Memorial Day

Our annual Memorial Day cookout at my aunt and uncle's house, in Auburn, is our official kickoff to summer break!  We so look forward to the delicious barbecue and friendly fellowship.  It's just a carefree night in the outdoors, playing and catching-up with loved ones.

Plus, we get to break out the red, white, and blue attire.  My aunt and uncle's farm is a little piece of heaven; such a relief from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  Which at the close of a school year, is always welcome.



Brenlee and Hadley love getting to play with each other.  There is the same age difference in these two as there is in their mommies.  These kids are growing up way too fast!

 

  The girls felt bigtime getting to ride the go-cart around the field beside the house.  No seatbelts or helmets, just good, old-fashioned fun.  Luckily, they weren't going too fast.

 

Dueling corn hole games went on all evening long.  You know it's not a party until somebody breaks out the corn hole.



Beth and Scott were high school sweethearts and got married before Scott headed to Samford's pharmacy school.  It was so wonderful to have the two of them with me in Birmingham during my time in college.  They took good care of me, often cooked delicious meals for me, and just gave me sweet reminders of home. 



 

One of the higlights of the night, for me personally, was when the Amish decided to make a stop at our cookout and sell some of their strawberries.  I guess they saw so many cars that they hoped they could make a sale or two.  They ended up selling several quarts of strawberries.

You know you're in the country when the Amish just "happen" to stop by.  Speaking of country, we had a great time celebrating our great country and the freedoms we hold so dear.  Happy Memorial Day! 

Elsa and Anna

The timing of our Disney reveal breakfast couldn't have worked out any better because later that night, Anna and Elsa were going to be at Chic-fil-A in Bowling Green.  Hadley is Frozen crazy so she was more than ready to get to see her favorite new princesses.  This also helped our upcoming Disney trip seem even more real...getting to meet all those characters in person is just going to be sooo special!



Hadley decided to bring her Anna and Elsa dolls with her to "show" the real-life princesses themselves.  While the kids were sitting and waiting, Hadley made a new friend who was interested in her dolls.  I wish I could have heard what they were talking about, but it was sweet to watch their conversation.

Chic-fil-A was not expecting the crowd that Anna and Elsa drew. Bless their hearts, they even had to call in a police officer to keep everything calm and orderly.  It seemed some parents were extremely worried their kids might not get to see the princesses. But everything did go fairly smoothly and each child did get his/her time with the princesses.

Anna and Elsa were super sweet to the kids and made each one feel so special. They seemed very impressed that Hadley brought each of their dolls, and it gave them something to talk about.

Hadley didn't say very much to the princess sisters; it seemed that she was starstruck.  She smiled and nodded her head yes the entire time, but I don't know that she said one word.  

Meeting Anna and Elsa has just made all of us that much more excited for our Disney trip.  I can only imagine how much more magical Disney World will be than Chic-fil-A. ;)

Disney World Reveal Breakfast

In anticipation of our family's first trip to Disney, I prepared a Disney-themed reveal breakfast to share the exciting news with Hadley and Canaan.  Now obviously Canaan wasn't going to understand what was going on, but Hadley certainly would.  Mickey Mouse himself wrote a special letter to the kids, telling them about their upcoming trip.

I did want to tell Hadley before we left, but not a super long time before our trip.  I wanted her to be able to get excited, ask questions, and watch informational videos about Disney World before we left.



Dollar Tree was my friend, as I gathered all kinds of dollar Disney goodies.  It's unreal how much Disney-themed paraphenalia is in the stores.  It didn't take long at all to fill their buckets with some useful things for our trip.

I "might" have encouraged Hadley to wear her Minnie Mouse pj's to bed the night before, just to stay in theme of course. She immediately noticed that the kitchen table looked very different. I had Mickey Mouse ear pancakes and hot-diggity-dogs (pigs in a blanket) waiting on her plate for her.

Shortly after breakfast, Hadley asked if we could start packing and if she could take all the things Mickey Mouse brought her.  Oh, the innocence of children!  Our breakfast definitely made our trip even more real to me. I seriously don't know who's more excited, Hadley or us?! 

Ballet Recital

Hadley's weekly ballet class has been a highlight of our past year.  The night before each class, we would get her ballet gear out and pack it in her frilly bag. She always had opinions about what she wanted to wear and was not a big fan of leg warmers during the cold months.  Every Thursday, I would rush to pick her up from the babysitter, get her changed, and make it to class by 4:15.  This recital was a big deal y'all.  Dress rehearsal on Thursday evening and three hour long recitals on both Saturday and Sunday.  Needless to say, we were worn out when it was all over.

While we haven't seen evidence of a prima ballerina on our hands, we have enjoyed watching her growth and development throughout the year.  Her balance and coordination have certainly improved.  The theme of this year's recital was "Dance to the Music."  Hadley's routine was to "Love is like a Butterfly" by Dolly Parton.

My first attempt at bun creation was interesting, to say the least.  Um, I don't really "do" hair.  Yes, I have a little girl, but I am not good at fixing hair.  I was elated to find a tool at Wal-Mart, for less than $5.00, to assist in my bun making.  Between that and TONS of hairspray, we got 'er done. 

Miss Adrienne has been the sweetest, most patient teacher ever.  I really don't know how she does it.  Funny...I am a teacher, right?  But seriously...coordinating so many different routines with little ones must be very difficult.  She handled it like a champ! Our littles had to sit for two hours before they took the stage.  We packed toys for them to play with while they were in a holding room, backstage, with stage moms.  I got a text on Saturday from one of the stage moms saying Hadley was complaining of not feeling well and that I might want to come check on her.  I figured she was a little nervous, and I was right.  I sat with her for awhile, until she assured me she was just fine.

I was a little curious at how Hadley might respond when she got up on the stage, bright spotlights shining, and looked out at the huge crowd in the theater.  I was more than relieved when the music came on and she started dancing to the music.  Whew!

 She was quite slow making her way through the bridge because she was worried about her wings getting messed up. 

One of my precious fourth graders made Hadley a special dum-dum sucker bouquet. Molly is one of those students you wish you could clone...she is perfect.  Hadley was pretty much speechless, but I was able to coax a thank-you out of her.  Such a kind gesture, though!

In tradition with the dance community, we greeted our little ballerina with a bouquet of flowers at the end of her performance.  I really think she was more excited about getting the flowers than the fact she finished her recital.  What a sweet first year of dance we have had.  This recital has been the perfect ending to our schoolyear!

 

 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing moms out there!  I love being able to set aside one special day a year to celebrate this amazing privilege.  It's funny to think back on my pre-kiddo days.  Back when I wondered if I would ever find a man to become my husband and then wonder what my children might look like.  To be able to put faces with all those years of daydreams is so neat to me.

Hadley is four years old and Canaan is one.  They are the most amazing blessings in my life.  When I first became a mom, my own selfish desires smacked me right in the face.  You mean I had to stop watching my favorite TV show to feed Hadley and put her to bed?  I can't just run in to get my favorite fountain drink at the Minit Mart anymore?  Now I laugh at how I could ever even feel that way!  Motherhood certainly has a way of bringing you down to Earth really fast.  And I wouldn't have it any other way!

This particular Mother's Day was especially special as it was Canaan's baby dedication at our church.  Lots of family was on hand to pray over our sweet boy, that he would walk in the ways of the Lord as he grows.  We also prayed for Justin and me, that we would do our part to raise Canaan in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  We pray that both of our children come to faith in Jesus when the Holy Spirit speaks to their hearts.

Such a special way to celebrate Mother's Day, indeed.  After church, our whole gang headed over to a local park to picnic on pizza and caramel pie.  Not the most glamorous lunch in the world, but is being a mommy really glamorous??  Again...I wouldn't have it any other way!!  Happy Mother's Day!!