Chuck E Cheese's

Ella was going to have a birthday (not till May) party at Chuck E Cheese's, but for the sake of our move coming up (another story) we decided we'd strike when we had the opportunity. Sunday, Lance wasn't working and had it in his mind that we were going somewhere... Gratefully, Scotty & Candace were able to come along -and their friends Jen & family came too so Ella had lots of friends to hang out with!Here's Ella with Chuck himself!

Ella won some kind of sorry gummy-slap-critter, who was lost in less than 5 minutes after she won it (to my relief).

Mia had a GREAT time playing with her drink -which I learned later I had confused with Lance's drink and allowed her about 1/2 a cup of MELLO-YELLO! *New worst-mom of the year award.Look at the smile on that caffinated-buzzing-baby!

Here's Aneesa playing a bubble game.

Jen's daughter Brinley.

Jen's other daughter Brooklyn.

Here's Ella on a ride!
Chazzy-Bear!We tried a ride with Mia-babes -here's the start...

This is the look before she burst into absolute TEARS!

Overall satisfaction -Ell later told us she had a "BLAST". :) Outty.
Token self-portrait on the way home.
Ok, so the girls were boogying to some Garth Brooks on the drive... but...
All good things come to an end. Look at that face on Ella!

29

April 18, 1980 -John would have been 29 tomorrow. Here's Dad, Dave, and Noah at John's grave.


I miss him.

In my heart

In my heart I have that same feeling today that I remember having in first grade when Miss Marvel asked me what was the matter. I remember clear as day how I felt knowing that my mom was going into open-heart surgery. I have felt that same feeling only a few times, each including a very specific story/ time / place. I feel that way today. Mom goes into surgery in less than a half an hour and then it’s in the Doctor’s hands –God’s hands, really. I just don’t believe we have control over life or death. For God’s reasons babies are born when and to whom they’re born, and for the same God’s reasons, lives are taken back: regardless of the will or power we think we have. This has been a source of sincere comfort to me, having lost a brother in completely unexplainable circumstances, and having blessed with children when God knows I haven’t deserved them. Lives are within His control –thankfully. I know God is protecting my Mom right now, and that the outcome is what is ultimately going to be God’s will. I love you, Mom.

UF: even more dangerous

As a bit of a connoisseur of “Ugly Frogs”, I must say that the most recent addition to the family collection has its own special charm. This little friend is able to stick to the ceiling. So, one might be watching television in peace and harmony, and Ugly Frog could drop from the ceiling at any given moment in time, leaving heart attacks and swearing in its wake. This, by far, seems to be the most detrimental of the Ugly Frogs who have graced our presence. He carries with him the element of surprise, as out of the corner of your eye you find a HIDEOUS monster clinging to your ceiling like it’s waiting to strike!

SHOUT OUT AND HOLLA to Lance for this fine purchase. Someday, there will be a terrible price to pay. If we have a boy, I’m thinking “Pretty Barbie”!

Big Ole' Family Easter!

Easter is the new chaotic holiday with the fam-dam-bly! Saturday was CRAZY busy!Here is Auntie Sarah with the girls -VERY cute shot!

Here is baby Tessa (yes, that bib says "I'm ALL that!") saying "woah woah woah, bring that sugar back!"
Cousins Lily and Benny-babes checkin' out their stash!
Here's cousin Noah, runnin' for the good stuff!

Here's a few of Mia with a mouth full of candy!



Pretty eye-shot!
Sissys!

Rachael and I put together a super-fun scavenger hunt for Ella!

Nanny had a clue!

The end prize was a fun book about a horse -it even had a horse-shoe necklace that came with the book! Ella and I read it later and she loved the moral: JUST BE YOURSELF!

Oh, and it's not personalized for Ella if there aren't FROGS involved. *Thanks, Rach!
Later, we headed to the In-Laws for more festivities!
Oh yes, that's Lance participating. It's not Easter without your traditional green and yellow GREEN BAY PACKERS egg!

Mia took more of a kick-back approach.Although you can see curiosity did get the better of her... (I love how you can barely find her head amidst all the stuff!)
Here's Ella and her buddy Chaston!

She had a blast! Baskets on Easter morning!
Messy Easter morning hair! I LOVE it!

Here's Chaedon in his new duds.

Yes, the girls got some DARLING new Easter dresses, but I wasn't able to get a picture of them. It's a story for a different time. No worries! I'll get them blogged. Happy Easter, one and all!

HAPPY EASTER!

This lovely greeting comes compliments of my dear friend Joni. Joni, I'll be your neighbor in hell. :)

judgment.

Upon blog-hopping earlier, I ran across some pretty severe judgment in a rant, followed up by some bandwagon comments by friends. I am not going to go into any kind of detail, but I just wanted to say something about that.
It’s an opportunity for me to look inward. Who am I judging? Who have I given an unfair chance to? Okay, I’ve been harsh with Obama, and perhaps with “Nelly” from work, and others too. I truly, sincerely apologize. I have opinions and ‘takes’ on situations, which I’m sure I’ll continue to blog about. However, on a very raw note, after reading such a directly harsh judgment on this other blog, I feel this should be said: you just don’t know what kind of battle people are fighting. For what we perceive as potentially harmful, or abusive, ugly or dangerous, we need to consider the person behind the label we’re so quick to give. There are a million more facets to what makes a person than what we see and instantly judge.

Because I know this, it is my responsibility to make sure that the unlovable are loved, lest that judgment come down on me someday.

I’m SO grateful that the ONLY judge who matters is perfect, and exists where every aspect of me is taken into account before I’m seen as something other than what I deserve…

Our Milly-Hill-Billy

This little cutie-pie deserved some CUTE shots to be posted here. I'm still feeling a twinge of guilt from posting her post-haircut-trauma! :)

She was so smiley this day, saying "teeze" for the camera, I got a TON of cute pictures -HAD to share!

Family Time

Usually at some point during the week, Lance changes shift from grave to swing the next day. When he has these nights off, it's par-tay-time at home. Since we had a sniff of spring yesterday, we all went outside and had a burger cook-out.

*No cook-out is good without marshmallows.
Ella's weary pony-tail is struggling!

Here's the token Becca-self-shot. :)

Le Chef!

Mia enjoyed herself tasting the local flavor -including rocks, mud, and even a bit of pavement.

Easter Is Coming

Rach and I have been planning a SUPER exciting Easter-Egg Extravaganza (notice a trend of my family’s “extravaganzas” –we love ‘em!) for the little kiddos this Saturday. I’m excited to see Mia zoom around look for eggs and candy. Ella is older than all her cousins from my side, so she’s probably going with Lance to one of his work friend’s houses for a hunt with some kids closer to her age. It’s going to be a fun day! I LOVE spending time with the family, and since Easter is such a beautiful and fun occasion, why not get the kids involved and create some fun traditions for them? I love Easter. It’s so beloved and important. Being a Christian is a beautiful thing to me. We have a book at our house that explains the true meaning of Easter to little children, how the eggs and bunnies, etc. are fun, but it’s truly all about God’s Son. I am beyond grateful to my parents for raising me in a home where Christ is the center. My personal relationship with the Savior is so precious; it’s the MOST important thing I can hope to instill in my own children. If I have given them the foundation to create this relationship for themselves, then I am a successful parent.