I have shared before that the children and I pray on our way to school every morning. Recently, MK has decided that instead of talking during the majority of our prayer, she wants to join in. So, yesterday, I asked the children who wanted to begin and MK pipes up "I do, me!".....moving onto our prayer, one of the boys usually prays for things that often do not coincide with our everyday life, random things that open my eyes to subjects I should be praying for. He will pray for those traveling on the road, for those who are sick in the hospital, for those who are "going through rough times"....yesterday his prayer was for all prisoners in jail. It went something like this "Dear God I just hope that you will be with those prisoners. I pray that these people will talk to you and that you will talk back to them and they will hear you tell them they did very bad things....they need someone to tell them they were wrong...." now, as serious as this prayer could be, I sat there thinking, "where do you come up with these things?"....he is six!

On another note, we are driving home from school yesterday. Despite all testing that is taking place at the boys' school this week, they did have time to acknowledge Earth Day in their classrooms. So, we are driving along on a pretty busy, two-lane, curvy road. I look in front of me and there is this child, probably 11 or 12, with what looked like a pretty heavy backpack, walking practically in the middle of the road. I went into "mother mind" and said "what is that kid doing, is he crazy, where is his mother?! He shouldn't be walking home from school on this road." The boys immediately take note of this kid and one says, "well, mom, what do you expect? I mean it is Earth Day, he is enjoying the earth....you know, a car puts out a ton of pollution and your van is killing our air, I think that kid is doing a good thing by not contributing to pollutants in the air that we breathe!"....I was quiet after that, it was a battle I was bound to lose.

And lastly, we had a first last night. The boys, all three of them - big and small, were off playing golf together. So MK and I headed to one of our favorite shopping places, Target. We are in line to check out when this lady comes up to me, puts her hand on my hand, smiles and declares "She is absolutely precious! Adorable. She looks just like you!"....ya think? I laughed, of course, and said that I saw the resemblance as well. To some, this would have been offensive. For me, I was happy this lady recognized me as MK's mother. Funny, though, that this happened because all week I have been thinking about what does offend me as far as MK goes. And what does offend me is probably one of the smallest things, something that others may not even take note of. It is the reference to MK being Oriental. That word makes me cringe. She is ASIAN, not Oriental. To date, we haven't experienced any negative references or awkward situations with MK. Everyone smiles and notes how pretty/cute she is or how beautiful her skin is or how healthy she looks :) or what a sweet child she is....very positive experience. BUT the Oriental thing gets me.

Juggling

One year later, we are still learning. At this time, we are learning how to juggle the schedules of three children. Well, two schedules, three children. We do limit them to one sport per season each but even then we juggle. Gone are the days that we would say, you take that one and I will take this one. These days, it is you take those two and I will take this one, and at some point we meet up again. MK does not have a say in the matter and sometimes it goes along with her own schedule and other times, she is not the happiest of toddlers.

These are the good times......

Who's That Girl?

This photo just makes us laugh. So many times we will tell MK to look at us (or at our mouths) so that we can show her how to pronounce something.....I guess she is a little tired of that seeing as lately this is the look we have been getting.

So I think I have finally figured out pigtails, sort of....

Move over Barney.....MK has recently taken a liking to Sesame Street. We often hear her repeating her ABCs or counting her 123s while watching the show. And as you can see from this photo, she loves to find just the perfect spot to sit and watch tv.

Other than that, we have little to report. The boys are full swing (no pun intended) into baseball season. We often have practice and/or a game for at least one boy every evening of the week. Colin also began golf lessons this past week. He was less than excited to attend. And it didn't help when the instructor went over the class attendance and did not have Colin's name listed correctly....they had him listed as "Calvin". Alas, the name change was made and Colin came home eager to practice his newfound skills in our backyard. In Mason-Kate news, she is trying to say her name. It often comes out as "blah, blah, Kate" with the blah-blah being the part that just doesn't make sense....but then sometimes she manages to say "Mei-Mei Kate"....this is the cute, more understood version.

Easter 2009

Easter was absolutely beautiful. Ryan was off on Friday so we headed to the park. Saturday my parents came into town early. Gran and Pop took over the girls (MK and my niece, Emma) while Ryan and I traveled with the boys to Clemson for their spring football game. And Sunday we were awake before 6:00am, all except MK, eating lollipops and M&Ms! Our church service was wonderful. The children sang a special song and then the boys were involved in a skit...and I must admit they are very comfortable on the stage! Emma slept through most of the service, even with the band playing not too far away. And MK made her entrance at the end of the service when all was quiet....she was so excited as she giggled and yelled "Hi Mommy, Hiii!"....living up to her "noisy-Kate" name! Easter afternoon was spent with family and friends. How much better can it get?! We had a wonderful concoction of foods, including some marvelously made cakes and then the children were off on their Easter egg hunt. And the men, I might add, were totally entertained as they fixed their eyes upon the final rounds of the Masters golf tournament. Once again, I found myself thinking back to last year.....last Easter we were in China. The Easter buffet at the hotel included the delicacy Frog Legs.....yumm. And last year we worshipped with people who didn't even speak our language yet we all understood one another on that special day. Amazing!

Funtimes with Emma

My niece is staying with us for a few days. The boys are beside themselves. MK is constantly wanting to know where "Col-Col, Pryce and Emmie" are. So cute. They have all had campouts in the playroom each night, Scooby Doo has been played more times than I can count, the trampoline is a hit (which I must add, the boys have learned how to do a flip, no hands - and they question why I don't cheer for them on this accomplishment), we have eaten more junk than I thought existed, rules have been swept under the door and everyone is having a ball. Good times.

**And take note, it is Emma that we can thank for our most fantastic wardrobe.

A Day At (In?) the Zoo

Madness. That is the word that most describes our day visiting the zoo. Growing up, I babysat for a family with six children every summer. I got them up in the morning, got them dressed, did their hair, fed them breakfast, etc., etc., etc. We traveled. We traveled across the country. We traveled locally. I did it then, I can do it now, right? Maybe.

I knew it was not a good sign when I saw a line of cars on the interstate all getting off at the same exit. This particular exit leads to one destination only, the zoo. We arrive. We get inside and for a moment I thought I was at Disney during peak season. There were people everywhere, young and old. I looked at the six children I was responsible for and said calmly "ok, should we get separated, meet your party at the gift shop....I will come get you." Wide-eyed, the children all shook their heads and said "okay." Madness, I tell you.

So, we began our journey through the sea of people. Really I do not think that my children saw one animal. They did, however, study the zoo map with a fine tooth comb. They can tell you precisely how many steps to take from the sea lions to get to the gorilla exhibit, I am positive. Thankfully, too, they can tell you the location of every restroom and just how long the line was to get in. Those maps were great entertainment for my crew. They studied them standing up and they studied them sitting down, every detail. And I made sure during each study period that they took note of the gift shop, just in case.

I should say now that the zoo was, in fact, quite literally a ZOO. I am several years old, I have gone to this zoo every year, several times a year, all of my life. I know it like the back of my hand as do my children. I have never, ever, seen it like it was yesterday. And, quite honestly, it was nerve wracking. At one point I even looked around and questioned the safety of the crowd....we were in a building literally standing shoulder to shoulder with what seemed like millions of people. And you may ask, why stay? Well, as much as I personally wanted to leave, the six children that I had in tow were having a ball. They were immersed in their maps, planning their next step knowing that the chance of seeing whatever we were going towards was slim. They were playing games as they skipped along and dodged the people surrounding them. They laughed as I delved into higher math by counting above 5 to make sure I had everyone accounted for. I was frazzled, they were happy....1 to 6, I figured majority ruled. At the end of the day, I felt relief. At the end of the day, Pryce felt happiness as he said "well, that was a lot of fun!"....one child even said that it was better than her trip to Stone Mountain. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was safe. And everyone was happy.

The Masters

The Masters. Augusta National. Beautiful. Quiet. Peaceful. Media. Good, simple food. Logo merchandise. Crowds. Green. Manicured. Skipping golf balls. Old players, rookie players. Good times. The Masters.

Yesterday at 7:00am, we headed out into the frigid air to the Masters golf tournament practice rounds. In a city where the high averages 80 degrees this time of year, we, to put it into one word, froze. It was 39 degrees. Bundled up like little Arctic snow warriors, we trudged forward to the golf course. And, guess what? At 8:00am, what golfer wants to play golf in the windy, cold air? None. So, we did what everyone else did to stay warm, we shopped.

Around 9:00am, we had a welcomed visitor, the sun. And the sun brought friends, golfers. Ryan, who has been to the Masters numerous times, took the boys and I over to one of his favorite spots to watch as the golfers attempted to skip golf balls across a pond and onto the green. During our walk to this fav spot, a man jumped out of nowhere with a cameraman and a microphone. The boys eyes lit up. They were interviewed. Colin's classic remark was "I can tell you one thing, my lawn at home isn't THIS green!" And wouldn't you know, the boys now think they are famous. They honestly were up at 6:00am this morning watching the news again to see their featured segment.

(These pics above are Phil Mickelson attempting to skip the ball across the pond....you can see the ball as well as the water splashing after it has skipped in the water. Pretty cool.)

From Ryan's fav spot, we headed over to Amen Corner, the spot I wanted most to see. Again, Colin had a remark...."hey, that is that bridge that you see in pictures everywhere."

Our day was coming to an end when I mentioned the fact that we still had not seen Tiger Woods. Surely he had to be there somewhere, right?! Ryan suggested we go to the putting green and watch the golfers practice the putting shots. Good idea. So, up we went. There was a HUGE crowd. Jokingly I said I thought maybe Tiger was putting. Ryan said probably so. And wouldn't you know, behind the mobs of people and flashing lights, there was Tiger putting away. Now, we knew he was there but just when I thought there was no way to possibly see him, a very kind security man walked over, took the boys' hands and led them into the crowd of people. The boys had a special, front row seat to watch Tiger. Meanwhile, Ryan somehow managed to secure a spot in the crowd close enough to get great pix of Tiger. Me, being the mom, stayed close to the spot that the boys had entered into....I was a little nervous they would come out and we would get separated. As I stood there, I managed to see Tiger's golf bag, his coach, and his caddy. People were pushing and snapping pix and trying to get closer. It was almost maddening. Then, at a glance, I saw Tiger myself....that famous profile, that smile. Cool.

I had gotten word that Tiger was going to leave the putting green and go over to another spot with sand traps to practice. So, we quickly headed that way to secure a spot when the boys came out. Kind of cool....Tiger did come, the boys will tell of how they brushed up against him and how he just "didn't look happy to be there." Tiger struck up a conversation with Gary Player. Supposedly, this is Gary Player's last year at the Masters. I had to snap a few shots.

And then, it became obvious that word had gotten around to the Tiger fans as to his whereabouts. People were lining up to get a seat in the stands. Our friend, the sun, appeared to be gone for the day and our enemy, the wind, was growing stronger. We called it a day. What a fun experience for all of us!

And where, you ask, was MK? Back at home with G-Mom and G-Dad who came to spend the day with her. They stayed warm inside cooking for her babies, reading books and coloring.