Halloween

Since having 3 girls, I have started doing themed costumes and I was pretty proud of this year's.  Piper wore Makenzie's old Dorothy costume, I ordered Stormie's online and I made Makenzie's scarecrow.

Unfortunately it was raining on Halloween, so we went to the mall this year which was a ridiculous herd of people circling around to the stores for treats.  We spent a few minutes there and then went to Wings N More.

The Surprise Blessing Turns THREE

Our surprise blessing, caboose, fun loving little girl is THREE.  Can't believe it!  Piper Rose surprised us from the beginning and is the biggest bundle of fun, crazy, wild love you will ever meet.  She does everything with gusto and passion and loud celebration.  She hates to sleep, wakes up happy, runs fast everywhere, loves being held/carried/cuddled and also has a super duper vocabulary.
Our family wouldn't be complete without her.

Piper loves Bubble Guppies right now, so her cake was her fav.

My sister sends the kids amazon.com giftcards, so we used Piper's towards a trampoline for the playroom because she has so much ENERGY to get out!

Four years old

Ms. Stormie turned 4 years old this year.  These years have flown by.  She was our 10lb 2oz rainbow baby and she has done nothing but brighten our lives ever since her arrival.  She is now a tall, slim and SUPER smart BLONDIE.  She teaches everyone in the family something new every day.  Her vocabulary is extensive, she is so curious and loves to learn; always soaking up new information.

Stormie has never been to Chuck E Cheese, but she has been telling us for months that was where her party would be, so that is what she got!  And she wanted a Paw Patrol party, so we obliged.

She is pretty obsessed with My Little Ponies right now, so she couldn't wait to check out her stash.
She knows all their names and can tell you elaborate stuff about each of them.

Beach Time

A fancy vacay isn't in the budget this year, so we made a quick trip to Port Aransas for just an overnight stay.  I had heard the water was really blue this year, but I was amazed to see water this blue in Texas.  One day at the beach was really enough for the kiddos and Tim got an introduction to jellyfish unfortunately.  We ate some great seafood, stayed in a very non-fancy, but clean motel and then made our way back home the following day.

 Tumbling on the beach is a must!

 We went to a really cool candy store while we were there and let the kids each fill up a bag!

Easter

The girls made a beautiful assortment of bright eggs this year!

 Makenzie really enjoyed helping be the Easter bunny, but I had to sneak in there and leave her a treat too!

 We had breakfast out after the sunrise service at church since everyone was wound up!

Deviled the eggs and went to Granny's house for more festivities and a late lunch!

 Worn out little girls!

I have the sweetest video of Piper reciting her Bible verse, but I cannot get the videos to work on the blog any more!!

Big Sister Turns 11!

Makenzie turned 11 this year.  She chose to celebrate with an ice skating party with a few close friends.  She had a great time and I even got out there to skate too!  I have never ice skated, but Stormie wanted to try so I went with her.  I lasted longer than she did! 

Birthday donuts in bed with candles for breakfast on her birthday!

 Beautiful (and yummy!) cake from Peace, Love & Cakes in Bryan!

Piper just watched from the sidelines.

A Season for All Things

Ecclesiastes 3King James Version (KJV)

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
⁹ What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
¹⁰ I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
¹¹ He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.


Our most precious family member and our matriarch passed away in her sleep at the ripe age of 92 years old.  My Nanny was my best friend for many many years and became the best friend to so many that she crossed paths with, including my oldest daughter. 

Nanny was the toughest, most wise and consistent person in my life EVER.  Her husband, my grandfather, was tragically killed when I was about 3 months old and she never remarried.  She lived by herself until I was in middle school and she moved in with us, becoming a second mom to me.

She knew so much, was a devout follower of Jesus Christ, made the best truly Cajun shrimp gumbo you would ever taste and there wasn't much she couldn't sew or make. Her life growing up during the depression was hard and it helped her become who she was later in life.  

She didn't age much at all until about the last ten years when she began to fight chronic kidney disease, refusing any dialysis or aggressive treatment--as a nurse, this was when I realized how truly tough she was--but her faith remained steadfast.  I imagine that she ran through those pearly gates at full speed to finally greet her creator and then hug the love of her life again for the first time in almost 40 years.  

As sad as we all were, we were so glad to know she was finally at peace again....if anyone I know deserves that peace, it was my Nanny Ailene.  Rest in Peace!

 

While we were back in South Texas for her memorial, we went by her old house and my childhood home.  Brought back such great memories of roller skating for hours in her driveway. 

 As a child, our front yard seemed so much larger thank it is and our street seemed so much wider.  I remember when my mom finally let me cross the street on my own to play with the girl across the street--it seemed a mile wide!

We also made a quick trip to the beach.  Stormie has been begging to go to the beach and she didn't want to leave!  It was a nice, but windy, day.  Hopefully we can make some day trips to the beach this summer for some real play time.

After the memorial service, my great-grandparent's old home, which is now a B&B, was graciously opened up for us to greet guests and have a luncheon.  It is so beautiful.

 All of Nanny's great-grandkids together to celebrate her life!