Spring break fun!!

We had a little stay-cation for Spring break this year and we really packed in the fun.  This was our family's first official Spring Break since this is Clare's first year of school and it just made me look forward to summer.  I love having all three of my kiddos home all day and not having to run around all morning.

 

We had my family (mom, dad, Aunt Tina, and cousin Emily) vising from Easter Sunday til Thursday and LD's family (both his sisters, 2 nieces, a nephew, and a great nephew) vising from Thursday til Sunday.  The girls were SO excited!!

 

 

I wanted to make sure we did some really fun things over the week, though I know everyone would have been content just hanging at home.  I haven't quite gotten adventurous enough to do anything except our basics (like Chick Fil a) with everyone, so since I had extra hands I wanted to do some fun things. 

Our first stop of the week was Ray's Splash Planet.  We hadn't been there yet and the girls LOVED it!!

It's definitely something I can't do on my own, but a place we will visit again for sure.

Cole was a trooper just hanging out in the VERY hot pool area.

 

During the course of the week we ate at Chick Fil a (twice!) and cook out (twice!) since both sets of guests requested our fav fast food joints :)  We also stopped at the park to play since the weather was beautiful.

 

The second half of the week our big fun activity was Monkey Joes...another place I'm not ready to tackle on my own.

 

But since we had cousins visiting...big cousins :)  we could do it!

 

And we hit up our neighbors trampoline for some afternoon jumping!

 

And after a good long week of lots of playing, EVERYTHING needed a good cleaning!

 

And after two days being back in the routine...I am really ready for lazy summer days!!

Easter 2013

We have had the BEST Easter weekend.  We started the weekend off Friday night with a quick early dinner and then Next Level had a Good Friday service.  It was awesome!!  It just set the tone of the weekend for me.  It is also incredibly exciting this year with Clare being a little older and somewhat understanding the reason we celebrate Easter.  We were able to have a lot of fun conversations with her about how much Jesus loves her!

Saturday we went to the Stallings Egg Hunt and spent the afternoon playing at home and getting ready for Easter.  Saturday night LD and I watched The Passion of the Christ and I had not seen the movie since it came out in the theater.  I really felt like I needed a gut wrenching reminder of how much Jesus sacrificed for me.  I feel like its always hard and uncomfortable to watch...you just want to turn your head because the gore and mockery is so bad.  But there comes a day when I need to remember, I need to feel uncomfortable about how much was paid for my sins so that it is not taken for granted.  It is so much easier to read it in the Bible than to imagine him as a human being feeling the thorns on his head, and the hammering of the nails into his hands and feet.  But sometimes...I need to remember.

Sunday I could not have been more ready to head to church and celebrate that He had risen!  But, not before the Easter bunny came and left some goodies :)

 

Then everyone got on their Sunday best to head to church!  

 

A coworker for LD's came with us to church and also took us out to a delicious brunch afterwards!

This is our first holiday as a family of 5!!

Then after naps we had our friends the Monza's over for an Easter egg hunt and dinner.

 

 

The girls loved finding their eggs and we have a great yard for hiding them.

Elle and Maddy are best little buddies and we just love them!  Thankful to have such sweet friends!

 

More fun adventures to come as we have family coming in tonight!!

 

Our Easter Prep & Egg Hunt

I haven't been the greatest blogger in the last few weeks and I think its just because we are settling into normal.  I am not feeling a great need to document every time I leave the house with all three children along because it is finally becoming just another daily task. 

 

With that said, we have been busy getting ready for Easter!!

 

The girls made these cute egg bouquets and I made a larger one for centerpieces on our table.  It was a super easy and fun craft.

 

And we colored Easter eggs.  I am learning everything is done easier on the floor than at the table.

 

Coloring eggs is one of those tasks, much like carving a pumpkin that daddy has no desire to participate in...so we do them while he is at work.  He is not the craft type!

Then we had a fun day planned Saturday and went to the Stallings Easter Egg Hunt.  The rained threatened our fun, but thankfully the sun came out.

Cole was a trooper and just hung out with daddy.  I think LD is loving carrying around a boy that can support his favorite team :)

I love this sweet picture.  Every time they hold hands on their own I am reaching for my camera.  I feel like I need documentation that they love each other on days when they are not getting along so well.  They really are sweet friends.

 

 

Before the egg hunt there was a craft table, a few little games where you could win candy, and a bounce house that got a little crazy, so we decided to steer clear of that!

We also could meet the Easter bunny, which Elle did not like.  This picture doesn't have sound, so it doesn't look as bad as it actually was.  I will admit this is a slightly scary bunny, but Elle was so freaked out.  She watched to see where he was the entire time we were outside.  She was gripping my shirt so hard.  I'm slightly worried as to what will come when we go to Disney World in October.

 

I didn't get any pictures of the actual hunt, which is a bummer because it was a sight to see.  There were baseball diamonds taped off that had hundreds of eggs laid out. When they said go all of the kids ran and filled their buckets.  I was feeding Cole and LD went in with the girls and it was chaos of course.  Next thing you know poor Clare is standing in the middle of the ball field sobbing.  She came walking out and said she did not want any eggs. I don't think she was prepared to fight for her eggs.  But after you picked up all your (empty) eggs (yes, they were empty), you traded them in for a huge lollipop.  The girls of course were thrilled.

 

 



Elle's first haircut

 

A friend of mine asked the other day if my girls have had hair cuts.  I started thinking, Man Elle could REALLY use a haircut.  She has very short hair and its really thin, but it was getting pretty straggly.

 

 

So we made a morning of it and went tot he cutest little barber shop in town and Elle was very excited!

Clare told her all about it.  You get to sit in a car, watch tv, and have a lollipop when you are done.  I think they would go once a week if their hair grew fast enough!

 

 

And since we were already going, Clare was WAY overdue for a trim.  She actually got 1 1/2 inches off and you can barely tell!

Elle's hair has this crazy wave in it that will drive her crazy when she's older, but I love that the little ends are all even now.

 

And Cole was a trooper and slept the whole time!

We decided to finish off our fun day at Chick-fil-A for lunch.  This is the ONLY restaurant I would ever take all three kiddos to by myself.  And the reason is because they have mom's valet, where you go through the drive thru, order and pay...and then go in and they have your meal on a table for you.  Plus this chick fil a is across the street from our house and has an indoor play place.  I think we frequent this place once a week and the sweet ladies that walk around refill our drinks and bring us kids ice creams after the girls eat.  It is the BEST!!!!

 

 

Cole is a month!!

I can already promise I will not be posting monthly of life with Cole. Oh, how I wish I could, but time is just not going to allow it :) But, Cole's first month as a part of our family is definetely something to be documented!

 

 

If Cole was anyone's first child they would laugh at parents who were struggling and plan to have 10 more children.  Seriously, he really is incredibly laid back and a super easy baby.  He has yet to have a crying fit (knock on wood!), and we really haven't heard much crying from him at all.  He kind of yells a few times when he needs his paci or is hungry and then just waits til someone can help him.  I think God knew that he had two older and slightly demanding sisters and his parents desperately needed a laid back little boy.

 

 

 

Cole is so incredibly sweet.  We have yet to see a full smile, but he has tons of facial expressions and has made small attempts to give us a grin.  We think he is going to have blue eyes and are keeping our fingers crossed they stay blue!

 

 

Cole has been eating easily on a three hour time schedule all day and all night.  He is still eating at 11, 2, and 5 like clock work at night and not doing too much stretching, but he eats for 5-7 minutes and goes right back down, so it really isn't bad at all.    He loves to be swaddled and has learned to take good long naps during the day, even with the girls running and yelling around him.

 

 

This is Cole's first little buddy, Henry, who was born 2 days after him.  They were just a few ounces different at birth, but we got them together at one month and Henry is one POUND bigger than Cole.  I cannot believe it.  We need to fatten this little boy up!  He is going to be long and lean like his daddy I think.

 

Sweet Cole, we cannot wait to see what personality emerges from you!  You have already stolen all of our hearts and we cannot imagine life without you!

 

One year in heaven

It is incredibly hard for me to comprehend that one year ago today, Clare's sweet little friend, LD's funny little buddy, and a little boy I adored was taken from this world.  It's been a year since Joey was here in our presence and a year since cancer took his life.  So much has happened in the year and as I reflect on the time without him, I cannot help but see some of the beauty Joey left in his wake.

Almost exactly 11 months after Joey's death, our sweet little Cole was born.  When LD and I found out we were having a boy and started talking about names, we had no doubt the first name would be Cole, as it was always the name we both loved for a boy.  It didn't take long for us to decide to choose the middle name Joseph, after a little boy we both adored.  But, the reason we chose the name Joseph had very little to do with Joey's memory and much more to do with who he was.

Even as a spunky little six year old, Joey was incredibly courageous and had a passion for life. Everything he did, he did it to the fullest, whether it was playing make believe or hiking through the woods.  If he was doing something, he did it with all of his heart.  Joey also LOVED Jesus...not just a little, a LOT!!!  Joey knew that he was created to love and please Jesus, even as a small little boy.  Joey was strong, witty, and incredibly joyful.  LD and I decided to choose the middle name Joseph with a desire that our sweet Cole would grow up with a heart like Joey's, one that possessed a love for Jesus and a love for life that shone brightly in his eyes and through his smile.

When we asked our friends if we could use Joey's name, they of course said yes.  But that is not the end of the story. 

I remember finding out we were having a boy and feeling fear that we would lose our friends because of the pain they were feeling.  It would have been easy, and so acceptable for them to withdraw from us because of the ache they would feel watching us have a son.  I was fearful because I adored them and did not want to lose them as friends, but I also knew that my heart had to be prepared because this was a pain unlike anything I had experienced.

Over the nine months I was pregnant, I received sweet gifts from my dear friend, gifts that showed me her love for me, her acceptance of me, and most of all her desire to be my friend in spite of the pain it caused her.

On the day of Cole's birth LD and I received the most beautiful and selfless gift I have ever received in my entire life.  We were presented with a little lovey, a blanket, that had been made out of Joey's polo shirts, which were his security blanket, for Cole.  I cannot begin to express the gratitude, heartache and love I experienced at the same time.  My sweet friend chose to push through her heartache to show love for me and my son.

Over the last year I have experienced the most beautiful friendship and selfless love.  Today as I reflect on the sweet four years our family had to get to know Joey, I know that being a part of his journey has been one of the greatest joys and sorrows I will ever experience. 

Joey - We miss you so very much, but have no doubt you have enjoyed every second of your first year in heaven!  We love you sweet boy!

Snow day!!!

Saturday LD was traveling home from Michigan and mid morning snow started falling.  Clare was so excited and wanted to go outside, but nothing was sticking, and it was cold and muddy.  That, on top of the fact it was just me with the three of them made it easy to say no.  Needless to say, Clare had a rough morning.

Thankfully, daddy arrived home around 2pm, and by 5:30 everything was covered with snow!! This was Elle's very first snow and they were so thrilled to be able to head outside with daddy!

 

We have an awesome hill next to our house so the girls attempted "sledding" on an upside down garbage can lid, yes, redneck I know.  But there really wasn't enough snow to make it work.

 



 

So Clare was happy to attempt snow angels instead :)

 

With the help of daddy they ended the afternoon building this spectacular snow girl....she has seen better days!  They look cold and miserable, but I promise they really did have fun!!

 

Yay for snow...now I'm happy to not see it again til next year :)