Today we bought Riley a bubble gun! Earlier this afternoon I found myself angry and hurt when some of the kids, in our yard, wouldn't share their bubbles with Riley. I informed them they either had to share their bubbles or play somewhere else. They left. And Riley cried and asked for bubbles, which we did not have. So tonight when we were roaming the isles at Target Ryne and I couldn't resist getting Riley a bubble gun. It made me realize that this won't be the last time that my daughter gets her feelings hurt by someone else. To be honest, it made me a little nervous to think about the times when I won't be able to just go out and purchase something to "fix" it. Nor do I want to always. I am so encouraged when I read other blogs of mothers who are raising children who make it seem so effortless. I am thankful for all the times that my mother taught me how to respond with love and kindness. I hadn't realized how difficult that must have been for her at times. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to playing outside tomorrow with our new toy. (of course now I am thinking we should have bought two, but that is another issue :)
On another note, It may be a few days before I can post about our spring break but my SIL Hannah has a few pictures on her blog.
And you should check out my friend Maryanne's blog. She put up some wonderful shots of my kiddos. (I didn't think we got a single one of Sam in his outfit from Singapore where he wasn't crying, but apparently she did :)

Weekend Trip

(This picture is from our couple's retreat last weekend. I didn't have time to blog about it but I liked this picture)

I had such a great trip back home this past weekend. The trip was planned around a shopping day with the girls and visiting with our friends who have recently moved to Singapore! I am actually packing right now to head out again but this time for Phoenix! I knew if I didn't put up some pictures it might never get done. Greg and Dara brought back some gifts for us and the kids. I LOVED them. Thank yall SO much.

I will come back and write in more about the pictures but for now, I hope you enjoy the kids in their adorable gifts. Now I am off to enjoy the rest of my spring break!!!!!!!!!!

123,456 Side Rock Step, Side Rock Step

This past Saturday Ryne suprised me with a WONDERFUL night out.

We went ballroom dancing!

We went on a double date with some friends from work and school!

We are concentrating really hard...

This was actually a very snazzy spin!

The coordination was totally planned!

I have been wanting to go ballroom dancing for SO long. When I was pregnant with Sam I would leave flyers of the monthly events around the house hoping that we would go. Ryne did not think he would like it at all and timing never worked out so I was complety taken off guard when he let me in on the suprise Friday night.

Each month a husband and wife give free lessons followed by a 2 hour dance with all sorts of ballroom music. This month the lesson was the Waltz. We loved learning the steps. We wish we had time to learn even more! We through in some cool spins, in's-n-out's (?) and a rotaty thing (?) :) They even split up the evening with two performances of the waltz- a father/daughter duo and a small youth group. It was great.

Ryne said that he can't wait til the next time for us to go back. I can't wait to see what we will learn next. Although, sitting on the side while watching everyone else dance was a lot of fun too. I am glad we are starting to dance together. I hope it is something we continue to do together for the rest of our lives....

Dance, dance, dance, - Dance, dance, dance, all night long...