In summary

I am not a big fan of e-mail forwards however when time allows I tend to glance at them to see if they are "read worthy." I received a forward yesterday from a neighbor titled Awesome Mom. It wasn't the e-mail so much that resonated with me. It was the ending statement.
(below in bold).
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.
I will leave you with this ...
May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life.
Life can be overwhelming at times.
We wear so many hats.
Wife, Mommy, housekeeper, bill payer, friend, etc.
Sometimes I have so many to dos that it seems as soon as one is checked off the list another is added. My prayer for this time in my life is that I would be overwhelmed by the unfailing love and grace of God and not by the cares of this life.
My to do list will always be here tomorrow.
What brings me true joy in life may not.

Disney on Ice

Friday April 3rd Gabrielle was treated by a very special friend to a memorable event.
She was asked to accompany a girlfriend to Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey aka Disney on Ice event at the local Kemper Arena. Together they got to experience a journey into the magical world's of The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmatians.
She returned home one very happy girl.
Thanks Bever family for the memories!


I am sharing just a couple of the oodles & oodles of pictures captured. Ariel has been Gabi's favorite princess for as long as I can remember so it seemed fitting to feature her & Eric.
This Momma sure wishes I could have participated in the fun!!
Instead I enjoyed the morning loving on two adorable baby boys :0)

Easter 2009

We celebrated Easter Sunday with my parents. We all attended early morning church service then met back at the house for our 1st annual Easter egg hunt. Since the weather wasn't the best (a little overcast and chilly) we moved the hunt indoors. The kids had fun searching amongst the furniture and their toys for hidden eggs filled with change & goodies. After the hunt we allowed them to open their goodies bags. Mom and I had such a good time together shopping for them this year and I was very pleased with our finds. Amazingly the two kids have done a wonderful job sharing their new things. Here are just a couple of pictures from the day. Unfortunately I can't seem to get the orientation correct on the pic of Dawson alone so I chose to eliminate it. (Any hints?? I edited it in Picaso, but it still is sideways when I upload it.)

Gabrielle looked so pretty in her "special dress."
Thanks Barb & Molly
Bright pink cast and all.

We have yet to capture a great family photo of the four of us together.
This is as good as it gets :0)

Our two munchkins relishing in their buckets full of yummies. We set ground rules that they are each allowed two eggs a day. Believe it or not they have adhered to it thus far without a fight.
We hope all of you reading this had a very blessed Easter and took time to reflect on the gift of Christs sacrifice He made for each of us.

Have a Blessed Easter

A highschool classmate shared this on facebook.
What a cool quote!!
Easter says you can put truth in a grave,
but it won't stay there." - Clarence W. Hall

Sibling Love

I enjoy watching my kiddos interact MOST of the time and just love these few photos so wanted to share them with you.


I think it looks like Dawson is about to cut wind on his sister in this one :0)

I am always encouraged to think that my two may grow up to be the best of friends like my nephew Tyler (who graduates this spring!!) and my niece Paige. TJ & Paige have amazed me over the years with their ever developing relationship. For now I will embrace both the good AND the bad behavior of my own knowing that their childhood will only last for a short time.
Have a happy hump day!!!

Self Feeding

What type A Mommy allows her child to make this kind of mess?
?Really?


If this post tells you anything about me, it is that I am somewhat of a "controlling" Mommy when it comes to preventing food messes.
Dawson is 18 months old now.
It is high time he feed himself 100% of the time.
SO - I let loose and gave up control two weeks ago today.
These pictures portray his self celebration.
The lighting is terrific in our kitchen area {but terrible for photos as seen above}.
I am pretty sure we headed straight to the tub following lunch time :0)

Bzzzz Cut

Travis had been bugging me for weeks about Dawson's long hair. I personally love his hair long so I ignored Daddy's request for a haircut until a couple of weeks ago. I guess I was caught in a weak moment because as we prepared for bath time I impulsively headed for the scissors & shears. About mid way through the hair cut I started dealing with a wiggle worm so like all good mommys do I bribed with a sucker (organic & sugar free!).

It worked! Can you tell by the smile?
It is almost as if Dawson is saying in this picture "I love you sweet goodness!!"

That pile of hair pictured is only the half of it.
Dawson and I were either wearing the rest or it was filtered across the bathroom.

And here is our little man sporting his new big boy look.
I guess Mommy likes his hair both ways :0)

Swiiiiing

We braved the wind and took the kids to a near by park over the weekend. It was our 1st visit to this particular park and it was less than condusive to Gabrielle walking with a cast and a toddler braving the depths of the peat gravel.

We stayed long enough to enjoy a little swinging and to watch the majestic kites flying in the nearby field. These kite flyers were no amatuers!

Travis & I both love the expression & laughter that D exudes when we swing with him on our lap. I hope to capture a picture in the upcoming weeks of his mile wide smile while swinging.

Dawson wants to do all things just like his big sister. He voices his distaste in us trying to put him in the infant swing & proceeds to climb onto the swing. He is so independent! At times more than I am at grips with.

More posts to come ... I apologize in advance for mass posting, but I am so behind!