Easter Beach

The scent of the WATER,
The sound of the SEA,
Make me ever so HAPPY,
Just to be ME!
-Anonymous




We were so blessed this Easter with a family trip to the beach! Our last trip before welcoming our baby boy proved to be relaxing, enjoyable and quite memorable! With beautiful sunny weather we definitely enjoyed our time outside - beach, crawfish/oyster bake, Easter egg hunt, pool, more beach and simply enjoying the sunset with good friends on their dock!



Easter Sunday was extra special too - waking up to beautiful weather, mass with friends, brunch on the water and a stay at a fabulous beach hotel! Who could ask for anything more? Easter at the beach is a tradition I can get used too!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
John 3:16





Our hotel was beautiful - we would recommend it to anyone traveling to Pensacola Beach, FL. Gorgeous inside and out, with an amazing pool deck over-looking the private beach! Hannah and I dined on "cheeseburgers in paradise" for dinner (Mike opted for wings) and we soaked in the sun for the next couple of days! Cheers! and Thank You! to all who made our trip so wonderful...I think you know who you are! Love you!

A Princess Party

Hannah's favorite playmate and friend Julia turned THREE this weekend and we happily walked over to the party! (They live next door, how great is that?) The weather was absolutely beautiful last weekend and it was a huge bummer that the kids didn't get the chance to be outside! Nevertheless... toys + cake + pizza is usually a hit with little party people and they sure did have fun! I think Hannah and Julia dressed up as every princess possible - they LOVE their princess dresses and accessories - too bad I did a terrible job taking pics! Who wouldn't have fun with cheese puffs, jelly beans, marshmallows AND chocolate/vanilla birthday cake to choose from?!?!




Happy 3rd Birthday Julia - Love, Hannie.

Gracelyn is TWO!

We had a fun weekend celebrating our goddaughter's 2nd birthday...the girls were ready for the party and as soon as they saw the table set they happily sat down, Gracelyn saying "party!" and Hannah singing "Happy Birthday to You!"




Opening presents and eating cake are the highlight of most parties, and the girls enjoyed both - although Gracelyn was not too sure about her Minnie Mouse cake at first! Luckily she recovered and decided it was OK to eat! YUMMY! Gotta love black icing! Girls had a blast playing with all the new toys and the adults enjoyed some R&R (we stayed at their family farm house in TN) - love you guys! Thanks for a great weekend!






Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Gracelyn,
Happy 2nd Birthday to you!

Be my Valentine

"A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
John 13:34



As Hannah and I worked on the Valentine's Day cards she chose for her ballet class, we had a good talk about loving one another, sharing with friends, and treating everyone with respect. Sometimes hard concepts for 2 1/2 year olds to understand - Hannah at first, thought all the Valentine's were for her - I had to gently explain that we share them with our friends not keep them all for ourselves. The lesson must have registered because today at ballet she happily passed out her Valentine's Day cards and did a fabulous job sharing them with her class and teacher! So proud of her!





After ballet, we enjoyed a delicious slice of The Great Wall of Chocolate Cake from PF Chang's...mmmmmmmmmm good!


Happy Valentine's Day!

Rodeo Fun in Fort Worth

Always happy to head home to Texas, Hannah and I enjoyed a week long trip to Fort Worth/Dallas! Highlights of our trip included our visit with the Fulton Family, a trip to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, shopping at the Galleria and American Girl Store, Mike even came to town for part of the trip, and a visit from my parents! Time flies by so quickly while we are there - yet we did manage to see some old college friends on Sunday at a Super Bowl party, even if our visit was short. We soaked up the Texas sun and mild winter weather too! We will be back as soon as we can...but as a family of FOUR! Love and thanks to everyone who made our visit so wonderful!

A happy mama and her little girl - absolutely love traveling with her, we have had so many amazing trips together! Looking forward to many more - and I have a feeling little brother is going to be a jet setter too!

Blog Book

This post is long overdue - but still an important one! I started this blog when Hannah was born to be able to document and share photos, stories, etc. with friends & family across the miles. Looking back, I am EXTREMELY happy with the results although still wanted a more hands on copy. My very computer savvy and fellow blogger college girlfriends offered the perfect solution - blog books! I completed book one, have started book two... and I have plans to begin book three with the birth of the new baby. I then plan on completing yearly books for our family to enjoy for years to come! Digital photography really changed family photo albums - so I am happy that now I will have actual albums (with electronic backup copies) to take out and look through. I LOVE looking at photo albums at my parents house - my mom did such an amazing job organizing and archiving old photos - hope my albums keep up the tradition and high standard that was set!

Here are some sneak peaks at book two - cannot wait till it goes to print!