Nature Walk

We went on a nature walk before dinner with Grandma and Papa Demboski. It was beautiful outside. The sun was warm and the breeze was cool. The kids were happy and there were no phone calls or demands from the rest of the world. It felt good to be outside and just be.

 I am trying to embrace moments and enjoy them. I am trying to put my phone down and look up more. I want to cherish these moments with my babies. I want to hear their conversations, answer their questions, and watch them discover.

 Then there are moments like this. A dose of reality amongst a peaceful evening. There are no bathrooms around so we improvise. She is always such a good sport.

 Allison has been slightly obsessed with me lately. She is upset when I go to work at night and she wants to hold me, cuddle me, touch me, love me. I just remind myself that she will never love me more than she does right now.  She is the one who challenges me the most. Her passion for life will move mountains someday, Until then I need to help her learn how to use her passion wisely.

 Paul made me promise to not delete the pictures he took of me. This is one of about a dozen that he snapped of me on our walk. I am not wearing makeup and I wish my sunglasses weren't on my head. But I am proud of who I am and how I look. I am accepting the fact that I really am beautiful. I want my kids to see me as a strong and nurturing woman. I want to be confident and teach them how to be confident and love themselves. I am leading by example.

 All four with their eyes closed. Guess that is what I get for trying to get this beautiful sunset light on them.

He Is Risen!

This weekend was simply beautiful. We went to Easter services at church yesterday and enjoyed the festivities afterwards. Later we dyed eggs in the backyard after the sun went down. The kids went to bed anxiously awaiting the Easter bunny's arrival. Before they closed their eyes for the night I had each of them tell me why we celebrated Easter. I was very happy to hear their little brains describe the resurrection.
This morning they had a great egg hunt and played with one another. The weather was amazing and they were all happy. We had a big yummy brunch with peirogies, keilbasi, pancakes and fruit. Ashton John enjoyed his first peirogie this morning. After one exciting bite he quickly went back to eating his banana pancakes. I am beyond blessed to have this amazing family.

Sunday afternoon

Today was a much needed afternoon at home. Allison and I did meal planning which consisted of 1. Lasagna 2. Chicken and summer vegetable tostadas 3. Sweet and sour pineapple chicken 4. Chicken curry

The kids and I went to Costco and Ralphs and got everything we needed for the week. I chopped all the veggies for my dinners. Ashley and I washed and bagged all of the fruit for lunches this week. The kids helped prep and I made dinner for tonight, all before 1pm. The kids weren't allowed to play on screens today. They let their imagination run wild, played dress up and went hunting for spiders. They did chores in between costume changes and the laundry was done. It was a beautiful day, a much needed day to be at home loving my babies, tending to my home and planning our week.

Ballet Folklorico

I could watch Allison dance and perform everyday of my life. She is so brave to dance on stage in front of her friends and peers and strangers. Ballet folklorico is an after school dance group that is run by the teachers at Patrick Henry. Allison was lucky enough this year to have had her name drawn in the lottery of first graders to be able to join this dance group. She practiced every Wednesday after school for months for this performance and she did amazing. She had a lot of fun and of course she was the best one on stage and by far the cutest.