Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year! It is hard to believe that just 5 years ago on Mother's Day I was pregnant with Callie, and now she is almost 4.5 years old! This was the first year that she was really starting to understand about Mother's Day, so it made the whole day extra special.

We went to church Sunday morning, and Callie came bounding up to me after Sunday School with a cute picture of herself and "flowers." They were cut-outs of her hands on top of straws, very creative!

Trey and the girls took me out to eat at our Mexican restaurant, and they were giving free ice cream to all mothers! We had a great time together and shared the dessert:)

The rest of the afternoon we played with the girls, rested, and finished the day out with a walk in the beautiful weather! Callie gave me extra hugs and kisses the whole day, and kept saying "You're the best mom ever." I had a great day with my family, and enjoyed loving on my little girls all day!



My "flowers" from Callie

A Godly Example

As Mother's Day is approaching, it makes me really stop and think. It makes me think about myself as a mother, but even above that I think of my own mother.

Let me tell you, I have not met many women that come close to that wonderful Proverbs 31 woman (myself included). But, my mother is as close as any woman can be! Not a day goes by that I don't think about her and how amazing she is!

When I think about being a mother, I think of the example I have seen in my own mom. Everything I have learned about being a good mother has come from her! These are the things I learned about my mom while growing up: she is a hard worker, she loves my dad with all her heart, she loves and enjoys her children, she is not lazy, she joyfully takes care of her home and family, she is a comforter, she is a listener, and above all she loves the Lord.

My mom has been with me through everything. She is my best friend and has been beside me through school, relationships, marriage, loss, and children. She has never been judgmental or uncaring, she has always been supportive and loving. I love that she takes time to talk to me almost everyday (even if it is just about what we ate that day!). I love how she adores my children. I love that no matter how old I get, there is NOTHING in the world like having your mom with you when you don't feel well!

I am so thankful for the amazing example that my mom has been for me! I hope that I can live up to that with my own children. I hope that when my kids are older they can say these same things about me. As Callie was giving me hugs today, I asked her what she loved most about me and she replied, "Because you do nice things for me." :)

Ashtyn Gives Kisses

This week Ashtyn has started giving kisses, she walks around smacking her little lips!

Similar Faces

There are times I look at Ashtyn and can see similarities between her and Callie. But, Ashtyn also has her own unique look. These are pics of them at about the same age...you can definetly tell they are sisters!



Ashtyn at 15 months



Callie at 15 months

Happy Easter

We celebrated our first Easter in Batesville this Sunday. We had a nice Sunrise Service, it would have been even better if the SUN had actually been shining! The girls enjoyed all the treats from their Easter baskets and we spent the rest of the day just resting. Trying to get a nice picture where both girls are cooperating is not so easy...so here is what we were able to get!

A Dream Come True!

So, the beginning of April we got to do what every child dream of...go to Disney World! I had not been since I was 7, so I was just as excited as Callie:) We are so very thankful to Trey's parents (George and Jana) for paying for our trip to Disney, and all the fun things we got to do there!

I have to admit that I was REALLY worried about how the girls would do for the LONG drive down to Florida. I had anticipated it to be a horrific experience! The first day we took several breaks, including a 2 hour one, and made it to Trey's sister, Jill's house (in Georgia) late at night. Surprisingly the girls did well! The next day the whole crew headed down to Florida. Even through stops and traffic, the girls did great with the drive!

We got to stay at a really nice house that had a private pool. It was called "Minnie's Mansion" and Callie actually believed that Minnie lived there:) The first day we went to Magic Kingdom. Callie was so excited the whole drive to the park and her reaction to seeing Cinderella's Castle for the first time was priceless!! She even brought tears to her daddy's eyes:)

The first thing we did was eat breakfast with the princesses. While we were waiting to go into the breakfast, Cinderella emerged from an elevator right in front of us, and Callie just ran up to her and hugged her! Then, we got to meet Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Ariel. It was by far the BEST experience and so worth it, for Callie's enjoyment!! We rode lots of rides, and Callie's favorite was "Winnie the Pooh."

The next day at Disney, we went to Disney Hollywood Studios. We went to a Disney Junior Live show and both the girls loved it. There was also a "Little Mermaid" show that we saw that was really neat, and made you feel like you were "under the sea." To end our day at that park we saw a live "Beauty and the Beast" show in an outside amphitheatre. The actors were really good and Callie had a lot of fun:)

Our last day we went back to Magic Kingdom. We got to see Mickey and Minnie and that was by far the best part for Ashtyn. She was in awe over her favorite characters and they gave her lots of hugs and kisses. We decided to ride all the rides we loved again and Callie was even a trooper and rode the Haunted Mansion with us!

We keep saying that this was the BEST vacation we have ever been on! Disney World is such a magical place, not just for kids. And honestly I feel like I had more fun watching Callie enjoy everything, then when I went as a kid 20 years ago!! We are already planning our next trip to Disney when Ashtyn is a little older and will be able to really enjoy everything.

To end our vacation we drove (ok, Trey drove, we rode) the whole way home. We left at 8:30am and got back to Indiana about 2:00am the next day.

Here are some pics of our wonderful trip, we can't wait to go back!!

Warming Up...

We are so glad that spring has arrived!! They told us when we moved to Batesville that it would be a COLD winter, full of snow...and they were right. My girls get so tired of being cooped inside, so the first sign of 60 degree weather, we went OUT! We had a few days of really nice weather in March, and the girls thouroughly enjoyed their time outdoors.

Callie picked out some fun outside toys, including sidewalk chalk. She has a lot of fun drawing on our driveway, and Ashtyn loves to watch. We also enjoy taking walks around our subdivision! Ashtyn wasn't such a fan of the stroller last year, but this year so far she LOVES it. She takes in all the scenery and is especially fond of dogs in our neighborhood:)

Goodbye

The day finally came...where we said "goodbye" to our first home. When we first walked through that house, we immediately fell in love! We barely had enough furniture to fill all the rooms. Of course it wasn't long before we were painting the nursery and adding to our family:).

There are a lot of memories in that home. I remember the first week we were there, my sister-in-law and brother sent us a weeping willow tree to plant in the backyard. There was a drought that fall and it shortly died. Then there was the Sunday morning that I groggily awoke and saw something "scurry" into our closet...our first mouse! There was the day we brought Callie home from the hopsital. And I remember days and nights of being awake and walking "laps" through the house with a colicky baby.

I remember decorating the house for Christmas, and how everything had its place. When Trey would put Christmas lights on the outside of the house, and complain about it, EVERY year:). There was the Super Bowl Sunday night in 2008 where Callie first walked across our living room floor. I remember every birthday party we had there. All the rooms that I had Trey paint...haha. The many walks that we took as a family down our street and to downtown Princeton. The days and evenings that we sat on the front porch swing. Carving pumpkins in the dining room.

And most recently, I remember the day we brought Ashtyn home from the hospital. Her sleeping in her cradle in our bedroom. Then when she finally moved into the pistachio green "Winnie the Pooh" nursery, I would rock her to sleep in the glider next to her crib.

These are all things I love and miss about that home. But, there were plenty of things I won't miss about that house as well. The mice, the creepy attic, no closet space, the neighbor's dog poop all over our yard, tiny bathrooms, and a lot of floors to mop.

It seems that once you don't have something anymore you only remember the good things about it. That's not necessarily the case. It is just the realization that, that chapter of our life is offically done now. The house wasn't perfect by any means...but it was ours. Our first home.