrated and need our down time, and so this is an especially tough parenting issue for us. Right now, she is asleep on the big chair in the living room. At first, she would go to sleep in her room (reluctantly) and then come down to our room at 4:30 in the morning and we would transition her to the living room and put on a movie for her to watch to help her go back to sleep. Now, she doesn't even want to start out in her room. Punishment doesn't work either. She doesn't care if she's punished because her fear is stronger than the punishment. I really hope that this phase is short because it is wearing on her daddy and I. Please sleep, Taylor!!

4th tooth lost for Joshua!!

Joshua lost his first top tooth this morning. He was sitting in the chair in the living room eating his typical breakfast of champions...pop tarts and OJ...and he tells me that his tooth hurts and he can't eat. I ask him if it is loose, and he says "Yes". I tell him to break the pop tart and chew with his back teeth and he tells me that it doesn't hurt anymore. A minute later, the tooth is out! Talk about fast. I don't remember my teeth coming out so fast after announcing that it is loose. I remember them lingering in my mouth, torturing me with that wiggly feeling, but not loose enough to pull without pain. I remember my dad teasing me that he could tie a string to my tooth and attach it to the door knob and then shut the door. What kind of medieval torture device is that??? I declined quite adamantly every time! Anyway, his tooth is gone! This afternoon, he asks me if the tooth fairy is real? I was one the phone with Doug at the time and asked Doug what I should say? I go on to say to him "Why do you ask that?" He says, "Well, fairies aren't real..." He wanted me to be straight with him and tell him yes or no. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't quite ready for the end of the era of magical beings so I skirted around the subject. I told him that he should put out his tooth fairy pillow and see what happens because he may not get any money if he doesn't put the pillow out. He also asked me if mommy was the tooth fairy. I skirted around that as well! I wonder if one of his classmates said something to him at school today. I have a feeling that is what happened. Not that I want my children believing in make believe things, but it seems like such a transition from childhood to the reality of life...I guess that that is good and bad.

Space Camp and Camping Trip with the Scouts