Look What Came in the Mail Today!

We decided to order some painted lady larvae so we could watch their life cycle as they turn into painted lady butterflies! They finally arrived today and we are looking forward to watching our little caterpillars turn into butterflies! Beckett and Helen were so excited to find the box containing our caterpillars in the mailbox today, so I re-created "the moment" and went back out to the mailbox to take some pics!

Here is the culture cup with the caterpillars inside.

Beckett and Helen are creating their journals to document what we observe over the next three weeks! What fun content for the blog! (At least for me, the weird stay-at-home mom!) :)

The last few days.........

Jumping in the "jumpoline" at Nana and Papa's house with Beckett and Helen's cousins! Nana and Papa bought this really cool inflatable castle to let the grandkids play in and they all had a blast Saturday evening bouncing around in it! We just wish Ty and Marley lived a little closer so they could have been there, too!

Beckett, Lillie, Helen and Connor
Swimming with our friend and neighbor, Carson in his pool! (Or should I say "splashing" in his pool?) Needless to say, Beckett dis-places much of the water with each trip down the slide!

I left my camera at Sean's mom and dad's house on Saturday evening after a cook-out to celebrate Mother's Day with his mom. Therefore, I wasn't able to take any pictures of the kids and me on Mother's Day! I hope that all of you mothers had a wonderful day with your loved ones! I had a great day even though I had a pretty rotten cold that has turned into a sinus infection! Yuck! Hopefully the anti-biotic will kick in soon! Anyway, after church Sean made my favorite pasta dish for lunch and Beckett and Helen gave me cards and pictures that they had drawn. They all gave me a gift certificate to a day spa! So, I'm hoping to schedule a pedicure and a chair massage SOON! I am truly blessed and LOVE being a mom!

I'd like to ask you to remember Sean's brother, Josh, when you pray! He had a freak accident on Sunday when he was installing a light fixture. He cut his wrist very badly and had to have many stitches. They thought that everything was OK, but he does not have much feeling in his fingers. He is going to another Dr. this morning to get a second opinion and quite possibly will have to have surgery. I'm sure that he and Kathy will appreciate your prayers as they make decisions about how to best correct this injury to the nerves in his wrist!

Blessings to you all!

Helen's Turn to Turkey Hunt!

I had one excited little girl on Monday when she found out that she was going to go turkey hunting with her daddy when he got home from work! She was so excited to get to ride in "Mater" (which is Sean's early 90's red Nissan truck) and that she would get to wear camo and call turkeys like her dad and brother! Don't worry, the gun she is holding is one of Beckett's play guns! They had a great time and didn't see or hear any turkeys, but I'm certain that a lot of special memories were made!

Always posing! Even in camouflage!

Game Ball!

My mom and dad drove over to watch Beckett's baseball game last night and Sean's mom and dad are able to come to all of his games, so he had quite a cheering section last night! He played very well and hit the ball hard! Beckett earned the game ball which is an honor given to the player who has hustled and played hard all night so we were all excited and proud of him! Great game Beckett!

Sliding into home!

I've been trying to get a video of Beckett sliding into home plate and finally got one last night. Remember that he is playing in an instructional league, so everybody hits every inning and there are really no plays at home! However, Beckett feels the need to slide every time! Not only did I catch his excellent form, but as he popped up, he saw me videoing and did a quick "pose" for the camera! I hope you can tell how much fun he has! :)

Why We Love Sunday Nights.......

Here is a picture of some of the kids that come to our home on Sunday nights with their families for our growth group time! There were two other children here last night that didn't get in the picture and there are about 5 other kids whose families didn't make it last night! We are so glad that the weather is warmer and that the days are longer! The kids play outside from about 5:30 until almost 8:00 every Sunday night! I heard that next week they will be learning some karate moves!

So, Beckett lost his two bottom teeth over a month ago, but just decided last night that he wanted to leave his teeth under his pillow for the tooth fairy! Here he is with his teeth, getting ready to put them under his pillow!

We are hoping that Helen will lose some of these teeth soon so that the tooth fairy will visit her! Ha! Ha!


Here they are showing his teeth before they put the pillow down and drift off to sleep!

And here is what he found when he woke up this morning! Two shiny quarters......one for each tooth! How exciting! Not sure what he can buy for fifty cents! Can you even buy a pack of gum for fifty cents? Oh well, I'm sure we will find something!

Countdown to Summer!

It is hard to believe that school is almost over for the summer! Beckett is about to complete kindergarten! What a great year we have had! He is so excited to tell everyone that he is almost a first grader! He was a little surprised the other day when I explained that we will still be doing addition and subtraction flash cards as well as lots of reading over the summer, but he got over the shock pretty quickly!

Beckett's friend Emma came over to play on Wednesday afternoon! We picked her up at school and she spent the afternoon with us. Beckett and Emma have been friends since they were in Mother's Day Out together when they were both 3 years old. They don't see each other as often anymore, but it was fun to watch them re-connect so quickly and laugh and play so well! They were both so good to include Helen and they all three had a fun afternoon! I'm including some pictures of Emma's visit!

Beckett had a make-up baseball game on Thursday night and his cousin Lillie came to watch him play. She was staying with Nana and Papa because she had a couple of days off from school, so they all came to his game. I really wish that I would have gotten a picture of Beckett and Lillie together, but it is always kind of crazy at the end of the games and I just forgot! Thanks for coming Lillie!

Not a lot planned for the weekend......just more baseball! Take care!

Crazy Faces!

Making bird feeders!

Weekend~Part 2!

After Beckett's game on Saturday, we met Jill and Connor and went to the Franklin Graham Festival to see Toby Mac in concert! We all had a great time! Helen was so excited to finally get to see Toby! Beckett put on his own little private show for everyone who could see him! He is a dancing machine! I am including a video clip from the concert. It isn't very clear because you can't really hear Toby, but you can get an idea of how Beckett moved for most of the show!

On Sunday afternoon, I drove to Brentwood and went with dad to hear The BUMC Chancel Choir and the Orchestra as they joined together at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. Mom sang with the Chancel Choir for this event. The evening featured many wonderful hymn settings sung by the choir and audience. A highlight of the evening was guest artist Wintley Phipps. He was amazing! I experienced quite a range of musical genres this weekend and it was all wonderful!

Toby on the big screen!

Helen wore her Toby wristband!

Not the best video clip, but you can get an idea of how much fun they had!

It has been a busy weekend and we are only half-way through!

Sean and Beckett got "camoed up" last night and went turkey hunting. They have been down to Sean's mom and dad's land a couple of times this week calling, listening and looking for turkeys! They had a great time last night, but still no birds! Helen and I had "gulls only" night. ("Gulls" is how Helen pronounces girls!) We made bird feeders out of pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed and then we waited and watched to see if any birds visited our new feeder.

Can you even see the guys??

Just the "gulls"!

Beckett had a baseball game today and I finally got a decent video clip of him hitting the ball! He had fun today and was excited about a defensive play that he was involved in! It is fun to watch all the boys as their skills improve! Great day at the ball park!

A Few Pictures from our Week.....

Here is a picture of the kids with a statue that is in front of the library. We went there on Wednesday afternoon to see a play. The Penguin Players from Dolly Parton's Imagination Playhouse are traveling around and presenting a musical adaptation of "The Gruffalo" at all of the Knox County libraries and we are so glad we went! They do a great job and the kids really enjoyed it! On Tuesday we celebrated Earth Day by having school outside! It was a beautiful day and we spent as much time as we could outside learning about "being green". I've posted pictures of both Beckett and Helen doing some of their work and then a picture of them building towers with our bag of "to be recycled" plastic! We are headed to see Toby Mac at the Franklin Graham Festival on Saturday night! I hope to get some good pictures! Beckett and Helen are so fired up!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

The "Gruffalo" and the mouse!

What a beautiful day to do school outside!

Worn out after a busy Sunday!

We had a busy Sunday and the kids both fell asleep before we put them in their beds! The day started with a great morning at church and then it was off to the ball field to make up a previously rained out baseball game! Beckett hit the ball very well.....way out in the outfield all three times! After the game, Helen and I went to a birthday party for a friend and then it was time to go home for Growth Group!
We have a group of friends from our church that meet at our home on Sunday nights and we have a Bible study or we will sometimes follow up on our Pastor's sermon series and discuss life applications from those. We love Sunday nights and look forward to them each week! Beckett and Helen love it because we have anywhere from 4 to 14 kids here on any given Sunday night! So, after everyone left last night, they were worn out and they just crashed! (Helen is wearing her favorite "pajamas"! She likes to wear boxers like her daddy and brother, so Nana bought her some extra small boxers and she wears them with her Strawberry Shortcake shirt that her friend Emma made for her!)

I'm trying to figure out how to show video clips on my blog! I thought I'd practice with one I took of the kids on the "Lemon Twist" at Dollywood the other day! You saw a picture of them when they were all smiles before the ride started, but here they are as they spin around and around VERY quickly! It is pretty fun to watch!

I think you can pause the music on the playlist bar to the side so that you can hear what the kids are saying! But I'm not sure how it will work! Enjoy!

Put Me in Coach! I'm Ready to Play!

The Rockies got to play their first game on Saturday afternoon! The weather was beautiful and although it was a little windy, it was a great day to play ball! Everyone had a great time and Beckett hit the ball well! He has made some new friends and is enjoying playing with these guys! Sean is enjoying coaching them as well! That's what it's all about! On Saturday evening, we traveled back in time and went to Jerusalem! Well, actually we went to the Jerusalem interactive marketplace that was put together by New Providence Baptist Church. It was really neat! They made tunics for the kids to wear and we walked around and experienced sights and sounds from over 2,000 years ago! We had a great time looking around and visiting with friends!

Do you think the children in Jerusalem wore Colorado Rockies baseball caps and crocs?

Helen was excited to get to see Bailey perform! She did a great job!

Day at Dollywood!

Spring is in the air and we couldn't turn down a trip to Dollywood! We have season passes this year, so we decided to spend a warm Spring day hanging out with the Kirklands at Dollywood! Everyone had a great time and I wanted to post a few pictures of the kids on the "Lemon Twist" and with their funny hats!

We are hopeful that Beckett will get to play his first baseball game this weekend! All three of his games and one make-up game have been canceled due to rain! He and Sean are ready to play!! Sean is heading to Brentwood on Sunday with several other guys to hear John Eldredge speak at Fellowship Bible Church. He is really looking forward to that!

I hope that you all have a wonderful, restful weekend!

An Afternoon in the Mountains!

The sun is back! We have had so much rain lately and we were happy to see the sun again! Sean took the day off and we headed to the mountains to enjoy the beautiful weather.(Sean took his fly rod of course!) We enjoyed a picnic lunch and some fun in the water. Sean caught a few fish and we all had a great time! I'm also posting some pics from this past weekend when all of the Harper side of our family came to our house for dinner. We got our first picture of all six cousins together since Marley has been born! It was a fun night! And I'm also putting up two pictures from our trip down to see Susi in Atlanta. They are pictures of the kids with Susi's new puppy, Barley. See if you can tell who "isn't really into puppies right now." (Direct quote from Helen!)

Sean's second rainbow of the day!

All six cousins together!

Just the girls!

Beckett holding Barley and Helen sitting beside Barley as Susi holds her up close. Helen finally did pet Barley right before we left!

Our Trip to Atlanta

We had a very full day today! We are in Atlanta visiting Susi and we had all kinds of fun! It all started this morning at the zoo where we had a "behind the scenes" tour of the reptile exhibit with Susi's friend Dr. Joe. He is the curator of herpetology at the zoo and he let us get up close and personal with frogs, turtles and snakes! Beckett loved it and Helen was a little apprehensive! After a cool and rainy day at the zoo, we went to lunch at The Varsity! Susi has lived here for 7 years and had never been before! It was a treat for us all! After that, we went to my new favorite place....IKEA! Unreal. There are no words to explain how cool this place is! I am ready to re-do the interior of my house! This was the most unbelievable shopping experience! It has been a great day and I am happy to share some pictures with you all!

"What'll ya have?"

2 Naked Dogs with Fries

Beckett found a chair that he liked at IKEA and Susi gave him a lesson about gathering the information he needed. He was making his wish list! It wasn't nearly as long as mine!

Helen LOVED the see-saw at the zoo!

Dr. Joe introducing Beckett to a snake! 

The pandas were cute!

Well, the computer problem has finally been identified and will be fixed within the next few days. (I won't hold my breath!)

The latest from the Harper's......

Beckett's first baseball game was canceled on Saturday due to rain, so we had a nice, lazy day at home! We were afraid that tonight's game would be canceled as well, based on the weather forecast, but it has been clear and sunny for the last 3 hours, so it looks like the game is on!! Sean is coaching Beckett's team this year and they have a great group of boys on their team, so I'm sure it's going to be fun! Go Rockies!

Beckett and I babysat for our neighbor's (the Guldans) twins this morning while Martha went to an appointment. Matt took their 2 year old son Carson and Helen with him to a class that he teaches for their age group at his gym! Helen had fun "tumbling" and Beckett and I really enjoyed our time with Noah and Turner. They were napping when we arrived and we didn't know which one was which when they woke up! We made our best guess and we were wrong! Anyway, they were so pleasant and such sweet babies! It was fun!

The kids and I are heading to Atlanta tomorrow morning for a few days to visit with my sister! She has several plans for us including the zoo and a couple of museums! We are looking forward to our time with her! She also said that I could use her computer to add some pics to our blog! So get ready......it's been a while!

My computer has gone "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"! I don't know if I'll ever get it back! Sean and I spent some time trying to load the software for my camera on this computer last night, but it will not recognize the camera for some reason. I am a frustrated blogger! The technician who is working on our system says that he has not had this hard of a time trouble-shooting a problem in a long time! Great!

Anyway, just wanted to check in and let you know that we are here and we have so many fun pictures to share of the last few weeks! (Maybe one of these days!) We hope that you all had wonderful Easter celebrations with family and friends! Beckett sang in a children's choir at church on Sunday morning, so my mom and dad and Sean's mom and dad all came to church with us! We were all blessed as these kids led us to worship our risen Savior! It was a wonderful day!

Check back in a few days to see if the computer saga continues or if we finally have pictures!

Just playing around....still can't post pictures, so I'm playing with music! Beckett has been wanting me to change the music on our blog to Toby Mac! It took me a while, but I found a Toby Mac song to put on our site! I don't think it is one of Beckett's favorites, but it will have to do for now!

Sean took Beckett to his first concert back in the fall and they saw Toby Mac. (Christian rock/hip-hop artist) They both loved it! Sean was very impressed with what a great performer he is. He said that the concert was WELL worth the admission price! (Unlike our most recent experience with Mr. Van Morrison!) Anyway, Helen was so disappointed that she couldn't go. We told her that she wasn't "big" enough and that when she got "bigger" she could go. Not long after that, every day she would stand up very tall and say, "Mom, I'm getting bigger" and I would respond that yes, she was in fact getting bigger. Then she would say, "So when do I get to go see Toby?" Well, her wish is coming true! On April 26th, we are all going to see Toby at the Franklin Graham Crusade that is coming to Knoxville. Beckett (and Helen too) know many of the words to his songs and LOVE to dance around and jam to his music!

So, in honor of one of the Harper kid's favorite musicians, I'll leave some Toby Mac playing on our blog for a few days!