He is risen!

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!!

This sweet little muffin cup is our only kiddo left who really enjoys an Easter egg hunt...

Someone else is just too cool for hunting eggs...



And the oldest is just looking for a reason to drive the car...

We spent time with our church family today celebrating the Risen One who gave His all so that we might live eternally with Him in paradise. 

We spent time with our extended family playing outside and hunting eggs.

The grown-ups lost only 1 egg.  Pretty good, I'd say :)

What an absolutely gorgeous day for celebrating our Savior and His many gifts!

another year better

The oreo cookie is celebrating it's 100th birthday today. I'm celebrating 43 years.
Thank goodness, the oreo cookie is older than me!
You know, Amtrak is NOT older than me.
It's kinda cool to share a birthday with the cookie that has a rich and creamy center. 
I'm pretty sure the double stuf is responsible for some of my "softness" :)

Here's my annual birthday pic.  Nothing special or exciting.

I'm beginning to notice a few more lines on my face.
A few more stretch marks.
LOTS of deep lines on my hands.
But the story I read between all of those lines is one of lots of laughter, some heartache and way more hours in the sun than any girl should enjoy.
Some fantastic choices.
Some not-so-fantastic choices.
Hundreds of pounds gained and lost.
But I wouldn't change any of it if I had it to do over again.

I'm content and satisfied with where I am at middle age.
Some of those not-so-fantastic choices and heartache have increased my compassion.
All of my life experiences have made me thankful for the mercy, love and forgiveness of my Savior.
I hope my life experiences have made me more willing to extend the mercy, love and forgiveness that was extended to me.
I hope I'm a better mommy and friend than I was ten years ago.
I hope I'm even better in another year.

Here's my new life motto.
Thank you, sweet Gina, for reminding me to laugh everyday.

new to me

Here's what's "new to me".

It may be as old as I am.
And I love it!
It belongs to my grandmother, Ruth, but she can't use it any more.
It's not fancy.
It's not digital.
It's not smarter than me.
But I love, love, love the way it sews a straight line.

Here's what I did in just 10 days with my "new to me" machine.

I pieced my first quilt!
It's so bright and happy.
That makes me super happy and content.

I still need to put the border on it and have it quilted.
But I just couldn't wait to share it.

Bogey is even happier than I am to have it done.

i dig you!

I have had a FEW moments of mom genius.
Not a lot.
Today may have been one of my few moments.
Pinterest inspired homemade valentine's for Abi's class.

Unfortunately, my moment of genius didn't strike until Friday. 

If I had planned ahead (which I never do!), I could have ordered the shovels online at a much better price.

Unfortunately, I had to buy 26 buckets AND shovels since we couldn't find anyone locally who sells shovels only.

Now I need to find a project for 26 plastic buckets :)

Abi and I had so much fun together making these fun little valentines.
(On a side note, I think valentine is Abi's last "baby word".  She still calls them valentimes and I love it!  If anyone corrects her, I might lose my salvation over it.  Just sayin.)

My other moment of mothering genius.

Ok, if you're a seamstress, please don't look at this photo.  My seams aren't completely straight but I'm totally cool with it.  I think there's lots of character :)
Abi chose the fabric and the ribbon.
I made up the pattern and Abi loves it!

A HUGE thank you to my mommy for traipsing all around Wichita with us Saturday looking for shovels and fabric.  Then, she bailed me out when my "new to me" sewing machine wouldn't work.  So funny how we never outgrow the need for our mommies.  She's my forever valentine.

driving...finally!

My sweet Hannah turned 14 in January. 
In Kansas, that means you're eligible to get your learner's permit - the first step in the driver's license journey.
Hannah has been studying her handbook for MONTHS.
She found an online sample test and has taken it over...and over...and over.
Do you realize what an exciting read the driver's license handbook is?
Things like merging traffic, turning lanes, slow moving farm equipment signs.
Blah, blah, blah.

She finally decided she was ready to take her exam on Friday afternoon.
The kids all got out of school at 1:00 so Mitch braved the driver's license bureau with Hannah, Abi and Sophie.  Every 14 year old driver needs a cheering squad.
Two 9 year old girls weren't quite as excited waiting an hour and a half for this experience to finally conclude :)

Any who, Hannah passed her exam on the first try!
She is now a licensed (sort of!) driver.

She begs to drive everywhere we go.
It has improved our prayer life tremendously.
It has made me laugh and laugh and laugh.
Honestly, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard when we got to dinner last night.
It took her four blocks to get the van up to the speed for the automatic locks to kick in (20 mph).

I have quickly realized that there's lots to driving that is instinct if you're a seasoned driver.
Not so much instinct for a beginning driver.
My favorite line last night - as we pulled diagonally into the 2 1/2 straight parking stalls, Hannah exclaimed "I'm not sure which one I'm aiming for!"  Well, she made it into 3 different stalls with that one effort.

My other favorite driving moment from the weekend - there's a big dip as you pull into our church parking lot.  We scrape the front end of the van every time we pull into the lot.  But not Hannah!  She found out that if you pull through the grass instead of the driveway, there's no scraping.  That's good information for all of us drivers :)

happy kansas day

I wish I could say I woke up this morning excited to celebrate our wonderful state.
But I didn't.
I didn't even remember today was Kansas Day.
What kind of Kansas resident am I?!

My sweet friend, Gina, didn't forget to celebrate today.
She showed up at school this morning with these adorable homemade goodies...

How cute and yummy are these sunflower seed cookies?!
This is the happiest and yummiest way to start the day.
This is the best way to celebrate Kansas Day.
I love this wonderful state I've called home my entire life.
I love my sweet and wonderful friends.
I love this little life God has given me.

Happy Kansas Day!

you might be ghetto if...

You might be ghetto if...

you use hot pink duct tape to repair the hole in your shoes.

And you're willing to model them in public.

(not sure which is cheesier - the nachos or the look)

You might also be ghetto if...

you wear fuzzy boots with your basketball uniform.

And you lead cheers for the entire crowd dressed this way.

And my kids think I might embarrass them.
REALLY?!
I'm pretty sure they don't need to worry about me :)