Mechanic in the Making (Week 14/52)

Now that we are co-owners of Western Auto, Colin and I spend a lot of time over there (either delivering tires, working, or just for a chance to see Dad). 

Colin's absolute favorite spot in right next to Grandpa in the shop.

Priceless :)

iPad love (Week 13/52)

I've had my iPad for a few weeks now, and I have to say that as much as I love it, Colin, by far, loves it the most! In just a few short weeks he has learned how to take the cover off, unlock it, scroll through the different pages, pick his favorite apps, and how to get back to the home screen when he's ready for a new game. 

We've discovered a few fun apps that he really likes thanks to a few internet searches and my good friend Niki, and his favorite place to play with the iPad is Mom and Dad's bed. He will climb up onto it, crawl under the covers and arrange them on his lap nicely before he pulls the iPad onto his lap. Then he is ready to play. What a kid!

Egg Hunt (Week 12/52)

Although we didn't do too much to celebrate the holiday other than attend church and eat ham for dinner, Colin did get to participate in his first Easter egg hunt at a church activity!

He was definitely more concerned about having his bucket on his arm and making sure none of the eggs fell out than he was with what was inside the eggs (thank goodness). And we opted for the Easter Bunny not to bring him any candy this year...just a few little toys instead. All in all, it was a good weekend.

We hope you all had a great day and were able to take at least a few minutes to remember our Savior who died for each of us. The knowledge of the infinite love my Heavenly Father has for me, and all that Christ's resurrection means in my life is a huge blessing to me.

Happy Easter!

Half Birthday! (Week 11/52)

Happy half birthday to our little buddy!

To follow in the footsteps of my awesome sister Amy, who makes a cake for all the half birthdays in their family, we celebrated Colin's big day in style.

At 18-months Colin...

still loves grapes

loves to dig in the dirt

always wants to go to the playground by our house

can go down all the big slides by himself

thinks it's hilarious to walk backwards

loves going to nursery at church!

knows which keys go into which car ignitions and how to get them in there

is a great helper

eats cheese like there's no tomorrow

would watch Curious George all day long if I let him

climbs into his stroller several times a day and demands to go on a walk

is becoming a pretty picky eater, but loves anything sugary

will put on my shoes and try to walk around the house

loves to wrestle and climb all over me

has a great sense of humor and thinks everything is a game

Obviously, I could go on and on.

I can't believe he is a year and a half old already! In honor of our little "cookie monster" I made a giant cookie--this kid loves cookies!

This giant cookie won't be winning any awards as far as the decorating job goes, but it served its purpose. Yum!

George (Week 10/52)

Although this is nothing new, Colin loves Curious George. I might even go as far as saying he's obsessed. It is just about the only show he watches anymore, and "George" is probably the word that you hear coming out of his mouth most often.

Wait...he can say George, but he can't say mommy? This kid needs to rethink his priorities! ;)

Colin is both curious and a little monkey, so it's not all that surprising that George is his favorite.

Last week I had to go to the library to pick up a book I had on hold, so I decided to stop by the kids' section and see if I could find a Curious George book for Colin. And what a hit that book has been!

I was able to snap a picture of him "reading" to himself. He was flipping through the pages pointing at different things and jabbering. Obviously telling his own George adventures.

Story of My Life (Week 9/52)

This one is also late, but my goal is to be caught up by this weekend!

Colin still doesn't say 'mommy,' and it's actually pretty hilarious. I can't decide if he really thinks he's saying it or he's just that obstinate...

Precious Moments

Matt and I drove to Springfield, MO a few weekends ago to go to a hardware trade show. We left Colin with his grandparents, so we were able to take our time and see a few sites along the way. 

I would say Precious Moments could be considered a household name. Everyone recognizes those little children figurines. But I didn't know anything about them or the artists other than that.

The artist, Sam Butcher, built and painted a chapel on a piece of property in Carthage, MO. It's a little town a few miles outside of Joplin, and it's definitely off the beaten path. But apparently it's so well visited, that maybe now the path is quite beaten ;)

The chapel offers free tours, and of course there is a gift shop available. Butcher also has a house on the property where he stays when he's not spending his time in the Philippines. 

This is the front view of the chapel. Around the chapel is a huge garden full of  Precious Moments statues.

This is the entrance to the chapel. There are two more doors like this just inside. All three doors, front and back, are carved with intricate designs. They are carved in wood from the Philippines, which is apparently one of the hardest woods.

Here is the main part of the chapel. The wall to the left is full of  paintings depicting stories from the Old Testament, and the right wall depicts stories from the New Testament. The section at the far wall contains three murals about heaven. And of course the ceiling shows heaven and all the baby angels. All of these paintings use the same Precious Moments style children. 

The area that wraps around the chapel contains stained glass windows, also scriptural references. There are 30 stained glass windows throughout the whole chapel.

The whole things is pretty amazing. There are some bronze plates on the outside of the chapel that he also carved intricate designs into. I can't believe how many different mediums this artist can work with.

The whole thing is beautiful and amazing, and it was the perfect Sunday activity as we drove back from our weekend in Springfield.

My review in short: If you ever get the chance, go see it. It's pretty awesome!