Nanny's Last Day

Friday was Nanny's last day with the kids. It was very sad and very hard to say goodbye after 5 years. She has been here since the kids were babies. We made her a scrapbook of photos from when they were little until now. The kids drew pictures and we all wrote nice notes. It was a tear-filled departure for Mommy and Nanny but the kids weren't sure what to think of the whole thing. They loved Nanny but I suppose they think she will be back next week. Hopefully we will see her again soon.

Jog-a-thon

Haylie had her first jog-a-thon at school. She practiced for weeks, running circles around the pool table and running laps around the playroom at the gym. She felt she was primed and ready to run some major laps!

When they set out Haylie was rarin' to go. She even tried to pass kids who were moving too slow. She made it a couple laps running and then started walking about half of each lap for the next few laps. We loved watching her Nanny, James and Cathy came too. Haylie was SO cute running / walking...y the end she was walking the whole lap and had little interest in running. Mommy jogged a couple laps next to her to motivate her but once I walked away she was back to walking. The funny thing was, not only was she walking but I don't think she could have possibly walked any slower. She was TIRED and it showed. It was so funny to watch in fact, several of the teachers came up and joked with me about it afterwards. Her Kindergarten teacher said she doesn't think she has seen anyone walk slower than Haylie managed to. Guess our last name is deceiving - Haylie loves to run as much as her Mommy does. All in all I think she ran / walked about 10 laps - costing Mommy and Grandma about $10 each. (I didn't do a good job asking for pledges - Haylie will learn that will be on her as she gets older). :)

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She got her treat in the end and that was good enough for her. She even asked for one for her brother - such a thoughtful little girl!

Easter Blues

James was very focused at the easter egg hunt this year:

Project Kids

Here are some of our most recent projects and activities...

Rainbow pudding pops:

Tree art:

Candy-filled chick eggs:

Bird's nest cookies:




little easter gifts for friends:

Yum!!!

The end of an era

After a decade working for Bank of America I come to my last day with the bank next Friday. I am looking forward to being a stay-at-home Mom and a full time volunteer trying to improve the lives of at-risk children and families in the Sacramento region. It has been a very difficult transition for me to make but I know everything has worked out in exactly the right time and I am looking forward to trusting God for His provisions and his direction in my life.

Starting about 5 years ago, I came to the realization that the path I was on in my life was not really my passion or my purpose for being in this world. Micah and I slowly began changing our lifestyle and focusing on new priorities. When the Bank offered me a part-time job I figured it would be a good, short transition time to realize my goals of spending more time with the kids and spending more time serving in whatever area God called me to.

When my part-time job turned into 3 years, I think I started to get a little too comfortable in my life and in my faith. Over this last year I feel like God has really been working in my heart, changing me and stretching me like I have never known. I never thought I would be ready to walk away from the job I had at the bank but amazingly enough I feel extremely at peace about it. I know God has plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11) and I can't wait to see where he takes me. At the end of the day I want to be a blessing to my children, my husband, the community around me and I want to serve God with full obedience and commitment.

I've received several requests from friends to update the blog and I hope to be posting a lot more now that I'll have more time with the kids, and the many adventures we will undertake!

Bartender

Micah thinks he's found his new calling after he jumped in to help at a wedding tonight. Pretty funny since he knows nothing about alcohol. He had to ask the bartender which one was the Chardonnay and when someone asked for a Gin and T he mixed some Gin with iced tea, instead of giving her a gin and tonic. :)

Glasses

Haylie got mommy and daddy's genes for sure. She's quite excited about her pink frames with purple hearts on the side!

We have a runner!

Watched Raider live up to his last name today runnning the 2 mile in the blazing sun! Oh how I'm looking forward to more sports games for the next 18 years ;)