Beautiful girls of mine

Here is a photo of my girls and I on Mothers Day. Its the best we could get of Natalie.  I am a very lucky mom to have these three beauties in my life.

I don't get to take a lot of photos of Chelsea.  Stage of life thing, I guess.  She's not as available as the other two (she's away at school and youth, etc.).  So, the fact that she takes photos of herself make my job a lot easier.  She's a beauty, and I'm torn between showing her off to the world and hiding her in a closet.  We definitely are protective parents, and sometimes it feels easier to hide our daughter from the world so as to try to protect her then to allow her to grow up and discover the good and bad that she'll eventually encounter.  We are learning, and seek God and the wisdom of others around us, so that we can raise Chelsea to be a young woman in Christ in our secular world.  "He's got the whole world in His hands...", now its our turn to trust the words to this song.

There's more to April...

I found this on the living room floor by Nat's little table. It's a lock of her hair. If you've ever seen her hair, it has yet to be cut. Well, she took care of that for us. As her hair is so curly, I'm not sure where she cut her hair, but a lock is now missing. Her daddy was pretty sad to hear this, as he doesn't want her hair cut.

Just a few pics of some happenings at our place.  Anna has been moving quite quickly in the development, as she started shuffle crawling, on to full out crawling three days later, to walking along furniture, climbing up stairs, and standing by herself for short periods of time.  She's been busy this April.  Nat is forever doing "art", from drawing to coloring to painting.  She loves Mr. Maker and wants me to make crafts with her.  Daddy's been busy this month with work, but we got a nice pic of the little girls with daddy goofing off after a long day at work.  Oh, and the blue picture, that one's compliments of Chelsea.  Her creative photography leaves some strange pictures on my camera.  Guess what that is...

We also got a couple of play dates with friends.

And a VERY special HaPpY bIrThDaY goes out to our little Arjun Bahji.  Love ya little guy!!!  p.s. the Elmo cupcakes were pretty awesome.

The Easter Outfit

After one look at my girls on Easter Sunday morning, so many older ladies told me of the times when their moms would dress them and their sisters in matching Easter dresses.  The girls received so many compliments on how cute they were (yes, Chelsea was extra cute too).

I got the idea after I saw a friend's daughters in matching tutus. I googled how to make a tutu, and off I went. It was easy to find video instructions on the internet. I bought the tulle using 40% off coupons from Michaels (took a few trips). They were so easy to make, the hardest part was cutting the tulle (buying the 6" tulle rolls made that easier).

And what can I say, these girls were soooo cute.

After church we enjoyed our traditional Easter dinner with the Lusty family (only one Cornwall this time).  Uncle Walter got the usual loves from Natalie.  Anna took to everyone (auntie Barb in the top left), which was good for mom.  We even had the egg hunt in between the drizzly rain.  We left before we got too disappointed with the game (which had an eventual good ending).

Just as an aside... Tasha (one of the beautiful dogs in the top pic) will be missed.  Easter was the last time we got to see her... she was a wonderful dog.

A bunch of April...

I've not been able to take time to get my blogging done, so I'm catching up (such a common theme, do wish I could be ahead).

The kids got to participate in the Easter season with performing a play on Passover Sunday.  A lot of work went into preparing for the play, and it was fantastic.  Nat was supposed to be with the 3-5's and sit on the floor through most of it, but she was so excited about singing with the choir she just had to be on stage.  She sat when she was supposed to, stood and sang her best when the choir sang.  I was so proud of her.  Anna wasn't in the play, but she was cute none the less.

 SNOW... in APRIL, yikes!!!  Good thing it lasted only a morning. (apr 14th)

Little princesses... Nat got to go to a princess party. The girls dressed up in their pretty dresses, made crowns and wands, and even had a tea party. Even a couple of us ladies got all fancied up (we're hiding in the very top left of the photo - click photo to expand). Such a beautiful bunch of girls.

OK, so I'm not actually potty training my 9 month old... just allowing her to get familiar with the potty.  Oh, but she was so cute sitting there... I'm sure she's not going to like me for these when she gets a bit older.  Love ya Anna! ;)

Nat had her first real tooth checkup this month.  She visited the dentist last October, but it was really for a chair ride and a quick glance at the TV.  She allowed the dental hygienist to clean her teeth while she wore sunglasses and had her eyes glued to the TV above.  Although she behaved spectacularly, it wasn't a good trip... turns out those little teeth had 4 cavities.  She's got her grandmother's teeth, what can we say.  And... no more chocolate Bhabba Ji.

We look forward to the Good Friday service at church every year.  Breakfast served by the men, a very reflective art walk, and a service that draws our focus to the CROSS.  Its a tradition that is so meaningful to our existence as Christians.  Well, we even got sun in amidst this rainy April.  We enjoyed a fantastic walk around the lake with friends, which included fishing a grocery cart out of the water (compliments of a Mr. Koetsier). 

Sunny days mean the kids get to escape to the back yard.  Not very many of these nice days this spring, so enjoying it while we can.

 Here are a few more of Chelsea's creative photos.  Anna at 9 months.