Easter Fun!

Easter was a very busy yet wonderful day! I sang with the choir in Sunday Morning, taught YW, came home and made Easter "lunch" and chauffeured Warren around to two Easter egg hunts! We were exhausted by days end!

After church Uncle Steve and Aunt Julie invited us over for dinner and Easter egg hunt! All the kids had so much fun!

Uncle Steve & Benny Boo. Always smiling!

Aunt Julie & me.

Everyone got a bucket full of treats!

Our friends the Jones' also invited us over for an egg hunt at dusk & yummy Easter dessert!!

Snips, snails & hunting.

Janelle's classic Easter bunny cake & THE most delicious lemon cake EVER. Oh. Yea.

Greek Parking Only

Weston's mom (Jan aka YaYa) came to Texas for 2 weeks for a visit! She kept us very busy. Here are a few highlights!

Weston showing his mom his office in the Galleria.

Playing frisbee. It is a rare moment when Weston gets silly and even more rare to catch it on camera. Priceless.

Fun playing frisbee.

Ya Ya & Benjamin cheering on the guys.

While Jan was here she was very helpful around the house. It was like having a full time housekeeper. I have since looked into the cost and wondering if I could talk Weston into one. What no mints on the towels Jan?

We enjoyed conference immensely. Homemade Quiche & Cinnamon Muffins were delicious......and the talks were wonderful too!

Mark was a great help with some projects that we have needed to get done around the house. Weston's honey do list was cut in half while he was here!

Warren showing YaYa one of his favorite spots......the turtles down at the bayou.

Warren & Mom at the Houston Zoo

Riding the new train at Houston Zoo with Ya Ya. Warren was in heaven.

Weston & Mark on a stakeout for drinks & money in the Exxon gas station parking lot.

Thanks for coming out for a visit Jan & Mark. We sure enjoyed spending time with you!

If Jesus Came....

Lately, Warren has been waking up in the night scared of the "shadows" he sees in his room. We have had lots of prayers and talks about the shadows. The thing that has seemed to help the most is to just compare the shadows to silly things like rocks and trees. I always tell him that shadows are like rocks and trees because they don't have arms, legs or faces. They cannot move. They just sit there. That would be silly to be afraid of a rock or a tree don't you think? Then he laughs and we joke a little more.

At bedtime each night Warren gets a book of his choice to read, followed by scripture reading. Instead of scriptures tonight, we read a new book that I bought him today. It was entitled If Jesus Came To Visit Me. I was totally fightin' back the tears.

Here is how it goes:

If Jesus came to visit me,

I know just what I'd do.

I'd wrap my arms around him tight

And say, "I'm glad its you!"

I'd ask him, "Are you thirsty?

Would you like a snack to eat?"

I'd take his sandals, then I'd get

Some slippers for his feet.

I'd make some jelly sandwiches,

Cut apple chunks and cheese.

We'd sit down at my table,

I'd say "May I serve you, please?"

I'd fill my little teapot and

Then pour two cups of tea (herbal of course).

I'd thank God for the food we have

And he'd say "thanks" to me!

I'd ask how things in heaven were

And see if he would tell

If Grandpa's found some friends up there,

And if he's doing well.

I'd ask if we might take a walk

On such a gorgeous day.

We'd search for figures in the clouds.

I'd show him where I play.

He'd push me on a swing so high.

I'd push him in return.

I'd say I had more things to ask

And so much more to learn.

I'd say "I have some questions that

I'd like to ask you now.

Like, why's the sky so blue, not green,

And how do cats meow?

"So, why don't do sweet peas taste so sweet?

Will you please answer that?

And tell me, will my parents ever

Let me have a Cat?

"Now, why do sharks have such big teeth

When smaller ones would do?

And why spiders have eight legs,

But people have just two?

Why can't I see banana seeds?

They never seem to show.

Why does my brother fuss so much?

All this I'd like to know?

"And why did God make ostriches

With wings that cannot fly? (choking up)

When you were up on the cross, (fighting back the tears hard)

I wonder, did you cry?

"Why is it that I get so scared

When I'm in bed alone?

And was it fun to heal the sick

But hard to move that stone?"

We'd slowly walk back to the house

And he would hold my hand.

He'd answer all my questions so

That I might understand.

I'd want to give him something so

That he'd remember me.

He's given me so much so far,

And all of it's been free.

How about my bike or scooter or

My little horse or cart?

He couldn't take those with him, so...

I know! (Silently, I begin to cry)

I'll give my heart!

Warren looks at me at sees me crying and throws his arms around my neck, squeezes me tight and says "He cannot take his heart out of his belly, mom. That would be silly!"

And that is one of the "mom", moments that makes it all worth it! Love that boy.

A real hootenanny.......

It is Rodeo season in Houston! We have almost lived here 3 years and I am ashamed to say this is the first year that we have ventured out to the festivities! The Houston Rodeo is supposed to be the biggest in the US! There was so much to do we could have spent 10 days there!

Warren loved seeing all the farmers animals. He kept waving his hat saying "Howdy Partner" to all the cowboys he saw.

Watching the Pig Races. We came with our cousins Emily & Devon and luckily we bumped into more! (Warren, Nathan, Emily P, Devon, Cami & Will)

Warren's dream finally realized. He was the best date I have ever had on a ferris wheel (Don't think Weston & I have ridden one together before). He was in awe. "I can see everything mom! I am as high as the birds!" "Thanks for riding the ferris wheel with me mom, it was the BEST!"

Warren mustered up the courage to ride the super slide all by himself!

Benjamin was an angel baby all day long. Just chillin in the stroller.

Ben's happy place. He loves his feet and if he is sitting he always has his chubby little legs sticking up in the air! It doesn't get much cuter than that.

Top: The pig & gascar races. Two goats, a sheep, pig, and a duck. The hen "chickened out" in the previous race but decided to join this one. Such a hoot!

Bottom: Warren experiencing his first pony ride.

Happ-E Birthday Warren!

Warren turned four on Monday the 9th of March! We started the week off with a little family celebration the day of his birthday. Per his request we enjoyed chocolate cake with white icing and sprinkles!

On Saturday Warren got to experience his first ever "friend" birthday bash. It was a Wall-e themed party and I had way too much fun planning it all. In this photo the kids were ever so patient to start playing Wall-E, Wall-E .....EVE!

The excitement and suspense of the pinata.

Everybody on the floor!

Singing Happy Birthday

Finally..... time for cupcakes!!!

A real Wall-E robot! "How cool is that!?"

Assessing the new building materials with my friend "Bishop".

Reading the fine print. Not one glorious detail can be overlooked.

Happy Birthday Warren! We love you!

The real San Francisco treat.....

Every year me and my best friends from Ann Arbor get together for our girls weekend retreat. We now all live throughout the US and so each year we take turns hosting. This year we visited Ronna in San Francisco! It was my first time as an adult visiting the bay area but I tell you..... I fell in love! I think it is the most gorgeous of all the big cities. Too bad it is SO dang expensive to live there. Oh, well.....we can always come visit right Ronna?

Ronna, Cheri & I pose in front of Lombard Street. The most crooked street EVER.

Katie, Ronna, Caitlynn, Cheri, Benjamin & me... in the first holding cell in Alcatraz.

Alcatraz. Despite the fact that it was a US penitentiary for some of the most notorious criminals such as Al Capone and many of his gangster friends.....the island itself was gorgeous. Gardens and wildlife galore.

Katie snuggling with Ben and his cheeks.

At a lookout point on top of the Academy Museum of Art.

At the Academy of the Sciences aquarium.

Touching star fish, sea urchins and other un-identified sea objects.

Cheri in front of one of the massively beautiful redwoods....in Muir Woods.

The golden gate bridge and me.

Bring on the San Francisco food baby! We tried it all....from fancy seafood, chowder on the pier, and sandwiches on classic San Francisco Sourdough. This was a place called Lucca's. The sandwiches were some of the tastiest ever.....people will sit on dirt to eat them. Yum!

Can I just say how much I love these ladies!? Well I do. A LOT!! Until next year girls! What happens in San Francisco stays there right?

Sister Safari...

The last 10 days we have been playing with my sister Melinda, who came to visit us for the first time ever since we moved from Utah. It was so fun to have her here and we enjoyed lots of good laughs. I tease her because she is "home body" and so it was extra special to us that she took the time and money to come out and visit us.

After an almost exhausting lunch at the original Joe's Crab Shack (a story for a whole other post) with a 6 mo, 1, 2 & 3 year old...we tried to laugh it off and escaped for some sunshine on the Boardwalk in Kemah.

My friend Andrea lives nearby and joined us for a fun day at the boardwalk. Warren, Jonah & Ashira overlooking the Gulf.

Warren & Ashira waiting ever so patiently for the chance to spot the boardwalk train.

Exploring the Houston Zoo.

Warren and Jonah loved the giraffe's. Especially, Miles the new baby Giraffe.

I had to take a picture of his classy birth announcement. Eleven minutes.....now THAT is impressive.

Warren always loves to ride the zebra on the carousel.

She even shared her secret Cinnabon cinnamon roll recipe with us. yummy!

Benjamin = the biggest flirt EVER. Aunt Melinda = biggest sucker EVER.

Me and Ben at Stewart beach in Galveston. This was our first time down since Ike. A lot of business' were back and functioning but the island is still crippled and in great need of reconstruction. There is still a lot of debris scattered about. It was humbling to see all the beach houses, structures, piers and marina's that were completely destroyed. It made me feel so lucky that all we lost was a couple of weeks of power and our back fence.

Jonah loved the ocean! As soon as we turned down sea wall blvd all he could do was point and say "ook, ook, ook (look)". It was a bit overcast but warm so we let him down to play on the beach.

Thanks for coming out and spending time with us Melinda! Thanks for helping us laugh. We love you!