Hoppy Easter!

We had a great Easter weekend. Saturday morning we started early with an Easter party at our church. We ate pancakes, colored, played, and hunted eggs. We got home to get stuff together for lunch, then headed down the road to Darren's grandpa's house. The kids played with some of their cousins and then ate yummy steaks that Darren, Glenn, and Greg grilled. After lunch, the daddies hid eggs, and the kiddos had a large time hunting eggs again. Dean and Daddy went home to take a nap, while KatieLynn and I went to surprise Catherine (my friend who happens to be 8 1/2 months pregnant with her 2nd baby; her oldest, Hadley, just turned 3). KatieLynn hunted eggs for the 3rd time that day with Hadley and her cousins. Sunday morning we attended church, and then went to Brenham for Easter lunch and one more Easter egg hunt. It stormed pretty hard that morning, but the sun was shining by lunchtime, and we hunted eggs outside with no problem.
I don't know how I could talk about Easter without mentioning Jesus. It is unthinkable what Jesus went through those days before Easter, and I can't begin to imagine what his mother felt. All I know is how grateful I am that Jesus loved us all so much.

The kids pretend to read the hymnals while we visit after church.KatieLynn and Dean work on their coloring sheets at church Saturday morning.I don't have a picture of Dean with the Easter bunny, because he had absolutely no interest in getting very close. After KatieLynn sat with the bunny, he gave her a little cup and pencil, and Dean was interested in that... we tried to bribe him to pose with the bunny, but the best the Easter bunny got this year was a wave from Dean. The wave did get Dean the cup and pencil. :) KatieLynn was happy to sit with the bunny; she's not scared of muchDean would check out the eggs before he put them in his basket, and it didn't take long for him to drop his basket, and play on the playground equipment.KatieLynn filled her basket to the brim (Darren bought this longaberger basket on her first Easter, but we may need to get a bigger basket for next year).Cousins: Emma, Claire, KatieLynn, & Dean

Our Girl turns 4!!

This year, KatieLynn wanted an 'orange' birthday party. One of her favorite shows to watch is Strawberry Shortcake, and she really likes the girl named Orange Blossom, plus her favorite fruit to eat is oranges; she eats one nearly every night... anyway an orange-themed birthday party was what she picked so we did the best we could. On Saturday, we had close family and a couple of KatieLynn's favorite friends over to celebrate. The kids ate and played, then sang Happy Birthday, and ate and played some more. It was a fun party!

KatieLynn passes out some of her oranges to Claire, Emma, Dean, and Hadley.Monday, March 30, was the actual birthday, and KatieLynn chose to have lunch at Chuck E Cheese. The kids had a large time playing, climbing in the tunnels, and eating pizza, and I think even Darren had fun.While Dean will eat practically any dessert, KatieLynn is a little more pickey. She does love icing, but not a cake fan, and ice cream is one of her favorites. On her real birthday she asked for brownies and ice cream for dessert, so that's what we fixed.This past weekend, we went with Darren to haul hay to the cows. The kids loved playing on the trailer while Daddy loaded it up.While Daddy & Dean fed the hay to the cows, KatieLynn picked flowers and stacked up rocks. Special things

• KatieLynn is great about finding the silver lining in all things; even when she's in trouble, she can smile and say "but tomorrow I'll get to... :)"
• Before she goes to bed, she wants to snuggle with me between her bedtime story and kiss good-night.
• She remembers Everything!
• She's good about taking turns (though sometimes she very much prefers to have the 1st turn, she then gives away the next turn very quickly)
• She always includes Dean and wants to make sure he has what she does.
• She gives great hugs and kisses.
• KatieLynn is very confident, but also knows her limits, whether it's physical or social, and she stops when it's too much.
• She's a great eater! Queso and chips is her favorite (she is after all my daughter!), but also loves pizza and red meat. She likes practically every fruit, and is good about eating raw vegtables like tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, and celery. Milk and water are her main beverages, but lemonade is her special drink.
• Playing outside is her alltime favorite: swinging, riding her pedal tractor and trike, jumping on trampoline, digging in the dirtpile, helping me in the flower beds, exploring the yard, hayfields, ricefields, riding tractors with Daddy
• Inside is fun too: Diecast Thomas and friends trains, dollhouse, taking care of babydolls, toy tractors & hay, painting, playdoh, reading books, play cooking and real cooking
• Favorite to watch on TV: Strawberry Shortcake, Thomas the Train, Sesame Street

I truly can't believe the little baby I brought home from the hospital 4 short years ago has grown into the sweet, young girl she is now. As soon as she was born, I loved her more than I could have ever imagined, but now we love her even more! God has blessed us so much! I pray that we will be Godly parents and good examples for both our kids.

Houston Rodeo Days

We had a great time at the rodeo this year! We wound up going 3 times; twice with the kids, and once without. The kids said they loved the horses and the fireworks the best. The kids loved the rodeo. Ever since, we've had lots of 'rodeos' in our garage, including calf roping, steer dogging, barrel racing, calf scramble, and mutton busting (kids riding sheep). We attended the Toby Keith concert, but we didn't stay very long because it was just too loud. I know I sound really old when I say that, but truly, it hurt our ears. Darren and I went back by ourselves to see Brooks-n-Dunn. The rodeo was very exciting, as it was the finals, and although the concert was loud, it was nothing like before... the music was great, and we stayed to the end.Waiting in line for the pony rideDean loved the pony rides; he talked about it for days before and days afterward!KatieLynn, too loved the pony rides!We rode the park-n-ride, and there was a girl on the bus who had the same shirt as KatieLynn; they were both quite excited!! For the next two days, KatieLynn kept asking me when she could play with her new friend from the bus. I said I didn't know where the girl lived, and she came up with "Maybe we'll see her again next year at the rodeo."Playing at Zube Park with the Gracie & ChipperThe girls are up high! Today is KatieLynn's 4th birthday; hopefully I'll post more soon! :)

Little Farming Kids

The kids new favorite spot is Daddy's hay shed. It's back behind our house, and they are ready to go there every chance they get. They climb on the round haybales, and jump from row to row. A few days when I was working on something in the house, and the kids were supposed to be playing in the yard, but instead they hiked down to the hay shed. They were just innocently playing, but I think they finally understand that they need permission to go down there.

Daddy's little helpers put the corn seed in all Daddy's little holes, after they put the fertilize out (which KatieLynn said smells just awful!). In the next few weeks, we'll add more vegtables, but Darren wanted to get the sweet corn planted a little early.

We all had a great weekend. My mom graciously came down to stay the weekend with the kids and Darren. Darren continued to work long hours, though he helped with bath and bedtime. KatieLynn and Dean had a wonderful time playing with and entertaining my mom. And lucky me -I had a girls weekend of sleep, rest, and scrapbooking in Fredricksburg. It's the first time I've been gone 2 nights, and I did miss the kids, but I came home completely recharged.

Good Weekend

Hi there. We had a busy weekend, but my camera was left at home, so I have no pictures. :( We celebrated birthdays Friday night at Darren's parents' house. I made a birthday cake for Darren's dad with a horse on it, that the kids (especially Dean) were super excited about! Then early Saturday morning, we headed to the deer lease with a bulldozer. Once we got there (about 5 hours later), the kids laid down to rest, and Darren dozed some of the roads. Around 4pm, we all drove around, looking at the deer, hogs, and rabbits. The kids had a great time, but their favorite was climbing up the tower blinds! Darren shot a couple of hogs, which KatieLynn thought was cool to put her hands over her ears. Dean wasn't so sure about covering his ears, but did say that the hogs were going night-night, after the shot. We came back Sunday afternoon, but I think next time we'll plan to stay at least 2 nights. Lots of fun!

Here's a couple of morning pictures, after breakfast, while I clean up the kitchen. Dean loves his tractors, and KatieLynn is playing with the playdoh.

The kids enjoy riding their tricycles. Dean has just started pedaling in the last couple of weeks, but starting to get pretty good.

KatieLynn loves her new trike!

Happy Birthday Darren!!

Darren turned 35 today. I think this was one of the most exciting birthdays for the kids (except their own!). They picked out his singing birthday card, helped me buy several of his gifts, and of course, they helped me bake the cake. Both of my kids personify everything from animals to characters in books, to cars, to trains. They imagine they are one of the objects, and sometimes imagine other people close to them are also objects... if that makes sense. Both the kids love trains, but especially KatieLynn, and she always says Daddy is Big, Strong, Henry, who's a green train with Thomas. So, when Darren said he didn't care what we put on his cake, KatieLynn picked big, strong, Henry. They were so excited about the cake all day long; KatieLynn just from pure birthday excitement and Dean really wanted to eat cake.

Daddy has help blowing out the candles.

Eating cake and ice cream Very intently eating!
Darren opens one of his presents (to hang in the garage).
This picture is from last week; the kids are pretending the treadmill is their bed.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very, merry, Christmas! We certainly did, and are just now getting back in routine again. I know I haven't blogged in a very long time, and I really don't have a good excuse, except that we have been enjoying all the busy holidays. My sister took these pictures outside of Robert Lee at an old Millican family place.

The kids loved decorating the house up for Christmas. They each had their own little Christmas trees in their bedrooms, and we tried to decorate some Christmas in each room of the house.

Dean, Emma, and KatieLynn open presents at Darren's parents' house.

Every year, my dad always reads the Christmas story from Luke, a tradition which I love, though Dean isn't too appreciative of the timing in this picture. I believe he's ready to open a present!

KatieLynn & Dean love their new hay bales and fork to haul hay around the house.

Dean and Daddy are excited about his new pedal combine. Dean especially likes the auger!

cousins: Emma, Claire, & KatieLynn

My angels playing outside

Dean playing in the yard

The kids crack pecans with their feet, though unfortunately, none of the pecans taste good.