Picnic with Nay and Coloring Eggs!

With the past few days being sad ones, we couldn't wait for today!! Nay Nay was in town and everyone was getting together for a picnic at the park. It was so great seeing Nay Nay, her kids, and Maddie and Turner's friends from when she kept them. It was like no one had missed a beat. It didn't feel like Nay Nay had ever left, even though they moved 4 months ago!! I am so thankful for that. We have really missed them and it did my heart good to see and spend time with her. It was a perfect day for a picnic and we stayed and played for two hours. I can't wait till we get to hang out again. We really want to go St. Louis this summer to visit them. We just have to get the money together and make it happen!

After the park date we came home and colored eggs. The kids had fun and we bought some carrots to leave out for the Easter Bunny tonight. I had also bought the movie HOP for the kids to watch and we started it before Turner quickly zonked out. It was a long fun day for the kiddos and I am so glad. We put them to bed and are looking forward to celebrating Easter Sunday tomorrow with the kids. All of a sudden, it means an incredible bit more to me!!

Baby Starks!

Since this blog is basically a journal of our lives, I don't see anyway I can go without blogging about baby Starks. I just wish Starks would have more than one entry.....
About four weeks ago we got very exciting news! I found out we were pregnant!!! I actually had taken a test on a Sunday and the line was very faint. Kevin didn't really see anything and said we would just see. Well I waited another day or two and took a digital test. It said PREGNANT and I was beyond thrilled. We weren't sure if were going to have anymore babies and decided after the revival in January to just put it in God's hands. If he decided to bless us with another one than he would. I immediately called the doctor and got in the following week. We told our parents but no one else. I wasn't exactly sure how my sister would take it-I didn't want her to think I was trying to steal any of her thunder. (She was super excited for us when I told her, and I can't believe I even worried about it).
In a two week period I went to the doctor 4 times. They did an ultrasound at the first visit and I was too early for anything to show up. I was a little apprehensive but went back every other day for blood work for a week. My progesterone and hcg levels were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Things were looking good and I was getting very excited. We still hadn't told the kids and we were trying to figure out where the baby would sleep. We had just redone both kids rooms at Christmas and it looked like someone was either going to have to downsize their room or be moved upstairs. It didn't matter though, we felt so very blessed!
It was time for me to have another ultrasound. Not only did I see a picture of my baby, but I heard the heartbeat! This was the first time to see a baby on the first try-I had a miscarriage before both Maddie and Turner. It was such a miracle and an exciting day. The ultrasound tech informed me that the heartbeat was on the low end of normal. She said it could be because I was still early. She did seem a little concerned, but I was determined to be positive and knew that everything was going to be ok. I was going to go back in another week for another ultrasound.
We had a picture of our baby so we decided to tell the kids. Excited is an understatement. Maddie would tell everyone she saw and if the baby was a boy she wanted to name him "Starks". She really wanted a brother because she said Megs was having Aubry for her to play with and Starks would be for Turner to play with. It was such a sweet time for the four of us to dream about a baby joining our family.
Let me say, during this time I started getting sick....really sick. I had forgotten what it was like to be pregnant. I stayed sick the whole time with M and T and I was already feeling pretty bad with baby Starks. My head always hurt, I was throwing up, and hungry all the time. It didn't take long for the symptoms to start. And it was so worth it!
Then we come to Wednesday. My next ultrasound......thankfully I had asked Kevin to take off work and come with me. As positive as I was being, the Lord must have been preparing for me what was to come. We walk in to the ultrasound and the first thing the tech asks me is if I have had any bleeding or cramping. Well, no...actually I have been getting sick the whole week. She said that was good. As soon as she began the ultrasound, I knew that Starks was no longer there. Our sweet baby had already gone to Heaven and we will never know Starks here on Earth.
We came home and told everyone and decided to send the kids to Nonna's for 2 days while I had a D&C. I was worried how the kids would take it and thought Savannah would take their minds of it and keep them happy. Maddie was upset for a minute, but in true child form bounced back really quick. I don't think Turner ever really knew what was going on. Maddie was upset because she didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl and she really wanted to name it Starks. I told her it didn't matter what the baby was, we were naming it Starks. She knows that Starks is living with Jesus and we will see the baby when we get to Heaven.
So this is where we are and the roller coaster we have been on for the past month. I feel like I am in a daze and hope to snap out of it soon. I don't know what the future holds for our family, but I know we are really blessed with two, and I want to enjoy every second of it with them. I am so thankful our friends and family who have been a huge support system throughout all this. We are sad, but we aren't broken and we know Baby Starks will be waiting for us when we enter the gates of Heaven one day. I'd say that is a pretty good reason to celebrate Easter Sunday and the fact that Jesus died for us so that one day we could go there!!! He is almost Risen!!

Easter Activites!!

This weekend we had some Easter fun. Saturday morning we headed to Freeman Park for Bartlett's Easter Egg hunt. Some friends from church were there, so that was an extra treat. The kids were split up because of their age, so I took Turner and Daddy went with Maddie. Turner got a lot of eggs and was so proud of himself!! Maddie was more concerned about the candy that had fallen out of the eggs. So her basket contained about 3 eggs and then a bunch of candy:) Both kids got their face painted with bunnies that matched their shirts! I loved their matching outfits and plan on letting them wear them a bunch this next week! It was a fun outing and the kids were excited to hunt some eggs.
The kids and I "egged" some of our friends this past and Maddie has been dying to be able to get some of her own. We went to Blake and Natalie's house and hid a dozen candy filled eggs in their front yard while they were gone. We left a note on their front door saying they had been "egged" and it was their turn to do it to someone else. The kids had SO much fun hiding those eggs and sneaking around. It was an idea I got off Pinterest and something we will definitely continue to do in the future.
Today after church the kids and I made Birds nests to give to their teachers at church and school for a little Easter happy. Another pinterest idea-haystacks in the shape of nests with Peeps and mini eggs on top. It is such an easy, messy, delicious treat to make!!! The kids had chocolate dripping of their hands and it was a chore to keep them from licking their hands until we were done:) We love baking together and it was a great way to spend the afternoon. I love having them involved in making things to give to others. They were excited leaving tonight with their bags to give to their teachers at church.
I am hoping to get them to the mall this week to have their pics made with the Easter bunny. We also have tball practice a few times, and Maddie is starting practice with her new developmental team at gymnastics. Should have lots to post about this week!

Picnic Weather!

Except for today, it has been a beautiful week! We have enjoyed wearing shorts, playing outside, riding bikes, and Tuesday I decided to let the kids have a picnic. They were so excited......it didn't quite turn out as planned. Maddie wanted to drag the blanket to the very top of the hill, where there is absolutely no shade. Within two minutes Maddie was complaining about being hot and Turner was worried to death about his food blowing away. It was not windy AT ALL!!! I just couldn't get through to him though. So what seemed like such a great idea at first, turned into a pretty big disappointment in the end. We shall try again though!!

Happy Birthday Landon!!

Well, I am behind again.....I will eventually get caught up:) Last weekend we helped sweet Landon celebrate his 4th birthday at the Children's Museum. It was great! It was only Maddie's second time to go and Turner had never been before. There was a dinosaur exhibit there for the kids to see as well, so Turner sported his dinosaur outfit for the party. Landon received lots of great things and seemed to have a really great time!
My kids both loved the grocery store, the dentist room, and the room with the firetrucks, policecars, etc. Maddie really enjoyed all the slides and climbing and Turner loved singing into a microphone on the stage. He is such a performer!!! Megs came with me to join in the fun and it was a great afternoon! We love the Dunaway's and are glad we were there for Landon's special day!!

Boo Boo's, Ball, Babies, and Bunnies!!

Seems like I have a lot of B posts going on lately. Maddie has started tball and is loving it! I think it is a little much for a 5 year old, but what do I know (I am only mom:) They practiced for 2 1/2 hours Saturday!!! The nice thing about tball is there is usually a park close to the field. So, while Maddie is practicing Turner can get some play time in himself!
Saturday afternoon we had the Gaines crew over for a cookout. The kids played great together, we enjoyed Mary and Danny, and everyone loved seeing baby Garner. It was a fun night spent with great friends!
Turner acquired several boo boo's over the weekend. Saturday he went face first down our whole set of stairs and ended up with a busted lip. I am just so thankful that is the only thing that happened! Then Sunday while looking through his binoculars, the poor thing walked smack into a wall and cut under his eye:( Of course we are getting pictures made this weekend for the first time in forever! I am praying his bumps and bruises are gone by then.
I also pulled out their bunny shirts from last year and was excited that they still fit!! Turner's is getting close to being a belly shirt, but we will get a few more wears out of it. Not much chance of me reselling a shirt that has "Turner" on it. I keep telling myself I am not going to buy anymore with his name on them, but I can't help it. Gotta love the monogrammed clothing:)
Just a normal week for us this week, but have some fun things going on this weekend!! Here are some pics to go with the title of the post:)

First Zoo Trip of 2012!

We love the zoo! We have gotten so much use out of our membership this past year. Today was really exciting because 1. we met some great friends there and 2. the dinosaur exhibit is open and the kids LOVED it. Maddie loves watching Dino Dan and she was telling me about all of the dinosaurs that we saw:) Turner loves the sea lion show as well. We took lunch and had a picnic and spent about 3 hours there today. I love having a membership because you don't feel like you have to see every single animal each time you are there. We are enjoying our spring break and having daddy at home. It was in the 80's today and I think set a record for this time of year. I have a feeling it is going to be a hot summer!!

Our Happenings in Pics!

Olivia came over to play Friday and the girls had a blast!!

We had dinner at Newk's Friday with the fam and this is the men in deep conversation:)

We went to Nonna and Da's this weekend and took all the kids to see The Lorax. This was Turner's first movie. We walked in as the previews were starting and it was loud. Turner wasn't a fan, started crying and Kevin left with him before the movie even started:( It was a cute movie and I hate they missed it. We will have to try again in a few months. He is such a nervous nellie:(

We have been playing so hard outside lately that the kids have to be put in the tub immediately after coming back inside. They are having so much fun!!

These flowers are Kevin's pride and joy. Kevin got some from Nonna's house and planted them 3 YEARS ago. This is the first year they bloomed and he is so excited.

T-Ball practice started tonight! Maddie decided over the weekend she didn't want to play anymore. We told her we were going to go to the first practice and if she didn't like it, she didn't have to play. Luckily she had fun and there was a park where Turner was able to play too. Looking forward to a few months of tball!

Things have been busy busy around here. This is Spring Break so we went to Savannah for a few days. It was great to be able to visit and let all the kids play. We are going to the zoo tomorrow with Kel and her crew and Friday the kids are going to PNO at gymnastics. Looking forward to a few hours with just Kevin and I!
One big thing that happened last week was that Maddie was asked to join a developmental team with Gymnastics. They are called the "Spunky Skunks" and it will require practicing FOUR hours a week and costs quite a bit more. I have been praying about it and just trying to figure out if it is the best thing for Maddie to do. She is always playing a sport, is in the choir at church, and I don't want her to be stretched too thin. We feel like she does have a talent when it comes to gymnastics and she does really enjoy it. We are thinking about giving it a try, and if it does become too much or she stops enjoying it, then we will stop. I just can not imagine what things will be like in a year when Turner starts playing sports and doing choir as well. Life sure isn't slowing down, but we are enjoying the ride we are on!! I am sure I will have lots of pics to share after the zoo tomorrow!

A Little Bit of Deliciousness!!!

I probably bake two or three different yummy treats every week. I have gotten a ton of new recipes to try from Pinterest and have had so much fun. I am going to try and start documenting some of them on here (especially the favorites) so I can remember everything that have made. Some recent faves have been rolo cookies, oreo bars, and there are todays treat--Cake Box Sandwich Cookies!!! I found the idea on pinterest and you can go to www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com for the recipe. So so simple and you can use a ton of variations! For mine, I used a German Chocolate cake mix (mainly because I had several in my pantry that I bought on clearance for 65 cents each a while back:) I thought a caramel frosting would taste good in the middle, so after finding a ton of recipes on the internet to choose from, I found one that I already had all the ingredients:) Caramel frosting=really really good. The recipe I used is from www.cdkitchen.com and it is called One-Minute Caramel Frosting. Here is how you make it:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

In a large cast-iron skillet, bring sugars, milk and butter to a boil over high heat. Boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat. Pour into a heat-safe mixing bowl. Carefully beat with an electric mixer at high speed until icing reaches spreading consistency, about 15 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Spread on cooled cake.

Frosts 2 (8-inch) round cake layers or one bundt cake.

(or use for Cake Box Sandwich Cookies)

That was our sweetness for today! We also went to the park, ate lunch at McAlister with my parents, and played in the backyard ALL afternoon. We had two dirty kids that had to get in the bath as soon as they hit the door:) We are Loving this weather!!!

Pancake Breakfast!

Poor Guy is crying because he didn't get a basketball!! One day Turner man:)

This morning we finished off the basketball season with a pancake breakfast! It was so fun! There was pancakes, bacon, and sausage galore. Kevin and Boo Boo helped do the cooking and Turner was in Heaven when he got there. He stood right by his daddy until it was time to sit down and eat. The three teams were recognized and the kids were able to play on the other side of the gym. I am so glad Trey played ball with Maddie. They had such a good time and it was nice seeing so much of the Gaines family over the past two months. The players all received their very own Upwards Basketball at the end and they were all very excited. Little brother.....not so much, but his time will come:) It was a nice ending to a fun first basketball season.
Up next.....Tball!! We should be getting a call in the next week or so from the coach to let us know where and when practices will begin. Maddie loves to hit and throw the ball, I think she will have a great time!!