Our New Car

While we were in the Dallas area for the girls' birthday, Bryan and I started talking about our need for a new car. We decided it was time to trade in my old car and get something a little newer and more reliable. After much research over the next week, we found a great deal on a 2011 Honda Pilot, but it was back in Dallas. So, after the birthday party, we went to worship on Sunday, left Ella and Emma with grandparents, and Bryan and I drove back to Dallas Sunday afternoon/ evening. We spent the night, bought the car the next morning, and drove it home. It was a very long road trip in a short amount of time, but we are very pleased with the deal we go. Our new car is wonderful! We hope it will give us many years of safe and. Dependable transportation.

Out with the old; In with the new.

Our New Ride: 2011 Honda Pilot

 

4th Birthday Party

How to have a great birthday party for the best 4 year olds in the whole world:

First comes the cake. The girls originally told me they wanted a My Little Pony theme, but after our trip to Six Flags, they decided they wanted a pink and purple roller coaster cake. That took some thought and planning, but here's what we came up with:

Then, swimming at Memaw and Datt's house.

Emma

Ella

Ella thought the goggles were very fun!

Next, eat Ella and Emma's favorite food for dinner, Chick-fil-A. Make wishes, blow out the candles, and eat cake. Yummy! (There are four candles on Emma's side of the cake also, she just blew them out faster than we could take the picture.)

And finally, open presents. Pictured is a fraction of their blessings in the form of presents. (Thanks everyone for blessing our girls with your love and gifts!)

Books

One of several new sets of night gowns, a new must have at bedtime.

Tutus and Sunglasses

Angry Birds

It was a very happy birthday!

Last Day of School

What a great first year of preschool! Our girls have learned so much and made some great friends. We had a water party for our last day. It was a bit chilly in the morning, but it warmed up soon enough.

Playing in the Sprinkler

Pirate Water Table

Give a bunch of girls sponge ball and water, they start cleaning the slides.

I have been privileged to teach this great group of girls this year. I thank their parents for entrusting me with the care of their children. It was a good year, and now we are ready for summer!

 

From NICU to Roller Coasters: Happy 4th Birthday Emma and Ella!

Our precious girls are 4 years old, and what a wonderful four years it's been! We really spread out the birthday celebrations this year. They started at preschool on Thursday with construction paper crowns and special Nutella No-Bake Cookies at snack. (The cookies were their choice for their birthday snack.)

Birthday Girls: Ella- Pink Crown, Emma- Orange Crown

Silly Picture

After school, we loaded up the car and headed to DFW for a fun birthday weekend. The first leg of the trip was nap time.

After a nice rest, we stopped at a rest stop to give them the first of their gifts:

The were very excited to get to play with their "iPads" also known as LeapPads. This helped keep their minds occupied as we continued our long drive to Aunt Connie and Uncle Richard's house. When we arrived they had some gifts for the girls.

New jammie's for themselves and their ponies

Lots of new clothes for their ponies

H

We woke up bright and early on Friday morning for a day of fun at Six Flags! We were joined by our cousins Harmony, Raylee, and Reese. Ella and Emma had a great time riding the rides with Raylee and Reese. I'm so glad they got to enjoy the time with cousins we don't see very often. We were hoping the crowds wouldn't be bad because it was a school day, but we didn't think about all the field trips that would be there. Luckily those teenagers weren't interested in the kiddie rides, which is where we spent almost all of our time.

Say, "Happy Birthday"

A family picture by the carousel where Mommy and Daddy got engaged

Teacups with Cousins

Harmony, Raylee, Ella, Reese, and Emma

Much to our surprise and enjoyment, our girls LOVE roller coasters. They rode every ride they were tall enough for, except a couple they deemed the seats too hot. They begged to ride the roller coasters and rode the Mini Mine Train 3 times. What a fun and exhausting day we had!

It's hard to smile when looking into the sun, even if you're at your favorite ride.

We spent the night with our cousins and went to one of my friend's wedding before heading home on Saturday. All day on Friday, Ella and Emma celebrated their birthday, even though it was a day early. So when we wished them Happy Birthday Saturday morning, they looked at us like we were crazy because they had their birthday the day before. They were very cute about it.

It was a great trip, and I am constantly amazed at how grown up our girls are becoming. Hard to believe it's been four years since we were looking at them inside incubators praying we would be able to take them home soon. And now, they're riding roller coasters.

 

Happy Mother's Day (Sort of)

Today I was reminded how very blessed I am. God has given me two very precious girls, and I am so grateful to have them in my life!

Unfortunately, we didn't plan the timing for trading in our horses for big girl toys very well. Much of today was spent consoling two heart-broken little girls who just want their horses back. (See previous post for more info on this.) One of those tough parenting moments we have to wade through to the best of our ability.

I did open presents from my girls, and enjoyed a nice lunch with my parents.

I received one of these from each girl.

What Ella "knows" about Mommy

What Emma "knows" about Mommy