Mother's Day 2012

I know Mother's Day is long gone now, but we've had such a busy time of it since then that I have had no time to share some of my favorite memories from that day. So, here goes...


Adon was very excited for Mother’s Day this year. So excited, in fact, that he couldn’t sleep. He just had to wake up early and shout “Happy Mother’s Day” in his own special words. You know, the loud and wailing kind. But don't worry, I knew what he was really saying, you know, deep in his heart. If only he had the vocabulary to express what he really meant!

I joke about Adon, but I really am beyond thankful for him and Grace and the amazing amount of joy being their mom brings me.

And I was incredibly blessed this Mother’s Day. On our date, Friday, Beej took me over to a local jewelry shop and I got to pick out a pair of earrings. Every time I’ll wear them I’ll remember this special Mother’s Day. I love meaningful gifts like that.

Grace greeted me in bed Sunday morning, “Happy Mom’s Day! Happy Mom’s Day!” She gifted me a new book, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, which I can’t wait to start. With some help, she’d written a sweet note and traced her hand on the inside cover.

Adon gifted me Mama’s Milk. What? You haven't heard of it? Let me show you...

With this special note written inside: "Mr. Adoniram can’t really attempt to write but he found this particularly meaningful on his first post natal Mommy’s Day."

Hilarious! I laughed pretty hard when Adon handed me his gift. It’s a sweet little book all about animals nursing their young. Did you know kangaroo’s milk is pink? Now we both do! You learn something new every day.

Beej took me out to breakfast and it was really packed. I loved seeing tons of families out honoring their moms and having breakfast together. At one point later in the morning, we were in the car and Grace kept saying "Happy Birthday". I explained Mother's Day, and she kept shouting, "Mommy Party! Mommy Party!" It was SO cute! That's just what we did too. We had both our mom’s and some family over for a barbecue lunch. It was such a great way to spend the afternoon, just laughing and telling stories. 

Thank you family for making my day so special! And thank you Mom and Mick for all your love and years of sowing into your children! I hope you both know how much I love you! 

Easter Sunday 2012

Last week flew by, so I'm a little late sharing the last of our Easter events with you, but we had a wonderful day despite a crazy beginning. I had set my alarm for 7:30am and was so tired I didn't hear it until 8:15am when we jumped out of bed and started sprinting around the house to get ready for church. Easter breakfast started at 8:30. We were bringing zucchini bread and some fruit. We got there a little after 9am! So much for being on time, but it was good to eat with others and see some close friends Easter morning.


The kids dug into their baskets after lunch. It's so fun to watch Grace get into all the traditions this year. They each got a few books, some bubble toys, a shirt or new pajamas. I never did find Grace's basket in our incredibly messy garage (that's on this summer's to-do list!), so she got to use a different one this year. Adon's is a basket some friends gave to us. I looked for something for him this year, but never found one I loved, so we'll see next year. I just love the idea of them having the same basket they get to use over and over each year and then pass on if they want to. 

We tried many times to get a family photo. These are probably a few of the better ones. Grace has this new "cheese" face for photos. She's just so silly--I love it! And I also hope to get some photos sans "cheese", know what I mean?! We'll have to try again soon.

Really, it was just a great day with family. Papi and Gammie popped by with some gifts before naps, and then we headed over to my mom's later in the afternoon for another egg hunt and dinner. The last two years, my mom has filled eggs with some serious cash and the adults have gotten to find them. It gets competitive--no joke! But it's always a lot of fun. I know we drive each other a little crazy at times, but I love getting together with my family. Everyone is so great with the kids, and I laugh more with them than anyone else. 


Hope you had a good Easter this year! 

Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday, we hid a ton of plastic eggs around the living room for Grace to find. I filled them with candy, quarters, a few dollar bills, little rubbery bunnies, and more candy. At first, she wasn't sure what to do exactly. She wanted to open each and every egg up right when she found one. And I think she ate more candy Easter weekend than ever before. We're going to hit the Dollar Tree later this week so she can spend her money. "My money" she kept saying as she stuffed it in her little pocket. It's funny, because she loves quarters and could care less about the dollar bills. I think it's because whenever we go out for pizza, we give her a few quarters for the little toy machines, so she knows those are important! 

Adon slept the whole time. 

I sent all the leftover candy with Beej to the office this morning. I can't keep it around, or I'll eat it all!

What about you? Did you hunt for eggs this year?

Build Your Own Peep House

I saw this cute idea on Apartment Therapy, so we tried making some peep houses of our own last night.

At the last minute, I realized I never purchased candy to decorate the "houses" with. So I used what I had on hand: razzles, jelly beans, gum eggs, and sixlets. We bought the graham crackers and mixed up our own batch of royal icing. It was fun! I helped Grace set her house up and then let her go for it. Beej made his own peep house, and even Gammie and Papi came over to get in on the fun. Two houses in, we had to cut Grace off from the candy. She's never had a peep before and man, did she chow down!

Dying Easter Eggs

Right after dinner we died 36 eggs. The dye was literally dripping in puddles off the table once Grace was finished. She finally sniffed her hands and started coughing really hard, “Ewww. Yucky!” Yes, the vinegar smell can get strong when there are 12 colors to choose from and you love to double, no triple dip your eggs.

I'm still not sure which is Grace's dominant hand, but if I had to bet, I'd say she's a lefty...just like my dad. 

Now we have a lot of hard-boiled eggs to eat! I can't tell you how much I love continuing traditions and making memories with Grace. It sounds a little cheesy, but to me, that's one of the coolest parts about being a parent--we totally get to shape our kids' little worlds. It's a lot of fun most of the time!

Anticipating Easter

Have you thought about Easter yet? It's only a few days away. I love Easter. I've been thinking about it for weeks already. It is probably just as exciting to me as Christmas, and much less stressful.  Hmmm...except for finding Grace's basket which is lost somewhere in storage. I'll have to get on that one quick!

I love making Grace’s Easter basket fun and special every year. And this year I get to do the same for Adon. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to watching them discover all that’s in them. I started collecting and making things for them weeks ago, but I after being derailed last week, I'm scrambling to finish and put it all together.

I love dying eggs and can’t wait to do that with Grace—it’ll be fun to see her try her hand at this for the first time. The fridge is chock full of hard boiled eggs that we're going to tackle tonight.

I love watching all the kids hunt for eggs. We did this with family and friends last year. The kids went crazy! It was a ton of fun, but the kids are still too sick to do a hunt this year. I wouldn't wish the flu and colds we have on anyone else, so we're sticking close to home.

And I love that we celebrate Easter to remember Christ died for us, and that he rose again, triumphant over death. We get to come together with friends and family and celebrate his overwhelming grace in our lives. I am really looking forward to Easter this year. 

What special Easter traditions do you have? Planning anything new this year?

St. Patrick's Day 2012

Beej took me out to an Irish pub for St. Patty's Day this year. It was completely packed. The staff was definitely moving people in and out quickly. The food at Gallagher's is much better when it's not a holiday, but the Irish music was a lot of fun to listen to and everyone there was in high spirits. 


My mom found some fun little hats at the Dollar Tree. So I snapped a few silly pics of the kids.

And then Grace and Adon together. The more I took, the more distracted they got.

 And here's the one when I told them that leprechauns are real...

Just kidding! 


What'd you do for St. Patty's Day this year?

Valentine's Day 2012

Beej came home early with a bouquet of tulips for me, and he sweetly surprised Grace with the world’s biggest heart balloon and a heart shaped sucker bouquet. She was very happy!

He’s always a thoughtful gift giver, and this year he told me he wanted to take me “out shopping”. I was surprised, to say the least. 


“Man, my feet are killing me!”

For years, that is what I heard every time we hit the mall or went out shopping together. Literally, about two minutes into looking around. Beej isn’t a huge shopper, and in all honesty, neither am I anymore. Except, of course when we are down south where there’s a lot more to offer in the way of clothes or shoe shopping. Then, we both just want to make the most of having more variety.

We left Adon and Grace with my mom and headed out. I did find a beautiful scarf at a local boutique that Beej happily bought for me. Then we hit Eureka, where he said, “Well, I guess there’s only Target or Khol’s. Which one first?” We just had to laugh and then bopped around the sad and lonely, half vacant local mall. 

Then on to Target, which is being remodeled, so everything is a crazy mess. It’ll all be cleaned up and done by the end of March though, so who knows, maybe it’ll get some cool, new stuff by then. I did find a cute black dress that’ll I’ll be able to wear when I’m done nursing. Until then….

We hit Rita’s for dinner, which was delicious as always. Shopping, or lack of it, aside, it was just really fun to spend some time out and about together.

How was your Valentine’s Day this year? Any favorite memories from this day?

EASTER 2010

When we were kids, we would all wake up Easter morning with anticipation. The search began as soon as we left our bedrooms. Where did mom hide our easter basket this year? She did a wonderful job of making it a special holiday.

This year I filled my old Easter basket with fun treats for Grace.

Had so much fun picking out Grace's Easter dress & shoes.

After I became a Christian, my love for Easter grew even more. I still enjoyed the annual basket filled to the brim with delicious treats (which my mom still does for us to this day--thanks Mom!), but I rejoiced to know that the tomb was empty. Christ died for my sin and rose triumphantly from the grave, victorious over death!

One of my favorite Easters was spent in an airport. It was a long time ago, and I don't remember where I was coming from or going. I just remember watching the sun rise as I sat alone in the terminal with my bible, reading again about all that Christ did to set me free and marveling at it. It was a sweet, sweet morning.

I hope you had a blessed Easter this year, got to spend a little time with someone you love, and realize just how much God loves His children. He was pleased to bruise his son so that we may have eternal life, for our joy and His glory.

He is a good and faithful God!