Spring Sports and Sprouts

This spring has been very fun for the kids. They have been able to be busy and part of so much!! Jessica, to start has been in Katie's Dance this year and working very hard at her dance routines Katie has taught. Jessica loves the music, he vibes and the attention!! :) She's a little Diva! The Spring Recital was May 12th. We got her roses and Barb and Ryan got her beautiful daisies. She was spoiled in the best way possible with praise!! and it was well deserved!

Along with dance, Jessica started baseball. Mitchell started t-ball as well. I am really impressed with Mitchell's coaches so far. They are very patient and teach very well. They always pitch underhand first to give the kids a sporting chance. Then, after about 10 balls they try the T. Mitch likes hitting, and he likes when he catches it...but I can't say he loves outfield....

Jessica has been a big hitter! She's worked super hard on her swing and her stance. We're still trying to figure out if she's a lefty or a righty on her throw, but either way, she's awesome and getting better and better each day. She's really growing into such a beautiful young lady.

May Flowers

Do you ever feel like a month takes forever? That was April. Ever feel like one flies by? That would be May for me! The kids, Owen and I have done so much and had so much going on!!

First, Family Update:
1. My mom has been through it like crazy lately. First, in March, she had knee replacement surgery on her left knee. 2 weeks of rehab and 5 weeks later, she had knee replacement surgery on her right knee. This time, she only got about a week of rehab when a symptom of another problem going on surfaced. They took her to the emergency room and soon after was scheduled for a hysterectomy. She had her hysterectomy this past Tuesday. She is on day 2 of recovery and is in very intense pain. The good news? Surgeries are done!! The bad news? Trauma to the extreme in a 3 month period. Prayers, love and definitely time is what she needs now to recover fully.

2. Grandpa Hathaway, about a year ago, was told his cancer was back and did not have very long. He was given the 2 year mark. Recently, he has been very tired and found he was low on blood. This week he had a blood transfusion and on June 4th he will be tested to see if his cancer has spread to his bones. Prayers for him are strong right now. And for my Grandmother at this time.

3. Dennis has been having a difficult time with his intestinal situation for the past 6 months if not longer. Apparently his body developed scar tissue around his small intestine after his surgery years ago in removing his large intestine. This time, he has had some major trouble and it got pretty dangerous. He checked into IMC hospital on Monday and was scheduled Tuesday for an emergency surgery. We waited...both of my sides of the families were in the waiting room for my mom and for Dennis. It was weird for me. Dennis's surgeon came out and let us know that his surgery went as a "best case scenario". The scar tissue had wrapped the intestine and caused it to kink and flip. All they had to do was clip and remove it. This is good news as they thought they may have to remove a section of the intestine and sew it back together in the worst case scenario. The surgeon also said when they opened him up, instead of the intestine being about a quarter sized around, it was the size of his forearm. Crazy! Anyway, Dennis is on the mend now and eating more solid foods I believe today, so Thank you to all who prayed and were there to support!!

I am so incredibly grateful for the gospel and the priesthood in my life. God knows the roller coaster I have traveled with it and I know he really loves me because I know he knew I could never really live without it and without him in my life. He believed in me when I don't know that I believed in myself. I'm so grateful to have the family we do. To see us all come together has been wonderful. I'm sad it's because of tragic happenstance, but I'm grateful that it happens nonetheless. Because, in the end, what do we have but family? I really have witnessed all friends do come and go. Knowing something really can last forever has changed my heart.

And They're Off!!

So, my struggle ends!! I had braces put on in November of 2009. In June of 2011, a few DAYS before my wedding, I had them taken off :) But then, my retainer wasn't fitted right. It wedged between my back molars and shoved my teeth forward and out of whack. They then tried Invisalign for me. It didn't work. So, sadly, I had to go back in and get braces on my top teeth again for another six months.

Well, after the pain, the torture, the embarassment and complete agony, I FINALLY got to get them off :) This time, I got a permanent retainer in the back of my teeth so I don't have to worry about them moving. It's been delightful!

I had to put this in here because the kids and Owen got so excited about this project. Owen decided to Make a bug house for Billy. Ps, Billy is our Caterpillar that Owen rescued from his work parking lot. Billy was supposed to turn into a yellow moth. However, when he hatched....he must have slipped out of the lining and off into the world. I'm all for freedom, so good on ya Billy....but sad for the kids. They were really excited to see a caterpillar hatch to become a butterfly/moth. Owen decided we're going to order some now so the kids can really see it this time. He's such a freaking good daddy.

Rachel and I went to Ingrid Michaelson. We had a blast :) The bathrooms were a bit sketchy and thanks to the doorman at the 21 or older entrance, I realized my ID was expired. Had I waited even 2 more weeks, I would have had to re take the test. Thank you Ingrid concert, thank you!

 

Easter Bunnies, Tooth Fairies, and the Animal Kingdom

WHEW! Only a week and a 1/2 into April and sooo much has happened!
To start things off, Jessica and Mitchell were with us for a week and a half. It was awesome! Definitely intense and exhausting, but what kids aren't??

Jessica was adorable the entire week. She loved the activities we did, she helped with her brother and she is such a great project lady around the house with me :) While at our house, she lost her tooth!!

She was so excited!!

But she realized, since she lost it on Friday, that the Tooth Fairy would come that night....and not Saturday. She decided she wanted the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny to run into each other cause they are probably friends. So...she wrote the Tooth Fairy a note, put it in the hallway, asking the Tooth Fairy to please come the next night because she would like her to be able to see the Easter Bunny. At the end of the note, she asked her to also please take the note. Jess then told me that that was a trick so she would know if the Tooth Fairy really came. If she took the note, then she came for real!

So the next morning.....low and behold...the note was GONE!!!! and what was behind????

FAIRY DUST!!!!!!!!!!!!! The dust must have fallen off her wings when she picked up the note!!

So the next night, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy definitely met up because Jessica's Tooth Fairy money and a special note were hanging from the ceiling in a special hand-made Easter egg!!!

The note was from the Tooth Fairy!!! She said Thank you to Jess for the arranged hang-out with Easter Bunny and reminded her to keep brushing her permanent teeth :) Jessica was super excited.

As far as Easter Traditions went, we did the whole Shabang!
Coloring Easter Eggs

We did the program and dinner at my parents' house with the fam:

The Easter Bunny Came and set up in the Early Morning

And then we got Dressed and Pressed and went to Church

Later on, we went to Great Grandma Walker's and did the traditional Easter Egg Hunt

I'd have to say that in the end, Easter was a success :)

Chocolate Bunnies!!!

We also had some fun throughout the week going to the Zoo, Jessica's tumbling class and all around living life as our family

Playing Headbands!

 Fingerpainting!!!

 Tumbling!

Love these guys. It was nice to have a little slice of normality with them. Usually we get to Sunday and we are just barely hitting normal routine life when we have to drive them back to their mom's. It was nice to feel a normal beat for a bit and spend some great time with them :)~