April showers bring May flowers!

Hi everyone! As usual,  another month has flown by without me posting anything! Ah well. We have been keeping busy with projects on the house, musical rehearsals and family get-togethers! And of course Kira keeps us entertained every day with her little antics. What a ham this girl is!

 I have been dying to get outside and start working on the side garden next to the house. Mom warned me not to attempt any planting until May because I would run the risk of a frost. Well, I was able to wait til a week before May to do this so close enough right? Below on the left corner is tulips. In the middle is an azalea bush and next to that are the hastas. On the other side of the chimney is a yellow rhododendron. This picture just does not do that bush justice...it is a beautiful yellow bush, Mom went with me to a place called "Perrenial Gardens" and we both fell in love with this bush. It just has a wow factor to it!

Cheeeeeeeese!

 Of course Kira had to get in every picture I took! Below is the maple tree that was given to us by Tom's parents. I don't think it is a Japanese Maple but I could be wrong. Maybe Christian would know as he is the tree expert? :-)

 And this tree I am really excited about...it is a flowering plum and we planted it on the other side of our yard. It can grow up to 20 feet, has pink flowers in the spring and then these deep red leaves the rest of the year.

 In other gardening news, I am very sad to report that my crape myrtle did not survive the winter. The other bushes are doing well, even my winter pansies are blooming again but the crape myrtle didn't make it so now I have to figure out what to replace it with. I don't want anything super tall there but would like to have something with color. Any ideas or suggestions?

Weekend get away

Enjoyed a nice 3 day get away in Ocean City Maryland this weekend! One of the perks of Tom's job is, sometimes he gets asked to do some recruiting for the school. He gets put up in a nice hotel and all expenses are paid. The school graciously extended the offer to include me and Kira so we decided to go with him.

It was a very nice hotel, with a view of the bay right out our window.


Here we are getting ready to go into the convention center for the first time so Tom could set up...


The last day we were there it actually snowed!


There is a car under there...and right before we took this picture, Kira walked right into a big puddle and completely drenched her shoes. But she was still having a ball so it didn't matter!


We ate a a couple nice places while we were there...one was a place called The Bayside Skillet. They are known for their HUGE portions and especially for their crepes. I got a banana crepe with toasted almonds and Tom got a bacon, spinach and cheese omelet. Yum!

 The convention center, before all the schools came in and set up their booths...

 I don't know why these are turning out blurry...I guess I tried to make them too big??

The first haircut!

Have been trying to grow Kira's hair out, but right now, it is at an awkward stage where it was hanging in front of her eyes. It was also a little too long now to give her a "sprout" b/c it just straight up in the middle of her head about 4 inches! So just decided to take the plunge and have someone even up the back and cut in some bangs.

As you can see, she wasn't very happy, and didn't really understand what was going on, but the end result was worth it, because it looks cute and is out of her face! Looking at her now, she reminds me even more of how Grace looked when she was this age, it's almost uncanny!

Busy Busy

Well, things have been ramping up more so over here since the start of my children's musical last Saturday. The musical centers around the biblical story of Moses and the exodus and we have about 35 kids participating. The first rehearsal went better than expected and I had such a blast working with the kids so I am excited as each Saturday rolls around. 

Kira is getting bigger and bigger. She likes sleeping with "her baby" and when she wakes up from her nap I often hear her in her crib playing happily and talking to all the stuffed animals. She is really getting to be quick a ham and cracks us up every day.

 She loves her Daddy too. She loves sitting on his lap and sharing breakfast with him. He doesn't mind it either.

 I just had to put in a picture of these shoes. I entered a giveaway contest a couple of weeks ago for these shoes and won them! They came in the mail today! They are Aerosoles so not only are the cute but comfy as well!

How God is working in our lives in LOVE

Because I believe in God and His sovereignty, I believe that everything happens for a reason, even the bad things...but it can still be tempting to fall into the bad pattern of doubt and worry. That is why it is nice when some little thing happens just at the right time to encourage and uplift one's spirits. 

The past couple months have been a little bit of a struggle for me. The reason is because once Kira turned one, I started getting questions of "are you going to have another baby?" more and more. Since I try to be upfront, I would answer yes but inside me there was a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat. I started feeling more and more pressure to be pregnant. I wanted to be pregnant now. I guess this may sound funny to some of you reading this but this issue really became all-consuming in my life. I am writing this down as a testimony to God's gracious and compassionate hand in my life. I started turning to Him more in prayer and began really seeking Him more fervently. I needed answers. I prayed for patience and wisdom. I also prayed that He would reveal His plan to me in HIS time. It is amazing what happened. I started to feel PEACE finally about this issue.  

I don't know what the future holds, but I know I need not worry. God is in control. What can man do to me? Thank you God for your loving hand on my life. I am truly blessed.

A playdate at Grammy's house!

Kira got to spend the morning at Grammy D's on Monday....my mother-in law had off from work since it was a holiday and graciously offered to watch Kira in the morning to allow me to go out and run errands sans child! Wow. What a luxury! Well, I can safely say she had fun. She practically ran in the door and didn't even look when I left. 

Here she is enjoying a snack.

Then when I walked back in the door a few hours later, she was pushing her baby stroller around the room. She may look like me but this girl definitely got Tom's outgoing and spunky personality. 

More Snow??

It sure does seem like we are getting more than our fair share of snow this winter. Just the other morning, I was listening to the news and the announcer said something about how there is snow in 49 states right now. Hmmmm, do you think it's about time we get rid of the phrase, "global warming?"

I do enjoy being outside in the snow! Especially right after the storm when it is calm and the sun is out. It's so white and clean looking, and the crisp, cold air on your face is quite invigorating...

But just as nice is to come inside to the toasty house and jump under the covers with a good book! Mmmmmm, so cozy!