Wearing of the GREEN!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

We don't really celebrate this holiday much in our house, but with little children, it's something fun to do. The boys are all decked out in their green shirts today. Ruthie wore her yellow flower shirt that has a green stem on it. She wanted to coordinate but not clash with the boys. ha!! (Such a girl!!) The kids blew bubbles out of shamrock-shaped bottles that their Nana sent. Bubbles, of course are always a big hit!

We also took this opportunity to talk about St. Patrick who was from England and was a missionary in Ireland. He brought the message of Christianity to the Irish people. While the holiday message has been diluted quite a bit over the years, it is nice to focus on the true meaning and on the spreading the gospel. We learned that St. Patrick used the shamrock as an illustration of the Trinity--God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Knowing that, the shamrock becomes a much more precious symbol.

The kids enjoyed sorting Lucky Charms cereal for snack. They found Irish hats with shamrocks on them, rainbows, hearts, etc. This activity was a big hit since after they counted, they got to eat them!! Levi loves to sort and eat-two of his favorite activities combined! Oh boy!! :) FYI--We counted more shooting stars and rainbows than any other symbol.

Levi also took the opportunity today to get to know our dog, Gingerbread. He was afraid of her the first few days he was here at the house, but he has definitely warmed-up to her now. I think it helps that Theo and Ruthie pet her. Now, he pets her as well. She is such a good dog and doesn't seem bothered by the additional "loud" child that has joined our family. Ha!! The dog takes it all in stride. :) Levi played with Gingerbread today. It was really sweet to see them together. They were checking each other out. I think this is the first time Gingerbread has even sniffed Levi in the 3 weeks we've been home. :) She really does "go with the flow".

I included a sweet picture of the kids with their Daddy (Rich) that I took this weekend. They were all hugging on their daddy, so I grabbed the camera. It was so sweet to see them altogether--like they have always known each other as siblings. I am so thankful for the love that is shown between Theo, Ruthie, and Levi. Yes, they fight, tease, and have trouble sharing at times, but mostly they love, hug, and kiss on each other and play nicely all day long. What a blessing that they get along and truly love each other!! The fighting and teasing just reinforces the fact they are truly related, huh? :)