Good Things in 2011 - April

April 1 - We had a beautiful service today to celebrate PaPa's life.  He was a great man and is dearly missed.  However, we look forward to being reunited with him one day.
April 2 - Family breakfast at Garland Cafe!  (This is definitely our new favorite breakfast spot.)
April 3 - Yesterday, we planted a few of the plants and flowers that people sent to the funeral home.  We got the rest of them planted today.  They look awesome now.  I just hope they make it longer than a week out there...I do not have a green thumb.
April 4 - We woke up early this morning to a raging thunderstorm outside.  I love a good thunderstorm!
April 5 - I got 2nd place in the NCAA tourney office pool...today was pay day!  Dinner date at Schlotsky's with my hubby!  A&M women's basketball team won the National Championship!
April 6 - Grape Pop-Tarts for breakfast.
April 7 - Day off!  I got lots of cleaning, organizing, unpacking (yes, we're still not done), and laundry (10 loads!) done.  Paula arrived tonight.  She is here for Avery's birthday this weekend.
April 8 - Happy 3rd birthday Avery!  Mike got in town today.  Tonight we went to El Fenix and the Mavs game with Mike and Paula.
April 9 - We had fun at Avery's birthday party today.  Her cake was amazing!  I don't know if it looked or tasted better.  I wouldn't do either justice if I tried to describe it.
April 10 - I got an email from a friend tonight letting me know that she has been praying for my family a lot this week.  It means so much to know friends are lifting you up in prayer.  Thank you!
April 11 - I made my first fourteen layer cake tonight.  It appears to have turned out okay.  I hope it tastes good!
April 12 - Delicious pork tacos for dinner (thanks Elyse!) followed by Mad Gab with friends from Foundation Group...hilarious!
April 13 - Last Mavs' game of the season.  We enjoyed chicken tenders and yummy French fries at the arena, and Michael bought me a Dirk necklace!
April 14 - We enjoyed our social time with our small group at Fuzzy's Taco Shop!
April 15 - I got our FIT return done today, and we're getting a refund...YAY!
April 16 - The NBA playoffs begin today.  Go Mavs!  Also, I got a long nap today, which was awesome!
April 17 - Double date with Tyler and Ashley at Top Golf and Good 2 Go Taco.  After a fun afternoon, I got a nap for the second day in a row!
April 18 - Going away dinner for Michael and Jessica at Gordon Biersch.  We don't want to say goodbye to Michael and Jessica, but it's always fun to have dinner with small group.  We're going to miss you guys, but we're so excited for you and can't wait to hear about your new adventures!
April 19 - Today during lunch, I went to the church building to read.  Before I left, I went to the bathroom, and I heard the most precious little voice singing these words, "God of wonders, beyond our galaxy.  You are holy, holy."  (All the while, she is ignoring her sister who is complaining that this is her song, to which their mom calmly replied, "Isn't it sweet that she is learning it too?")  Then the younger sister promptly stopped to ask what the next words were.  As soon as the mom could get out, "The universe," she picked it right up and continued singing, "The universe declares Your majesty."  When they came out of the stall, I saw that the girls were probably around two and a half or three and maybe four and a half.  They had changed into their cute leotards to go to ballet class.  During the middle of a busy work day, it was such a sweet reminder of the innocence and purity of children.  It was also a lesson in patience demonstrated by the sweet manner with which the mom responded to both of her girls.  Thank you God for these simple reminders!
April 20 - I had fun shopping for Easter goodies with Michael.
April 21 - TGI"F"!  I love short holiday weeks.  It's great to have "casual Friday" on Thursday!
April 22 - Good Friday!  We delivered Easter goodies to Avery and Allie this morning and then headed to the lake with our friends this afternoon!
April 23 - Fun at the lake!  Great day getting to know new friends better.  This afternoon we played on the lake, and I attempted wake boarding for the first time.  Lots of fun, but I know I'll pay for it tomorrow!
April 24 - Happy Easter!  We headed back from the lake and went to MaMa and PaPa's house for Easter lunch.  Mom and Dad went to pick MaMa up and take her home for the afternoon.  I think it was healing for her to get to visit her home, and we all enjoyed the fellowship and yummy lunch that Mom cooked!
April 25 - Vanilla ice cream with strawberry frosting is AMAZING!  Good thing I saved the leftover frosting.
April 26 - Date at FREEB!RDS...Yum!!!
April 27 - Dinner date with Jessica at Mattito's.  Love having my girl time with her!
April 28 - After a long, stressful day at work, I got to come home, relax and have breakfast for dinner with Michael.  To top it off, the Mavs won to take the first round series!  Too bad I fell asleep before it was over.
April 29 - My print order at work came in 5 hours earlier than I expected, which means that I got to leave at 5:30 instead of working really late like I had anticipated.  Greatness!
April 30 - 6:30am bike ride with Foundation Group friends.  Amazingly, all 10 of us have bikes and were able to make it for the first ride.  It wasn't bad for a group of individuals that haven't ridden in a long time.  Hopefully this can become a regular occurrence.  Of course, breakfast afterward wasn't bad either!  Tonight, we got to hang out with some of Michael's college friends.  It was great to see them all.  Layne made delicious spaghetti with homemade sauce and homemade meat balls, along with a great salad and bread, and some amazing green beans!

Weekend at the Lake

We had a very full, but fun and relaxing weekend with our friends at the lake.  Thank you Sean and Melissa for hosting such a great weekend.  We had a wonderful time!

We were busy enjoying ourselves, so I didn't get too many pictures.  I did get a few, though.  Throughout the weekend, in between great meals, we

had fun playing fetch with Bailey

enjoyed some relaxing time looking at the lake from the comforts of the enclosed porch

took turns cuddling with sweet little Molly

played on the lake (thanks for the pics, Matt!)

celebrated a belated birthday (we forgot birthday candles but improvised!)

played an intense game of spoons

had fun playing with Molly in between her naps

and went snake hunting...the gun was more successful than the bow and arrows!  :o)

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend of fellowship, relaxation, wonderful conversations, being silly, great food, and lots of fun!

Last Day to Bid on Auction Items

This is a reminder that today is the last day to bid on auction items to help bring Abram home.  If there is something you've had your eye on, be sure to check the status of the bids and get your final bid in before 10:00 tonight (CST).

http://nottousohlord.blogspot.com/2011/04/online-auction-homepage.html

Easter Baskets

Since we won't get to see Avery and Allie for Easter on Sunday, we took them Easter baskets today.  We had a lot of fun shopping, filling plastic eggs (and tasting the candy), and putting the baskets together.

Avery was excited about the stuff in her basket, and Allie really liked shaking the plastic eggs that we filled with rainbow goldfish crackers.  She had a lot of fun making noise with them!

The baskets weren't very big, and we ran out of room for the plastic eggs.  When we got to Chris and April's house, we hid Avery's eggs in the front yard before we went inside.  Avery had fun searching for her eggs.

She also enjoyed finding out what was inside the eggs and, of course, eating what was inside them!  She and Uncle Michael chose very carefully what to eat now and what to save for later.

Allie had fun playing with the empty plastic eggs.  When she found her purple egg that still had the goldfish crackers in it, she was VERY excited!  She was not about to give that one up.  :o)  (Click on the pictures to view them larger and see her great facial expressions!)

Avery and Allie, we had fun visiting you today.  Happy Easter!

Rainbow Cupcakes

In honor of Easter and spring, I made rainbow (or Easter or spring) cupcakes tonight!  You can find several recipes online, but after the fourteen layer cake, I opted for the cake mix and store-bought icing.  :o)

After mixing the batter, I divided it into six bowls and colored each batch.

Then I used a spoonful of each color to fill the tins.

I had a lot of fun making these cupcakes tonight.  I think they actually turned out pretty good!

To finish them off, I iced half of them with Strawberries 'n Cream frosting and the other half with Rainbow Chip icing (my personal favorite).

I love cupcakes!