It is Not too Late

We have been spending a year learning about Paul. We began with this wonderful program in August that allowed the kids to sculpt the scripture that we were studying. This was going very well and the kids loved it. However James was so curious that he broke the cheese dome that was holding our scenes. This put a kink in our learning about Paul. Then came Paul in a Basket. We are now back on track. This is a great way for those getting a late start with the Pauline Year or those that just want a fun way to reiterate what they have been teaching the kids this year. The kids quickly picked up these precious songs and it is narrated so that they can visualize how Paul got from place to place. The kids love the Donut man. What fun they are having with this CD! Right now it is in the car CD player and they insist that it has to start at the beginning when we start the car. They listen to the entire CD which repeats the songs over again. They have really come to understand the journey of Paul and his message of love. Mom is enjoying the Fruit of the Spirit song because it goes so well with or unit on the Fruits of the Spirit for Easter. The kids each have a favorite song as well. Directors notes were also included so we can put on a play. This seems like an excellent way to end our Pauline Year with a play in the park. Hurry up and get your CD, it is not too late!

A Boy and His Frog

Gus caught it...
Gracie kissed it...
But Beedle, Beedle loved it to death. Really... to death!

Today was a girlly day for Gracie. We woke up early and had to get ready for ballet pictures. Mom fixed up Gracie's bun and then Gracie got a great surprise, MAKE-UP! She was so surprised and bouncing all around. What a treat! Then the girls were off to ballet to take pictures. After an hour of photos, we were off again to a girls luncheon for Miss Jonna. Although we have thought of Jonna as part of the family for quite a while we were happy to officially welcome her as part of the family today. Gigi has started a nice tradition welcoming new family with a quiet and sweet little luncheon at a little bistro in Grand Coteau. We had a chance to visit and share like only girls can do. Gracie was all over Jonna and would not hold hands with Mom at all. We all took a few minutes to poke into a couple of the shops along the street before heading off again. This time we were off to the mall to find a new dress for Gracie. Miss Jonna picked out the dress so Gracie loved it. We were off again to Gigi's house to say hello and goodbye to Bryan and Uncle Garland. Unfortunately the visit was very short. Our Texas family had a busy week ahead so they left early this weekend. Mom and Gracie were back in the car heading to Abbeville for yet another treat. Mr Coby invited the family for PIZZA. This was not just any pizza. Mr Coby built his own pizza oven that cooks pizza in under two minutes. It is one thing to say this but another to see it happen. What fun. All the kids played with there friends while Mr Coby built the most beautiful pizzas and cooked them in his hot pizza oven. Way cool! We were finally off to our house but Gracie got to bring home a cool toy---Grant. Shhh, no one told her that he came to spend the night with the boys, after all it was a girlly day.

Fun Fun Fun

Today we really loaded up on the entertainment. This morning we got to work celebrating the feast of Saint George. We read three stories of Saint George and then prayed for all the boys that we know named George. The kids picked the toy dinosaur that looked most like a dragon, and Beedle shared his knight with us so we could make this little table display. Then we got to the real fun-- we made cake. The kids always love to put the ingredients together and we thought we would attempt to try this project. Each child got a chance to do one thing (it was a box mix). Gus traced and cut paper circles for the pans and B.J. was the mixer. Everyone was coveting these two positions. (Gracie did get to pop the egg for our Garden of the Good Shepard project and she placed the sticker on the book. That calmed the waters a little :) We would all love to make this cake again now that we know what we did wrong! It was tasty. Hopefully next year the Easter Bunny brings candy that we could use in this project to make it more believable. Gracie kept calling it an Alligator :) It was lots of fun!

After rest time the kids devoured the remaining Fruitabu, another treat from the project, and we were off to soccer. We have been playing soccer for several weeks now but it is not the same without Dado. Last week he had to work late so he could leave the next morning. Today was just too sad. Without Dado to preform for, there was a great lack of motivation. Gracie was happiest to pick flowers and bring them to Aunt Laci and Mom to make a daisy chain. Beedle had to think outside the box. He wanted to dress up and there was not a lot of choice given that we were at the soccer field. Beedle did not let this stop him for long. That's our Beedle. Mom is a little embarrassed because he looks so big and miserable. He really did study the role all of these years! There is not a picture of Gus because he was moving to fast actually playing soccer. They all had a good time regardless of what they were playing.

We returned home to another nice suprise--mail! Beedle was happy that his siblings got mail last week and he never complained at all. He was rewarded by his patience and today was his day. He is reasing it upside down in the picture because he was showing me as he was reading, as if to say "It really has MY name on it!" He was trilled to get a The Adventures of Frog and Toad. This is a favorite around here and I know that Beedle will share it after he breaks it in for the next couple of days. The book was definitely his pick for bedtime tonight. Thank you Ella for the book. Did I mention we love mail.

To be Heard Around the House

Mom eavesdropping in the hall and out of the line of sight.


Beedle: Oh NOOOOO! You will never forgive me Gus! Oh NOOOOOO! (A bit dramatic, but very typical from Beedle)
Gus: It is okay. Jesus forgives us, and I am a Christian, Beedle. I will forgive you. (Not nearly as typical around here, but very well received!)




Gracie: Hooray!! Nate got some high heels so he can play soccer with us!!!





Beedle: Mom, if I got lost in California, I would just get in a boat and go across the country saying "La la la la." Okay?

Mom: Did you see that in a movie?

Beedle: No. I thought of that all by myself :)



James: Da. Da. Da. Da. (holding the phone.)

Mom changed James' diaper and put away the wipes. When she sat down James came around the corner holding the box of wipes and put them down at her feet. He then signed "all done" and "change" He was not kidding!!!

Wow

The kids have been enjoying Easter. This year we decided to use The Garden of the Good Shepherd to get the kids to understand that our Easter season lasts fifty days. These two wonderful ladies have helped us with some wonderful idea to make each day special. Today we read about Ruth and Boaz and then had a special focus on the bread. The kids made resurrection bread. We have made resurrection cookies before, but this is a different take. We even used a skewer and discussed how Jesus was pierced in the side. Mom was so proud as each child took their turn telling the story of the resurrection. James' marshmallow did not make it! Gus said that James would know the story next year. The end result was no surprise to the kids but they did not get how it happened!

The Chopin Zoo

This morning Mom played the good guy for a change. Too many times there seems to be schemes to do lots of fun stuff and Mom always has to say NO! No it is not a good idea for Gus to be on the roof of the house! No we can not have icing for breakfast! No we are not going to put on our best clothes to paint even if we are pretending to be Kings and Queens! Today, with our plans dashed by the threat of horrible weather, we woke up and watched too much T.V. Our typical routine has the T.V. off at eight thirty and today Mom said that the T.V. was not going off. We ate pancakes on the floor in front of the T.V. and we lounged around in our p.j.'s well into the afternoon. It was a nice way to pass the time and we got to view Beedles new Easter movie The Velveteen Rabbit.
We were happy to break from the t.v. to enjoy a visit from Gus' Pa-B and Sam. They were gracious enough to sit and visit in our filthy house and the kids had a great time running around and playing. (Sitting around all morning allowed for a surplus of energy!) I think Beedle changed about six times, once he even became an elephant. This was quite a fete given the costume was labeled six to twelve month. When it comes to dress up Beedle does not let anything get in his way. We were happy for the visit and we hope that you are not discouraged from visiting again. Mom promises to go back to saying no next time!

The Fun Begins....

We just saw Dado off at the airport.:(
Dado woke up early and took Gus to the gym to play a little tennis and give him a little talk. I am sure that it went a little like "you are going to be Mom's big helper this week." When they returned from their work-out Dado treated us to a big breakfast at Hub-City Diner.

There were a few tears shed Beedle's were real and Gracie said she wanted to cry for Dado but she was just going to pretend. I guess she wanted him to feel missed and that was what she could think of to show him.

Good Luck and God Bless.

Now the fun begins!!!

Who is not Happy....

when they get mail? The kids had a good week and were making quick friends with the new mail man. It seemed this was the week for friends and family to send the kids goodies in the mail. Thanks everyone for thinking of us!

Family Fun Night

What a great evening. Gigi put some burgers on the grill and we all got enjoy some beautiful weather. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Karyn came with lots of fun toys. Uncles Charlie took the kids on a little scavenger hunt with the metal detector and they found lots of neat treasures. Kahki and the girls came and enjoyed the fun as well. Thanks
for such great memories.

Happy Easter!!!

Alleluia! He is risen! Today we celebrated Easter. The children woke up early; surprising, after the long day they had yesterday, but helpful as we needed an early start to get ready for Easter mass. The kids awoke to their Easter baskets and some clever decorations by Mom. After they got ready for Mass, we did our best to get some good Easter pics in. They were not very cooperative, but we got a few keepers...At Mass, we got to sit with Nanny Wanda and MiMi. It was nice to have family at Easter Mass. After Mass, we stopped to visit a few important people and then headed to GiGi's. Mom and I were blessed because both families were there (Poppa, Grandma Dee and Nana came too!). We had a nice family dinner--no shortage of good food! Mom had made a couple of cheesecakes that were a big hit. After food settled, Nanny Wanda, Nana and GiGi, hid some eggs for the kiddos to find. After Nanny Wanda gave the instructions, the kids were off. They were on a mission!

Mission accomplished! All the eggs were found! Of course, they wanted to hide the eggs again and go and find them. This went on a couple of times until everyone had a chance to get the most.

After some more playing, some more cheesecake consumption, and some more laughs, the time had come to head back home. It was a good end to the greatest day of the year. May we all rejoice in this Easter season! Alleluia! He is risen!

Crawfish in Texas?

Today was a first for the Chopins....we had boiled crawfish in Texas! We celebrated the Ardoin Family Easter with some extended family at Uncle Raymond and Aunt Brenda's in Spurger, TX. Our trek to Spurger started early--7am. It wasn't easy to get the kids up and going that early, but they were real troopers. We met up with Grandma Dee, Poppa and Nana in Eunice and traveled the back roads through western Louisiana into southeastern Texas. It was a pleasant ride, and Mom and Dad got some good talk time. We made it to the Strong spread and we were very impressed. There were acres of land all around us. There was a pond that became a popular kids' playspot. There was a ping pong table and a baseball game set up. A lot for the younglings to do! But most importantly, we were there to see our family! All of the Ardoins made it--even Aunt Angie! And the Strong family was well represented--Ronnie and Rachael and their families made it as well. They brought their kids, who were about the same ages as ours, so just about everyone had someone to play with. We all visited and laughed and waited for the main course--the crawfish. Uncle AJ and Poppa did a great job with the crawfish--seasoned to perfection!All the kids ate crawfish, each in different ways. Gus had no problem peeling them, making his own dip and eating them. Beedle enjoyed peeling them. He'd work on one for a couple of minutes, hand the meat over to his Aunt Angie and say, "Can you please take the spice (poop) off of it?" He also had three hot dogs so he didn't go hungry. Gracie has a bad habit of coaxing someone, with her pretty eyes and smile, into peeling them for her. It's very cunning, but enduring. And, whether good or bad, she usually gets her way. James had a few crawfish and really like them. Uncle AJ fed them to him and he finished them off. And, of course, Mom and Dad made pigs out of themselves--we're not bashful when it comes to crawfish!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, resting and reminiscing. Here are some other pics from the day...

As our day winded down, we rounded up the kiddos. They were filthy, especially Beedle, who spent a lot of time playing (rolling in the sand) at the pond. We wiped him as clean as we could just to get him in the car. This is what his bed looked like the next morning... We said our goodbyes and made our way south to Beaumont. We went to pick up MiMi (Dad's grandmother) and bring her back to Lafayette for Easter. It was a nice trip home. Dad got to have some good quality conversation with MiMi. The kids didn't make it to Lake Charles before they were out like lights.

Welcome to Our Nut-House!

When we went to Fresh Pickins on Sunday, the kids had begged for us to get a coconut. They were fairly cheap, so Mom and Dad were OK with it. We decided to crack into it today. Using Dad's drill, we drilled a couple of holes into it.

We then poured the milk into a measuring cup and we let the kids take a swig of the coconut milk. Beedle and Gus seemed to like it; Gracie--not so much.

Next, the boys had the silly idea to become "coconut heads". We appeased them. It was pretty funny.

Next, they wanted to break it open. Gus threw it onto the sidewalk and it caused a crack. They threw it a couple more times until it broke into pieces. They took a few bites and they were somewhat impressed.

They then wanted to make faces on their coconut pieces. Again, we appeased them. Actually it was pretty fun using the drill to carve out the faces.

We never thought we would have that much fun with a coconut. We went nuts!

And the Winner Is....

BEEDLE!

Doctor Keaty's office called to say that they had drawn Beedle's name from the prize box. He won a gift certificate to The Incredible Pizza Company. The kids love to go and play games but they are also amazed at the movies that play while you eat. Veggie Tales are always a hit with the kids but Mom and Dado are a bit nostalgic and try to sneak the kids into an oldie, but goody. There is always a lot of fun and excitement and it is a great alternative to the other place that Mom refuses to go to. Mom and Dado enjoy the company's mission statement as well. You have to love supporting a company who can put God first.
Thank you to the Incredible Pizza Company and Dr. Keaty for making Beedle's day. Now we have to pull out the calender and plan our evening out!

Could Sunday Be Any Better?

Could Sunday have been any better? It's hard to think a day could have been much better than today. Sunday started off with our family doing a great job of getting ready for Mass. The kids, for the most part, were well-behaved. We had a great lunch and got some good rest time in. We (Gus, Beedle, Gracie & Dad) left in the early afternoon to make the Ragin Cajuns' baseball game.The kids enjoy "The Tigue" and all the fun that comes along with it (all of the cheers, the scoreboard, the Homer Simpson gaffs, etc.). And we picked a great game to go to as the Cajuns put on a hitting clinic and drilled the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 14-7. They hit a couple of home runs, which got Gus excited. Nothing like a great day of sunshine at the ballpark!

The fun continued when we got home. Beedle and Gracie wanted to play in the sprinkler. Gus talked Dad into playing a game of croquet. James wanted to play too, so we found a way to let him in on the action. We came up with a way to encourage him, yet still make it competitive for Gus and Dad. And so was born....Lijie-ball! Basically, you play croquet like you normally would, but with one twist--at any point that James felt the need to pick up your croquet ball and throw it wherever he pleased, you had to play your next hit from wherever the ball landed.This provided a bit of chance in the game for Dad and Gus. Plus James was so excited to play with the big kids. We look forward to our next game of Lijie-ball.

While playing, we got a phone call from Mrs. Kessie inviting us over for a fish fry, so off we went to Abbeville. Mr. Coby did an excellent job of frying the fish and french fries.

While we waited for our delicious dinner, the kids found things to entertain themselves, such as driving...

and bouncing...

Gus was happy to get a chance to try out one of his birthday presents--his bow and arrow. Grant and Gus shot at targets. This was the first time Gus ever shot a real bow and arrow.

It took him a while to get the hang of it. Dad realized after a while that he was showing him the wrong way (Gus is a lefty). Once Gus figured out the right way, his strength and aim got better and better.
And what do you know, he actually hit the target. Not bad, Gus!

As the sun went down, our families got together for evening prayer. We thanked God for a wonderful day and a great start to Holy Week. It would be hard to beat a day like we had today!