Florida, part I

Way back in Febraury, we loaded up, and I do mean loaded, up the car and headed to Florida for 9 days. The first leg of our trip was to Florida College, the place where we met and began to fall in love. The place of our first forays into adulthood. A then 2 year school that has now evolved to offer many 4 year degrees, it was time for Aaron's 10 year reunion. We were excited to go back. It had been a long time for both of us...never as a married couple had we walked that campus, but now we returned with rings on our fingers and 2 children in tow.



A late night meet-and-greet of his class and we were exhausted. Our drive down took hours longer than it should have, and it rained the.entire.way. Not so much fun. We had about 2 hours to eat, get the children settled, and primp before we needed to leave the hotel. It was a rush, but we made it.



We got to spend time with our dear friends, Matt and Candee. It had been too long! Living on seperate coasts will do that though. (Not going to be much longer though...they are coming our way in July! Yay!) Aaron and Matt were suitemates and Matt was one of Aaron's groomsmen.



Suite 9....from the left....Richard (Aaron's actual roomate and another groomsman), Clay, Manly, Aaron, and Matt. Only 3 of their suitemates were not in attendace. They were like giddy schoolgirls when they saw each other. I have often wondered what really went on in that suite...but then I decided I probably don't really want to know. I will add that we were all especially surprised to see Clay...his wife was pregnant and due 2 weeks (I think) from the event. What an amazing trooper she was!



In front of their suite. That dorm isn't used to house students anymore. They have built a brand new one to replace it and it's super amazing. College students are living well now. Ha!



In front of my old room! The building was the newest on campus when I lived there. I've heard that current students refer to it as "the old dorm that smells." Sigh. Life sure does move on, huh?

Back On!

Hello, hello! I have jumped back on the blogging bandwagon. Life has been so busy lately, and we've struggled with sickness off and on since February. We finally got the software uploaded to this computer, so I am back!

I don't know where to start! I think I will just start with Easter weekend, and then back track in future posts.

We had a good Easter. Caroline really enjoyed everything...she especially liked seeing the bunny at the mall. We did not pay to have a picture or to sit on the bunny's lap, I mean she literally loved seeing him when we would walk by and wave. We have been having lunch at the mall about once a week with some friends, so we have seen him several times. Poor bunny. We must have looked like the jackpot walking toward him. 4 strollers, one a double (mine)...he actually stood up and waved. His little grassy knoll was empty. No children were visiting him at that time. We waved and walked right on by. I think I saw his face fall through the mask.





We hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at our house the Saturday before Easter. We had a good mix of older kids and younger kids from church and they all had a blast. We decided to have a Pinata. They LOVED it.





It was a really fun day. I loved being with all our friends and seeing the children play together and enjoy God's creation truly brought joy to my heart.



The kids enjoyed finding their Easter baskets at the foot of the stairs. Caroline spotted them and said, "Wow." Ha!





We had a hard time getting a good picture of the kids in their church clothes, so here are just a few! Some are better than others...I've just come to grips with that for now.

the sickies and the new computer....

I have not abandoned this blog. While I feel it sounds like a trite excuse, we have been sick for what feels like months and months, and we have a new computer that does not have the software loaded to transfer pictures from camera to computer. I will return, but for now, I hope your family is well and not sick like we are!

The Children

I am constantly amazed on a daily basis at how different my children are. They were born to the same parents, we're basically parenting the same way, but yet, Landon is 100% his own person.



He had his 6 month check up this morning. My main question is, where has the time gone? He's doing great. A little on the small side percentile-wise, but his doctor is very pleased with his growth and he's hitting all his developmental milestones right on target.



He is completely enamored with his big sister. He adores her. If she's not around, he is crankier than when she is. It's really funny that I can tell a difference in his mood just by her presence! So sweet and precious.

The above picture was taken on New Year's Eve. She picked out her own outfit and was very specific about what she wanted wear. *sigh* She's a girl all right! I had to force her to wear the white shirt under that dress. I just didn't feel like spaghetti straps in 40 degree weather were a good idea...even if we were going to be inside. She wanted her hair done like Princess Tiana, and she wore the Tiana socks she got in her stocking. Sweet and creative girl. She's a joy.



Her imagination is wondrous and exciting! She loves to play pretend and makes up songs and story lines for her toys to follow. One of her favorite things to do right now is "cook" and then "eat" on the "white table" (the art table in her room). She will make "cakes" (stackable rings and block creations) and then drink "coffee" from her tea cup. I love listening to her and seeing her line up her toys. It really brings back childhood memories from my own play days.



Landon is loving finding new things around him. He loves to play with his feet and he likes to play with and chew on regular kitchen items like plastic cups and spoons. He enjoys being in the kitchen and Caroline and I will sing and narrate what we're doing for him. I love to hear him squeal and laugh. He still has his difficult and cranky moments, but things with him are getting a lot better as he gets older, which is bittersweet. He's growing. He changes daily and I know before long I'll be looking at a one year old, then a three year old, then five, and so on. Life does fly with rapid speed.

Enjoy your weekend!

Christmas

And...one month later...

We had a wonderful Christmas. We spent lots of time baking, singing, wrapping, and just loving seeing the season through the eyes of our children.





Caroline loved everything about the season. She loved the tree, Santa, each and every decoration, all the stockings, wrapping gifts, the food, just everything. She also enjoyed spending a lot of time with family and friends and staying up wwwaaayyy past her bedtime several nights! Landon really liked looking at the lights on the tree and loved watching everything his big sister did. He however, did not enjoy the change in his routine so much, but we made it through.


(opening a gift with Ms Deborah)




(Yes, GrandKev is a KISS fan, and no we will not be encouraging Caroline to be one.)



We had a Pop-Up Eric Carle "Christmas Countdown" advent calendar this year that Caroline really liked. This was the first time in my life I've had a Christmas countdown. We didn't do this tradition in my family while I was growing up, but Aaron has fond memories of his, and I got the calendar for free so we decided to do it. Caroline had a good time with it each night and Aaron was diligent about counting each day with her. She was just up to counting to 20, but now she can go to 25. :)





Christmas morning was fun. Caroline had a good time opening her gifts and looking in her stocking. Landon was pretty indifferent, but also had a good morning.





This light-up Santa is from my childhood. Mom and Dad had him out at their house and just like last year, he was a favorite of Caroline's.



We had a wonderful time with Aaron's extended family....we even had a white Christmas!











A truly wonderful holiday was had by our family!

Birthdays

We've had 2 birthdays around here in the past few months. Caroline turned 3 and Aaron turned the big 3-0! We had parties for both. Caroline's was ladybug themed. Aaron's had no theme.







I did not make those adorable cookies, which I gave out instead of goody bags. I did make the cupcakes and they took a lot longer than I was expecting! A definite labor of love, and she loved them, so I loved making them!





I think these pictures say it all. Birthday parties are fun and exciting, but are also tiring and overwhelming. Happy 3rd birthday to my sweet girl!

I plotted and planed Aaron's birthday party for months beforehand. I wanted it to be a surprise and I wanted it on his actual birthday, which is really close to Christmas. I knew some of our friends would be out of town, but I also knew that some wouldn't be, so I planned it for his actual big day.

For the 30 days leading up to his birthday, his sister planned a huge and touching gift for him. She contacted family and friends and asked them to send in pictures, stories, objects...anything that they had that meant something to Aaron. She got so much great stuff! Each day for 30 days he had an envelope to open for that day. Each day was from someone, and held the picture, story, or object from his thirty years. It was so wonderful to read about his life and see it through the eyes of people who have known and loved him. Fun times. I used presentation boards to display each day at the party. (and had Science fair flashbacks while putting it all together!)



He did sniff out the actual party, but he was surprised that his family came. His parents, sister and brother-in-law all came for the surprise, which he absolutely wasn't expecting. So I halfway got him.





Happy Birthday to my amazing husband!

Little Eyes

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one.


When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in God.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing; I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything I could be.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking."



Little eyes see a lot.

Written by: Unknown Former Child

My New Year's Resolution? That the little eyes in our home will see a mother who is dedicated to her Lord, her husband, and her children.

Happy New Year!