Catch up

I need to catch up on the last week. We had a great Easter weekend and very busy! Friday Hannah was out of school so Ky and I took off work. We hung out and at home and cleaned Friday morning and then drove to Amber's church that afternoon. She was singing at their Good Friday service and everytime Amber sang by herself, Hannah said, "wow!" It was really good and so awesome to hear her sing in a special service. Saturday we went to Carrie's ultrasound and got to see Addysen. It was really cool and Hannah asked lots of questions! She also got to feel Addy kick and she was very excited! Then we went to the easter egg hunt at Nanny and Papa's. We ate lunch outside and the weather was gorgeous! A neighbor loaned us their barge and Papa took the kids for a ride on the lake. While they were gone, the easter bunny left eggs in the front yard and the hunt was on! The kids had a great time hunting, opening and eating their candy and swapping goodies. Then we went on a hayride behind one of Papa's tractors and did some fishing. Hannah caught a pretty big catfish and it scared her so much she let go of her Barbie pole. I caught it just as the catfish broke the line and swam off. I'm attaching a picture of her little brim she caught. Sunday we went to the 7:30 church service and the Easter bunny came while we were at church. Hannah hunted her eggs and came inside fast because the wind was pretty cold. She checked out her easter basket and ate half of the chocolate bunny!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 12th wedding anniversary. We have been through a lot together over the last 12 years. We moved six times in the first seven years, changed jobs, grieved the loss of grandparents and one great-grandparent, went through infertility, menopause, pregnancy, post-partum depression, had a beautiful baby girl, built a house, and spent the last five years in our beautiful home with our precious little girl. We've had good times and hard times but I wouldn't trade any of it because it has brought us to this time and place and has made us who we are. I love you honey and I am so grateful that God brought us together! Happy Anniversary and I'm looking forward to many more years together!

Egg hunt

Hannah has had an exciting few days! Wednesday at school, they were supposed to have an easter egg hunt at the park, but it was raining so they hunted in the classroom. She apparently cleaned up and got a lot of eggs, but a couple of the boys were sad because they only had 12 or so. There was a prize for the one who found the most eggs. Hannah and most of the other girls decided to share some of their eggs with the two boys that didn't get very many. Her "boyfriend", Drew ended up with the most eggs and won the prize. (A piece of chocolate I think.) Hannah said that some of the kids were asking her if they had to share their eggs and she said, "no, you don't have to." She and some of the other girls were glad to share and a few others shared reluctantly. Hannah said that her teacher was so touched by their generocity that she cried. They got a pot of gold on the "braggy board" where acts of kindness and good manners are put up on a board in the hallway. I told her that even better than that, she would receive a blessing from God for showing his love to others and jewels in her crown to lay at the feet of Jesus.

Yesterday afternoon we went to the egg hunt at the local clinic. There was a huge slide, air brush tattoos, t-shirts, balloons, music and the easter bunny flew in on a helicopter! She had her picture taken with him and then got to check out the chopper! It's hard to tell from that tiny picture, but it really captures the essence of our little girl. A bunny shirt with a fru-fru feather tutu, grass stains on the knees of her jeans and her dirty but comfy crocs. Part princess, part getting in the dirt and mud cowgirl. The egg hunt was fast and furious and she ate quite a bit of her loot on the way home! 2 egg hunts down, 2 to go. Easter has gotten way out of hand!

Drive In Movie

Hannah went to her first drive in movie Friday night. Ky went to Jeff's house for a guy's gaming get together so Hannah and I had a girl's night. Horton was there to meet with the kids before the movie and Hannah told me that he wasn't the real Horton because he didn't have elephant hands. Of course, her stuffed Horton is the "real" Horton. She thought it was so exciting because she got to sit in the front seat during the movie and eat popcorn. She and I both enjoyed the movie but she was ready to go to bed when we got home. (9:30 is pretty late for her.)

Saturday morning we were off to Amber and Jeff's house where the kids had time with their dads and Amber and I got to have some girl time. We had so much fun! Pedicures, lunch, shopping, dinner, shopping, a chick flick and lots of chatting and laughter. A friend of Amber's met up with us for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and the movie and we had such a great time! Meanwhile, Ky, Jeff and the kids went to a huge aquarium and had a lot of fun! There were sharks, fish, sting rays, a rainforest and lots of interesting and not so good smells, I was told. The girls of course had a lot of drama with that one.

Who's the Queen?

This afternoon Hannah tried on a few new dresses Nanny bought for her. She saw one and said "My heart just leaped out when I saw this one! I've always wanted a dress like this and now I have one!" It's for next winter, but she just had to try it on. She didn't want to take it off because she said she didn't feel like a princess without it. I let her wear it for a few more minutes and asked her to put her clean pajamas in her pajama drawer. She looked at me and said in her most royal voice, "That's not really a princess job Mama." In my most royal voice I said, "Well miss princess, I am the queen mother and I'm telling you to put your pajamas away." Cinderella quicly went back to her chores in her finest princess dress.

"Snow" much fun!

Yesterday morning we got some beautiful snow and Hannah was so excited she was beside herself! Ky took a picture of her catching snowflakes on her tongue. They got to play out on the playground at school and had fun throwing snowballs and building little snowmen. It stopped snowing by lunchtime and had melted by the time school was out but it was fun while it lasted!

And the winner is...

When I picked Hannah up from school last Thursday, she was so excited she couldn't stand herself. She was wearing a medal around her neck and starting talking 90 to nothing (big surprise, I know) about her medal and how she got it. Her school has character traits for the month and teachers nominate students each month that display that character trait. February's trait was neatness and Mrs. Young nominated Hannah. (Obviously she hasn't seen Hannah's room!) I think she was more excited about Mrs. Neal saying her name over the intercom than the actual medal. She was very impressed with the fact that you could hear the announcement even in the hallway. The kids that got medals had their pictures taken and put on a bulletin board by the library and got to wear them all day. She told me she was so happy when she got her medal that she cried!