The Simpsons Hit Orlando

It was a long Friday morning as the kids and I shuffled around the house finishing last minute chores, taking off the trash, picking up and then the long wait for Daddy to get home so we could leave on vacation. We finally get loaded up and head out only to get stuck in the holiday traffic in Atlanta, luckily our trusty GPS, Guapo, got us through okay. After a relaxing stop for some dinner at Cracker Barrel we reached our halfway stop at Tifton, GA. The five of us in one room for sleeping was...interesting. Isaac and Abigail refused to share their double bed so Isaac slept on the floor.  They didn't have the pack-n-play we had requested so Indiana had a blanket on the floor on which to sleep. She unfortunately napped the whole last hour so arrived refreshed and ready to play. I would put her down she would sit up. I would put her down she would pull up on the bed and then fall. I would put her down she'd decide to go exploring...until after 11 when she finally conked out.
Saturday at 2 we finally made it to our room at the Bonnet Creek Resort. It has been awesome. With 5 pools, two lazy rivers, a splash pad and a lot of hot tubs, the kids have been getting their fill of water fun. One thing I don't get though are the multiple hot tubs. It is 90+ degrees outside and the hot tubs are packed...during the day! Even the regular pools aren't too refreshing since they are so warm. 
We also have been enjoying the planned activities the resort offers daily. Isaac is a big fan of the daily ice cream social, and yesterday we won the family scavenger hunt and were rewarded with a free pizza. Yes, there is a theme here, we like food. And last night Jake rocked it for us at the karaoke party poolside. See videos below. So far we're having a blast. More to report in the next couple of days I'm sure.

Jake singing Three Dog Night's Never Been to Spain with Indiana backup:-P And Abigail running up to congratulate him at the end.

 

For all the pictures checkout the facebook album.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.641052708598.2139413.52706926&l=659d5a87cd

Random Kid Sayings

Abigail: Mommy a spider!
Isaac: Oh, a spider, I know just what to kill it with. The wheel of the car. Okay.

Isaac standing on the bathtub
Me: Isaac you're almost as tall as mommy
Isaac: Yeah, I am big, but it's because I'm standing on the bathtub. I'll be little when I get down.

Isaac: There's a bird in our grass, lets catch it in my bird catcher.
Me: The bird is too big for your bug catcher.
Isaac: No, I changed it to a bird catcher now.
Me: Oh. Good luck catching the bird then.

We like to watch the Price is Right and apparently marketers target older people during that time slot. We see lots of power chair and scooter commercials. Today it was OsteoBiflex. The commercial features a 48 year old man talking about how he likes to swim and walk outside.
Isaac runs up to me and says: I like to swim and walk outside too!
Guess I'll have to get him some OsteoBiflex.

Getting ready for vacation I took the kids to the dump to drop off the trash.
Isaac:Today we're going to Florida. Lets just pack up and go when we get back from the dump.
Me: We have to wait for Daddy. He's coming with us.
Isaac: Well, I just think that Daddy knows the way to get to Florida by himself.
So I guess Jake will just meet us there. That will really blow the gas budget.

She can crawl, she can sit, it's...Super baby!

It has been a big day for Indiana. After weeks of being so close to crawling and being able to go from being flat on her back to sitting up she achieved both today. I went in to get her from her nap and she was sitting in her crib. Then I brought her downstairs and she's been crawling all around today. Yesterday she was still just getting up and scooting backwards but today she's going forward. Here is a picture of her sitting and a grainy video of the crawling.

She also has started pulling herself up on things. She's going to be running around after her big brother and sister in no time.

More about Uno

So a few months ago we got "Uno the kitty." He is still an object of fascination for Indiana, still intimidates Abigail, and is still trying to figure out how to handle Isaac. Isaac still likes to chase him and occasionally Uno chases back. But they are on their way to being fast friends now that Isaac has taken over the feeding Uno in the morning duties. I can hear them in the basement now. Isaac is running around and every once in a while I hear a squeal and, "Uno!"

Here is a picture of Indiana and Uno checking each other out.

Things having children taught me

After a rough night with Abigail and Isaac both running a temperature and not sleeping well, I was awake in bed at two in the morning and I had an epiphany. Seeing my children suffering and just wanting to be able to make them feel better I started thinking about how God the Father sent Christ the Son to earth knowing he would have to endure suffering.

Acts 2: 22-24 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

God knew all along that Christ would suffer and die. God had the power to stop it. And God allowed it to happen so that we may have redemption through Christ. Wow! And it was no small amount of suffering, Christ knew physical pain, but also emotional turmoil. Jesus prayed asking for another path to be taken:

Matt 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt].

Another thing I realized was how frustrating it must be when we try to make our own way in this world and still expect to recieve the salvation God offers. When I tell Isaac or Abigail to do something they're typical response is, "But I want..." And at times I just want to scream, "Just do what I told you to do how I told you to do it!" I can imagine how frustrating it must be to God when He's given us the Bible and told us exactly what we must do to obtain eternal life and yet so many today respond, "But I want..." But I want to say this prayer and then Jesus will come into my heart; But I want to live a good life and God will accept me; But my preacher/pastor/minister told me I need to... and I will be saved." And all the while the Bible tells us time after time what we MUST do.
On the day of Pentecost during the first gospel sermon:

Acts 2:37-38 Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.

What about the conversion of Saul/Paul?

Acts 22: 6-16 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt [there], Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

From just these two examples we can see that we must hear about Jesus, believe that Jesus is the Christ, repent of our sins, confess the name of Jesus, and be baptized/immersed to wash away our sins. So why all the "but I wants?" lets just do it the way we're told to do it.

Now I need a nap because that was a lot of heavy thinking for so early in the morning. And I'm glad to report that Isaac and Abigail are currently feeling better.

I changed it

So Abigail went potty this morning, and if you've been following the blog you know that going "big gross" in the potty means getting a cookie. Well Isaac saw the cookie this morning and said, "Mommy how about we change it so that if I'm good I get a cookie and if I go big gross I get a squeezey hug?" And now every few minutes he comes up and asks, "Can you give me a cookie for being good? I changed it so now I get a cookie for being good." He's just not grasping the concept that when Mommy and Daddy  make a rule only they can change it or is he? Now he's asking, "Mommy can you change the rule so that I get a cookie for being good? Mommy can you change it?"

Another cute quip: I was talking to Jake yesterday about our neighbors coming home and I said, "The Yacovetts will be back." Isaac looks at me and says, "What's a Yacovett?"

What's on your finger?

Jake took Isaac with him to a youth day event at the Oxford Church of Christ last weekend. They had to get up at 6am which is really early for Isaac, but he was still excited.  As Jake was getting his keys and preparing to leave in the dim light of the early morning, Isaac extended his thumb and told Jake to touch it. When Jake touched it he asked, "Why is your thumb sticky?" to which Isaac replied, "It has a boogie on it.  It's from my nose.  Get it daddy."

The Great Pancake Debacle

Our usual breakfast is chocolate chip pancakes. I have been having extra batter at the end and thus started making one pancake larger than the others. Well of course that didn't go unnoticed and soon I was making two large pancakes one for Abigail and one for Isaac. Well this morning there just wasn't enough batter for two. I told them they had to agree on who would get the large pancake or Mommy would eat it. Well, Isaac says, "I agree that Isaac should eat the big pancake." Of course, Abigail then agrees that, "Abigial will eat the big pancake." So I explain that agreeing means they both decide that the same person should get the big pancake. Isaac thinks about it for a minute then says, "Well, what if we cut the pancake in half and share it?" Abigail doesn't want to share the pancake or see it cut in half...So Isaac and I cut the pancake and we shared it and Abigail was stuck eating normal sized pancakes.

The Tooth Hurts

So Indiana has been running a low grade fever off and on for the past two days and has been really irritable. Well yesterday I could finally confirm that there is a tooth breaking through. So it only took her 8.5 months, but finally she is getting her first tooth!

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is one of the movies I have on VHS and I let Isaac and Abigail watch it when they're upstairs. It has taken over our house lately though. My kids are stomping around singing "Goin' Courtin'" and today Isaac is Adam and he just introduced me to his wife Millie (Abigail). So now Adam and Millie are going to pick up all of the blocks. It is so funny to hear Isaac using his deep manly voice telling me what they are doing.
Oh if only my house were set up like some of those reality shows and I could have this on tape...any TV producers reading my blog? We would make a great show.

More Vocabulary

So one of our lunch staples is vanilla yogurt and granola with the occasional fresh fruit mixed in. Abigail has coined a term for this. She will ask me if she can have "granilla" for lunch.

Last night our Bible story before bed was about Cain and Abel. During his bedtime prayer Isaac prayed that he and Abigail would be good and the Cain wouldn't be bad and kill Abel. At least we know he's paying attention to his Bible lessons.

Whine party

Wyndham has a lot of daily activities for guests to enjoy. Today we took the kids down and they got to paint flower picture frames. This afternoon we took Abigail and Indiana down and it happened to be during the wine and cheese social so we came back to the room. Isaac was disappointed because he wanted to join us, but we told him we came back because of the wine social. He said, "oh, we can't go down because they're having a whining party." the kids get in trouble for whining so he understood this was a place to avoid.

DC adventure Part 1

The kids, Mom, Ms. Judy, and I started our adventure to National Harbor Friday, April 29. We "hopped on the bus" in Knoxville, TN at 10:30 in the morning and got to DC at 8:30 pm. Aunt Laura met us for the walk to the metro and the trip out to her apartment. We spent one night with Aunt Laura and then metroed over to the Wyndham National Harbor resort on Saturday. So far we've gone to worship with the Oxon Hill Church of Christ on Sunday morning and had a visit with Uncle Don and Aunt Ragnhild on Sunday evening. We water taxied over to Old Town Alexandria yesterday and spent the day walking around then metroed back. And today the kids are heading down to the children's museum while Aunt Laura and I have to work. Oh, and we may have been swimming a few times :-D. Here are some pictures from the first four days.

Taken from our 7th floor balcony

Water Taxi to Alexandria

The National Harbor in the background

Napping on Saturday morning

Icecream at Ben&Jerry's in Alexandria