Easter Celebration

We were able to celebrate two very special people this Easter, our risen Savior and Mawmaw! We were in Scottsboro but the Easter bunny was able to find us and leave some surprises for HC once he hid her eggs. She was a little unsure at first.

Once she saw her basket she was all smiles.

The sweet girl looked through her goodies including some cool new finger nail polish, princess band-aids, princess Mobi-Go game, a summer hat, a new pair of shoes and a super cool microphone.

Of course the big hit was the new baby doll stroller. Hannah Claire had been asking for one because the one she had was broken and her baby dolls kept falling out. Now we can't have that. She was suppose to sit in the Easter bunny's lap in order to get a new one but I guess he thought sitting beside him was good enough. You can see her excitement over the stroller.

She also got a new dress and lunch bag that Mawmaw & Pawpaw had gotten her. She tried out all of her new stuff and pushed that stroller over every inch of the house.

Once HC was dressed we headed outside to hunt the eggs. She was not big on actually picking them up since they were wet from the dew on the grass. She is such a priss!

HC, how many have you found?

I love the expressions of this child. She was so excited when she found another egg. Just look at that sneaky little face.

Daddy had to help Hannah Claire reach a few of the eggs.

What egg?

Once all of the eggs were found HC stopped and posed for us.

After we did some traditional Easter celebrating we watch Church of the Highlands online. I am so thankful for technology. We were still able to worship with our church family from 2 hours away. That afternoon we were able to celebrate Mawmaw's life. We are so thankful that she was celebrating the resurrection with Jesus himself! What an amazing Easter blessing. The eggs and Easter bunny are fun but our goal is to make sure we never forget why we celebrate, Jesus rose from the dead!

HC's Big Girl Room Transformation

Our former home office has now become Hannah Claire's big girl room. It has been a very gradual process. We cleaned out the room last year when we had our big yard sale but we have been in no rush to move her upstairs. Well, with Wyatt on the way we had a huge reason to get the new room ready. We ordered some furniture and decided to pink up the room while HC was in Scottsboro one weekend in February. We caught her response on camera once she returned. She was very excited!

She even got to help pull the blue painters tape. She was a huge help!

The room stayed like this for a while until the furniture finally came in. It was delivered while HC was at school so we were able to see her reaction when she got home.

Naturally any child's first response should be to check out the drawers.

She then tried out the bed.

We had ordered some bedding for Hannah Claire but it took a little longer to come in. She started sleeping upstairs before it ever arrived and has done a fantastic job! The day the new bedding arrived I was on cloud nine. Of course when HC came in she was looking for her "pink bed". The pink bed would be the pink blanket from Target she had been using. I wanted to cry since I had stressed and spent more than the $30 the pink blanket cost on this beautiful bedding and she couldn't have cared less. Once she realized the pink blanket was underneath the new bedding she was very excited.

We have gradually added other things to the room. It is done for now. We still need some stuff on the walls but I am in no rush. I will just get things as I find them. Here are some of the complete for now pictures.

HC's bookshelf that Daddy painted.

The second bureau (the first was damaged and we had to wait for several extra weeks on this one).

Toy storage that Daddy painted for HC's room.

I love Hannah Claire's bathroom. It is so functional and cute. We have her measuring stick from her nursery.

All little girls need their hair bows handy.

Where the princess gets ready each morning.

I love her shower curtain! We found this at Target.com. Once I got it in our friend Melissa at www.boutiqueme.net monogrammed it for us. It turned out super cute!

I also got a little crafty and painted this hook from HC's nursery. It was a light baby pink with polka-dots but didn't go with the new look. It actually turned out pretty good, even if I do say so myself.

It was so much fun getting this ready for Hannah Claire and she really does enjoy playing and sleeping in her room. That is all a mommy can ask for.

Our Precious Mawmaw

Where do I start? I guess at the beginning. We woke up on Thursday morning like normal. Nothing out of the ordinary until Shane's phone rang about 6:45. We all just looked around because it is so unusual for the phone to ring at that time. Shane jumped up and grabbed it. It was his Dad saying that Mawmaw had been rushed from work to the hospital in an ambulance and that was all he knew. Through the next few minutes there was the freak out of what is going on, do we all go, how does Marvin get to Huntsville, how severe is this? Plus the oh this must be no big deal, settle down, we have to settle down and figure out what to do next. Shane headed out by himself only to get a call from Pawpaw before he got out of the neighborhood saying he had spoken with the ER and it was not good. He quickly turned around and picked up me and HC along with a bag of clothes and some bare necessities. The drive from Birmingham to Huntsville (during morning rush hour) takes forever when you have no idea what is going on and you just need to be there. Thankfully Tyler picked up Pawpaw and drove him to the hospital. When we finally arrived we still didn't know much. Over the next few hours we finally started getting some information. The doctors suspected she had had a stroke. The answers were slow to come because of many different reasons but we finally got results from the MRI on Friday evening and they did not paint a promising picture. We prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed some more. We were just not ready for this situation. We needed the Lord and He was there in a mighty way giving us strength to face each day as it came.

As much as we wanted our Mawmaw back just the way she was, that was not in God's plan. He had bigger and better plans for her. He took her home on Saturday, April 23rd. While it is so difficult for us hear, we are trusting that she is celebrating her eternity with our heavenly father. She got to spend Easter Sunday with Jesus himself! What a welcome party that must have been! We are left with facing each day as it comes and learning to live a new life that does not hear that sweet voice "just checking on you". I pray that we can keep Mawmaw's memory fresh in Hannah Claire's mind and tell Wyatt all about the amazing woman that his Mawmaw was. She will be missed each and every day that we spend here waiting for our time to join our heavenly father. Please, please, please if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ then find one. I'm not talking about religion but a real meaningful relationship. That is the only way to guarantee an eternity with Him and so many of our loved ones. Life will disappear in an instant and it will be too late at that point. Please don't delay!

Spending Time at Nana's

Hannah Claire recently spent some unexpected time at Nana's. We are so thankful for family that will swoop in and help whenever. Of course they got into lots of things. Since HC was there at the end of tax season she got to participate in the end of season, start of summer pedicure outing for Nana and Janice. I wish I knew how to load phone pictures because I got a picture sent to me of a little diva getting her toes painted while she sat in a pink pedicure chair. I was shocked she stayed so still but she loved it! Nana said once they walked out HC told her "that was fun, let's do it again". She will have to get unused to that. They also made many shopping trips around town. This kid has learned how to milk the system to her maximum benefit. One of their outings resulted in the super cool princess puzzle!

The girls did some baking too. They cooked up some Easter cookies. They took some to Granny Sue & Papa John's house but little did they know that Granny Sue had made them some cookies. Sadly Hannah Claire does not eat cookies so I don't think she got to enjoy any of them.

I'm not real sure how Nana made this happen but hopefully it will translate to our house!

Of course they went out to feed the animals with Pappy one morning. HC loves to see the dogs, horses and mules (don't forget the mules because she will remind you). I think she is ready to go for a ride. I'm not so sure Pappy is ready for that though. Plus Shane & I want to be there to see it first hand. I'm not sure which horse this is but I'm guessing this could be Yellowhammer. Yellowhammer is Nana's horse that HC has decided is now her horse. Kudzu was the horse Pappy was intending to be HC's but she thinks Kudzu fits Nana better.

Since we did not make it to see the Easter bunny, Nana & Pappy took HC. She was quick to tell you that she likes the Easter bunny but she would not sit in his lap. She said all along she would sit beside him (thanks Santa!). Somehow HC & Nana were able to get Pappy up by the Easter bunny with HC. I was shocked to see this! Only HC has this kind of power.

I found this picture on the camera. It looks like there might have been a little bribery before the visit to the bunny. HA!

Ansley's Birthday Party

We kicked off the spring birthday parties with Ansley's party at the park. Before we headed over HC had to have some lunch. She opted for her new favorite, PB&J, on the back porch for a picnic. I did catch some pictures of her singing her blessings, "God Our Father".

Hannah Claire is very opinionated about how she wants things. Baby had to join her for the picnic but she somehow deserved a chair. She also had picked out her dress and notice the yellow high heels beside her. Everything has to be in its specific space for her to precede with eating. Can we say high maintenance?

After the picnic we headed to the park to celebrate Miss Ansley. Hannah Claire had a blast.

Poor Ansley tried her best to run away but HC followed her everywhere she went. She was not letting her out of her sight. She even tried to help Ansley open her presents.

Good news is that they were still buddies at the end of the party. Sweet girls!

Welcome Lillian

My best friend, Melissa and her husband Tony, welcomed their sweet baby girl Lillian into the world on April 7th. She is so precious! Shane, Hannah Claire and I went for a visit at the hospital. It's a good thing I am pregnant because I left with baby fever. I never really understood people saying that but I get it now. I was also interested to see how HC would respond to us holding another baby. She was fine with it. I was very thankful but then when I loaded these pictures she informed she didn't want me holding that baby. I guess we may have a few issues once Wyatt arrives. Melissa looks great and we are so excited for their family!

A Warm March Day

We got a nice warm day and a little bit of extra time one beautiful March day to head to the park and get in some play. Hannah Claire was loving it and so were Mommy & Daddy.

Judging by this picture you would think that HC had overcome her fear of swinging. You would be wrong! We get about one swing and then out she jumps. She just does not like to swing.

She ran straight to the rock climbing wall and headed up it. Last summer her legs were too short so she had to have help getting up the wall.

Not this year! She was very proud of herself when she made it to the top.

Hannah Claire also gave the monkey bars a try. She was a little unsure at first but her determination kicked in and off she went.

How can you not just love this face?

Daddy got some smooches in before we had to leave. I love these two!