Easter Darlings

Trying to get a decent picture of the girls on Easter morning was nearly impossible. By the time I had made it downstairs most of the candy was eaten and anything that was in their baskets was now all over the table. So trying to take pictures on a sugar high was no easy task. The sugar high was followed by the crash during church. At least they look cute...and silly.

A little dye...a little mess

The girls really wanted to dye Easter eggs. So, the night before Easter in our jammies I got the dye out and the girls decorated them with stickers. They thought it was the best thing.

Joey snapped a picture while we were reading scriptures. I love this part of the day. It's special to see how quickly little ones can pick out a picture of Jesus. And then they start to think any bearded, long-haired man is Jesus. Even if he has tattoos. After the kids were in bed I was determined to make scones. Joey did most of the work while I sat at the table. When morning came no one wanted the scones, except for Joey. At least I made someone happy because apparently the Easter Bunny didn't even bring that good of candy. How is it that my picky eaters are even picky about candy? In spite of my Easter follies this year (the girls were disappointed that I didn't make my traditional cookie bouquet) it really was a wonderful Easter. We taught our children the important things, spent time as a family, and talked about the Savior. It felt special. It's the things that we don't plan that teach us the most. The unplanned conversations, the cuddling to read at night, the sweet hugs and kisses, and the prayers that are said. I feel like our family is closer because of the simple and important things.

Life Must Go On

In spite of all the difficulties the last couple of months, life has still gone on. The girls are happy, healthy, and busy. My mom has been here so much and the girls have loved it. They planted flowers. My mom knows that I am much happier when there are cheerful blooms adorning the front yard. Olivia and Joey went to the Daddy Daughter Dance at school. They had a great time and Olivia loved getting ready for the dance much more than the dance itself. Sort of like prom. The anticipation is much more exciting than the actual thing. Sammie has been having so much fun at preschool and learning so much. She is soooo ready for kindergarten next year and she's all registered! All of her friends were talking about their Kindergarten shots. It's hard core. They examine these kids like they're going into the military. These two have been playing together now. It's weird now that Abby is a little more "grown up." I sort of miss having a baby. She's becoming quite a feisty little thing. Still sweet, just she is definitely learning to voice her opinion...very loudly.

So we're happy and living with some bumps along the way. But the bumps bring us closer together and we love each other lots!

Hope

I started writing this blog entry a few weeks ago, but couldn't get it out because I wasn't feeling so hopeful. Sometimes things just happen and sometimes things are just hard. In February I had a big "relapse" of symptoms. It all started with the strep throat and everything went downhill from there. I became not functional again. My body just stopped working and I went back to being in so much pain. I've been getting so much help from soooo many people. It's been a difficult time right now especially after seeing so much improvement over the months prior.

The hardest part is having no real answers. Docs are smart, but apparently not smart enough for me :) One called me an "enigma." Before this set back I was feeling very hopeful. Things were always moving forward and I figured they would just do so and I would look back at this time with gratitude. But the relapse really made things hard for me. It was so hard to feel hopeful again. I was negative, angry, and sad.

Since those weeks I have been improving somehow. My body just keeps fighting whatever this is. It's been almost 19 months since I first got "sick." My mom has been here a lot which has been so great. It's nice to have the company and life seems a little more normal when she is here. In all of this we have seen so many blessings. Just little things. The changes in my children. The changes in Joey. The changes in me. We are all learning through this. I often realize that it could be so much worse and I am grateful for challenges in life. They really do make us grow and give us strength that we never knew that we had. Faith, hope, and patience are at the top of the list of life lessons in all of this.

I never thought I would be sick this long. Actually, I never thought I would be sick like this ever in my life. But for some reason we are often given the challenges that we felt we never could handle. I appreciate life so much more and in spite of these challenges we can still find peace and happiness. Some days it takes a lot to get there, but those are the days that we are strengthened. I realize what I really want from life and I am still hopeful that all of this will right itself somehow. I know that the answers will come, that I am not alone, and things will get better. Patience. It's the hardest lesson to learn.

I won!!!

Well, Mad Max has found his way home this year. I won the Family NCAA Tournament Challenge and so now this little guy will be adorning our mantle until next year when the madness starts all over again. Maybe I can pull off double wins like Joey's mom did a few years ago? We'll see. I'm not going to get too cocky. (But I was in the lead from day one this year and no one ever passed me up.)

She's got a ticket to ride...

Joey was feeling guilty for not doing his fatherly duty and teaching Olivia to ride a bike. The girls never rode bikes in our old neighborhood because it wasn't very bike riding friendly. So Olivia never really had much experience riding with her training wheels on. A while ago we took her training wheels off because they got all bent and made her bike impossible to ride and then something happened to the brakes being stuck on the wheels. So the bike has been sitting in the gargage now collecting dirt and dust.

A couple of weeks ago we were outside with the neighbors and their kids were riding bikes. Just as Joey was telling the neighbor that he hasn't taught Olivia to ride a bike, Olivia gets on her friend's bike and starts riding just like that. All on her own. She can totally ride a bike.

She needed some practice so we fixed her bike, it was so simple we feel like morons for even thinking it was broken. Tonight she was riding all over the place. Like a pro. Long legs and all. She is still working on her start. But riding? Piece of cake.

Going, going, gone...

(and by the time I have finished this blog post she has informed that she can start on her own)

It's a Party!

My mom came to visit and she threw Sammie a birthday party. Sammie hasn't really had an official birthday party before with a bunch of friends over and she has been asking for one for a while now. Her main request? A mermaid cake. She was in heaven. Sammie has so many little friends we could have had twice the party, but we had to draw the line somewhere. Lucky girl has been practically celebrating her birthday all month long.

Last weekend her "Bitty Baby" American Girl came in the mail. She has been toting her around since she came. Gifts from Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles just seem to keep showing up in the mail. She has been such a great little girl and she deserves all of this special attention. It's good to be 5.

5 Years

5 fun, giggly, squirmy, smiley, adorable years.

I couldn't imagine my life without Sammie. She brings so much laughter to our home. She is such a smart little girl. She loves puzzles and games, drawing, dressing up, playing in the mud, jumping on the trampoline, playing soccer. And that laugh. I don't know of anyone who can laugh like Sammie. Her whole face lights up. I love her!