*Gracie being a good sister

*watching my little butterfly girls wearing wings

*Madelyn jumping on the trampoline and saying, "I jump!"

*teaching Madelyn a little dance and seeing how intently she was concentrating

*watching Gracie practice with her jump rope

*Gracie's Cinnamon Gravy Soup that she made in the sandbox

*Madelyn pushing Gracie around in the laundry basket

*having a dance party with the girls

*finding Gracie laying down with a pillow, blanket, and books reading to herself, and Madelyn sitting in Gracie's chair talking on her phone

*Jim playing hide-and-seek with the girls while I made supper

*Madelyn hiding her eyes and counting

*Jim yelling, "Ready or not, here we come!" and Gracie yelling, "Alright! I'm in here!"

*watching our wedding and reception video

*Madelyn kissing Gracie's owie

*Gracie getting ready in the morning all by herself

*going to the park with friends

*painting mud pictures with watercolors

*going to the library

*Madelyn pulling her puppy behind her

*the fact that Gracie just needs needs NEEDS me all the time...one day I will miss this and want it back

*pulling Madelyn in the wagon in the driveway while Gracie ride her bike around us...we made so many loops in the driveway!

*Madelyn lying on ther stomach on the couch with a cushion on her back looking at the laptop

*Gracie's interest in stringing buttons and beads onto thread...she did it for a long time!

*listening to Gracie read books for a long time

*the girls playing in a "boat" of water in the backyard

*hearing Gracie count in spanish

*going on an imaginary journey with the girls

Reading in the Corner

*Madelyn calling me Mommy instead of Mama now

*"planting" seeds with Gracie at the Lake

*finding a new curriculum that I am so excited to use with Gracie this fall. It uses picture books as the springboard for learning, and I can use it in kindergarten if I continue to homeschool! Yay!

*having Jim home

*Gracie teaching Madelyn her colors with Skittles and reading alphabet books to her

*Gracie buying Skittles at the store with money she earned

*teaching Madelyn about apologizing after she hit Gracie in the face with a book. Not a favorite moment, but hearing Madelyn say "I sorry" was so sweet. And then Gracie saying, "I forgive you and still love you, Madelyn."

*Madelyn's interest in the alphabet and hearing her say the letters

*Madelyn reading the little alphabet books behind her chair in the corner

*Madelyn saying a prayer with her little hands folded

*Gracie's friendly spirit and sense of right from wrong

*finding Gracie combing Madelyn's hair and putting a bow in it

*finding Madelyn feeding Lily handfuls of dog food while I was helping Gracie get dressed. No wonder Lily and Madelyn are best friends

*reading to the girls as they both sat on my lap

*seeing how much joy little plastic balls bouncing in the hallway can bring to the girls

*fixing Easter dinner with Jim

*the girls' tea party with Jim

*Madelyn singing Baa Baa Black Sheep

*Gracie telling us she heard an animal sneezing outside her window when she woke up

*visiting with Joy

*the girls playing house and Gracie being the mommy and Madelyn being the baby

*watercolor painting with the girls