Good Friday=Easter Sunday!

Easter this year was special...I have never attended a Good Friday service. It was better than "good," it was amazing. The Lord was honored and my heart was prepared for a weekend of praise. The service focused on "Seven Cries from the Cross" and featured seven pastors speaking for seven minutes and wonderful music, as well. I pray there is not another Easter weekend that passes by that I do not begin by giving Good Friday the attention it deserves!

We spent Easter weekend at Mimi and Granddaddy's, as always. The company was perfect, the food was delicious, the traditions continued and the time passed by too quickly!

Mimi and Granddaddy and their girls!

The sweet friendships between these girls are priceless. Anna Grace misses Campbell terribly during the busy times of the year when it is difficult to get together with the miles in between. We are already counting down the days until the cousins come stay a few days with us this summer!
Three of My Favorite Things...

This beautiful blessing is adored by my sweet girls! Anna Grace and Ailee, especially, cannot get enough of sweet Josie.


You all are growing so much! I cherish these precious days and wish for them to slow down just a little bit.

The bunny stopped by to drop off a few treats.

I still love the after lunch egg hunts.
All you girls made it in time for the Egg Hunt at Mimi's church too again this year. This is always a treat hunting eggs at the city park. I love to think of you running through the grass while the tree planted in your Great Granny's honor stands along the entrance to the cute little park.

For a big girl who said she really didn't care if she hunted eggs this year, you sure look like you're in a hurry to snatch a few, my sweet angel. Mommy's glad you decided it's okay to act young a little longer!And for you, sweet Baby A... you never missed a beat. You grabbed as many as you could. Although, you couldn't understand why nothing was inside!
I LOVE how both you big sisters included your baby sister in your school egg hunts and parties. You might be the best big sisters in this world. Yep, I think you are!

This is a very special class of preschoolers. Most of these darling little ones have been with Ailee since she was 2. I will miss this next year once they all move on to big school. Too sad to even begin to ponder right now!

Mommy loves you all the muches A girls!

Spring Break Relief...

Well, I know it seems we have been missing in action lately! We have actually just been enjoying ourselves, our family and our friends. We have been busy with the changing of Spring...yardwork, soccer ;~), vacations, switching out closets, cleaning and many days just hanging out enjoying the sunshine!! We were blessed to take a trip to the beach for Spring Break with some awesome friends! It began as a short trip but, for us girls, it turned into a 9 day lazy trip to one of God's most beautiful places!!! And, we soaked it all in! Laugther (mostly due to the silly 2 year old on our trip "Mommy's sweet baby A!"), sunshine, cold cold water, REST, Tarballs (ha, long story), shopping, great food and the love of friends!

(Sorry, Babe, for this shot of your rear while building creations with the girls!)

Baby A, there was not much on this trip that you did not enjoy. I know we SURE enjoyed you!

Something about just watching laughter burst from your child continuously it so good for your soul! Besides the setting of a gorgeous beach and warm sun, the sweet conversations both young and old taking place all around me was heartwarming. Seeing your daughters forming friendships with good, wholesome girls who love the Lord and talk about it as easily as they do eating ice cream, is more that awesome. Thank you, Lord, for these sweet girls and their families! May you continue to bless our lives with their presence and love. Daddy started his usual project of building something pretty cool out of the sand. This year was a dolphin and it was very good, I must say! And, Ailee, you have a way of connecting with creatures no matter how strange or quick they may be. You caught a crab and built "her" a palace to play in. You named her White Princess! If you look closely below, you can catch a glimpse of her.

AG, you created a turtle...walking in your Daddy's footsteps. I'm impressed!

I have decided if we just fill the backyard with sand, our days will pass so quickly and pleasantly! Ailee and Anna turned into Ariel and sang so beautiful as they laid buried in the sand with a mermaid tail below.

A Super Sweet Visit...

The day we got off the boat was a sad day! The girls each expressed their desires to stay differently but, ultimately, we had to leave "DreamLand." You all looked so adorable pulling your polka dotted luggage Mimi and Granddaddy gave you for valentine's day (yes, monogrammed and all!!)

Luckily, though, we had a another sweet surprise for you girls! We headed straight to the home of some very dear friends who just happened to live near the coast! Randy and Sally were our neighbors in our old subdivision. They ended up moving before we did so it has been quite a while since we have seen them. Just as God placed us perfectly in this home with His "angels" surrounding us, He did the same then when He, literally, placed two amazing people right outside our front door. They were a wonderful set of "in town" grandparents for you girls and role models for Daddy and I. You girls would get so excited to top the hill toward our house to see if they were rocking on the front porch each evening. We spent hours and hours there eating popsicles and just chatting together. Each warm, spring type evening reminds me of those special times and I imagine it always will bring a sweet glimpse of their faces! Sally loves sewing and we could go on and on together. Randy loves being outdoors so he and Daddy have been fast friends (I always wished his love for yardwork would blow over Daddy's way but it just never did!) And, girls, you were spoiled three times over by them daily. Mommy will always remember how wonderful Sally was when I was pregnant with Ailee and Adelynn. My morning sickness that was much more than "morning" sickness put me in the hospital multiple times and left me closed off in the bathroom more hours a day than not. Feeding you all was completely hopeless, much less anything else you needed. However, Sally jumped right in and helped as often as she could. She would come over early, gather you up with whatever you might still be wearing from the night before and head off for hours. Then, bring you home well fed and ready for a rest. See what I mean...angels!

Anyway, you girls were beyond thrilled to see them. It was just like old times...popsicles outside, sweet conversations and lots of hugs! You have continued to talk of them almost daily since we returned home from staying with them that weekend. Anna Grace, especially, you had a hard time with the realization that they are still around but very very far away. They truly were like your grandparents for a while. We promise to visit more and told you can call whenever you want! That helped but I know it won't be long until popsicles are a frequent treat around here with the warmer weather and with that will bring some sad moments of needing some "Ms. Sally and Mr. Randy TIME!"

I love this pic of you and Mr. Randy, AG! You were so happy that day on the beach with them. It was like you were just floating around full of smiles and giggles. You were so carefree and enjoyed every minute of twirling and singing across the sand and through the little waves! It was so obvisious that you were in a safe place where you felt loved and life was as it was intended for you...peaceful!

Baby A, you were busy! You were digging, shoveling, getting way wet and messy but loving every second of it. You took off toward the water first thing while pulling on your dress. "Clothes off" you would say to me over and over. You didn't mind the breeze or the freezing water.

We are so grateful for the visit with our friends, Ms. Sally and Mr. Randy, and even more grateful for their place in our lives. Thanks for showering our girls with your amazing love and kindness (and Jon and I too!!) We miss you tons already!!!

Disney Dream Cruise Vacaction

This is one vacation that will stay scripted in each of our minds for quite sometime and I am sure it is replayed in your "dreams" just as often. As Anna Grace mentioned in the book she made about our trip and dedicated to Mimi and Granddaddy..."This was the best trip of our lives and we will never forget the fun we had!" I am only posting a few pics since you did do a fantastic job telling about our trip in the book you made AG and the tons of pics we took will be in a scrapbook, as well. Enjoy a sneak pic into our amazing vacation!

Disney Dream Cruise

Family Vacation 2011

Mickey and Minnie did a fabulous job welcoming us onto their new, beautiful ship!

(Yes, mimi made this darling swimsuits from scratch!)

The aquaduck waterslide on the boat was a favorite of the adults and kiddos!

Mommy loved the views of the gorgeous waters and islands nearby.

As you can tell, it wasn't just the young ones who had a blast this trip!

Mimi and Granddaddy enjoyed every mintute too!

Dancing in the Character Lounge each night with surprise guests like Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie and more was as fun to watch as actually participating.
Ailee, you showed Cybil how to shake a leg!
Then, you all met the "real" princesses after you got all dolled up in your gowns. Adelynn, all you talked about for weeks before was how you were going to be "Binkerbell." However, now you are completely obsessed with Snow White.

My favorite day was when we spent a lazy morning and afternoon on the beach of Disney's private island. Isn't it gorgeous?

Adelynn couldn't wait to hit the BEACH! She went straight to the water and didn't stop splashing, digging and building all day! What a fun summer awaits this year!

(Could these lips be any cuter? And, finally enough hair for little pigtails. YES, there are little curls tied up underneath those bows!!)

Daddy couldn't believe how quickly you took to the water this year. I think he was a little sad not to be needed to hold your feet up away from the water like the past. We were both a little lost without a constant attachment to our hips all day! But it sure was a pleasure to my soul to watch the tons of fun you girls had with your cousins.

Is this really my first born baby girl...without front teeth and riding a bike all alone with no training wheels across the island like a pro? Yikes...SLOW DOWN time machine!

Okay, I have to admit, this waterslide/playground in the ocean was NOT my friend! I had a rude awakening when hitting the water at the bottom of the slide. Ailee and I would rather not ever do that again. You other girls, LOVED it!

Pirate Night was a blast, too. Really, not much on this super boat wasn't (except that slide, you know Mommy doesn't do "danger" well!)

Well, the night of the Farewell Party, Adelynn, you gave your "poppie" (aka. pacifier) away to Pluto. Mommy was amazed you did it all on your own and you were such a big girl after it, too. Pluto was beyond thrilled and swung you around and around. Mommy was sad...no more babies! I miss that sweet pink thing I was so accustommed to poking out of your mouth. You so very proudly tell me almost everyday now..."I'm a big girl, Mommy, no baby!"

Goodbye our sweet Disney Friends...we will definitely see you again real soon!

Mimi and her girls! Nothing warms her heart more than her sweet little stairsteps.
The memories of this trip will last forever! Thanks, Mimi and Granddaddy, for such amazing times will the ones we all the most in this world!!!

My precious "middle" child...

We had a rough morning with sweet Ailee! As we tried hard to get back in the swing of our morning routine after wonderful week of vacation (I'll post lots from that later), we had sort of an alarming incident with Ailee. I went straight on to Dr. Young and, until Wednesday, we are just praying it is a simple fix and trusting God to heal up everything just perfect! Now, on to the sweet parts of the not so typical "middle" child!

When I picked her up from her shortened day of school after our morning at the doctor, she went straight into such a perfect answer to my prayers. I had just gotten off the phone with the most wonderful friend who I can always count on to stop and prayer for me at that very moment. And that she did. She prayed a beautiful prayer over me and my baby girl. God quickly added a peace to my morning following with Ailee's response once she got buckled in the car. Ailee..."Mom, you know what my bible verse was this morning? I learned about a little boy who was sick and his daddy was real worried (here she acted out the picture from the card of how worried the daddy looked, so cute). God's men told the daddy and little boy to just go home and wait and pray. Then, the boy was better!! Mommy, can we do that? I think God is going to make me better!" HELLO!!! Could she be any more adorable and RIGHT? Although, she couldn't quote the verse and story exactly, the point God was speaking to my heart was well taken! Until wednesday, I now have peace!

And to add to her adorableness today...She just came in here while I was working on some service league items for tomorrow with a sad look on her face. Granted, we just spent the most amazing week of our lives together as a family so reality is hard for us all this week. (Adelynn has asked every time we get back home from school drop off, errands, etc. if Daddy was home yet. We are not ready to all be separated again by LIFE!) She went straight into..."I really didn't want to be 5, Mom. I made this sad number 4 because I really just want to put a huge piece of wood on top of my head so I can stay little and live here forever with you and daddy and my sisters." I responded..."Ailee Claire, no matter what, you will always be my precious baby girl and you are welcome here anytime with no questions asked and NO age limits!" She just frowned and said..."I know, Mommy, but if I keep growing, one day I will have to go to college. Do you think sissy's will go with me?" Ummm....after this Mommy had no response. Just tears and long pause of squeezing her probably harder than I should have! Anyone have a HUGE block of wood? or three pieces while I am at it?