Whew...what a weekend!

It was a super busy weekend but we got lots accomplished!  As soon as we got off work on Friday, we started working on the yard/flowerbeds and worked until it was dark pulling weeds and getting the grounds ready to plant flowers.  They were TERRIBLE!  Saturday morning we started early and were outside by 8 a.m. installing a barrier around the flowerbeds, getting/putting in a trailer full of mulch, buying/planting ferns and flowers and sweeping out garage, walkways and driveways.  The kids "helped" some and Lucy was a trooper in the exersaucer outside when not napping.  She loves it outside!  Looking back at the before pics, I am now embarrassed that they were so bad, but I am glad it is in our rearview mirrors now!

 Before....(notice we haven't had a barrier on the right side of flowerbeds and our yard is on a slant.  So mostly it all washes down to the end.  Jay put in a barrier which will help a ton!)

After....

Before....

After....

Before....

After...

Before...(well I had already trimmed bushes before I remembered to take a pic)

After.... (Any ideas how I can cover up that big ugly grey box????)

Back porch (still going to hang some flowers and ferns but haven't gotten to that part yet)

Oh and I raked about 3 piles like this one in the back yard to get rid of all the random leaves and sticks that made the back yard look junky (from our dog that we no longer have).  It looks so much better now.  Jay is going to burn the piles soon.

I guess now is a good time to brag on my hubby.  Do you remember his handyman skills when he made these loft bunk beds in the kids rooms from scratch?  Well he has been working on a playset for the kids in the back yard.  He is doing it in two phases and he finished phase 1 in about 2 days.  He hasn't started the 2nd phase yet but plans to soon.  It will consist of swings and a bar for Karis to practice her gymnastics.  I will post pics when he is done with it also.  They love their new fort and swing!

Oh and he hasn't decided whether or not he will put a covering on top so he hasn't cut off the tall posts yet.

Saturday we also took training wheels off both of the kid's bikes and let them practice.  Karis can do it on her own but can't go for long times yet and Brayden thinks he can do it, but we will put those wheels back on for a bit haha!

I was approached last week at gymnastics by Karis' coach and she told me that she recommended that Karis try out for the gymnastics team on Saturday.  So we signed up and brought her to tryouts.  She was thrilled that her best friend Mari-Morgan was also recommended to try out as well.  

          

They act like they have done this a time or two!  Ha!

The head gymnastics team coach called Sunday afternoon and told us that Karis did "exceptionally well" and they were recommending that she skip several classes and move into a much harder class.  She will be training 4 hours a week instead of just one.  She will be on a team to prepare her to compete next year.  Karis was so excited and was so proud of herself.  We were so very proud of her too, but made sure we explained to her that we would be proud no matter how she had done or what class she was in.  She does LOVE gymnastics and is a natural.  She has had alot of practice because she flips all over the house.  Jay says he is surprised her hair doesn't grow upside down because she spends half of her life upside down!  We are proud of you Karis!

Sunday after church, Mari-Morgan came over and the kids played outside all afternoon.  It was BEAUTIFUL weather!  I could handle this weather all year around!  After playing for a while, the girls came to me and said, "Can you come take a picture of us?"  Jay grinned at me and said, "Oh me!  They just said the magic words!"  I gladly brought my camera and took some pics!  Ha They played in the sand, on the fort, rode bikes, collected moths and frogs, and rode scooters down the hill (video below).  They had a blast!

Best buds

My babies..

The kids rode on this big wheel down the hill and ALL THREE of them were on it at one time!  They loved this and did it over and over again.  They were very sweet to include Brayden.

Kids riding scooter down hill from Amanda Lemonds on Vimeo.

We got ready to leave for Splash/Small groups Sunday night and Brayden said to me before getting in the car, "Mom can I take 'handsome the frog' to church with me?"  "No Brayden the frog has to stay here.  Where is the frog?"  "Mom he is in my pocket!"  Oh my goodness!  I started saying, "GET IT OUT!  GROSSSSS!"  Then he started chasing me with it and Jay was laughing hysterically!  I am just imagining being in the car and him pulling that frog out...or me washing his pants and well, you get the picture!  Eeeeeek!  Needless to say, "handsome the frog" went back to see his momma in the woods and did NOT go to church with us!

After small group and Splash, we came home and crashed!!!  We were exhausted from our busy weekend but it was worth all the hard work. Now, I MUST catch up.  I am now behind on my house and it needs alot of work today!

Genesis, teeth and flowerbeds

Teething update:  Lucy cut TWO more teeth!  I should blog about things sooner because it seems once I do, it happens faster.  She has been cutting a top tooth for 3 weeks now and I blog about it yesterday and when she woke up this morning, she had that top tooth and one on the bottom!  No wonder she has been fussy!

You would think this poor child is neglected because she has been eating everything in sight (including Genesis 1 from my Bible).  It's ok, Lucy, I don't need that page.  It's just the story of Adam and Eve.

And she is putting herself to bed...Alright Lucy, if you are really that tired, I can certainly arrange a naptime!

"Leave me alone, a girl needs her sleep!"

She also loves to get into momma's purse!  What can I say...she's a girly girl!

We have a weekend project...our yard/flowerbeds.  Yea I know...it's bad.  It needs lots of TLC and it just hasn't happened until this weekend.  We spent several hours tonight working on it and plan to spend the entire day tomorrow finishing it up and then I will post some after pictures.  I mean seriously...the only place to go is up!  Yikes!

We worked until dark and then came in and everybody got a bath/shower and we snuggled on the couch with some popcorn and watched a movie together.  I love my family!

Here are some pics I snapped today while outside...

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Teething is not my friend.

Lucy has been working on a top tooth for 3 weeks now.  It has been swollen, red and looks like it REALLY hurts.  Every day I check to see if it has come through and still, it hasn't.  She has been irritable for days now and is eating normally but not napping as good during the day.  She is still sleeping  12 hours at night (7-7) which I am thankful for but sometimes her naps haven't been as great.  I have been giving her Motrin and that seems to help but I hate to give it to her all day long.  

She has been doing alot of this....

She spends alot of time in my arms and wants no one but momma (I am not complaining about that part!)...

So we have spent alot of quality time cuddling.

I don't usually push the paci and normally don't even let her have it when she is not napping, but she has started grinding her teeth...which I. CAN'T. STAND!  It is just one of those things....like fingernails on a chalkboard.  I just can't handle.  So I have been SHOVING the paci in her mouth!  Argh!

I hope this tooth comes in fast!

What's Karis been up to?

Art, gymnastics, art, flipping over furniture, art, riding her bike, art and more art.

She has always loved to make things and her desire gets stronger with age.  She for sure got the artistic abilities from her daddy because I can't draw a stick man to save my life!  I got the step-by-step directions on how to make a stick cat and since I am generous like that, I thought I would share with you...you know, since you were wondering.

Step 1:  You will need these supplies.

Step 2: Draw your cat (just like this) and cut it out.

Step 3: Tape your cat on the popsicle stick.

And voila!  You have yourself some stick cat puppets.  

She has also been drawing things like this house, complete with leaves on the roof.  

And my favorite has been these purses...aren't these creative?  She made these purses completely out of construction paper and I think she made enough for each of you!

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Oh and this is what she came down to show me this morning.  "Mom I know how to tie my shoe!" I did show her a while back and we haven't done it since and she has been practicing and got it.  

I am proud of you Care Bear!

Karis tying her shoes! from Amanda Lemonds on Vimeo.

Letters from Africa

Meet our 4th child....

This is Moses, our 4th child.  Jay and I together started sponsoring him through Compassion when we were just dating, almost engaged in 2002.  He lives in Kenya and both of his parents are blind.  Moses has worked in the fields and done the housework since he was able as a young boy.  He stole our hearts from the day we met him in this picture to the right when he was only a little tot at 4 years old.  We have watched him grow up and communicated with him through letters over the past 8 years.  He is so appreciative of our sponsorship of him and always sends us pictures that he has drawn with his letters.

We even tried to arrange a meeting with him when we went to Kenya in January of 2008 but due to time and money constraints, we weren't able to do so.

That little 4 year old boy now has grown up and today is a special day because it is his 12th birthday!  It has been amazing to share these years with him even though we have never literally met him.  Our kids love him and pray for him and his family.  They have pictures of him up in their rooms and he is just one of us, part of the family.

Every year we send him a Christmas present and he sends us a letter back letting us know what he did with the money. It is so neat and eye-opening to see how well the money is spent.  We just received a letter this week from him with that exact info on it.  With his Christmas money, he didn't buy toys, candy, or other things that we might buy for our  children.  It is always a joy for him to just buy the necessities, things that he couldn't have without our help.  Check it out for yourself...

Instead of toys, he bought clothes, flour, tea and corn!  If I put that in my children's stocking they would look at me in disbelief, probably followed by an ugly, selfish comment or whine.  Boy are we blessed beyond belief and we don't even realize it most of the time!

Happy 12th Birthday Moses!  We love you and you will always be our 4th child!

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Also this week we received another letter from Uganda.  I was taken aback when I saw the stamp and wondered why in the world someone from Africa was sending a letter addressed to my children.  That will make you think and get defensive real quick.  Ok, maybe just me.

But I was absolutely thrilled when I realized that it was the recipient of one of the Christmas shoeboxes we sent before Christmas!  It is soooo cool to see that it was received, needed and appreciated.  It was received by a little boy in a family of 5, a youth pastor there.  They gave us their email address and wanted to keep in touch with us!  It was a joy of mine to see my children's faces light up when they understood what had happened.  They participated in putting the boxes together, we prayed for the kids that would receive them and their families, and they helped us present them in the service at church.  Now they got to see and witness the fruit of their labor.  It was a sweet moment!

The Lord has given Jay and I a heart for Africa for so many reasons and this just adds to the list.  Thank you Lord!