Making a joyful noise...

I recorded the girls singing their songs of choice a few weeks ago.  Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day to....

Normally I would finish this sentence by filling in names like....me (just being honest!), my mom, my grandma, my mother-in-law...you get the picture!  However, this year, my focus shifted a little.  Dave is out of the country right now, so it was just me and the girls on Mother's Day.  He had this same meeting last year at the same time, so I was feeling a little more prepared having had one year of no- husband-on-Mother's-Day under my belt.  I found myself thinking of three other groups of people this year:

1) My kids: I feel like the Lord gave me a heart of thanks several times during the day about the gift I receive in being a mom, and that it is only because we have Katelyn and Anna that I am a mom.  We really enjoyed each other that day, and as I was putting Katelyn to bed that night, she said (unprompted), "1...2...3....Happy Mother's Day Mommy!"  Precious.

2) New Moms: My middle sister, Jessica, just had her first baby...Sloane Leslie Conquest.  I'm an aunt!  We sent her a mother's day card and butterly craft (see pictures at the end of this post).  Also, a good friend of mine just had her first baby a few weeks ago so we sent her a Mother's Day card and craft too!

3) Forgotten Moms: There is a nursing home very close by our house.  We actually discovered it when we lived in Lewisville (before we moved up to Highland Village), and Katelyn has been visiting there since before she could walk.  I knew I wanted to visit the nursing home on Mother's Day, but I couldn't decide what to have the girls hand out when we went.  I'm not super crafty, so when Katelyn came home from preschool recently with a cute little butterfly craft made out of a coffee filter, watercolors, and a pipe cleaner, I thought, "This is something we can do!"  So the girls made these little butterflies, and it was precious to watch them place each one in the hands of a lady at the nursing home.  I put Katelyn in charge of saying "Happy Mother's Day" each time they gave out a butterfly....I knew she would be a little louder and clearer than Anna.  :) It was mutually encouraging for all:  us, the workers, and the residents.  I wish I would have taken pictures of the event, but I think it might have taken away from the sweetness of the moment.  As long as my memory will cooperate, I'll just keep those pictures in my memory bank.  

So...all that being said, I think I would like to make this trip to the nursing home on Mother's Day a tradition.  It helped me to remember that although it is fun to have an "all about me" day, it really isn't "all about me." It's about the Lord and His desire for us to be "all about others."  Such a refreshing change in perspective....one that I don't know I would have gained had my husband been here....because , in all honesty, I think I would have been too busy thinking "all about me."

Breakfast in Bed

Having a husband that works from home has many benefits.  However, there are a few drawbacks/opportunities for creativity.  :)  One of those is when Dave has a conference call during the time we would normally be in the kitchen eating breakfast.  Since his office is (not so) conveniently located right off the kitchen and our girls are still learning how to use (or maybe still in search of) their inside voices, we have been forced to get creative.  Enter: breakfast in bed.  I've never seen two little girls so excited about their daddy being in a meeting! :)

Go Cats Go!

Katelyn played soccer for the first time this past Spring, and her team was the Cats!  She had about as much fun playing as we had watching her play!  She did a great job (and Anna was quite the cheerleader too!).  Way to go Katelyn!  We are proud of you!

Katelyn and her best friend Reese played each other in their first game of the season.  They had so much (maybe too much!) fun being on the field together!



Katelyn's good friend Brodie (and his sweet mom, Jill) surprised her by coming to watch one of her games!  Thanks for being such a great friend, Brodie!

Happy Belated Easter!

We had a great Easter...yes, I know that was at the end of March, and its the middle of May, but I figure if I tell you in May about our Easter, it just allows the celebration to continue that much longer!  I mean, really...Can anyone ever get tired of celebrating Easter?  He is Risen Indeed!!!  

 

Girls in their Easter dresses!  Thank you Mamaw!

 

 

Easter lunch picnic on front porch

 

 

Dying eggs at home

 

 

Making Cinnabunnies at Mamaw and Peepaw's house

 

 

We also made an Mini Resurrection Garden Easter Craft.  Apparently the grass seed was supposed to grow after about a week, but ours never did. :(  It could possibly be due to the fact that we left it out on the back deck one night and it flooded during a torrential downpour! 

 

And a quick word from Katelyn: we had lots of fun.  love, katelyn