Yet Another Musician in the Making

Is He a Cyclist or Cowboy??

You will almost always catch Sam dressing up! He rarely dissappoints with his costume gear. This particular day he came down after rest time in part cycling jersey part City Cowboy!! Hilarious...Love his Imagination:)

Maggie's latest Mode of Transporation

Maggie seems to be at her happiest when she is standing up lately. Although she is not yet walking, she finds every way possible to be upright and moving. Lately she has discovered that the laundry basket turned upside down slides perfectly along the rug. She loves it!!!

Picnic at the Park

We loaded everyone up to enjoy some fresh air and fun at the park off Verdae Boulevard. It was a gorgeous day! I can't think of a better way for our family to enjoy each other. It feels like lately we have been so busy that we don't get a chance to sit down and just enjoy being together. It really rejuvenates my spirit when this happens. God provided the best day for this last weekend and I am so thankful!!

Along Came a Spider...and Frightened This Mama Away

The kids and I discovered this beauty on our front porch last week. Can you believe it?? This picture was taken with the mega ZOOM on, because I was NOT going to get any closer.

Friday Fun at Nana and Papa's

We packed up this past Friday and went to Nana and Papa's for a change of scenery. It was a beautiful day outside to soak up some vitamin D and breathe the fresh air. For some reason, the air there always seems fresher (probably b/c I have extra hands to help and I can actually take a minute to breathe:) We ate some lunch and Papa came home from work to join us and then he followed us to Happy Hollow park after lunch for some more fun! My kids are just about the only reason Papa leaves the office during the middle of a work day for. We are so blessed to have a Papa who loves them so much. After the park, everyone was pooped, so we headed back for some rest time. I think Kate might have been the only one who actually closed her eyes, because Maggie has been battling her two top front teeth lately which is severely interrupting her nap times lately. After nap is was Popsicle time and some more running around. I love days like these...seeing my kids laugh and play is truly a gift and one that I don't want to pass too quickly!

Maggie and I peering over the coffee table. She is already beginning to cruise...WHAT??!!

Maggie also is very curious about Madison. Madison, not so much!

Rewarding Good Behavior

I have been on a quest as of late to find ways to motivate my children to love one another, show kindness and to encourage each other daily. I was feeling like the "foolishness" was beginning to win around here and that there was more disciplining than rewarding, so with some brainstorming tips from my dear friend Tricia I etched out a plan. I took two empty baby food jars and wrote Sam and Kate's name on them with paintpen. Then each child was given a small baggie of halloween erasers (tiny ones), Kate received bats and Sam the pumpkins. These came from the $1 items from Target. We sat down and talked about the importance of showing each other kindness with our eyes, words and actions. We also discussed ways in which we could "build each other up" or encourage. After the groundwork was in place we then talked about how we were going to reward with bats or pumpkins each time we caught someone doing something kind or encouraging (without being prompted). Well, let me tell you we have been at this for about 3 weeks and has really turned my kids attitudes right around. They love "showing each other up" with being kind and loving. Now, not to say we haven't had collosal backslides, because we have, but for the most part it has been fun and rewarding for all of us. I mean the less tattling, whining and arguing the better, but to replace it with kind words, affirmations and helpfulness is just plain AWESOME!! Anyway the pictures are of their "treat" for filling up their jars (which took about a week). Their faces say it all:) Starting over with empty jars and hopes of another chance to reward...

Our Littlest Princess

Aye Matie!! Calling All Handsome Pirates...

A beautiful morning meant time to break out the paint, glitter and glue here at the DeFoor house. This is one project the kids love to do! They get to be real messy, real fast and nobody is telling them to "clean up." They made handprints and feetprints and much much more. The weather was truly glorious and during the art time extravaganza we talked about how God was blessing us with the sunshine and cool breeze. Even though my kids are young, they will stop and take notice of God's handywork whereever we are and no matter what we are doing. I love that about their sweet spirits. Sam even complimented on God's perfect timing when the breeze helped "clean off" the glitter from his painting. I love being a stay at home mom for this very reason. We can stay home, get dirty and marvel at God's blessings to us. This time with them will fly by, I know and I continually am reminded of how blessed I am to have these 3 precious gifts to love on daily.

Pajama Day

The kids had Pajama Day today at school. I love this tradition!! It is part of "Spirit Week" at their school to celebrate Homecoming. They were both very excited to wear their jammies to school and let me tell you, so was I. Getting them dressed was by far easier and less controversial this morning. I thought they looked precious!

Rainy Day = Umbrella Time with Daddy

We finally got some much needed rain here in South Carolina. It has been quite dry for the last 6 weeks or so. I was thrilled for the rain and for the cooler temperatures. I can really feel Fall in the air and for this I am grateful. I have said many times before that I really don't love HOT weather, but I LOVE fall. I love the changing of the leaves, cool temps, wearing jeans and opening my back door to let fresh air in:) It just refreshes my spirit. Well, the rain did just that for my sweet children. They were excited to use their new unbrellas that we found at the Dollar Store. Kate's is Dora and Sam's is of course none other than Spiderman. Sam's class has been studying the vowels the first few weeks of pre-school and this last week was "U." They had an umbrella parade with all the K-4 classes. It was a big deal and everyone stopped what they were doing to watch all the precious 4 year olds parading around with their umbrellas. When the rain set in this past weekend, Rob took the kids out to do a little parading themselves. Kate was excited to get to participate. I love that something as simple as rain can bring such Joy and Happiness!!! Yay Fall!!!

Boys and Their Swords

This morning before 8:30, Sam was running around playing knight or something and fell smack down on his sword. Poor little guy. He was brave and didn't let it keep him down for long. He did however catch a glimpse of his "boo-boo" in the mirror and just the sight of it brought back the tears for a moment. Isn't that always the case, you have no idea how bad you are hurt until you see blood and then it hurts a WHOLE lot more. Anyway, very glad that it wasn't more serious. Wanna keep those baby blues safe and sound.

and Maggie Makes THREE

If someone would have told me 5 years ago that I would be bathing three children four years and under at the same time in the same bath I would have slapped them silly and called them insane. Well, look at these beautiful babies!!! I am the luckiest mom in the whole world, crazier than ever, but still the luckiest. We added Maggie to the bathtime routine the other night for the first time and they ALL got a real kick out of it. I am not sure anyone really got completely clean, but fun was for sure had by all.

Silly Faces

Pre-church silliness~ The kids were trying to outdo each other with silly faces, so I thought I would join in. My face is not nearly as cute as theirs:)

Three's a Crowd...Nahhhh!!!!

Today after school I put Maggie in the pack 'n play while the big kids played. I ran downstairs to straighten up the kitchen and when I came back this is what I found...Priceless! They do love their baby sister. She is a good sport about it and loves them right back!