A Whirlwind of a Weekend...

Our Memorial Day weekend was busy to say the least....

My mom came and Thursday night we watched Harper graduate from preschool...

It was a very cute ceremony and it's hard to believe she'll start kindergarten in 2 months!

 Bennett just struttin' his stuff;)

 My mom with the graduate.

Friday night my friend Susan and I had a little party for Harper and her good friend Lily Kate.  We made it a surprise for them and they had a blast!

 Walking in to see their surprise!

 Dancing the night away...and cartwheeling;)

These girls have so much fun together! 

 Susan's daughter (one of her triplets) was not to sure about Mike holding her.

Then Saturday was the big dance recital for the girls.  They both did such a great job!

Proud of my sweet girls!

Finally it was time to wind down and relax and just enjoy the weekend...

 We got Bennett a bounce house for his birthday and he LOVES it!!  So do the girls!!

We're having his party this weekend and I can't wait to get pics of all the little kids jumping!

 Ainsley started swim practice as well!  Interesting to say the least.  It's really hard when you and your husband both have extensive swimming, coaching, swim lesson teaching backgrounds and watch a bunch of young kids try to coach a team.  I'll just stop right there about that;)

 We went to the pool all 3 days of the extended weekend and Bennett seemed to enjoy himself;)

I'm so glad my mom could come down and enjoy all the festivities with us!  I'll leave you with this last picture...

A delicious drink (moscato, sprite and fruit)- a nice way to end a very busy weekend!

Happy Birthday Bennett!!!

3 years ago today sweet Bennett came into our lives.  Life as we knew it would never be the same.

I remember it like it was yesterday, as soon as they pulled him out (B was my 3rd c-section) they quickly lifted him up for me to see him cry and then whisked him away.  Mike was to report back to me asap to tell me if Bennett had all 10 fingers and 10 toes and to tell me what he looked like.  We knew he had Down syndrome but quite honestly I just didn't know.  Would he look like his sisters?  Would he look different?  But when they finally brought him over to me all snug in his blanket and I saw his face, all I saw was Bennett Patrick...

 He.Was.Perfect.  

Oh my goodness was he perfect. 

These last 3 years have no doubt been the hardest but not all because of Bennett.  They've also been the most life changing in a good way.  We've learned so much from Bennett.  I'm telling you, he's made me dig down deep into my heart and helped me realize so many things I never thought of before.

If I were to describe him in one word it would be LOVE.  Hands down.  His smile, his hugs to random strangers, his "Hi!!!" to the check out people, his way of holding his arms out to people to ask them to hold him and then how he puts his head on their shoulder and sucks his thumb-it's just unconditional love.

 We have been so blessed by this boy.  We are so, so thankful that he is our son and that God chose us to be his parents.   

Everything happens for a reason.

Happy Birthday sweet boy.  Today you are 3!!!   We love you so very much and can't wait to celebrate many, many more birthdays with you!

Something to think about...

With Bennett's birthday just around the corner, the last 3 years have been running through my head or actually the last 3.5 years.  3.5 years ago we found out that Bennett had Down syndrome.  He wasn't even born yet but some tests came back "abnormal" and just like that Down syndrome came into our lives.  Like many women that find out before their baby is born, I had options.

Let me tell ya,  I am so, so thankful that the Holy Spirit nudged me and reminded me that the only option was life.

My friend Erin who is an awesome mom and photographer had this on her facebook page and she said I could share it.  This is Grady.

Wow.  

Imagine if Erin had followed her doctors advice.  Thank the good Lord she didn't.

We've met little Grady by the way....

He came all the way down from New York and wanted to stop by;)  Instant buds.

Just two sweet boys that deserve life like everyone else.

Thank you Erin for this powerful message.

A good weekend.

Mother's Day 2012... We went to see my mom over the weekend and had such a nice visit.  My mom has undoubtedly had the hardest year of her life.  Like many women (myself included) she was swept off her feet at a young age by a man (my dad;))  and he treated her like a queen.  Not to say she couldn't do things on her own but my dad did a lot as far as finances go and outside house work so with him no longer here it was her learning to do everything he did.  Needless to say....it's been a really hard year.

My mom is such a strong woman and I don't think she even realizes it.  I'm very proud of you mom and so proud to be your daughter!  I love you so very much!!!

So Saturday we went to the local berry farm where Bennett decided he wanted to pick the "ballberries" as he calls them;)...

 

Bennett loooves his "mammy" (Grammy).

Riding the tractor out to the berries is always a big highlight!
(just now noticing the backside of some women in our pic-Ha!)

Later on the girls went fishing with their daddy...

Ainsley didn't like the whole process of waiting...hmmm not sure where she got that from;) Plus she got a tad bit scared when they actually did bite-lol. But Harper stuck it out and ended up catching 2 fish and one big cat fish that broke the line.  

Harper patiently waiting for a fish to bite.

Harper and Mike saw a snake swimming in the water as well.  Ainsley missed all of this because she didn't like waiting and according to her she's a "scaredy cat".  Oh Ainsley.

More pics from our weekend...

I woke up to sweet posters, cards and books the girls had made as well as coffee in bed and then a nice breakfast with everyone.  Mike pretty much did everything- fed, changed diapers, dressed, put to bed- you know all the stuff most of us moms do.  It's nice to have a break one day;) 

Hope all the moms out there had a good day as well!!

A little Memorial Day inspiration...

Saw the idea on pinterest and had to make it!

Here's the original pin I saw:

She'll tell you how to make it!

And again mine (without the instagram effect this time), just a tad bit different from the one above:

Found the button stars at Walmart I think, might as well get as close to the real thing as possible, right?;)

This will stay up through July 4th so expect another wreath post sometime mid July...lol!

A Fairy Party....

Hard to believe Harper is 5! Her party was so much fun to plan! Not gonna lie, there was lots of preplanning involved. I usually start thinking, gathering, and preparing things months before.  I'm big on the details so there is no last minute planning.  But it is nice to see the ideas I have in my head actually work out and of course to have a happy child at the end of it all;)

To sum it up before you see the pics:  We had fairy wands, fairy wings, fairy dust, a fairy scavenger hunt where they found their little items to make a fairy house (a tiny baby food jar-perfect little take home gift), fairy coloring page, fairy food, fairy juice, a fairy hut, tons of butterflies everywhere and lots of little girls running around in their tutus.  It was a good day!

So here ya go, Harper's 5th birthday party:  A Fairy Party....

Happy 5th Birthday Harper!  We hope you enjoyed your party!