surgery success.

clara had tubes put in her ears this morning. 

and as luck would have it, her little friend londyn was scheduled to have them tubes put in too.  

they enjoyed playing together, swapping iphones and watching mickey mouse in the pre-op area.

not quite sure about being here this early, hungry and ready to get the show on the road.

she cried when they took her shoes off (girl loves her crocs) and cried a little more when they swept her away. 

mama cried too. 

 but clara was out of ours arms for about 12 minutes.  

and when she came back out, she was ready to be held by dad....before i snatched her up, being the selfish, overprotective, wimpy mother that i am.

she was a little dazed when she came out, but quickly embraced some milk and a snack and has been back on track ever since. 

i can't believe how well she did.  no crying about no milk or breakfast upon getting up, not much crying after the procedure, smiles on the way home and back no normal for the rest of the day.  this was way harder on me than on her!

poor baby.

we found out today that little baby clara beth has to get tubes in her ears on friday.  

she has had fluid in her ears since the end of january and it just wont go away.  

please pray that friday will go well for both of us.  we have had a lot going on the last couple of weeks and my heart is heavy for all the hurt i see around me.  

i'm not sure how well this emotional mama is going to take it, not to mention this little girl.

bluebonnets.

each spring the bluebonnets come out in central texas.

last year we missed the photo op because, well, we had two newborns.  

i think that is a good excuse.

i was afraid i missed my window of opportunity this year but we found a perfect spot tonight.

the kids, however, were less than thrilled about taking pictures an hour before bed. 

glutton for punishment?  

why, yes, i think i am. 

i love this picture...the girls begging brenner to be picked up and cole marching for jesus in the background. 

pretty much sums it all up.

the best family picture we could get. 

(cole had just spit in my face by accident because he had eaten a flower and was trying to spit it out but i made him then stand by me so he would be still and he was mad!)

at least we are all looking at the camera!

aaryka came with us and we forced her to get in a few pictures too!!

you really have to love a family to go with them for a family photo session with 3 kids.

clara beth.  

 love him.

it's all about the memories!

Elise praising....and falling.

don't worry, she's fine.  

love my seeing my little girl praise the Lord!

Last weekend.

brenner is back on air force duty for a couple of weeks and we have been trying to fill our days with lots of fun things.  

friday we walked to the library down the street which has just been redone.  it is just over a mile from our house and cole walked the whole way there and back!  needless to say, he was tired when we got home.

we loved the new library.  they have a huge area just for kids with tons of puzzles, a magnet board and even has a little kitchen.

and of course, lots of books!

on saturday, we walked in the local march of dimes.  a friend of mine organizes it and she is mom in our heart of texas moms of multiples groups (yes, we are the HOT MOMs!)  

a bunch of us came out for the walk!

our beloved babysitter and friend aaryka came with us which was so much fun.

elise is very into pulling all her diapers out of her diaper bag and running away with them.  this is right after she had been caught!

and then aaryka spent the rest of the day with us going to the farmers market, baking bread, playing and being silly.  

we had a great weekend!

little miss clara beth.

this little angel is giving me a run for my money these days.  

she is going through a little bit of a rough patch when it comes to sleeping and by that i mean, she doesn't want to do it.  

oh, the fun we are having. 

she is waking up early in the morning, waking up early from nap and just not sticking to my plan like she should be.  

all things considered, she really is doing okay, it is just hard when you have another to compare her to and my usual tactics are not as effective because of baby number 2 in the same room.  

read: i can't let her cry it out. 

this is what waking up early looks like by lunch time. 

and this is what waking up early from nap looks like at 5:00.  

you know you want to be hanging around our house these days.

and this was her by 10:00 am this morning.

teething is no fun and i think that is what is bothering her the most.

but the good times just a keep on coming! :)

good thing she is cutie pie!

Easter.

well, this was the best picture i got of the kids in their easter outfits.  and no, cole did not wear crocs to church but that is what he wanted to wear when we went outside to take pictures.  and it probably would have been better to get picture of the kids in their nice clothes before they slept in them.....oh well.

elise showing us how big she is.

we did small easter baskets for the kids this year with just a little candy for cole and a new train and some little baby fruit snacks for the girls.  most the the girls' easter eggs were empty and they were perfectly happy to play with them and throw easter grass all over the house. 

and doesn't everyone wear their christmas pajamas on easter morning???

my mom is in town and brenner's mom and brother also came over for an easter egg hunt in the backyard.

cole pretending to be patient while his sisters picked up a few eggs. 

brenner found online a video about the resurrection circa 1988 that cole loves to watch.  we all sat down (or stood) and ended easter day by watching it together.

easter was really fun this year, especially since cole really got what it was about this year and has been obsessed with reading about jesus dying on the cross every single day for the last month.  it is amazing how much he remembers and takes in at this young little age.  his sunday school teachers told us yesterday at church that he led the class discussion on the easter story.  we were so proud of his desire to talk about and share about the resurrection with his friends.  

i am continuing to try to be disciplined in taking time each day to thank Jesus for what he did for me on the cross.