It is FINALLY feeling like spring around these parts.  Like most of the country, Kansas was majorly fighting with mother nature to achieve a normal Spring.  But this week we have beautiful, sunny temperatures and it could not be more welcome.

April thus far has been full of adjustments, holidays, Emily meeting tons of new people and very little sleep.


We kicked off the month with Easter.  A very cold Easter that ended icy and snowy.  Because why not.  We had good intentions of getting up, getting all these kids ready and getting to church with my parents... but after Brooke's birthday party the night before, it didn't happen.  Instead we went to brunch and then headed to my parents house.  After some family pictures in their cute little dresses they changed, we ate lunch and spent the better part of the afternoon wishing away an ice storm as it quickly came through, left its damage and moved on.  Luckily our trek home was not too hazardous and we considered it an overall success.


Another success?  Getting to catch up with an old friend after 6 years.  Derek was in town for a friends wedding and was able to stop in for a few hours to finally meet my girls and see our house.  I'm lucky to still have friends that I don't have to talk to everyday, but can still spend hours sitting around and chatting with.


Speaking of good friends. Thanks to Grace going to preschool, she made a cute little best friend that translated into a pretty good mama friend for me too and she's getting a special shout out because she brought us an amazing home cooked meal a few weeks back.. and I am still thinking about it.  Thanks Tricia, you are the real MVP.


On the topic of preschool... how cute are these kids?! They presented their last bible story of the year this month.  It was Jonah and the Whale.  Even Rob was able to join us for this one as it fell during paternity leave.  I can't even begin to express how much I love Grace's preschool, her teachers and that she has been learning this year.  Putting her in preschool was definitely the right call.


We celebrated Emily's due date on April 12th.  That also happens to be my mom's birthday.  I knew months ago that this little lady was not going to make it to her due date.  I was expecting to be induced during my 39th week... a certain little lady decided 37 weeks, 5 days sounded better.  She just wanted to celebrate Grandma's birthday on the couch instead of in a hospital room.


Can I just take a moment and talk about our dog? He's been with us for almost 2 years and he's still keeping me on my toes and learning new "tricks" everyday.  He's Rob's hunting companion and smart as a whip when it comes to retrieving.  But he's also a typical lab... ornery as can be.  He gives Brooke a run for her money when it comes to who can drive mama craziest.  His newest trick is digging under the fence to go hang out with the neighbors lab.  Which he always seems to do when I am trying to get the gang out the door to get somewhere on time.  So far this has led to one rescheduled speech session, a fence repair to an entire panel we didn't know was loose and a lot of crazy person phone calls and text messages.  When I say dogs are harder than newborns, I mean it.


This last weekend we took a small trip about two hours west.  The circumstances of this unexpected day trip have left us asking for prayers for our family.  One of our dear family members on my mom's side is in the ICU fighting for her life after a heart attack.  We went to visit with her and other family but were also able to see my best friend that lives there.  Her entire family has been battling some gunk so she had not gotten a chance to meet Emily.  So we had the good and the bad.  Along with trying out a new brewery and picking up some of the "best burgers in Kansas" for mom.  It was a long day but we are all super glad we were able to make the trip out and visit too.

That's April, so far, in a nutshell.  It's been a busy month being out numbered by the little people and fur child.  But somehow we are getting by.

And I will leave you with these gems of my sweets...





always,
amanda