New Beginnings

The past two weeks have moved along, though it's been a struggle to write amidst my sadness over the loss of Shelley, who will no longer enjoy life's milestones. But I must press on...

We celebrated David's Aunt Annie's 60th Birthday. We planned a surprise for her at her house. The theme was "Still the 'Apple of our Eye' after 60 Years." I had so much fun creating the decorations for this party. Pulling it all together allowed some creative juices to flow. Here are some pics from the party. One includes a real apple tree with golden paper apples on it, in which people were to write why Annie was the "Apple of their Eye.."


We also took some time, as extended family, to celebrate my Mother-in-law's Birthday at the local Cracker Barrel at the end of March. Going there is always an adventure with three kids, and always a big mess too!

With the welcoming of spring came new developments with my kids. Bekah loves to look at pictures and tries to leap out of my arms to get to any pictures that she sees. She also loves and can say, "duck." This little 11 month old is also beginning to really walk and is still remains as my little night terror.

Kaelah's language seems to be taking off and she is showing an interest in potty training again. We also moved Haleah's old toddler bed into Kaelah's room to try and get her transitioned to "Big Girl" bed. I am really antsy to sell at least one crib.

And Haleah is excited about the thought of attending preschool in the fall. She seems to be boy crazy already and loves to direct and lead playtime during the few playdates we've been having or attending lately. We are having some issues with her tantrum throwing and back-talking, but we are working to address these issues. Many cannot believe that there is this side to Haleah, as she is such an angel in public.

Haleah looking at playmate/friend, Tristan

We also bought a new swingset for the kids, as we realized that we should just buy the small one that the kids need, rather than wait for the super-duper wooden megaset that we really wanted to get. If we waited for that, then the kids would never get a set. And we realized that it doesn't take a lot to make kids happy. They don't know the difference.


This past weekend, I ventured out alone to the town's Egg Hunt with the kids, as David was working at the church. I saw some of my friend's familiar faces, but as the "hunt" began, I became annoyed with what transpired. One mother was trying to hoard all of the eggs hidden in one hole in a tree. She kept piling her own basket up. I finally said, "Could you save some for my kids?" My sweet children were just looking up at me innocently, waiting for an egg. They had no idea what was going on. The "mother hen" begrudgingly took her hand out of the tree hole for a moment. I reached in to retrieve the last two eggs, one for each of my kids (and I was holding the baby in my arms too, mind you). The woman then tried to squeeze her hand back in with mine in the tree hole. I had NO IDEA that this hunt was going to be competitive. I could not believe it. Those two eggs that I practically had to steal from the "hoarder" were the only eggs my children got (one each) the whole time. What a let down. I had talked this whole Egg Hunt up with my kids and I don't think this experience was positive.

My poor kids with the one SAD egg they each got...

The upside was that my friend Trish planned an Egg Hunt at her house for some kids to participate in and my kids were able to find and pick up a whole basket of eggs without excessive trampling and/or competition. It was so nice of her to do that. There are still good mothers left in this world who know how to do things right. I suppose I have a lot to learn about motherhood and interacting with other parents.

Other milestones over the past week included mine and David's 8th Anniversary. We celebrated by going to The Melting Pot restaurant which just opened up in the city. It was so wonderful. We had no right to spend the money that we did, but we decided that we were going to enjoy it. We had been to a Melting Pot fondue experience once before when we lived in Colorado Springs and loved it. This time we had what was called Big Night Out. It included a cheese fondue, a salad, a Surf and Turf entree fondue and a chocolate "Yin and Yang" fondue finale. Everything, including our waitress, was fantastic. After we dined, we walked outside near the outlets where lighted fountains were and took silly pictures together. It was great. David and I have our ups and downs, but it nice to let it all go for an evening and just enjoy one another's company.

The Yin Yang chocolate swirl and a tray of delcious desserts to dip!

I am going to try to take things one day at a time, accepting life as it is (even when the sad and tragic happen), while appreciating the small tokens and treasures.