Twice the celebration!

Last weekend was cause for double holiday at our house. Sunday was David's birthday and Fathers Day. So, we really had no choice but to (try) and make the day all about him =)

Luckily, we think he's pretty great, so it was fairly easy.

To help spread the festivities out a bit, the kids and I baked cookies and surprised him at work on the Friday prior.

Luke and Abbey passing out cookies to Daddy's students...

Then we stuck around for a bit, and the twins got to see what Daddy is like as a teacher...

On Sunday we let Dave sleep in a bit, and the second he appeared in the living room, Abbey and Luke literally ran to go give their presents to him!

I'd taken the kids to Target earlier in the week to pick out things for Daddy, and they were so adorable when making their choices for him. They did a decent job of finding things they thought were cool but that still something Daddy would like...he ended up with an Ironman Tshirt and some sweet Captain America pants.

(this picture was taken after Church and lunch on Sunday...never fear, we don't start drinking in the wee hours around here or anything =) )

He also got a frame painted by two of the most cute and talented painters ever...

We filled out questionnaires about Daddy, complete with portraits on the back...

(Luke's)

(Abbey's)

That evening we made David his very favorite meal (German Pancakes) and brought it to him in front of the TV so he could watch the NBA Finals game while he ate...

It was a fun day. I was so proud of how the kids really worked at making the day special for their Daddy. They were so thoughtful all day...giving him extra affection, asking if there was anything they could get for him (are you thirsty Daddy?), and just being really well behaved all day.
David said he felt loved, and that's all that really matters.
(But well behaved children make for a fantastic bonus)

Spring Program

In mid-May the twins' preschool had a Spring Program.

It was short and sweet. Well, more like ridiculously adorable.
The 3's class (which Abbey and Luke are in) and the 4-5 classes were all together for the evening, singing songs and having fun.

I asked the kids before we left if they were nervous to be up on stage.
"Nope" they replied in unison.

Their confidence sometimes blows me away.

(Are ya catching Abbey's pose here?!?)

(Okay, how about here?!? BabyGirl can sure play it sweet sometimes ;) )

This was right before Memorial Day, so the kids had a little thing for that...

...and then on to songs! Complete with hand motions, naturally.

After the performance was over, we had some cookies in the foyer and hung out with fun preschool friends.

The whole thing was about 45 minutes, which is just about right for 3,4, and 5 year olds =). They were so cute up there and really had a great time. I love that they are so comfortable there, and so confident in front of people. 

Preschool ended for the summer last week, and we're a little bummed around here. Luke and Abbey just loved school...which is such a blessing. We're planning on sending them back to the same school next year for the 4-5's class. Instead of 2 mornings a week like this year, they'll go 3. Still just 2 1/2 hours though. It's been just the right amount of time. I've loved having the time to run errands and clean house sans children. I've also loved just sitting on the couch, drinking coffee and reading blogs in an otherwise empty and silent house. But it's short enough that we still have lunch and the whole afternoon together. 

They had 24 kids in their class, and the whole class would start the morning together, and then divide into groups of 3 and rotate through different areas. So they gained experience learning in a large group setting, and smaller ones. There were 3 teachers and they were all so sweet and seemed to genuinely love their jobs...which blessed my Momma Heart =).

Abbey and Luke made friends, learned new things, and had so much fun. It was a great first introduction to school!

Oh, and back to the night of the Program... I was walking out with the twins and asked them to sit on the stairs and pose for just one picture for me. They sat down a foot from each other and gave me the obligatory-cheesy-forced-smile. I called them on it and then said "can ya please just scoot together, hug each other, and give Momma one real smile?"

And then they did this...

My babies. 

That picture is just so them. It really captures the dynamic of their relationship right now. 

And how much they really, really love each other.

I love that picture.

This one too...

...which is good, because right after that a fellow parent came up and said "why don't I take one of you with them?" And my kids did this...

=)

Quotable

I've been talking about prayer a lot with the kids lately. About how you can talk to God about anything, how you can talk to Him just in your heart without using your word, and about how He always hears you when you pray.

So when we were driving this week and Luke called out from the backseat, "Momma, can you turn down the music for a minute so that I can pray?" you can imagine how full my heart was.

I reached over to turn down the ubiquitous Frozen sound track, beaming with maternal pride.

And then my precious baby boy spoke his heart to our Savior...

"Dear God, please, PLEASE, turn me into The Hulk. Amen."

Love that boy.