Easter

This past week we had a great time celebrating Easter with some fun activities that remind us that Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Lamb of God and that he died on the cross for our sins, but is ALIVE! We made a tomb cake together which the kids enjoyed, went on Easter egg hunts, took pictures in the prayer garden at church and then spent pretty much the entire day with the Hancocks, another super fun family that we love! It has been a busy time, but we survived and besides the upcoming ballet recital and three birthday parties coming up this summer, I am hoping that we might get back to normal...or is this my new normal?! I am sooo looking forward to Disney World this September, it won't be a relaxing trip but I think we will have a much needed super fun family vacation!

Aubrey's Surgery

I went to my post op doc appt from the surgery and while I was there the ENT checked out Aubrey because she has had some trouble sleeping. She discovered that Aubrey has huge tonsils and needed them out, so once again surgery was scheduled for five days later. Scott was called out of town to work on something so my grandparents and mom came down to watch Ava and Eli while I took Aubrey to surgery. Thankfully Scott made it back to go to the surgery with us before going back to work. Aubrey was so brave and all the nurses said she was so smart and sweet! I was so proud of her! It broke my heart as they rolled her away on the bed to the OR to put her to sleep but she never cried and did everything they asked her to do. She is still recovering, she has a sore throat several times a day so she is still taking her pain medicine and eating lots of popsicles but I bet she will be fully recovered in a few more days. I am amazed at how strong she is! She is a tough little girl!

Trains, Birthdays and Good Friends

After the celebration, Puh-Puh took all of us on a train ride at the Tennessee Valley railroad and the kids are still talking about getting to ride a train. We were fortunate enough to bring home my Aunt Sonja and Mom Mom to Huntsville for two nights after our fun in Chattanooga and they played with the kids while I made a wedding dvd for my cousins wedding. While they were here, we celebrated Mom Mom's birthday by having a party for her. After they left to go back to TN, the kids and I were in a car accident coming home from ballet. Scott was out of town, so my precious friend Keri came and picked us up and took us home and my other precious friends Kris and Lisa came to help get stuff out of our van and put it in Keri's car and then followed the van to the body shop. Did I mention have the best friends ever?! Thankfully the van was not totaled and after riding around in a super crowded '93 Honda Civic for two weeks, we finally have our van back. Oh yes, another precious friend that I would like to mention is Jessica Hall. On my birthday she met me and the kids for lunch and then went to Babies R Us to help me pick out new car seats and install them into the Honda and then they took our entire family to Rosies for dinner. They are a sweet family! On Friday, my parents and grandparents came down to surprise me for my birthday. I was in the office on the phone with ATT and Aubrey came into the office and put her hand on my arm so I knew she needed to say something and I told her to go into the living room and wait just one moment. Then she came in with tears and said Opi and Omi and Mimi and Puh-Puh are here and I can't get the alarm off. So I go to my front door and standing there in the pouring down rain is my family with flowers and balloons! I was soooo surprised and Of course, I cried! They took us out to eat that night and spent the night! I am one lucky girl!

Chattanooga Fun

Then my Great Uncle had his 80th birthday and the entire family met at the Chattanooga Choo Choo and had a breakfast to celebrate his life. It was a very touching celebration: my dad wrote a poem for him, several people gave speeches and I was reminded that we all leave a legacy behind, and a legacy of family is so rare and special. We had a wonderful weekend because the night before the celebration, the kids and I drove to Sweetwater to pick up Opi and Omi and then went to Chatanooga to swim with the kids and stay at a hotel. The kids have fun spending a night with their great grandparents and playing in the pool with them. What a fun memory.

Finally Blogging Again

So many things have happened over the past few months and I have not been able to blog or post pictures of the kids. But I have finally have a moment to update the blog, so there will be several posts here with pictures of all the different things that have happened over the past months. Our family has been sick off and on since October...I guess that is pretty common for families with multiple children since there are more people to bring home germs. I especially have been sick and kept a sore throat the entire time so I finally went to my ENT and she scheduled surgery to remove my tonisls and adenoids. It was harder than I thought but after a week of recovering, I was thankful that I had the surgery. Mimi and Aunt Sonja took good care of my kids while I rested for two days, then it was up to Daddy to babysit! I was quite impressed but he took a box and turned it into a Buzz Lightyear spaceship with the kids. I think the surgery was successful and I have not had a sore throat or a migrain since! I thought this was a cute picture. It shows you what our house looks like when mommy is sick and Daddy is babysitting.