More birthday celebrations!

Emerson has wanted her ears pierced for several years.  Every year starting at about 5 years old, she'd ask to get her ears pierced and we said not yet.  Until this year, when she turned 8.  We went to Newcomer Jewelers in Nappanee and the ladies there were so kind.  We had a wonderful experience and Em didn't even cry.  She picked out some small circle earrings that reflect all colors of light.

 For the rest of her birthday presents, she got a Fairy Garden and Pearler Beads.  She's had fun doing both crafty activities.  She wanted to go to Steak 'N Shake for her birthday supper.

 We had family over to celebrate this weekend (Kristina and Brooklyn were there too!).

butterfly earrings chosen by Papa H

Caleb enjoyed helping with the presents and bows.

She LOVED all the Lego Friends sets she got!

She wanted an ice cream cake from DQ.

She's spent HOURS putting these sets together.

 We always take a picture of the kids by their trees each year too.  It's fun to look back and see how much they've grown.

We love our newest 8 year old!

Emmy turns 8!

This little spring baby turned 8 on May 23 (the 2nd to last day of her 2nd grade year)!  Emerson is such a joy.  She brings laughter, smiles, and joy to our hearts.  She loves Lego Friends, YouTube, Disney, coloring, singing, gymnastics, and playing outside.  She has become a great reader and LOVES listening to Harry Potter being read aloud nightly.  She loves anything crafty (and MESSY!)

Emerson had 3 friends over to celebrate with her.  The theme was Lego Friends.  We had to celebrate early, May 13, because of our hardwood flooring installation.  She didn't seem to mind that she had an early birthday! :)

Claire, Mahkayla, Emmy, and Kenna

word searches and coloring

sidewalk paint

She had a great time (woke up at 6 am from excitement)!  It was a simple party, but just having friends to celebrate makes any party fun!!

Mother/Son Dance

Landon and I finally got our chance to dance the night away.💃  Matt and Emmy went back in February and when Landon heard about this one in May, he made sure I did NOT forget to get tickets!  And that is quite unusual for him to remind me of something! 😄  We got to have a fun night with Jessica and Greyson too!

The dance was space themed and all the boys got treats to take home: a star balloon, cup, pencil, stickers, sucker, and the favorite...a light up sword!🌟

Jessica and Greyson breaking it down

Landon LOVED dancing all over and singing.  He wasn't too interested in the choreographed dances (Macarana, ChaCha Slide, etc).

We had hot dogs, potato chips, a punch fountain, and ice cream sundae bar.  It was a great night for a small price (only $12 a ticket!)

Greyson wanted a picture with the DJ so Landon got in too!

Landon LOVED this night.  He said it was perfect and the best. night. ever!  He danced to the slow dances with me and had a smile on his face all night.  I love being able to spend special time with him.  He is growing up so quickly and I love making these memories with him.

Matt and Emmy got to spend a special night at Steak 'N Shake and Target picking out some Lego Friends to put together.  They had a nice time alone as well.

Mother's Day 2017

Just a little over 8 years ago, these 2 cuties made me a mother and I couldn't be more thankful!  They each have very different personalities and while I love them to pieces, there are days that are difficult.  Parenting is NOT EASY!  There are tantrums, attitudes, tears, and fighting.  But there's way more love, giving, hugs, and laughs than I ever thought possible.

 Parenting is made MUCH easier with these lovely ladies along for the ride.  They are always helpful with advice, driving the kids places, and watching them overnight.  I LOVE having family nearby!

Kristina just recently became a mother of 2.  She amazes me with her patience and positive attitude.  She's got 2 adorable kiddos and it's so fun to see her kids grow and get to know my nephew and niece!  She's always been willing to watch my kids and I appreciate it so much!  Love ya, sis!
Cathy, my mother-in-law, is also an amazing mother and grandmother.  She picks up the kids every Wednesday and spends time with them after school.  She makes sure to come to their games, concerts, and practices.  She did such a fantastic job raising a patient, loving, giving, young man that became my husband! 😙  It's so great to watch her with her grandchildren, who love her a whole bunch!
Mom has always been there for me.  She is so giving and taught me what it means to give unselfishly to others.  She raised 2 daughters (who didn't always get along 😉) while showing patience and grace.  She takes the kids to school every Wednesday and they love being able to spend time with Memaw.  I am so blessed by these ladies!

Happy Mother's Day!💮

Catch up from March/April

So apparently, I did not learn a lesson from last time and still haven't blogged much in these 2 months either! 😜  I'll try to do better in May, but no guarantees!  So get ready for another loooong post...

We took the girls to see Disney on Ice.  They LOVED it.  A few years ago, we went to see Frozen on Ice.  This was fun, though, because they recreated different movies (Snow White, Cinderella, and Tangled).  We all enjoyed Rapunzel the most.  It was a fun afternoon in Ft. Wayne.

 These girls have become so close this year.  They mostly get along, but do have their fights every once in awhile.  Kenna got to spend the night at our house and the girls decided they wanted to play in the bathtub.🛀

Our Spring Break was the first full week in April.  The weather was quite awful (that's pretty normal though!).  It was cold, rainy, and windy.  We still had fun trying to find indoor activities to do.  We tried Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park, for the first time.  It was a lot of fun!  We also picked out some new engineered hardwood flooring to be installed.  

Landon and Emmy did a fantastic job in their Spring Concert.  It was very convenient for me too since I got to watch my own kids and supervise my students at the same time.  They performed "It's a Jungle Out There."  Landon had 13 lines to memorize as Leo the Lion.  He did a great job.  So proud of both kiddos!

We had the day off on Good Friday this year (no snow days to make up).  So we went with the Davis family to Linton's Easter celebration.  We went on a train, met the Easter bunny, pet some farm animals, and collected eggs.  Then we went to Arby's and a playground to play.  Love spending time with friends!

We celebrated Easter this year on April 16.  We celebrated early with the Hahns since they went down to Evansville to visit Nate.  The kids sure do love egg hunts.  They did 4 this year and never tired of looking for those treasures!🐰

 Easter Sunday is a wonderful day to celebrate Christ's resurrection!✟

We definitely accumulated more candy than necessary, but it was a fun day with family!

The best surprise of the last 2 months was my niece being born!  She took her time (9 days late) but she is beautiful.  Welcome to the world, Brooklyn Kay!

And last, but not least, we got to enjoy our RV for the first camping trip of the year.  We went to Chain O' Lakes with the Fryes.  It was COLD, but the sun was shining and it didn't rain, so we had fun!  We had sweatshirts and long underwear and stood close to the fire, but it was nice to be outside again.  Hoping for several more trips this summer.