Eggs, Baskets, Sunshine, and Dirt!?

The day before Easter Mother and I took M&M to Uptown Station. OK, so what really happened is we got the time wrong for the Easter Bunny. But they still had fun running around the big grassy area even if we never did catch a glimpse of the Bunny. The first picture is typical with them right now; Michael just strolling around in the grass and Mary Ellen full speed toward the parking lot and the train. The girl has NO FEAR! She's just so dang cute when she "runs". And to think I was worried about them not walking, ha!

After we missed the Easter Bunny we got an invite to an Egg Hunt for the kids in the neighborhood. M&M really did have fun with the other kids. They liked the idea of hunting for the eggs, which were really just strewn around the lawn clear as day, but their attention span was pretty short. Now that I think about it, it was probably just TOO easy for them!

Sweet little Mary Ellen gave it the best effort. Dee helped her find them and add them to the basket.

Michael tried to get into it but the front-end loader looked much more appealing! Look close and you can see a blue egg hidden under the yellow bucket. I really don't think he cared much.

So after about 15 minutes of egg-hunting they both ended up in the sand with the toys. I guess it's more age-appropriate anyway!

They woke up Easter morning to their Easter baskets and were very excited. Mary Ellen has traded her lovie for the white bunny now. Michael loved to shake the plastic eggs with the jelly beans in them.

We did get it together enough to make it to church that morning. Early service , no doubt! They just looked angelic in their matching outfits. We were sad to not have Daddy with us. But are looking forward to seeing him soon. He arrived this morning into South Carolina and should be coming down to Florida to pick us up in a few days. Fun and memorable Easter. I know they won't remember it. But it's memorable to me. I am determined to enjoy it all. I see M&M becoming little people before my eyes every day and I don't want to miss a thing!

Fun At Dee's

At the beginning of April we travelled down to Florida (yes, another 10 hour trip...in the car this time) to visit my Mother. Andrew was having to fly back to the Middle East to transition his replacement and be there for the movers. But he was kind enough to help me take M&M and all our paraphernalia down to Florida before he flew out. Have I mentioned what a WONDERFUL husband I have?! The trip went fine thanks to CAS and Christy's portable TV. Now I understand why people have DVD players in the car!! We were able to take some time with each other before he left thanks to my Mother. I was also able to go for a few days with my girlfriends for our annual beach weekend. This was the first time I'd ever stayed away overnight from M&M. I did pretty good...I REALLY needed the break...but probably bugged my mom and Aunt Max to death with all the phone calls to check up.

My Mother retired on April 13th after over 30 years at her job. They had a nice celebration for her and we were able to be there.

It was still very chilly in Florida when we arrived but M&M could not get enough of being outside. So I went and got a few fleece items on sale, bundled them up and let them have a ball! The swings are one of their favorites.

Well, I'm getting caught up but still have more Easter fun to document. I've also taken some great pictures of M&M in Dee's yard with all the flowers blooming. They are still loving being outside especially now with the sunshine and warmer temperatures. We are enjoying being here in Florida but are anticipating going back to South Carolina soon to get stared on our house!

South Carolina

I'm still trying to catch everyone up on what's been happening since we arrived back in the States. The first several weeks we stayed with our best friends CAS & Christy while we house-hunted in South Carolina. We had such fun! Just living like one big communal happy family! The kids all played and we were able to share some responsibility so it worked out perfect. How wonderful of our friends to be so generous!

Michael and Mary Ellen's first bath together in the tub. What fun they had! Why did we wait so long to do this? Truly their favorite new activity.

David loved playing with M&M. You can definitely tell he's the big brother. So sweet with both of them. Mary Ellen took to David immediately. We loved to joke about David being her boyfriend. She would always get so excited when he came into the room.

Carly sharing stuffed animals with Mary Ellen. What a sweet sensitive girl Carly is! She also loved to show off her pet gerbil "Harry" to M&M. Wow, a living moving animal...they loved it!

Daniel also loved playing with M&M. And vying for some sorely lost attention. Poor Daniel, he was the baby and then instantly there were TWO more babies to compete with. He was so sweet putting Mr. CAS's hat on Mary Ellen.

Such a cute shot of Mary Ellen standing in Mr. CAS's boots!

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day during those first several weeks back. No big holiday for us really. But another fun occasion to take cute pictures of M&M. We were happy to be back in South Carolina (have I mentioned that!) and loved going for walks. It was still VERY cold there so we actually were able to bundle M&M up. After living in over 100 degree weather for a year it was really such fun! Don't they look like the kid in "A Christmas Story"?

Such fun! And we're looking forward to lots more fun times with our precious friends...since we're building our house right across the street from them!!!

Emelda

Emelda was our housekeeper in Bahrain. We just love her and so does Michael and Mary Ellen. She was such a blessing to us in so many ways. We captured a few moments with her and M&M before we all left.

Boy, will I miss the help with the house. And we will surely also miss her sweet smile and kind heart too!

Desert

I thought I better go back and blog some events during the long month of March when we were in transition. So much has happened, and the past month and a half has seemed like a year. Our last week in the Middle East we decided to take Michael and Mary Ellen down to the southern end of the island and take some pictures in the desert. They had just started walking and were very shaky on the rocky terrain but had fun finding rocks. No kidding this is what 2/3 of the island looks like.

The oil wells are real interesting and they loved watching them move. So we stopped for some pictures. My how they love their Daddy. They're in a big "Daddy phase" right now. So the one who spent 7 months carrying them, enduring the pain of a C-section, 5 blood transfusions, 10 days in the hospital and being by their side for 24 days that they were in the NICU; got to take pictures! They'll appreciate it one day, right?!

But really, what dolls they are! And some good memories of our time in the Middle East.

Happy Easter

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. The fact that we are celebrating the resurrection of our Savior is the most important reason, of course. But I also love the feeling of Spring. All the flowers blooming and the sunshine always puts hope in my heart and a smile on my face. It is also a time to find just the right matching Easter outfits for Michael and Mary Ellen. OK, I'm a dork , I know. But they aren't going to let me dress them in matching outfits forever, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can!

We were sad to, yet again, be separated from Andrew this Easter. But had such a fun day in Florida with my Mother. The pictures are from their Easter portraits. They just turned out adorable, if I do say so myself. M&M were so happy and just smiled like little pros for the photographer.

Hope everyone's Easter was a blessed and joyous day. He is risen!

We're Back!

Well, we finally made it back to the good 'ole USA! And my how we are happy to be back. The trip back was MUCH more difficult than the trip over. I was really expecting it. Gone are the sleepy infant days. We have blazed non-stop into toddler-hood with seemingly non-stop walking and talking! Let's just say the 22 hour trip seemed much more like 44 hours! We were just happy to get back to the comfort of our best friends, CAS and Christy's beautiful house in South Carolina and relax.

We spent several weeks house-hunting and finally decided to build in CAS and Christy's very same neighborhood! So we'll be vagabonds for a little longer but we'll be able in the end to have the beautiful house we want. And since we'll be in South Carolina for some time, it will be worth it.

I just have to mention how GREAT our God is! We began this transition with trepidation, stepping out on faith that God would provide for us. Separating from the Air Force during these economic times and taking only a part-time Air National Guard position was definitely a step of faith. But God has been so good to demonstrate his abundant care for us. Within the first 2 days we arrived state-side, He provided another job for Andrew that is simply perfect in every way. Full insurance coverage, the same salary as we have now, and plenty of time each month for his Air National Guard job. He has worked every detail out with the frustrating separation process and we stand amazed at how the details of our life really do matter to Him! Thank you to all our friends and family who have lifted us up in prayer.

We'll have plenty of pictures to share soon. So stay tuned!