Happy Easter!!

Another Easter has come and gone and it couldn't have been a better day!  The last few months have certainly been very stressful but it was so nice to be with my girls and just ENJOY!!  We had a fabulous church service where I played in the bell choir for the first time...it was definitely challenging but VERY fun!!  I will be doing it again, for sure!  The church was packed which was so nice to see and it was also nice to see some old friends that moved away but came to visit.  We missed you Widmans!!  

The weather was just gorgeous too!!  The kids had a great time playing outdoors and hanging out with their cousins!  They miss them so much.  I got to spoil my new nephew, Carson, rotten which was great and also laugh at my niece, Jillian, who does the cutest and funniest things.  Being around everyone definitely filled the day with joy and love!!  I am so blessed to have such an amazing family!!  We even got to spend the day with my uncle, Lyle, who is here visiting from California!  

The kids took no time at all finding the 84 Easter eggs that were hidden nor did it take them long to eat the candy that was in them.  So fun watching them get so excited about finding the eggs!  And the big kids were even good at letting the little kids find some!  

I had such a great weekend with my girls that I am sad that it's over and that they have to go back to their dad's.  But beyond happy that I was able to spend the Day of Resurrection with my beautiful girls!!  

 My beautiful girls!

 My girls and I...yes, we match!

 All the grandkids...Lucas, Carson, Mallory, Haidyn, Mason Isabella and Jillian

HAPPY EASTER from my family to yours!!!  Hope you all enjoyed the day with your families and remembered what the Easter celebration is truly about...to celebrate that HE HAS RISEN!!!!!!!

So much to be thankful for

Once again I am late on my Thanksgiving post, as usual.  But we had such a nice Thanksgiving I had to share about it, no matter how late it is. 

Wednesday night I got a night out with my girlfriends to see a local band play.  It was so much fun and a very much needed night out. 

On Thanksgiving day we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade before we went to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house for lunch.  It was nice to be somewhere different for a change and Jay and Jess have a beautiful home in Jackson.  We had the traditional Thanksgiving lunch, with the traditional desserts.  I ate wayyy too much but it was all so delicious it was hard not to stop stuffing my face.  We were able to FaceTime with Chris and Kelsey who were not able to make it from St. Louis and we spoke with Whitney from Seattle on the phone.  All in all, it ended up being a good day and we were exhausted!

Friday night E and I took the girls to see "Rise of the Guardians".  It was Haidyn's first official movie theatre experience and she did surprisingly well.  She didn't sit the whole time but she wasn't running up and down the aisles and talking loudly.  Always a plus with a 2-year-old.  It was a super cute movie and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.  So glad we decided to go! 

We have so much to be thankful this year that it was easy to just enjoy ourselves and take it all in.  We have been so blessed with good health, wonderful friends and family and God continues to show us many more blessings every day.  We hope all of you were reminded of how much you have to be thankful for and know that we are thankful for all of you as well!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING (late) and MERRY CHRISTMAS SOON!

Trick-or-Treat, Smell my Feet

Okay, so I'm a little late on the Halloween post, but better late than never, right? 

It ended up being a beautiful night to go trick-or-treating.  Highs were in the 60's so the girls didn't even have to really wear coats or pants under their costumes.  This year Mallory went as Medusa, Isabella was a gypsy and Haidyn went as a dragon.  Haidyn's costume was a hand-me-down from when Mallory was 2, but the older girls' I bought new online.  They were all so cute!  Seeing Haidyn in Mallory's old costume made me a little weepy thinking of how grown up Mallory is now, but it was great I was able to get more use out of it. 

My boss' had given me some candy at work to give the girls because they weren't going to be home so they had candy in their buckets before we even made our first stop.  Our first stop, as usual, was to Jackie, my co-worker's house.  She always has fun things for the girls to freak over.  She had a witch's hand in the candy bowl that Haidyn wasn't too fond of, but Isabella thought it was great.  After her house we went to my grandma's.  She had bags all set up for the girls but somehow we ended up with Haidyn's bucket almost full by the time we left there. 

The girls with their great-grandma

After the stop at my grandma's we headed back to Round Lake to finish off the night there.  There seemed to be few houses with their lights on and not very many kids out, but the girls still came home with FULL bags.  The older girls had met up with some friends so they left with them and I took Haidyn around to a few houses. 

The munchkins with their grandparents

They are just too cute to be scary



Hope all of your kiddos had a good Halloween as well!! 

"Mommy, watch me"

Those three little words, "Mommy, watch me!".  They make my heart melt.  And I heard them quite often last night as Haidyn and I played at the park in Brewster for ECFE.  Her adorable little heart was content just going back and forth, up and down the slide.  I love how such little joy for her brings me TREMENDOUS joy.  Could my life get any better? Nope.   

Here Comes the Bride!

Well, another Jones wedding is in the books.  This past weekend we celebrated the wedding of my sister, Trisha, to her fiance, Brian Smith.  It was a beautiful wedding and very long awaited considering Trisha and Brian have been together about 13 years.  The engagement was very surprising to all of us, but very well anticipated.  We couldn't be happier for the both of them!

Her colors were coral and gray, hence the color of my typing!  Trisha was absolutely stunning and Brian didn't look too shabby either! 

I was very honored to have been a bridesmaid and our dresses were beautiful.  Mallory was a candlelighter and Isabella was, again, a flower girl.  They couldn't have been cuter!  They both did an amazing job and had so much fun!  We all did! 

My camera broke a couple of weeks ago so I wasn't able to get many pictures except for what I could take on my cell phone.  But here's what I do have:

This is what Trisha's bouquet looked like.  Isn't it gorgeous?  But it was VERY heavy!

These are the flowers that us bridesmaids carried

The beautiful bride

Isabella as a flower girl with Lainey, Brian's niece, who was also a flower girl

The adorable flower girls and the handsome ring bearer, my nephew, Lucas

Trisha and my dad during the father/daughter dance

Brian and his mom, JoAnn

Brian and my mom

It was such a beautiful day and beautiful wedding that I wish I had more pictures, but at least I have a few nice ones from my phone. 

I am so sad it's over and that there will be no more weddings.  I have such fun being a part of them.  I believe Trisha's wedding was the 6th one I've been a bridesmaid in.  So fun! 

Here's to a lifetime of happiness and love for Trisha and Brian Smith!!

Camp

Friday Mallory and I returned from a week at camp.  We had such an amazing time!  I LOVE that place.  I didn't realize how much I had missed it until I started going back again.  I am so pleased that my daughters are now able to experience the joy of attending church camp and what it means for their faith.  I love being able to just shut out all the chaos of the world and just worship our Lord!!  It is sooo hard to come back after being there!

We did so many fun things this year.  We got to go tubing down the river in Huntersville and we had a talent show the last night.  Mallory signed up to sing a song that she wrote herself.  I tried to upload the video but was having trouble with it.  I will try again later so you can listen to the song...it is so sweet!

Mallory made some new friends and so did I!  Hopefully we will be able to see some of them again next year.  I am so looking forward to being on faculty again!! 

Celebration of Life

My baby turned 2 on Saturday :(  How is that even possible??  It seems like only yesterday she was this little:

And now she's this big:

We celebrated the day by just enjoying some time at the lake with Gammy and Papa, Auntie Jocie and Uncle Chris, Auntie Trishy and Soon-to-be Uncle Brian, Mommy and Daddy and Sissys.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day!!  She was pretty tired so we got a nap in her before presents and cake.  She's really into Elmo so instead of spending an outrageous price on a cake that we would end up throwing out, I made Elmo cupcakes.  They turned out ok.  I wasn't too happy about them, but everybody else seemed to think they were good so I guess that's all that matters.  

All in all, I think she must have had a pretty good day because on the way home from the cabin, she was singing, "I happy, I happy, I happy".  Second birthday=SUCCESS!!!

We are just so blessed beyond measure to have this beautiful, FUNNY, sweet, loving, spunky, little girl in our lives!!!  Her birth was so scary and all the trauma after her arrival and after being told how lucky we are to have her AND me still here today we definately THANK GOD EVERY DAY for sparing both of us!!  We just can't imagine our lives without her...she has made our family complete!!  I just wish she'd slow down on growing up, just a little bit!! 

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, HAIDYN GRACE!!!  WE LOVE YOU BEYOND MEASURE!!