And the Winner is ...

To get ready for Fire Safety Week the first graders all made posters. The posters were judged by the West Lafayette Fire Department. Pretty cool, huh!
Jaeden's teacher stopped me one morning and told me she had something to tell me but it had to be kept from Jaeden. I had no idea what she was going to say. She told me that Jaeden was the winner for all of the 1st grade boys (they picked a girl winner too) of the poster contest!! I was thrilled. I have always thought he was incredibly talented at drawing, but for someone else to love what he has drawn as well, I was over the moon! BUT, I couldn't let Jaeden know for a whole week!!! So I contained myself and quietly let some friends and family know. Finally the day had come for the principal to announce the winners. I hung around in the hallway until announcements to see his reaction. It was precious, he was proud but kind of in a shy way. So what was the prize for winning the poster contest......
Jaeden got to ride home from school on the fire truck!!! Lights and Sirens and all! He didn't know what to think of it all, he even went straight upstairs to his desk to draw when he got home. He drew fire trucks of course! And as an extra surprise, Grandma Nana and Papaw were able to make it up too!! Here are some pictures of the day!!

Meeting the Fire Chief and Fireman

Still not sure what to think about all this

Strapped in and ready to roll

Jaeden's class cheering him on as they left

Almost home..

The winning poster. Jaeden's was the Stop, Drop, and Roll one.

Fall ....

A Royal Affair....

Miss Jaclyn turned 4 last week!! We had a whirlwind of celebrating. Both sets of grandparents were able to come up and spend time with the kids and made some great memories.
Then... on Saturday we had a Princess Tea Party for Jaclyn and 5 of her little Princess friends. I am not sure who had more fun, me planning it or Jaclyn and the girls. It was adorable to see all of them dressed in their princess dresses drinking pink lemonade in their tea cups.
We had pink cup cakes, pink lemonade, strawberries, grapes and cheese cubes ( a royal spread for sure!) Each princess also got to take home her tea cup. The girls started playing dolls and polly pockets, then they each made a tiara to take home and after cupcakes were right back to the dolls and polly pockets.
Check out the link to view all the photos. (we are having some technical difficulties with the computer. Which may or may not have been caused by me saving all my photos to the wrong spot and bogging it down!)


HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, MISS JACLYN!!!
We love you!

Just one of those days...

Today was one of those mornings. Nothing in particular wrong, just didn't feel right. So after I hurriedly got the kids off to school ( I woke up way after the alarm!) I ran an errand and then stopped off at the house. I came in grabbed my camera, and a drink and was off. I just need to to clear my head. I decided a walk at the Celery Bogg would do it. So as I listened to the sounds of the ducks, geese, and other animals in the woods I started to feel more peaceful. I looked around me at all the amazing things, down to that turtle I almost stepped on. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed, insignificant, or not important. But as I took in my surroundings it became crystal clear that God has a plan for all of us. His plan may not be our plan or even on the same map as ours. It is sometimes hard to see the "big picture" when it seems everything is spinning out of control. Sometimes we just need to stop take a look at the beauty around us and know that everything is going to be okay.
I have had this scripture on my heart as well:
" And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:2-5


Here are some of the photos I took this morning.

Indy Zoo Field Trip

Last week was the much anticipated field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo. The weather was forecast for rain and thunderstorms, but many little prayers were answered and the weather was breezy and perfect for a zoo blitz. We had just a couple of hours to see the whole zoo. It sort of seemed like I ran the zoo marathon by the time we sat down for lunch. But Jaeden and the 2 other kids I had in my group had a great time. We were able to get up close to so many of the animals. I may have been more amazed than the kids. :o)
Here are a few photos from our trip.

Checking out the seal tank

Reaching to pet a shark in the Shark Touch Pool

The giraffes were amazing! They came right up to the trainer- who had treats of course! But how amazing to be so close to such gorgeous animals!

The baby even came to visit.

The elephants even trumpeted while we were there.

Jman, Micah & Alyssa. My great little group.

Lead Me

I had to share this song. It brought me to tears in the car when I heard it on the radio for the first time.

I think that every husband, wife, mother or father can completely relate to this song. We are trying to do our best to do all we need to for our spouses and children. But sometimes we forget that we aren't the ones in control and we need to follow what God has planned for us, just as a shepard leads his sheep.

This verse has become my daily prayer for our family:

"So Father give me the strength to be everything I am called to be. Oh, Father show me the way to lead them. Won't you lead me? "

P.S. Please pray for my Uncle Tom. He is currently in the hospital with major blood clots in his leg. They are trying to figure out the cause of the clots and suspect it could be cancer. He is at this very moment having a colonoscopy. Tom has a heart condition as well. It has been a rough few days for all of the family. I have faith that his diagnosis will be better than anyone, including the doctors, could have imagined.

That's my Byrdlings...

I just have to say that I love my little Byrdlings! This week has been one full of laughs and pride from Jaeden and Jaclyn.

I ask Jaclyn to put her shoes on her shelf in the closet. Where she is to put them every time she takes them off. She put them next to the wall, behind the ottoman. I see them and ask her to put them away. She responds, " Oh, I just wanted to see if you would find them. I guess I'll put them away now." I am soo going to be in trouble when she is a teenager!!!

Jaeden was working on his spelling homework. He had a worksheet with the instructions to: trace the words, copy the words, and then fold paper and write with out looking. He breezed through the first 2 columns of tracing and copying. He decided to fold his paper himself and I started reading his spelling words off to him. I read him a word, he replies "oh this is kind of hard". I look over and he is writing is words with his eyes closed!!! He really wasn't looking!!

Never a dull moment!

I am so very proud of my little man today too. He had a note sent home from his teacher. She wanted to let me know that Jaeden has been doing an excellent job listening and following directions. She went on to say " I can always count on him to be a leader an an example for the students. I am very thankful for Jaeden!" It is so gratifying to know that your child gets "it", not just at home but when you aren't around to see. Jeremy and I try so hard to treat each other the way we want them to treat others in the real world. It fills me up to know that others think our children are the gems we know they are.

I love my Byrdlings!!!