The Growing Caldwell Family

Charlie finds a lot of enjoyment in using his electronics. We try to limit the time on the internet, but he enjoys lots of games and does need it for some of his school work. After he ignored our conversation a out the importance of practicing spelling before his test, I made the choice that he would have to be off his electronics over the weekend. He cried and looked very pitiful.  When he came home from school, he was disappointed to learn that Friday evening counts for the weekend. Then, he started thinking about other things he can do and remembered a science experiment set he received for Christmas. Here he blew up a balloon using the carbon dioxide given off by the combining of baking soda and vinegar.  Here he mixed up a slime like substance that turned solid from the warmth of your hand and liquid as it sat in the bowl. Pretty cool! Once he got into the groove, he told me that it is fun to not be on his electronics and he was glad he was off them! Just like Charlie to take a co

 Extra! Extra! Read all about it! I wish I had a video of Sarah Graves flipping through our local newspaper in an effort to avoid doing her homework. She was flipping through reading headlines and then got so excited shouting, "That's me! That's me!" while pointing at herself in the picture! Glad she gets to enjoy her moment in the spotlight!

A short Mardi Gras season and we find ourselves kicking off Lent. Aaron had a stomach bug for Mardi Gras, so we didn't really celebrate it. Glad that the kids could have chapel and receive their ashes to help remind them of the real purpose for this time of year, strengthening our relationship with God.   

We had a good time celebrating all the love we have for each other.  These two are the biggest loves! We took time to get some nice pics of everyone.  I had fun decorating the table to make our brunch feel special.  A valentine and some chocolates for each and the kids had a few extra treats! We had a yummy spread! I made strata, grits, and different kinds of muffins. Mom brought a variety of fruit and Jeanne' made some delicious pastries! Had to get an up close shot of these cute pastries in cherry and nutella flavors with their cute heart designs!  

The kids were excited to have friends over for a sleepover on a Friday night. We didn't have any big plans, just time to play and hang out.  Charlie and Harrison were excited to have time for vide games! They also had fun sneaking up on the girls with Nerf guns! The girls cooked some yummy crepes for a late night snack! They also made up some slime! The kids had a good time with their friends and it was definitely a nice way to create some fun on a rainy weekend!   

The kids were excited to decorate boxes for collecting valentines at school. Charlie fashioned a double decker option that could hold more candy and trinkets! He envisioned it to look like a bakery box. When Charlie has a vision in mind, he has a hard time letting go or accepting any alterations to it. Sis fashioned hers to look like her favorite animal, an elephant. I thought her use of doilies for ears was a cute idea!  

 This has been a year of remodel for our house. It is about 25 years old and many parts needed a facelift.  We started with our master bathroom and bedroom. The shower was leaking and that was the catalyst to get us on the remodeling effort.  The brown paint and outdated gold trim made it feel outdated.  I love this hexagon floor tile! So much better than our builder grade square tile! Many thanks to Jeanne' for helping us with the design! The shower is bigger, has a bench, and the tub has a lovely surround that works great as a bench!  We gave our bedroom a refresh too! We treated ourselves to a new bed, which took a while to arrive, but I absolutely love it! With that project behind us, we started to think about the kitchen. Everything in it was original, except the island that we changed out a few years ago.  Since one thing leads to another, we opted to get rid of all the old and start over. The footprint stayed mostly the same, but the island was moved. Moving everything to th