Mad Scientist

The kids got up this morning ready to play in the kitchen. Scientist, they said they were. Lots of bowls, spoons, water, soap, peanut butter, and towels were used for their science experiments. Just so you know...peanut butter does not float and looks really gross in water!

Worms? Really?????

Mallory came rushing inside yesterday afternoon. She and Mason had been playing golf in the front yard, but their attention had been diverted by another activity. She needed two plastic bags and some plastic gloves. When I asked why, she replied, "Because we found worms and they need a safe place to live." When I asked where the worms were, she said "In the ground but they aren't happy. Mason dug them up with his golf club, so they need a new place to live."

I obliged with the two plastic bags but I didn't have gloves. She would hold the bag while Mason used the other bag to cover his hand so it didn't touch the worms. They spent 30 mins. digging up the yard looking for worms to give them a new home.

Mallory shows Castor her new pets. She wanted to bring them in the house last night so they wouldn't get cold. Then she wanted to offer them water so they wouldn't be thirsty.

Mason wanted to dig but he didn't want to touch the worms.

How many are there??????

Mason & Mallory will be a sibling to a little......G I R L !!!!

Just after I found out that I was pregnant with our third child, I was watching a TV show. The couple was expecting and they wanted to tell their families at the same time. However, they were from big families and the families lived in two different cities. The Today Show got involved and planned a special event for them. The producers of the show had a cake made for the couple, and the inside of the cake was dyed to match the gender of the baby. The couple did not know what they were having. Once they cut the cake, they saw pink and everyone knew at the same time that the baby was a girl.

I thought this was such a cool idea. Since we already had one boy and one girl, it seemed fitting to have this child be a surprise. When I told my mom and Christian about my idea, they were instantly on board. We agreed that my mom would be the only person to find out the sex of the baby from the ultrasound. Then she could tell the bakery how to make the cake. The suspense was horrible but we managed to make it for 2 1/2 months without knowing.

This past Saturday was our party. We invited our closest friends and our immediate families. There was a good crowd, about 35, and everyone couldn't wait until the big reveal. This was a great picture of my growing family. For once, everyone is smiling and looking at the camera.

My mom and I went to a shower for a relative a few weeks ago. At her shower, someone had given her a cake knife/server set with a beautiful poem. The poem basically talks about how the little girl can use the knife on her 1st birthday cake and every birthday thereafter. Then she can use this special knife on her wedding day to cut her wedding cake. It was so special and we loved the idea. We discussed that it could be used for either a boy or a girl, so the hunt was on for a special knife/server set for my new little one. Mom read the poem (which she rewrote to be non-gender specific) and everyone was so emotional.

The big cut on the front of the cake immediately let us know that our newest baby would be a little girl. Everyone screamed and clapped when they saw the cake. It was overwhelmingly emotional. I would definitely recommend doing this to anyone who wants to have a special moment for their baby. The kids could hardly wait to find out what their new sibling was going to be.

We had prepped the kids for the different colors and what they meant. Mason and Mallory both wanted a baby brother and were hopeful to see the color blue. When the cake turned out pink, Mason burst into tears. He cried big alligator tears for several minutes because he knew what the pink color meant. Christian had to console him and hold him until he got past the initial shock. He still is hopeful that the next baby will be a brother.

My new little girl...Magan Emerson Lawrence. I'm so excited!

Mason finally recovered from his shock but he's still not overly thrilled. He still wants a brother but he tells us that he'll love his little sister.

Overall, it was the best party we've ever had. We will definitely do this again and I'd recommend this kind of party to anyone. It was so much fun to have our family and friends with us for such a special moment. Thanks to my mom who hosted the party and did a GREAT job keeping the secret. Thanks to Emily for the great pictures.

A budding photographer??

So, it had been a long time since I'd blogged therefore I had a lot of pictures on my camera that needed to be downloaded. As I was doing that, I discovered these pictures of various items. Recently Mallory has been asking to use my camera. She's figured out how to use the wide/trim button and also how to review the pictures. Here are a few of the cute ones that I found on my computer. I love how she poses her subjects and gets right on their level to capture them. Maybe I'll have my own professional photographer one day.

Fall Field Trip

The kids from GCA took their first Fall field trip a few weeks ago to the local pumpkin patch. It was called Corn Dawgs and there was so much for the kids to do. It was kind of cold, and dreary, but it didn't start raining until we got ready to leave. The kids had a lot of fun. I took some really great pictures (if I do say so myself) but I have to be careful which ones I put on the blog because there are other children in the pictures.

The kids rode the tractor pull. Each child had their own cart and they were pulled along by a huge tractor. The ride lasted atleast 10 minutes and then we had to convince the kids to get off. They all wanted a second turn.

This was a huge three story slide that went through the side of a mountain. The kids had to climb to the top of the mountain and then slide down this great big tube. We must have spent atleast 30 minutes at this one activity. They couldn't get enough of it. Plus there were lights inside. It looked like a lot of fun!


Mallory, along with the rest of class, really enjoyed climbing on the haystacks. They had a bunch of hay bales piled up on top of these huge pipes. The kids could jump off of one side into a pit of strewn hay and then run out the other end of the pipe. It was really fun to watch them jump off of the side without much caution.

This was our last activity of the day. They had cart paths that the kids could race around. These pedal carts were a hit with the kids, so much so that they wanted Santa to bring them one.

Mallory was really good at it and kept up with the other kids.

Trick or Treat

It has been a tradition the last few years that we have Halloween with our friends from Supper club. AnnMarie and Tom live in downtown Conyers and there is lots of Trick or Treating to do in there neighborhood. My parents come to see the kids and AnnMarie's parents also join us. This year it was cold and rainy so the kids had to bundle up and carry umbrellas. Christian was smart enough to remember the red wagon so the kids could ride instead of walk the whole time. I opted to stay home with the "old folks" and pass out candy. I didn't feel like making the long walk. By this time, the baby was pretty heavy to walk too far.
The kids love to Trick or Treat but the last two years they have had more fun passing out the candy at the door. This year it got a little stressful because everyone wanted to give to each kid that came to the door. Mason, Mallory and Gracie were pushing each other to get to the door first. You see me, and my pregnant stomach, standing by to referree. But all in all, they had a great time
Mallory and Gracie stuck with each other this year and did some door to door treating. Mallory was sleepy by the time they left the house, so she was really tired by the time they got home. Christian said she only got out of the wagon at a few houses. Otherwise, she just watched. Her bucket wasn't nearly as full as Masons or Gracie's.
My Clone Trooper waiting to go for the long walk. He picked out this costume at the store, but by the time Halloween had rolled around, he just wanted to wear his Spiderman costume. I said it was fine with me, but that I would take the Clone Trooper costume back to the store. That was the only way to get him in it. In the end, he had a good time.
The girls got a ride from Christian in the wagon. They didn't walk very much, so Mason had to do most of the walking. You can see the rain drops in the picture and they said it started raining pretty hard part of the time. The kids had a great time anyway.
Everyone looked so cute this year. Mallory was a witch, Gracie was Fancy Nancy and Mason was a Clone Trooper. The kids have a great time with each other every year.

Fall Fest

We got the Fall season kicked off at the church Fall Festival. The theme this year was Disney: The Magic of God's Kingdom. All the kids were dressed up and the Trunk or Treat was designed around the Disney theme. I had a display for my Circle of Friends group and we had a small fishing "bowl" where the kids had to fish for Nemo in our pond. Everyone got candy, of course, but the kids had fun playing in the water.

Mason and Mallory had a blast. Mallory spent most of the time with her friend Katy, and Mason wondered around on his own (which was a little scary). The festival is always a good time and this year they estimate that over 2000 people attended during a two hour period. That is a great opportunity for us to ministry to a lot of unchurched people.

Mallory and Katy had fun at Ms. Pauline's Bouncy Race.















Mason's favorite place to be...the top of a giant slide. He must have spent almost the whole two hours on this slide.



















My friend, Stephanie, giving Mason some candy. Other than the slides, he stayed with her most of the time because she had cool "Cars" toys.