Send a Little Love...

...over to Meredith. She recently made the HUGE decision to stay at home with her two girls, and I know a little support from some SAHMs would be much appreciated! Just click here.

Easter

I love Easter. I love the weather this time of year, love the candy and cookies, love the egg dying and hunting. I love that we all take some time out to really think about what Jesus did for us on the cross.

I recently read "Heaven is For Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of his Trip to Heaven and Back" by Todd Burpo (his dad) with Lynn Vincent. I have to say reading this AMAZING story right before Easter was perfect timing (our Pastor even mentioned the story in his sermon Sunday!).

The first part of the story, where Colton's dad describes the days that led up to their almost losing their 3-year-old son due to a ruptured appendix, was really hard to read. I think anyone would have been emotional reading it, but as a parent I had a very real encounter with the horrifying thought of losing my child. Reading all about little Colton's stories of Heaven was so amazing and comforting in so many ways... but those first few chapters really hit me hard and I find myself going back to that part of the story, trying to come to grips with the fact that sometimes God's plan is to take a young child up to Heaven, and not return them to their parents. Just the thought of losing a child is so painful, I can't imagine the suffering involved with actually losing a child.

This thought seemed to give me a new insight on Easter. I remember being, oh, probably around 6 or 7 and crying in church on Easter Sunday because I was so sad that Jesus had to go through so much pain for us. It's one of my favorite childhood memories... that absolute, unquestioning faith. Since then, the meaning of Easter was always important to me, but maybe not quite as powerful.

This Easter however, I was again emotional thinking about the sacrifice that God made by allowing his only son to die for us. It was really the first time it hit me from the perspective of a parent.

I don't presume to know or understand the "whys" of God's actions, but it does seem really important to me that he would make a sacrifce that would speak to everyone on the planet- if you're not a parent, you have a parent and you understand the bond between parent and child. The weight of His message hit me so strongly this Easter. Spending time with my family, husband, and son was more meaningful to me than ever. I feel so incredibly blessed. And I have a feeling that this Easter will always stand out in my memory.




Decorating cookies with mom and sisters... with some "help" from Carson.



It got pretty late as we finished the cookies... I was up till 11:00 that night- waaay past my bedtime!



Some of the finished cookies...





Daddy and Carson having breakfast Saturday morning.



All cleaned up and ready for the crawfish boil at Aunt Dotty and Uncle Leon's house.



Mommy, Mamo, and Carson finding a good spot to sit to watch the SURPRISE wedding vow renewal ceremony! It was Dotty and Leon's 45th wedding anniversary, and Leon surprised Dotty with a vow renewal!! It was so beautiful... the love these two share is amazing and it was a blessing to see them share it with so many that day.



Dotty and Leon, just after the ceremony. I love Dotty's face in this picture!



The happy couple with their daughters, Dana and Shelley. Unfortunately, Carson had a meltdown shortly after the ceremony and we had to miss the egg hunt and confetti eggs... maybe next year!

That night, right before bed (and apparently before I got a chance to clean my kitchen... yikes) we dyed Easter Eggs for the first time!









The whole process (however short- it was bedtime afterall) was adorable. He LOVED stirring the eggs in the dye. It was very exciting!



At NeeNee's house on Sunday, Carson decided he loved to sit in his toy bucket, burried in toys. Sean and I decided this was the way to go... since he was contained in one area for a whole five minutes!! NeeNee's house is famous for its nicknacks and Carson goes from side table to coffee table to just about every reachable surface in the house getting in trouble!! We're constantly chasing him!





The best family picture we got that day... my forehead is shiny and Sean's is missing... oh well! :)

Later at Grandma's house the adults were super tired from a long weekend... but Carson was BUSY.











Sean got a huge kick out of him carrying his ball in his mouth... I think he may be learning a little too much from his doggy!

Vacation!

Sean and I spent 5 baby-free days in Grand Cayman last week. It was beautiful!



The view up and down the beach where we were staying, the Westin on Seven Mile Beach, was sooo pretty. We could basically just walk out the door of the hotel and onto this amazing stretch of beach. It was busy, but people watching was fun!



We did quite a bit of snorkeling while we were there. There were reefs right off the beach where we were staying, and we went on two sail trips. The first was to Stingray City. I spent a grand total of 45 seconds in the water there. Um. No. Definitely NOT for me. (Honestly, I was hanging on to Sean while this HUGE, MAMMOTH creature swam up to me and I started screaming "PUSH IT AWAY! PUSH IT AWAY!" while practically climbing up his back and the boat Captain shouts down to me, "Ma'am are you OK?" to which I reply, "NO! I'M FREAKING OUT!" I promptly got the hell out of there.)

Sean hung out a little while, but as you can tell from these photos the Captain of our boat took for us (everyone was really nice!) Sean was pushing those HUGE things away from him (seriously like 3 feet across, although when they're swimming at you they look about 6 feet across). They swim right up to your face. Your face. It was so not cool.

While Sean was swimming, I was getting a drink.









In the picture above, a crew member is holding a stingray while Sean pets it. Gross.

The other sail trip took us to the Kittiwake, which is a sunken US submarine. It was purposely sunk in January this year and so there wasn't lots of marine life there yet, but it was pretty neat to snorkel around a sunken ship!



I almost didn't get in at the second stop because I saw a huge fish right next to me as soon as I got in the water. I started climbing back up the ladder when this random lady (she was with the "party crew" on the boat that day) started heckling me! Being called a "wuss" was apparently all it took to get me back in the water. I'm glad I did because I didn't see any other huge fish and it was the prettiest reef we had seen yet.

We went out for a few romantic dinners while we were there... the coolest was a place called Casanova's where we basically sat right on the water. (Sean literally asked the host to seat us at the "best table in the house." I was so embarrassed, but glad we had such a cool table!)





We got to watch the sunset, which was really pretty. Our waiter took a few pictures for us. Seriously, everyone was sooo nice!





We spent an afternoon walking around Georgetown, which was fun. Full of souvenir shops and restaurants because that's where all the cruise ships dock for the day.





We had lunch down there and of course, a big fruity drink. No vacation is complete without the fruity drink.



Other than that... we did a lot of this...





It was much harder to leave Carson than I thought it would be. I cried a few times, and not just when we were leaving. I really, really missed him while we were gone. But I will say that I am glad we went! I came back relaxed, tan, and more in love with my little family than ever. I realized just how much I love being a mom. It was a great trip, and I am happy to be home.

Say "Mama!"

For the last few weeks, I thought that Carson didn't really get the difference between "mama" and "dada." He'd say one or the other and never at the appropriate time. No biggie.

Now... he gets it. He easily remembers to call Sean "dada" whenever he sees him. But me? Does he say "mama" when he sees me? Nope. And when I ask him to say "mama"... well, watch the video and you'll see. He's a stinker.

Embrace the Camera: April 9th

This is a little scary for me... pictures of Carson are sooo much cuter than pictures of the two of us together, and I'm not a photographer by any stretch. But I like the idea a lot. (Click on the picture above to read more about Embracing the Camera.)

I love looking at pictures of myself and my mother and father when I'm small... and I know Carson will love it one day too. Enough of the "I'll take a picture with the baby the next time I dress up" mantra (firstly because I hardly ever dress up, secondly because when I do, I forget to take a picture).

So here I am... embracing the camera for the first time.




Yes, of course I let my child chew on old toothbrushes, doesn't every good mother do that? And, yes, we are sitting on the bathroom floor.



Big, fat, blurry (terrible photographer, remember), open-mouth kiss. Sigh. I don't even care that he slobbered me up and most likely left a little snot somewhere on my face... that's love.



"Mama? What is going on here??" (Oh, snotty nose. This has been a long week of pink eye, sore throats, and snotty noses. Long. Week.)

This is life around here. PJ's, ponytails, smudgy mascara, babies with snotty noses... not perfect or pretty. But absolutely just. right.

Happy Birthday, Sean!

Saturday was my sweet husband's 30th birthday. I asked him repeatedly what he wanted to do for this monumental occasion... and he said a quiet dinner out to his favorite steakhouse. Well... I guess I thought 30 was too big of a birthday to celebrate with just a "quiet dinner." I decided that a surprise birthday party at his favorite steakhouse was much more appropriate.

SURPRISE!!







Some of our most favorite people in the world... thanks for making this surprise so special!



My beautiful mom and sisters.



Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Robby... out for one of the first times since little Mason was born one month ago. Stephanie looks amazing!



Sean's wonderful parents, Cindy and Jerry.

Strangely enough, Sean wasn't all that happy about his party at first. To be honest, I knew he would probably react that way, but come on... it's his 30th birthday!!! I can't just let it slide along like any other birthday! It needed to be a big deal! I wanted him to know just how loved he is!



As we lit the candles, he still looked just a little ticked off.



But here he's looking a little happier! Ha! I guess a round of "Happy Birthday" did the trick.



The whole bunch. I can't thank everyone enough for coming out and making this such a memorable birthday for Sean. We love you! Sean finally admitted on the way home that he felt pretty special... but I'm not allowed to even think about another surprise party until he's 50. Ha!



It's hard to believe I met this man when we were only 16, started dating at 17, and at 30 I feel like we're still the same couple from high school... totally in love and amazingly blessed to have each other. Here's to the next 30 years together, Sean. Love you.