A BIG bunch of bananas...

...is what Collin brought home from Dillon's the other day.

The bananas on the left are normal size.

The bananas on the left are just ginormous!

I still don't think this picture does them justice!

I foresee lots of banana bread in the future...

Happy Birthday Ollie!

Love,

Ava

Favorite Friday: PJ Day

Today was a PJ Day! What is a PJ Day you ask?

*no extra kids besides my own

*sleeping in with Ava until 9:30 (yay!)

*Not eating breakfast until 10am

*watching Price Is Right without interruption

*doing absolutly no house work, no cleaning, dishes, etc. (bad, huh?)

*It's too cold to go outside

*oh yeah-and staying in our PJ's until 12!

This is definatly a Favorite Friday!

Dave Ramsey Free Show

I found out through Money Saving Mom's blog (on the right) that Dave Ramsey is doing a free event nationwide. There are several in our surrounding area and thought some of you may be interested since we've been talking about finances in sunday school. Check out HERE for more info.

I'm in a blogging rut (I hope that's a word). I havn't blogged in almost 6 days. Can anyone help me out? What would YOU like to see on my blog?

Bumps in the Night...

We woke up last night to a LOUD thud that kept rolling and rolling and then a horrific cry! It scared us half to death. At first we thought in our sleepy state that Ava had fell out of her bed and then we realized that she had fell down the stairs! In the middle of the night! I held Ava for a little bit until she calmed down-i think she was more scared than hurt. Still, i watched her for a bit in bed to make sure she was OK. With the stories about concussions lately-i wanted my baby to be safe! We asked her the next morning why she was heading down the stairs. I guess she was confused and thought daddy was down there like he is before work during the week.
To make a long story short, i was just thinking about how much God protects our children. Yet, in life things do happen that are out of our control. No matter what pain He brings to parents or their children, God is in control and knows what's best. Its hard for me to see the good in that, but I'm seeing it more and more lately. I praise God now when Ava doesn't get hurt. I thank Him that 3 year olds have such limber bodies because if it was me falling down the stairs-well, that would be another story! I am learning to give Ava to God, even when it is so hard to do. Ultimately God knows best. I pray that God keeps revealing that to me.

Sand Fun.

Sand=messy

Sand =dirty

Sand= Fun!!!

I can guarantee i won't like the sand tracks in the house this summer, but i can guarantee that i'll love Ava having fun! Maybe this will keep her out of our garden dirt...

Thank you Grandpa for picking up and shoveling out sand!

*Ava already got in trouble for throwing sand out of the box. How much sand do you think we'll have by the end of the summer?

Cora Project on TV

Please spread the word as fast as you can to EVERYONE! Grace just got the news! A story on Cora's Playground will be aired TONIGHT at 9pm on channel 24 and at 10pm on channel 12! So Cool!!!!

Check out this article on the Newton Kansan about the McClenahan's!

Ava is a Monkey...

...and to help fix that swinging urge, we bought her a trapeze bar for her swingset.

I must say it was a BIG hit. She is flipping all of the time now.

Too bad its not just on her trapeze bar, but on the railing, doorknobs, chairs, legs, couch, etc. You name it and she'll make a flipper out of it-thanks to gymnastics :)

Favorite Friday: Thankfulness

So, this Favorite Friday post is a little behind, but i say better late than never!
Last night our small group volunteered at the Homeless Shelter. The Fraisers & us had the 5-10pm shift and the Friesens and Jordans took the 10-8am shift. I would have to say that serving there was not the most comfortable thing for me to do, but i knew it was important we do it! Sometimes I get too comfortable with life and forget about that those who are not as comfortable and who need to be showed love and compassion. We helped provide, set up, and serve supper to about 10 residents, who for the most part were quite friendly. We enjoyed the evening with eating, movies and games. We brought Ava along and boy did she make herself at home! I looked at her and thought 'why can't i be that outgoing and comfortable in my surroundings' and then i reminded myself i was not three. Oh how i wish i had the spontinatety of a three year old sometimes.

Being in the homeless shelter reminded me of what some of my favorite things are and how to be more thankful:

1) Thankful for my relationship with Jesus and that i grew up in a Christian home. As i looked around the room last night i wondered how many of the men knew Christ.

2) Thankful for my wonderful husband and daughter. I think about how many families who go through divorce, abuse, neglect and become SO thankful for my family.

3)Thankful for our home. We are so blessed to have a furnished roof over our head. I can't imagine not knowing where I would sleep the next night or where my next meal would come from.

4) Thankful for friends. Some of the residents last night looked lonely. There were several that seemed to perk up with conversation when we were there. It makes me sad to think that they don't have family or friends to stay with.

So, all in all one of my favorite things is being THANKFUL. God has given me so many GREAT things in my life. It took a visit to the homeless shelter last night to renew that thankfulness in my heart and to be appreciative for everything we have.

Strange.

I think Three Year Olds are SO strange OR at least MY three year old is! Its like they're in a totally different world. There are times I am talking to Ava and think 'what planet are you on!' Here are a couple of odd things she's done lately...



1) Collin & I are watching a movie. We assume Ava has been sleeping for over and hour. We hear noise. I come upstairs. Ava is coloring at our table. She says "I just wanted to color mama."



2) We wake up in the middle of the night one night-Collin almost stumbles over Ava, who has dragged her entire beddings to the base of our bed and is fast asleep. How uncomfortable!



3) Today i walk downstairs and Ava is licking the TV characters on her Dora Game

There were a few more but i can't remember them right now! I guess i'll save those for another post. Ava definatly keeps life interesting.

Check out Megan Duerksen's blog here to see another way you can help contribute to Cora's Playground! So Cool!

Uncle Phil's Diner: The Photo Grotto

This past Wednesday I attended Uncle Phil's Diner at church-twice.

The youth group put on two shows, one at 12:30 and one at 6:00.

It was a 50's diner theme and very entertaining! It was an interactive play with food served in between. I guess you would call that a Dinner Theater of sorts. My job of the night was running the 'Photo Grotto!' Sounds prestigious right? Well, kind of! I basically told people where to put their dollar ($1 per picture), where to stand, pointed the camera and told them to act goofy. Frasiers and Friesens, i hope you don't mind me using your beautiful portraits. I just couldn't resist!

It was a fun night!

The video below was the FUNNIEST song of the evening. I think it was even better the second time. Ben Reed was hilarious as a nerd!

Favorite Thing Friday: Movie

My favorite Movie of all time is Patch Adams.

It is such an inspiring movie. It makes you laugh, cry, and think! I love those kind of movies. Movies that make you think about your own life and how it relates. My other favorite thing goes with a movie:Friday nights. Friday nights at our house are movie nights. Just Collin and I on the couch watching whatever Netflix sends us at the time. By the way-we love Netflix too! Defiantly check them out if you next have enough time to go rent a movie OR you are spending too much at Blockbuster. Ok. I think that was like 3 favorite things, so I am done now...

Fun! Fun! Fun! You MUST Go See...

SESAME STREET LIVE!

Fun!

Fun!

Fun!

Is all i really have to say!

I don't know if Ava OR I had more fun.

Ava was dancing out of her seat.

I was dancing in my seat.

I would definatly go again!

This my friend Stacy & her daugter Chloe. Do you notice we're the ones smiling and the kids aren't. They weren't too sure about everything when they got there and were being stubborn for a picture. They did lighten up once the show began though! Chloe and Ava have different personalities. It's funny because Chloe stayed quiet in her mom's lap the whole time and Ava was ALL OVER the place!

Ava before the show. Sorry her face is bleached out.

one of many pictures i took. the lighting was so hard in there because of the flashing strobes, lights, etc.

These were my two favorite songs.

Especially the above one about trash. It was a rap tune and very cool. What's cooler than two beetles rapping about trash?

The Sesame Street Gang definatly have the moves down in the video above! They were rock'n!

Oh Ava...

Me: Do you like boys Ava?
Ava: No i don't!
Me: Why not?
Ava: Because Boys wear underwear and girls wear panties.
Me: Oh really?
Ava: Yeah, but i still think i like boys with underwear (what?!)

Oh the mysterious minds of a 3 year old...

And Ava Says...

..."My flashes are so soft and beautiful..."

Any ideas what she's talking about? :)