sonic

We took a trip to Sonic yesterday for their all day happy hour. We shared tots and all got yummy drinks. I got a Dr. Pepper with Vanilla and it was so good. I took the risk of not being able to sleep last night and it was so worth it! Katie only fell off her bike like 5 times on the way there and back. No serious injuries though:) We met my sister-in-law Sarah and Anya, who live in the neighborhood. What a fun morning!

play-group

When I had Katie and stopped working 4 years ago, it was a really tough adjustment for me. I was used to a very fast pace and lots of words of affirmation. Along came Katie and my days were filled with diapers, nursing, and that's about it. I remember trying to read to her when she was like 5 weeks old and thinking, seriously? Now, I am not saying don't read to your young kids, of course you should, but my fast pace was jolted to a stop. I had spent the past 3 years surrounded by kids and people and the 4 before that working where I lived, in dorms. God definitely used that first year to teach me to lean on him and listen for his voice. He also blessed me with a group of moms to travel this parenting road with. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without them. They made it feel normal to feel like a crazy person half the time. We swapped tips and tricks and shared our kids funny sayings. When we started the oldest kiddo was 3 and we had 6 kids between the 4 of us regulars. 3 years later we have 12 kids from 5 to 4 months. There are 4 of us Moms who are "regulars" and a whole crew of Moms who join us when they are able to. It makes the dynamic so great to share so many view-points. It is also great to watch the kids older than yours to gear up for what is coming next...both exciting and dreadful. Here are some pics of the kiddos. Minus 3 of the babies:) We always love to have new mommies join us even if you only come once or every now and then! I truly believe God gave me this group of women to speak truth and life into me as a Mom. They have all helped shape me to become more Christ-like as a Mom, Wife and friend. Their kids have helped mine learn how to share, fight, and be a friend. Love you guys!

So happy it is warm again because this crew is out-growing my house!

Easter.

Dying eggs. My mom got these cups that wouldn't spill the dye. Worth. Every. Penny. I don't think they were that expensive but it was really great to have the dye so contained.
Levi dying...an egg. Realized after I typed that how bad that sounds.

The egg hunt at my parents house.

My cousin Garrett playing with Katie. He is signing to run for Creighton tomorrow!!

A family pic. I am bummed it is kind of blown out. Anyone with mad editing skills want to help me out:)

Gray and my Aunt Sandy.

Loving belly tickles from Daddy.

Egg hunt at the Stejskals.

Katie's hair was so cute and this is on of the few shots you can sort of see it.

A silly cousins shot.

Easter was really meaningful for me this year. It is every year, but we took the time to really think about the meaning this year. Last week the kids and I made salt dough tombs. After they baked for like 5 hours we colored them with crayons. Thursday night we talked about the Last Supper and washed each other's feet like Jesus washed the disciples feet. We talked about how God wants us to serve each other. Katie really loved doing this. She kept asking if we could wash each other's feet again. Friday we put our pipe cleaner Jesus on the cross, wrapped him in toilet paper and put him in the tomb. We put a rock in front of the tomb too. Levi kept walking around talking about how "Jesus is all bloody." That night we went to a Good Friday service at our church. I was so glad we went. I love the celebration of Easter, but recognizing the sacrifice it took was really powerful. We had a time of worship and then a candle lighting at the end. I hope they do it again next year. We have decided that Saturday is "bunny day" at our house. We woke up Saturday morning, had Easter baskets and dyed eggs. We celebrated with my family on Saturday too. I love that we did it that way this year. It left Sunday morning free to talk about Jesus and get to church. Sunday we woke up and the rock was moved from the tomb and the toilet paper was empty! Katie wanted to know if the Easter Bunny took Jesus. Then she started to think an angel really moved everything at our house. We finally sorted that out and had a great service at church celebrating. That afternoon we had lunch and another egg hunt at Taylor's parents' house. Needless to say, we have a lot of candy around here. It was really fun to start some new traditions. Happy Easter! He is Risen!

March of Dimes

Hi friends and family. April 28th our family will be
walking to raise money for the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes mission is to
improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and
infant mortality. 7 months ago our friends, the Mitchells, lost their baby
daughter to complications due to a premature birth. Ellianna Grace was born 11
weeks early and was with us for only 4 short months. They have 3 other children
Jacob, Bailey and Bella. Bella and Katie had the exact same due date but Bella
was born 10 weeks early. Today she is a spunky 4 year old and loves playing
dress up with Katie. Watching our friends go through these experiences has made
it even more clear how important research and programs like what the March of
Dimes provides are. My goal is to raise $150. If only 15 people gave $10 each I
would meet my goal.

Click to go to Hannah's blog to hear more of their story.

Your gift supports March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have
full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it’s used to bring
comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.
You can make a secure donation with your credit card, or, if you prefer, cash
or a check is fine, too.

Thank you for your support!

To make a donation, visit my personal Web page at
http://www.marchforbabies.org/rebecki33
If you would like to learn more about March for Babies, visit the Web site at marchforbabies.org.
Would you like to see what March for Babies is and why I'm walking?
Click here to see the video.