Bible Story Gone Wrong

In our house, Beatrix Potter and the writers of the Gospels have been mysteriously intertwined. During dinner, Madi started saying, "Jesus in the boat. Sank down, down, down." I tried to clarify that Jesus had actually calmed the storm in the boat. And Matt added that Peter had tried to walk on water and started sinking, but Jesus rescued him. Assessing the situation with newfound clarity, Madi said, "Peter Rabbit sank down, down, down."

Oh Lent!

If you think cajoling 2 preschoolers to sit calmly through an hour-plus long church service on a Sunday morning is fun, then try taking them on a Wednesday night...it's a real barrel of laughs. But in an effort to instill in them the discipline of observing Lent, and hopefully to build their anticipation of celebrating Jesus' Resurrection, we are trudging through these Wednesday nights.

But it's not all frustration. Here are some amusing Madi moments from last night:

After we finished eating (gotta love those free soup suppers) Matt and Caleb went to the restroom to wash up. Madi, freaking out at their departure, requested to "go bathroom." So, I took her to the ladies' room. As we entered, a puzzled expression came across her face. She looked around the room, then entered each stall, asking, "Where Daddy?" I tried to explain about boys' vs. girls' restrooms, but the concept was lost on her. "Find 'em!" she demanded.

Later, in the service, Madi was excited to sing. I cannot describe her singing in words (in fact, she doesn't really use words when she sings) but you might compare it to mild yodeling. It's an effort to restrain her singing during the non-singing parts of the service. At some point, she opened a hymnal to a random song, and started following along the words with her finger. It happened to be a song that was half English/half Spanish, so completely comprehensible to the 2 year old non-reader. Nevertheless, at one point her finger happened to leave the page. She demanded "Where are we?" and was satisfied when I pointed to a random spot in her hymnal.

More Madi's Party

Thanks to Tom and Christy for the photos of the party. It was nice to have someone come to the rescue when our evil camera let us down once again. Alas, the days of that camera sabotaging our lovely photo opportunities are numbered. Our new camera arrived on the "present truck" (as Caleb calls the FedEx truck) today! HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now if I can only get Matt to let us open it before Christmas :)

Madi's Birthday Party

Madi had a Fairy Tea Party to celebrate her second birthday. The kids decorated their own cupcakes, which was fantastic. They loved decorating the cupcakes, and I love how easy it was. All of the kids seemed to have a great time!