Olivia is 5!

Olivia Grace turned 5 last Tuesday and instead of blogging about it, I drove to Memphis to surprise her! Actually, I got to stay with her and Ethan while their mommy and daddy attended a conference in Hilton Head. Since it happened to be that I was traveling to Memphis on her birthday, we decided to surprise her! It was so, so fun to see her face when she saw me at the door!

 This is her 2nd princess cake (the first was pink) and the "Frozen" cupcakes were for school

 Several grandparents and great grandparents collaborated to get her a tablet of her own (with long trips to Greenville in mind.)

 And since Ethan's birthday is right around the corner and to eliminate lots of angst, he got an early gift as well.

 Lindsay and Troy left early Wed morning and the fun commenced! We began with a trip to the park.

 Selfies at the park

 Climbing the "mountain"

 Walking through the beautiful flowers (weeds) at the pond

 If big sister is going to climb the mountain, of course, Ethan is going to attempt it, too!

 Doing one of the crafts that Grammy brought - sand art

 What to do on a rainy, gloomy day? Why, take all the cushions off the couch and jump on them, of course!

 Crazy boy!

 And, on Friday afternoon, we had another surprise for O and E - Pops showed up!

Pops did a lot of this

We went to Kids Play one morning and to the park again in the afternoon

 

 Pictures before church on Sunday 

 Ethan didn't want his picture taken but he was happy to race so I snapped a quick one as the race began

 Tried to get a selfie of all of us before leaving. Obviously, I need practice and longer arms!

 Hanging out and procrastinating the Goodbyes

Happy 5th birthday, Olivia!

O and E, thanks for letting Grammy and Pops come stay with you for a few days!

We had a blast and we love you very much!

Resurrection Sunday

We had a wonderful day celebrating our Risen Savior with our church family yesterday morning. Later in the afternoon, we enjoyed hiding eggs for the boys and grandchildren to find.

 The Three Handsome Amigos

and with the MOST Handsome Amigo!

 and one with Mom

 Daddy helped Langston a little 

 Brenna, going for a well-hidden egg

Ian really loves finding his eggs!

 Felicia spots another purple one

 Handsome boys

 Lucas really gets into it as well

Jeremy had to work for his eggs

We are so humbled and thankful for God's plan of redemption for sinners such as us!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!!

Spring (?) Break, Butterflies and MM&DD

The boys had spring break this past week and we didn't have any big plans but Mom-mom and Dad-dad came on Thursday for a visit. We took them (and Brenna and Felicia) to the butterfly pavilion at White River Gardens. It's a beautiful, tranquil, warm place and we all enjoyed it immensely.

There were several large owl butterflies that we could get very close to and one even landed on my leg.

There are also lots of beautiful flowers

Another beautiful flower! 

Teasing with Pops

Watching the butterflies and....

watching the fish in the little pond

Unique, tropical vegetation

Uncle Lucas in a rare pose with the girls

Handsome Ian

These fabric structures float around the ceiling, mimicking the butterflies

Brenna with the Make-your-own Butterfly board

This was the Girls' Chair and they were having a lively conversation

Thanks so much for coming to visit, MM and DD. 

We love you and can't wait to see you again!

Celebrating Felicia!

Three years ago today, this sweet girl came into the world. I will never forget her birth because we were in the middle of a 2 week, intensive therapy program with Lucas and she showed signs of making her entrance during most of that 2 weeks, causing us to fret that we would miss it. BUT, in God's providence, Felicia waited until the last therapy day, after we were home, to arrive! In those 3 years, it has been a joy to watch her personality develop. She adores her big sister and her little brother and it's wonderful to see the bond that they all have.

 Opening presents

 Princess Tiana

 Crazy man Langston with Pops

 Taking the new bubble mower for a spin

 Time to sing to the birthday girl

 Blowing her candles out

 Sisters

 Oh, the anticipation, waiting for cake!

 The Birthday Girl with her Mommy and Daddy

I tried to get a picture of all 3 kiddos but it's a challenge. :-)

Happy, happy birthday

sweet Felicia!

We are so thankful to be your grandparents and we love you so much!

Grammy and Pops