A Very Special Day!

Sunday was my grandmother's birthday, and my Ninnie would have been 96. We had flowers in the church in her memory on this very special day.Eric and I also thought it would be a perfect day for Edee and Reed to be baptized! Ninnie lived next door to me my entire life and was an amazing role model of Christian faith, not only for her family but for everyone she came in contact with. My family and I were at a funeral recently and a lady we have known forever came up and told my mom that she will never forget my grandmother teaching her bible lessons at Sunday school on her little felt board. She had little cutouts to create a visual for each lesson. Oh I wish I had those pieces!

Edee was absolutely in awe of Rev. Mike on that morning! We talked to her earlier in the week about what it meant to be baptized, how the preacher was going to sprinkle some of God's Holy Water on her head, and that we would be making a promise in front of God and our church. She affectionately referred to him as the "creature" during further conversations! ;-)

We chose to have the kids baptized during the contemporary service instead of the traditional service, which we usually attend. The children had come to the front for children's church, so they stayed near the table during the baptism, and they were all so eager to witness the event!
We had an incredible moment on the way to school Monday morning that just sent chills up my spine. At the beginning of the service on Sunday, the praise band played a song I had never heard before. Well, low and behold it came on the radio while we were driving in the car the very next day! Without a word from me, Edee immediately exclaimed, "This is the song they played when I got baptized!" It wasn't exactly playing WHILE she was getting baptized, but if that is not a message from above...I don't know what is!! Just one more reason to count our blessings!

Birthday Fiesta-Numero Uno

Edee and Reed's First Annual Birthday Fiesta was more fun than we thought possible! The weather was perfect and we were very fortunate to have ALL the grandparents here! We were also excited to have many other family members and friends join us to celebrate! Eric and I have spent the day counting our blessings for such an incredible day filled with people we love! Some of these decorations have been passed around my family since Eric and I got married! They have survived several wedding showers and birthday parties!

The bounce house was set up about an hour before the party and Edee couldn't wait to get started! She bounced, and bounced, and bounced! Her heart was broken today when she woke up from her nap and it was gone! Her Mommy and Daddy did not like breaking the news to her! :-(

The pinata was a little stubborn, so Eric finally had to rip it apart to get the candy shower going!

Birthday Fiesta-Numero Dos

Edee did an awesome job of blowing out the candles on her cake! One of the few requests she had for her party was for the inside of the cake to be pink. I thought that was a great idea! We had half strawberry and half white cake! Yummy! I think she was about to fall asleep in her cake here, but that little rush of sugar gave her a push to finish out the party!

Reed had a smash cake last weekend, but he was certainly happy to get his hands on more! (Which reminds me: I really need to post those pictures!)

BIG bite!

We had an awesome day, but we were all pooped by the end of the afternoon! As you can see here, Edee had lost her flower, Reed had finally taken his place attached to his Mommy after being passed around, and we were ready for our siesta!

Thanks to PeePaw for some of these photos! We can always count on him to capture the moment!

What will we see at the ZOO?? Part 1

We started Reed's birthday morning off with a trip to McDonald's before heading to the fabulous Fort Worth Zoo!! We were greeted by a chimpanzee who was munching on a breakfast of broccoli, carrots and lettuce. Edee wasn't sure what to think, but Reed wouldn't take his eyes off of this unfamiliar creature! The flamingos are so fun! You just have to stop and stare!

The penguins were being fed just as we entered their building. Edee was fascinated!!

We had the perfect spot for lunch: shade, a wonderful breeze, and the sounds of a nearby waterfall.

We were able to get a glimpse of a very elusive creature who rarely makes it into pictures: the Mommy! :-) As we were going through the pictures we took today, Edee kept asking, "Where is Mommy?" I need to try and do a better job of having someone else take pictures every once in awhile just to prove that I WAS there!

What else did we see...?

What will we see at the ZOO?? Part 2

Edee had so much fun riding the carousel. Her horse was named "Prinso," of course! When she plays pretend, that is ALWAYS the name of her horse! She told Eric she really liked the music. They were playing classic Texas country swing! My absolute favorite exhibit is the Texas Piney Woods area. There are otters, huge turtles and bears in the coolest aquarium style set-up. Edee loved climbing into this otter window and was pretending to swim when she was joined by one of the two little fellars!

I love the look on Reed's face! He was really studying everything today, including Mommy! You can't see it from the reflection, but there are two HUGE turtles in the bottom of the tank. I will think twice when I step on what I think is a rock the next time I am in a lake! YIKES!

We entered the bat/reptile building and it was so dark and cold. It didn't take long before our little birthday boy was OUT!

We had such a great day! It wasn't too crowded, the weather was perfect and both kids could not have done better! It was one of those days where I just felt so blessed and thankful for my family!

Happy FIRST Birthday, Reed!

Dear Mister Reed,
How is it possible that a year has gone by since you came into this world? One of the first things I whispered to you was that you were MINE! Well, you really took that information to heart! You are a Mommy's Boy and you will never know how much that means to me! I know you won't always need me around as much as you have the last year, but I am going to enjoy every moment that you do!

I wasn't sure what it would be like having a little boy after having your sister, but you've made it so much fun! You even wore the same outfit home from the hospital that your Daddy wore WAY back in the day!

If I could keep you in this gown forever, I would do it! You looked so precious, even if you were sleeping on that ol' billi-blanket! Those first days of having you and Edee at home were some of the best days of my life. I felt like the most blessed Mommy in the whole world!

The past year has been incredible! You make our family complete, even if you are a little bit demanding at times! ;-) I wouldn't trade a single sleepless night! Your snuggles and smiles are worth more to me than anything I could dream of!

Happy Birthday, Reed! We love you SO much and are so blessed to call you our little man!

Mommy, Daddy, Edee and Elkee

Lunchbox Love Letter

Edee usually buys a lunch from school each day, but she came home recently going on and on about a little girl with a lunchbox and ALL the things she ate! I immediately got on-line and ordered her a cute little lunch sack, and she has been taking her lunch every once in awhile. Well, she loves to get cards in the mail, so when I saw these little notecards at Target, I KNEW I had to get them for a little lunchbox surprise!

I wrote a special note that I thought she could probably understand and put it in a baggie with one of the cookies she and G-Ma baked on Tuesday.

When Eric picked her up from school after Reed's procedure, several kids ran up to him and said, "Edee had a note in her lunchbox!" It was apparently a big hit! When she got home, I asked her what the note said and she told me, "I love you!" I asked her who gave her the note and she instantly exclaimed, "Ms. Danielle!!" Oh well! It was the thought that counts, right??