Be a fountain

Yesterday my dear friend and cousin passed away. I am heartbroken. Even in her last days and hours of extreme pain, her thoughts and concerns were for OTHERS. Her last message to me was that "I" was in her thoughts. She was amazing and exuded the following phrase...

I got this t-shirt from my sister yesterday and it was just the uplifting needed. The profit from these shirts is used for random acts of kindness and charity. How awesome is that!

May we all live to be fountains!!

Blossoming before my eyes

My little girl turned one... this mommy was elated and distraught all at the same time. How can she be one already? This little face and smile makes my bad days okay, my good days even better, and lights up my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. She has certainly changed our family but it is for the better. With her bows and diva moments, her teasing of her brothers (who accept it more and in a different manner than they do from one another), her sweet giggle and even her ear piercing screeching... I adore every once of this precious little soul.

This is one spoiled and sweet little girl. She enjoyed cupcakes with the nannies and her friends at "school" and then we had a small celebration and cake after dinner the day of her birthday.

 

 

 We worked on how to blow out the birthday candle for awhile, but she didn't quite get it....

 

So the big brothers stepped in and helped her out.

 

The weekend following her birthday we went to a small local botanical garden for Hannah's enchanted garden flower party. The children LOVED playing at the garden, planting flowers, coloring, and making a keepsake stepping stone for Hannah.

 

While all her friends played... Hannah enjoyed the food! As soon as she learned to walk - a month or so before her birthday - she has been on the move. It is either all the running around she does or the fact that she just loves food... but she is quite the little eater. And she is such a mess - I don't think I have one picture of her without a dirty face.

 

After several attempts of trying to get her pose and take a picture at the park, I gave up and let her just run around, eat and have fun! It's her birthday, she should be able to do what she wants. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as we go to leave... she takes a seat in the parking lot, smiling and posing for pictures.

 

We followed up the garden party by having friends and family over to the house for cake and presents. My friend makes the most beautiful cakes for the children. We are so blessed to have such great friends in our lives and our children are blessed as well -- they are loved so very much by so many people!

 

A truly special day to celebrate our special May flower who has blossomed right before our eyes!

 

 

He is Risen!

 It was a beautiful Easter! A few of the precious moments of the day...

 

After a beautiful service at church, it was back home to look around and find our Easter baskets!

 

 Samuel LOVES Spiderman. He calls himself Spiderman Samuel. He sleeps with his Spiderman toys. He wears Spiderman shoes. When he draws pictures - it is always of Spiderman. You can imagine his excitement of an Easter basket filled with Spiderman toys and books.

 We grilled steaks and boiled crab legs for Easter dinner this year! Something a little different. The kids LOVED it!

 

Birthday Season

We experience birthday season in our house during the first few months of the year, into Spring and over the Summer then we have a little break in birthdays for the holidays. The first birthday we celebrated was my newest nephew... what a little handsome guy he is... and what a great daddy he has. I can't believe my youngest brother is now a dad.

The first birthday for our kiddos is our eldest. He turned 7 this year! My how time flies! As is tradition, we allow the children to decide whether they would like a gift or a party for their birthday (they are smart... they always choose party because, as they say, people will bring presents to the party).

It is also tradition that they tell us what theme they would like and then we roll with it. Adam has been wanting to have his "American Ninja Warrior" party for awhile. He is obsessed with the show! He climbs every door jam and wall in my home. It drives me nuts!

It was pouring down rain... but the boys went outside and did the obstacle course anyways!

This promptly led to having a pile of wet clothes and shoes. Boys! They are so much fun.

Doing the spiderwalk down my hallway...

My birthday was next. We rang in my birthday... at the ER! The night before the baby started to get sick and quickly was becoming dehydrated. After awhile in the ER and several x-rays as they thought it might be more than a virus (or what I think was food poisoning), the other little one started to get sick, multiple times, all over the room, all over himself, all over us. The hospital was great and gave Joe some very awesome scrubs and this little guy his "doctor shirt" which he didn't want to take off so was crying about.  

We spent the rest of my birthday getting them better and getting our taxes done. The boys seemed so disappointed in the events of my birthday and the fact that they didn't even get me a cake (which I think was more because they wanted one than I). But I tried to tell them that these type of things happen and sometimes things can't be avoided. They did make me some very sweet cards which I treasure...

What I didn't know is that their contrived disappointment the day of my birthday was just a cover up for the fact that they had planned me a surprise party for a few days later! What an awesome evening!! My friends and family are amazing!

Up next... this little one turns a year! I can not believe it!