The past two weeks have been fun and have felt very normal. We have been busy but not too busy and no one has been sick. Josh worked the Sports and Entertainment Expo one weekend so the kids and I went to the zoo. Mallory is such a great baby. This is her cat napping in the stroller.

One day last week I changed her diaper and went to get more wipes. When I came back she had fallen asleep and it was still and hour and a half until nap time!

One of the last snow days we had, Josh had taken my car to work and we were caught up on chores so we played and made messes all day. One of the kids favorite things to do is platy with goop. It is a mixture of cornstarch, water, and food coloring. I let them go crazy with it and this is what I ended up with.

Thankfully it cleans up really easily!

Kinley's has two new sayings "trust me on this" and "you are such a meanie".

We also counted every hat in the house. We have 33 hats! Then we tried them all on. James is so handsome!

He managed to wear 12 hats at once!

One afternoon we had to go to the doctor so Mallory didn't get a nap. I rocked her and we took a little cat nap together. I never get to hold her sleeping because the other two keep me so busy. It is a rare and fleeting treat!

We went to an infectious disease specialist for Kinley's fever. My doctor was afraid she had Rheumatic Fever because her hand had swollen up twice for no apparent reason, she'd had a long term low grade fever, and we had found a heart murmur. The specialist looked her over really well and listened to our story. He felt that she was just dealing with little everyday viruses back to back and the three issues were just a coincidence and not a sign of a bigger infection. He told me to quit taking her temperature and move on. That is what I needed to hear. I was getting a little crazy over it all.

Mallory has been experimenting with biter biscuts, puffs, and sippy cups. She seems to like them all and is getting better at the motor control it takes to enjoy them.

Granddad, Nana, and Aunt Jennifer came to visit this weekend. We took them to the zoo. Every time I am there with the kids they beg to ride the carousel or train and I always say "not today, maybe when we have a grand parent with us you'll get to". So we walk by the carousel and James says "hey mom, granddad is here, so he can pay for us to ride the carousel!" He definitely has the system figured out! We are so spoiled by our parents. It is a huge blessing to get to do fun things and have luxuries to enjoy with our kids.

James has been asking a lot of questions about salvation. He has even begged to have Jesus in his heart on three different occasions. I always tell him that Jesus will knock on his heart and we will all know when it's the right time. I'm not so sure that is the right thing to do anymore. We have a lot of conversations about sin and what Jesus did for us so I think it is all starting to come together in his mind and heart. I used to think it was one specific moment that a person is saved but I'm not so sure that is true. I think it might be a season of learning and believing then there comes a moment when you claim it out loud and another moment where hopefully you are baptized and share your salvation with the world. Then I think there are many seasons and moments where you have the choice to choose God's path or your own (nothing to do with salvation) I think James' moment of speaking his belief and choosing God's path for this part of his journey is coming soon. Say a prayer for him and us during this very important season.