a little getaway

I realize I have some catching up to do. Hannah is well and for that we are thankful. It was not a fun week in that regard. But we did celebrate the birthday boy (I will get that post up soon hopefully), and that was fun. But I need to back up a little further...

The beach. We went to St. Simons a couple weeks ago. The weather was nice, albeit a little cold at times on the beach with the wind. We had a great place to stay, in close walking distance to the Village, and ate good food. My mom and brother came down from Savannah for a little visit. Hannah and Joseph both enjoyed themselves, but waited til our last night to sleep well in their pack-n-plays. Oh well...we didn't exactly expect the most relaxing vacation. We have two small children after all. It was wonderful family time, though. We built sand castles, splashed in the water, played on the playground, and went for walks.

The pictures always do a better job than words...

It was a short trip, but definitely worth it.

what a week it's been

My birthday boy:

This week has been rough. We celebrated, but the birthday boy kind of had to take a backseat to a more-pressing matter: his sister is sick. She has been battling fever on and off all week. When I picked her up from preschool on Tuesday, Mrs. Connie was concerned. Hannah did not want to play on the playground; she wanted to be held. That was a sure sign something was wrong. Just as I was about to publish that Easter post, sometime after midnight, I heard her crying. Her temp was 104.6. She got sick and we were up a lot of the night with her. Wednesday we went to the doctor to rule some things out. She seemed much better in the afternoon, but at night got sick again. Yesterday was about the same. We were relieved when she started the day feeling better, lower temp, interested in food, but as the day wore on she got worse, her fever spiking at 104.2. She's been very lethargic. Today we went to the doctor again... She has pneumonia. She will not be able to play at Joseph's party tomorrow. I am sad for her.


My brave girl:

joseph is one

One year ago today, right about now (3:19pm), I held my baby boy for the very first time, and fell deeply in love. I remember in the days before I had Joseph, I was holding Hannah, wondering "how could I possibly love another child like I do her?" You just will, I was told. Still, I had doubts...and maybe a little concern. After all, I couldn't imagine I had any more love to give, any more room in my heart. Between Joe and Hannah I felt my heart already was overflowing. But I did. My love for Joseph was unconditional and overwhelming, right from the start.

And now here we are one year later. It has been a very full year, but one that has brought us memories we will treasure always. Joseph is a healthy and happy boy, all boy, so curious and determined. He loves his sister, and she adores him. I love to watch them interact and grow closer together. He likes to cuddle (though our cuddle time is getting shorter and shorter as he'd rather do other things). But he loves for Momma to hold him, and for that I am thankful. I am enjoying watching him grow, while at the same time wanting life to slow down. Right now we have our hands full. The days are not always easy, having two small ones close in age, but I wouldn't change anything.

God continues to fill our lives with blessings and shows me how great His love is, while giving me the capacity for love that I previously found unimaginable.

Happy Birthday Joseph! You have brought so much joy to our lives. I love you more everyday.

the rest of lent

It has taken quite a while to sit down at the computer, get a post together in my head, through my fingers, and onto the blog. I've gotten so far behind, catching up seems a little overwhelming. We've had a lot going on around here, so I'll stick to the top stories and a few miscellaneous pictures from my phone...Settle in for a long post.

Nasty colds and infections have seemed to move from one family member to the next and back again. I think we spent most (if not all) of Lent with at least one person sick.

Holy Week was very full. Joe spent a few days in Tennessee for a church mission trip, while the kids and I stayed home. Joe came back with poison ivy, and then had to prepare for services Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. {He is allergic and it was misery for him.} 

These were put away:

I'm not even sure the last time Joseph had a bottle anyway - a month or two ago? Thankfully they were not often used this time around.


We've enjoyed the nice weather.



Helped out in the kitchen.

And ridden the little pink race car at Wal-Mart.

 
Our potty-trainee proved that M&Ms might be good enough reason to go on the big girl potty.

 

Hannah had an Easter party and egg-hunt at preschool. I was unable to attend, but made sure to take a picture before she left. She was pretty happy with herself in her chick tutu outfit from Grandma. {She's holding Daddy's wallet.} I did get a text from Joe mentioning that we needed to work on the whole egg-hunting thing. Apparently, Hannah was fine watching the other kids scramble and race for the eggs.

 You may remember last year's Mudpie chick outfit.

On Palm Sunday, Hannah proudly waved her palm branch on the front lawn of the church, but when it came time to process, she caught sight of Daddy...With some (ok, lots) of encouragement from me, she made it to the front of the church with the rest of the children.

Easter weekend was filled with family and fun. My mom and Hannah (in matching aprons, no less) dyed Easter eggs and decorated mini bunny cakes.

 

 We practiced hunting for Easter eggs.

...and got sidetracked just a few times.

 Easter morning.

Happy to have Ben well enough to travel to see us!

Pre-church Easter egg-hunt.

"HAPPY EASTER!"

Church was everything it should be on Easter Sunday. The pews were packed full, the music was beautiful, and worship was awesome. Obviously the preaching was good, too.

More egg-hunting back at home.

Trying to get a good family picture is always a challenge. This is the best one of the four of us.

Hannah had a bit of a meltdown...

...then Joseph did.

We called it quits and went inside to eat. {Continuing the chandelier ornaments for Easter.}

Post-meal Masters watching.

More Easter baskets.

We had a wonderful Easter and are so thankful to our family who came to spend it with us. Last week, we went to the beach for a few days and had a great time. I'll try to post pictures soon, but I'm stopping here tonight. It is late and tomorrow is a very special day.

One last picture before I go. Last Tuesday, I took a break from packing and went for a run to the tennis courts where some of our friends' kids were playing, and when I looked down and saw this...

 ...my heart melted.