Goat walking???

Ummm?? I think that Faith was helping to walk our landlord's pigmy goats this evening. I pulled in thinking that they were walking some small dogs. The closer I pulled into the driveway the harder I laughed. Yes our landlord who now has 2 alpacas and two pigmy goats was out walking the goats on a leash. They both had a color on and a harness on. Faith couldn't have jumped out of the van any faster to chase after them. I heard some yelling in the distance. It sounded like a kid screaming. I soon realized that it wasn't Faith screaming and it wasn't Champ, it was the goat kids. It was a sight to see and was quite the evening laugh.

The tadpole ditch

Faith and I have been going across the street to a dead end road the last few weeks to just ride her bike and let her brother run without worrying about cars. We always do to the end of the road, she gets off her bike and throws rocks into a nearby ditch filled with water. Since we had severe thunderstorms move across our area last night and this morning, the ditch was filled with lots of water. What we seen next we did not expect at all nor did we know it was common. As Faith examined the water closer she discovered the entire ditch was filled with what we believe to be tadpoles. Since the water will not remain much longer due to the high heat and water evaporating we decided to rescue a few of them. We filled a pail with the ditch water, dug up a plant growing in and we are going to transfer it to a small aquarium. We are hoping to see the stages of a frog right before our very eyes. I am totally excited about this find and I think that her friends will be too.

April showers

Showers bring the flowers but they also bring out the little children who have been waiting patiently all winter for some warm weather. We wait and wait for a warm Spring rain and tonight it finally arrived. Faith and Champ ran outside for a good 15 minutes of jumping, splashing, yelling and singing in the rain. Standing outside with my mouth open wide. Ahhh Ahhh Ahhhh Ahhh Ahhh. If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops. Oh what a rain that would be. The rain poured down and the kids played. I sat back and smiled. I enjoyed those moments of freedom to just see how much fun something like rain could be. I wonder if God planned Spring time that way. A welcome back preview of summer and water play. A welcome back of warmer weather. A welcome back to rainbows and puddles. A welcome back to children smiling for all the beauty that surrounds them now. April showers are such a joy to share with my kids.

The day in the city

Faith has had so much fun with her daddy this weekend. I'm sad he is leaving for school tomorrow however it is one step that we must overcome in order for our life to become easier. The butterfly exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in DC was beautiful. Faith was a little concerned that a butterfly got stepped on and killed but she got over it. There were more to look at. Beautiful butterflies fly everywhere in this exhibit. I was a little sad to hear that not a single one landed on her however maybe she was not still enough for long enough. Dinosaur bones were a favorite also at the museum along with the snake exhibit. Faith knows that Bud hates snakes but continues to get excited at the sight of one, but not a real one. Fake ones and pictures of ones are ok. Bud agrees. A dead snake is a good one.

Daddy outting

Today, is one of the last few day before Bud leaves for school in South Carolina for the summer. So he has the day off and is taking Faith into D.C. to the Smithsonian's Musuem of Natural History. Not only are they visiting the dinosaurs they get to go to the butterfly exhibit. I'm so jealous. Maybe I can go later this summer. I hope that they have fun. It is a surprise. Faith is not sure where she is going. Just knows that her and daddy have the day together. What makes this day even nicer is that I left early yesterday and I am leaving even earlier today from school. Hoping to hear about a fun time this evening.

The animal park

Faith went with her friends to a local animal park yesterday. Spring break has been so much fun at school. So far she has had her face painted with an angel, gymnastics, pottery painting class, and some fun games. At the animal park yesterday Faith was chased by a llama and loved the donkey. He was "so cute" she said. She fell and scraped her knee but was a real trooper when it came to getting it cleaned with an alchol wipe. Ouch! She was so excited to go in with the animals she hardly noticed the paint. Plus, a band aid always helps. This girl of mine continues to get up at the crack of dawn with her brother. A month ago I couldn't roll her out of bed at 700am let along have her up a t 6am. Today is gymnastics again at school. It is with her favorite teacher. Tomorrow is a day in the city with her daddy before he leaves for the summer for school. Should be lots of fun.

And the rain falls

We have been blessed with a wonderful amount of Spring rain. What this means is that the creeks are racing and our front yard has become a swimming pool. Good news for Faith who loves her umbrella, rain coat, and new water shoes. She has been waiting for a week or more to try out her new shoes in the water. I love how we both enjoy the outdoors. It makes nice weather fun. Sunday was filled with splashing in our front yard. She would run from one end to the other and then stop in the driveway to splash some more. More often than not I tell both of my children to stay out of the puddles but when water shoes are on, it is fair game.

Third quarter conference

I knew Faith was doing great in school but on Friday I learned just how great she is. Her scores came back from testing. I remind myself that she just turned five and is not even supposed to be in kindergarten yet. Her testing showed that she is reading at the end of a first grade level. The PALS testing can show a wide bridge of reading abilities. On Faith's reading test, she read 116/120 words correctly. She spelled all her words correctly on the spelling part of the test and is on her way to being a super reader. I am excited to hear her math is coming along easy for her too. She patterned, put numbers in order, recognized the ten families all the way to 100 and wrote them correctly, added, and subtracted. I am proud of her. She has a thirst for knowledge. Learning is fun. Any new information she learns she takes it and goes with it.

The Secret Garden revisited

The Oatlands in Northern Virginia is a beautiful plantation. Faith and I love to visit here because it reminds us both so much of our Fairy Realm books. The rows of hedges, the sparkly gazing balls, the fountains filled with coi fish, and the endless amounts of flowers seen around each corner make this place a place to fall in love with. Last weekend Faith and I took Bud and Champ along with us for an afternoon of running and fresh air. It sure beats staying inside and watching t.v. It was a little on the cool side but we had fun playing hide and seek, picking flowers and running through the garden.

Bailey the lost puppy

Faith has a special place in her heart for animals. If she were to be a fairy it would be a nature fairy or animal fairy. I just know it. That is her spirit. Last night we made it Friday night movie night with the kids. I found this movie Bailey the lost puppy. It's a story about a puppy who loves the freedom of the open fields and one day when his owner's are moving he is left behind on accident at a gas station. This is the story of Bailey and how he passes time while looking for his owners. I have never seen Faith so involved in a movie. The end of the movie brought tears of joy from Faith. She told me that was the cutest movie she'd ever seen and that she was so happy Bailey found his owners. As tears ran down her cheeks she told me we just have to get the real video. I felt her emotion and attachment to Bailey. She loves our neighbor's dog like her own. She'll take good care of a dog when we get our own house. I know she will.