~ Happy Easter ~

We had a great day today! We went to church this morning and walked over to The Townhouse for breakfast with our friends from the office, Karl and Jason. Then we went home and the kids tore apart the house looking for their Easter baskets! Next, we were off to the grandparents for Easter lunch and fun with the cousins. We had our annual Easter egg hunt in the backyard after a yummy lunch. Ham, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, rolls and deviled eggs...mmmmm...oh, and wacky cake, ice-cream and Grandma Carlisle's delicious cookies! The kids had such a blast playing together...making memories that will last a lifetime.

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freckles....

Why in the world my kids argue with me about getting showers at night, I will never know!!! It is the most frustrating thing...you have been bathed your entire life and will continue to have to....why fight it?? Well, mine do. The other night as T.J. was putting up a fight about me making him get clean...like I'm abusing him...he told me "I wish I had freckles so you wouldn't know I was dirty!". I laughed so hard! Again, it is the literal thinking that I just adore about him...but he still has to get clean every night :o)

a fabulous day...

a day off of work, calling one of my bestest friends the night before and asking her to go to the beach with me, she calls me to tell me "yes" with a sweet giddiness in her voice, riding in the jeep with the air whipping through our hair, having our morning coffee on the way there, tons of conversations from american idol to life now and how it used to be and sharing about our kids, stopping before the beach to use the restroom because we had kids (you know what i mean!), feeling the cold sand between our toes, basking in the warm sun, listening to the waves crash, watching elderly men look for treasures with their metal detectors, taking a few pictures to document the day, leaving fifteen minutes early because we needed to use the restroom again (b/c we had kids!), getting a value meal at mcdonalds to share so we could save money!, the FRIES :o), singing our heart out to a reba song we used to dance to in our line dancing years, the FRIES :o), listening to K92.3 but turning it down to talk at times, the FRIES :o), racing back to pick-up her preschooler (b/c we have kids!) in time, having your friend tell you "thanks, it was the best day"..... that is a fabulous day!! i love you elaine and can't wait to go again!

strawberry festival

two weeks ago we went down to plant city to see our friends, the strickler family and go to the strawberry festival. this was the biggest carnival we have ever been too! we got hooked up with free ride passes, so we just went on as many rides as we could. we added up that if we would of paid, it would of cost us about$80!! go vicki, go vicki!! we were also blessed to go on the night that mercy me was playing and got to see them in concert...amazing! we went to church with them on sunday and then the kids played for a while. t.j. and blake built a ramp to ride their bikes off of...all i can say is "no emergency room visits!".

the jr bridesmaid and ring bearer....

This past Saturday our office manager's daughter was married. She was also our babysitter for a few years. Whitney asked Morgan to be her Jr. Bridesmaid and T.J. to be the ring bearer. Morgan was overflowing with excitement but T.J. was a little hesitant at first. Whitney, Ann and the bridesmaids all came over Saturday to our house to get their hair and make-up done. Morgan was all about getting glamed up for the big event! She looked so beautiful and T.J.....hello, in a tux!! The boy gives us a hard time on Sunday to dress nice for church! He got into wearing the tux and even asked if we could keep it and wear it to church! What a gorgeous day it was....very windy at first, but the temperature was perfect and the sky was such a vibrant blue. Whitney looked stunning as you can see....

Hip Hip Hooray...Morgan gets an "A"!!!

For the past year and a half, Morgan has struggled....and struggled with Math. We have had her tutored, given extra work, we have sat with her many late nights trying to explain concepts, and prayed together for help! Well....today I got a phone call from her teacher letting me know how proud she was because she had been able to tell that Morgan had really been working hard on her math facts (multiplication) and did really well on her multiplication drills. I was so excited at this information and then to top it off, she said that Morgan aced her Math test today!! Praise the Lord!!!!!!! We waited until dinner to tell her as a family and we were all clapping for her and singing her praises!! It was so neat to see the look on her face of accomplishment as for so long she has just been defeated with this.

...even when i am your father...

The other day I grabbed T.J. as he was walking by me and pulled him in for a great big hug. He is still little enough to pick up, snuggle and steal some of those precious moments that get far and few between as they get older. As I was hugging him, I asked him if he would still give me hugs and kisses even when he is older and his reply was priceless...he said "yep, even when I am your father"...I just love his little thought process of automatically thinking that when he gets older he will be my dad! Can they just stay naive for a while longer???