It's been a while...

So, two months ago, our little Harper turned two. She has to be the sweetest little thing I know. She is funny, kind, sweet, opinionated, and incredibly polite. Age has such a sweet heart and loves her big sister more than life! 

To say things have been busy is an understatement! But I wanted to take a breather and catch up...and maybe be better at keeping my blog up to date. We'll see. Ha!

Three Cheers for Daddy

(06.15.14)

Father's Day was pretty laid back this year. Because Hallie had another dance recital, we decided we wouldn't stretch ourselves too thin with trying to fit a lot into the day. After lunch with Jonathan's parents, we headed to the recital venue. 

Don't you know dance recitals are exactly where a daddy wants to be on Father's Day?! Ha! Actually, as you all know, it isn't. And that is the only thing I dislike about our dance studio--having the recital on Father's Day weekend. 

But Jonathan was a trooper. He's one special guy and an amazing daddy to or precious girls! They have a wonderful example of what kind of guy to look for when they're dating and thinking about marriage...you know, when they're 40!

I got to talk to my dad on FaceTime. 

Never Grow Up

(06.14/15.14)

Hallie completed her fourth year at Joy's School of Dance last month. This year, she took ballet and tap again. 

Starting around January, the girls began learning their routines for the June recital. For tap, it was a catchy number called Pennies from Heaven. It was adorable and so was the routine.  I can't remember at what point I began listening to the song for ballet...but one day the words stuck me. And I felt a prickle of a tear forming in the corner of my eyes. 

"Oh darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up, just stay this little"...Taylor Swift goes on to sing verses about how innocent a child is, thinking everything is funny...then how she's mortified by her mom taking her to the movies...a mom reminding her to take mental pictures of her childhood...her first apartment. Thank goodness that recital song was spliced or all the other dance moms and myself would have been a sloppier mess than we already were! 

I remember the first time we all really listened to the song, peeking in through the viewing window as all our 5-6-7 year olds pointed their toes and swayed to the music, looking incredibly older than they were. We all agreed that we would need tissues come recital night. And we all did. 

The first day of Hallie's dance recital, Jonathan stayed home with Harper. The recital was at 2 pm and Harper would not have survived it. Plus, Hallie would be repeating the recital the next day (Father's Day). So I was able to simply enjoy watching Hallie with no one else to interrupt my thoughts, dreams, visions. And as I watched Hallie dance her very best on stage, swaying effortlessly to Taylor Swift's voice, I cried. Happy tears. Hopeful tears...bittersweet tears. I can beg Hal to never grow up, but that's impossible. She will...and I pray she and I both handle it with grace and love. 

And I'll always know that in my mind, she will always be "this little". 

Sweet ballet friends...

Ballet--first year and fourth year! 

Tap--first and fourth year!

Love these sweet girls!

Ten

06.05.14

Jonathan and I celebrated 10 years of marriage...and I celebrated the last day of school on my milestone anniversary. 

I cannot believe 10 years has passed. I love him more than that first day I saw him at the end of a school hallway in Cheyenne, WY. And I know I'll love him even more 10 years from now. Marriage is work...but it's worth it. There's nothing else that can make you crazy and happy and furious and heartbroken all on different days, and still be worth the time and effort. So many people jugs walk away from that commitment. I cannot say that the 10 years have been all sunshine and roses--we are human. But we both mad a promise to each other, and thank The Lord, we are both promise keepers! Through good times and bad, through rich days and poor days, through sickness and in health.

I love you, Jonathan!! Here's to 10...20...30...40...50...100 more! Muah!

So Long First Grade

06.05.14

Last day of First Grade

Second grade, here she comes! 

Awards Day

Hallie is such a smart, creative, and talented little girl! She loves learning and we pray that love for learning will continue well into her higher education days! This year, Hallie was one of two top achievers in the entire first grade...she had one of the two highest over-all averages! I was amazed and so proud! She also took her GT project to the district fair, got the Spanish award, Music Award, Perfect Attendance, and All A honor roll. She was pretty excited about her big goodie bag for Top Achiever!

Keep Calm and Play On

Field Day 2014...it was super fun this year because Hallie's class was outside with my class (since I teach first grade and she was in first grade). I could easily see her compete in all the events, tell her to keep her mouth closed during the muddy water slide, and we her class won't be tug-of-war battle! The sun stayed behind some clouds and the temps stayed unseasonably cool. It was perfect! 

  

Hal and her teacher, Mrs. Miller

It's been a while...

Goodness. No posts since Mother's Day. Gotta catch up with the goings on of the two HSE girls! Stay tuned! 

Mother's Day

I do not think I've had a better Mother's Day in the 7 years I've been able to celebrate. This past weekend was fabulous. There wasn't any one particular thing that made it so special...I just simply felt loved. The weekend was spent running a few errands, having lunch with some new friends, playing together outside as a family (swinging), and then cleaning up after Harper being sick. 

Hal and Harper went over to Jonathan's parents' house Saturday afternoon to decorate a cake for me! It was precious! 

Saturday night, Harper woke up with a fever. And then she followed that with vomit. We all slept in Sunday morning. And then Jonathan and the girls surprised me with breakfast in bed! What a treat!

Because Harper was feeling a little icky, we skipped church and rested. I'm almost positive someone was asleep from breakfast until lunchtime. We just took turns being awake! For lunch, we went to Jonathan's parents' house to celebrate. Harper was feeling a lot better by then, so we ventured out. We had made a pretty special gift for Jonathan's mom, so we were thrilled that she loved it!

Jonathan made one for me, too!

We had a super time Sunday afternokn! I am so thankful for my mom...sure do wish I could have spent the day with her! She is so strong and loving. She is crazy about our girls, and loves Jonathan like he's her own! I hope to be at least half the mom she was for my brother and me! I'm also thankful for Jonathan's mom--she loves me like I'm her own. And she loves Jonathan and our girls fiercely. 

We had a beautiful day! I am so thankful for my two precious girls...they are everything to me. And I'm thankful God chose me to be their mommy. I don't always get it right, but I always love them with my whole heart! 

Easter 2014

WI'm pretty behind in my blog posts...so I'll just start pretty close to the present. A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated Easter. It was a beautiful day to celebrate our Risen Lord. We did Easter baskets for the girls before church and are lunch with Gramps and RahRah after church. Jonathan's parents got Ressirection Eggs for the girls, so that was pretty special. Jonathan read through all the eggs, and each egg had something that symbolized Christ's journey to the cross. The last egg to be opened was empty. We know God is working in Hallie's heart. She has been asking a lot of questions about God, Jesus, and Heaven. We are praying for her heart to seek Truth and for it to open wide to Jesus's calling. 

Easter baskets from Nonna & Pop. 

Baskets from Mommy & Daddy

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

The Start of Spring Break!

03.07.14-03.08.14

Hallie finished up her Friday with a class-wide egg drop. First grade had been studying eggs and students were supposed to create a protective covering for a hard-boiled egg. A few little friends didn't quite get the hard-boiled memo--despite our attempts at them understanding (notes sent home, constant reminders). Let's just say those eggs didn't survive the 8 foot fall. Ha. But...thanks to the protective covering Hallie and her daddy made, her egg survived!! She was thrilled! 

Right after school, we went home and literally threw some clothes into the bag and headed to Alabama. I think it took less than two hours to get everything  together. We headed to Alabama as the sun began setting. 

Saying good-bye to Daddy...

One of our children appreciates sleep. One does not. Haha. We drove through the night and it wasn't the most pleasant experience thanks to the littlest HSE. 

Once we got to Nonna and Pop's house, both girls were very excited to get reacquainted with their American Girl dollhouse!

Everyone is ready for a relaxing week!