All By Myself

Jentry and I went to the Sutton Library this week and checked out some new books to read.  I think we shocked the librarian just a little.  She seemed slightly embarrassed that she had to dig to find a new membership form.  Apparently this doesn't happen everyday.  Eventually, she found what she needed in order to issue me a new library card.  The membership was free because we live in town, however Jentry wanted to check out a Sesame Street DVD so we had to pay a $15.00 movie rental membership fee.  To me this was small potatoes in order to see the excitement on Jentry's face.  She loved wandering around and looking at the new selection of books and movies.

One of the books Jentry selected was All By Myself by Mercer Mayer.  The book talks about all the things Little Critter can do by himself.  One of the tasks is making his own bed.  I have been trying really hard lately to get Jentry to do more things by herself so this was perfect timing.  The book must have inspired her this morning, because she proudly ran into my bedroom and announced,  I made my bed all by myself!"  I was shocked and could not wait to take a look.  This is what I saw...

 Not to bad for a first timer.  I hope her excitement continues.

Moving Day

I am very excited to say that I am writing this post from our new home in Sutton!

I have been preparing for this big move since May of 2011 and it has finally come to pass.  I have spent countless hours contemplating, strategizing and organizing our move to Sutton.  Now that it is all said and done I think my time was well spent, as the move went very smoothly and I was surprisingly not stressed at all.  I am not sure if I can say the same for Nathan.  At one point he said to my sister, "I think it would have been easier to load up all of my belongings into my truck, drive it away and then come back and unload it when all the dust settled.  Ha!  Sadly, this may have realistically been a good idea.

Prior to the move Jentry and I checked out the Berenstain Bear's book Moving Day.  I was hoping it would help her prepare for the transition.  She absolutely loved it and had a gazillion questions.

On Jentry's last day at Noah's Ark, she wanted to take a special present for all of her friends.  She chose a bottle of bubbles and so I made these notes to say goodbye.  It was a very bitter sweet day.  Everyone there will be dearly missed.

On Friday the 13th of April, we packed all of our belongings into a trailer and a few pick-up trucks.  I realize this may not have been the best date to be moving, but all in all everything went great.  We had everything loaded by 8:30 Friday night (ahead of schedule!), so Nathan decided to drive the trailer back to Sutton and leave Jentry and I to stay our last night in Lincoln at the Hamilton's.  It turned out to be a great idea because Saturday was a very storming day.

Saturday morning, Jentry, Anna, Kelly and I made one, last trip to 711 N 58th Street to do some final cleaning and a last walk through.  Jentry and Anna loved to run through the empty house and hear their voices echo. 

The girls were trying very hard to be good helpers.  Please note that the beer on the counter was for the adult help the night before and was not given to any said minor.

By the time we arrived in Sutton at 11:00 AM, the trailer was empty and everything had been carried into the new house.  Nathan had rounded up three of his friends and man did they move quickly! My mother, Nathan's mother, Kelly, Anna, and my friend Monica had Jentry's room together in no time.  They also worked all afternoon on my kitchen.  I don't what we would have done without such amazing help.

I had planned to take several vacation days from work last week, however Jentry was so bored with me at home by Monday afternoon we decided to go meet her new daycare provider, Miss Wendy.  Jentry immediately loved it there and so I took her Tuesday morning.  I told her that she could stay as long as she wanted and to call me when she was ready to come home.  Just after lunch, she call and asked if she could just stay and take a nap there.  Of course I said, "Absolutely" because #1) She never takes a nap for me #2) I was getting a ton of work done without her attached to my hip!  So far, Jentry is loving Sutton and has transitioned much better than I had expected which makes the mama very happy.

For the entire week prior to the move, Jentry had begged me to make brownies and I kept promising that we could as soon as we were unpacked in our new kitchen.  After days and days of waiting, Jentry finally got to lick the bowl. 

He has risen, just as He said

Prior to Easter weekend, I was feeling a little sad that Jentry was going to be with her dad.  However, the positive side of the scenario was that I got to spend some quality time interacting with my other family members who, unfortunately, do not typically get my full attention.  For example, I would not have captured these wonderful moments on camera.

Papa and sweet, sweet Anna opening eggs full of candy.

Isaac and Kelly smiling big with the chick on the bike!

Isaac proudly showing me is sucker.

Anna and Papa going through her Easter basket and spreading pink "grass" everywhere.

I swear that Anna girl is always smiling.  Kelly said she learned a new word all on her own this weekend.  "Choc-o-late!"  At least she has the truly important things in life learned now.

This one is a very rare photo capturing the Easter Bunny himself.  If you have never before seen the Easter Bunny, this may be a bit of a let down. 

Nathan even found an egg with a an N on it!  I promised him that I would not include this picture in the blog as he was threating to delete it from my camera, but I decided to risk my safety and post it anyway because I think it is a good picture of him.  He looks so cute!  I guess you will know who to question first if I show up missing.

Sunday evening, I received a message from Jentry's dad asking if she could come home early.  Apparently his flight schedule had been changed and he needed to leave town earlier than originally planned.  So, fortunately I got to spend Easter evening with my favorite little girl.  When we arrived home, I quickly distracted Jentry in the front yard and ran to the back to hide her Easter basket.  I noticed a real, live bunny in the corner of the yard.  I quickly told Jentry, "Come, look!  The Easter Bunny is in the back yard! She quickly followed me and saw the small brown bunny sitting in the back corner against the fence.  She then asked with slight disappointment in her voice, "That's him?"  I said, "Yes, that is the Easter Bunny.  Go see if he left you a present."   As she quietly crept up to him, he spooked and ran under the fence.  I told her that he probably had to go deliver more Easter baskets.  She kept looking all around the yard until she finally spotted a white basket hiding behind the plants.

"What is that, Mom? Is that for me?"

"It has MY name on it!"

"And Tinkerbell stickers!"

"And an orange egg, my favorite color!"

 

She immediately wanted to try the Peep.  She took one bite and said, "I don't like it so much."  Luckily there were lots of other sweet choices in her basket.

As we were walking back inside, I could see the little hamster wheel turning in her head.  She stopped, looked up at me and said, "Maybe the Easter Bunny just kinda farts out the baskets of candy and then moves on to other kids' houses."  

Oh, Jentry.  She never fails to make me laugh.  

I could not have asked for a better Easter weekend; the weather was beautiful, my sister and mother did all of the cooking and food was fabulous, I had lots of help packing up my house, both Nathan and my parents hauled a truck load of our things to Sutton, and I got to see my daughter's face light up when she saw the "Easter Bunny." 

Most importantly however, and above all else, I was able to celebrate the death and resurrection of my Savior.   

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."  John 11:25-26

Star of the Week

Jentry's daycare teachers sent home a note to notify me that Jentry was going to be the Star of Week.  They asked me to bring a photo and conduct a little interview with her.

1.  When I grow up I want to be... a doctor.

2.  I am proud of myself because... I ate all of my supper.

3.  What I like most about school is... housekeeping and dress-up and food.

4.  I am good at... blowing bubbles and balloons.

5.  My favorite subject is... Art.

I can just see now... Jentry will someday be a well dressed, artistic, doctor who loves housework and fine dinning.

Preperation

Jentry and I spent the weekend preparing for Easter and the big move to Sutton, which is now only two weeks away!

Saturday morning Jentry took a quick spin on her tricycle before heading to the Easter Egg Hunt at daycare. 

She had so much fun searching for eggs and was truly surprised to find candy inside!  Oh, to be three again.

Yum Yum!  I tried to talk her into giving me the Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Eggs, but she wasn't having any of that.  Those little morsels are seriously my weakness.  They have the perfect ratio of chocolate coating to peanut butter cup filling. It is a good thing, for my thighs anyway, that they are only available during the Easter season.

After the hunt, we brought Jentry's friend, Kennedy, home with us for a play-date.  Kennedy and Jentry are only one week apart in age and are the best of friends.  I have been promising Jentry that she could have her over to play for a long time, and now that we are moving I had to make it happen.  Since it was a hot sunny day in March, they played outside most of the time.  They had great fun blowing bubbles.

We even had a picnic lunch.  The girls were deep in conversation about whether or not spiders are in fact scary.

Nathan arrived just after lunch and helped me pack and make a shopping run to Walmart.  We bought Jentry a new booster seat for the car and she is ecstatic about it.  She can get in and out all by herself!  I might be even more excited than she is about it.  It will certainly make life much easier on both of us.  That evening, Nathan took Jentry and me out to eat at the new restaurant, Cheddar's.  It was fabulous!

On Sunday, Nathan mowed the yard while Jentry and I did some more packing inside.  I have been trying to avoid mowing my yard before I move, but apparently Nathan thought it looked bad enough that he was willing to do it himself.  It was close to ninety degrees on Sunday, so I was very thankful to just work inside with the air conditioning. I hope it cools back off before the big moving day.

Sunday afternoon, Isaac came over to dye Easter eggs.  The "big" kids are finally old enough to listen (fairly well) to instructions and wait for my assistance.  I had a great time and I think they did too.

After looking at this picture,  I see that someone has been playing with my Easter, block decorations.  I wonder who that could be?

 

Now...off to eat eggs until we simply can't stand them anymore.