Beyond Blessed

 To say I'm blessed is a MAJOR understatement! This past week my mom AND 82 year old Grandma came to Arkansas for a special birthday party. It was such a good time and it went by WAY to fast. I could kick myself for not taking more pictures, but we were having too much fun. I have the memories. I know my mom and grandma have to be wiped out, but they didn't show it while they were here. It was go, go, go as usual!

 Emerson talking to her great grandma, I'm so thankful for this very moment!

 Emme obviously thought Grandma Reen was funny.

 What else do you do when Grandmas visit? You have a taco bell picnic of course.

 So sweet.

 These two are usually inseparable. I don't know where it stems from but my mom (or as Stella calls her, Gaga) and Stella have a very special bond. When together, you will normally see them side by side. Stella doesn't always do well when saying goodbye to Gaga, but this time was a little easier because we dropped her off at school before going to the airport. But she has asked several times when she gets to see Gaga again.

 Playing!

One last picture before next time.

It's always hard to say goodbye when my mom comes, but this time tugged on the heart strings a little more. I am so thankful my Grandma made this trip. It's been a tough few months (we lost my grandpa in June) so it was a sweet time. My grandma and i laughed because she never thought she'd be in Arkansas again, but here she was. If I'm honest, I didn't think I'd STILL be in Arkansas, but God has continued our journey here.It's not easy being away...not easy at all. BUT I know there's a reason I'm here and while it's hard sometimes I'm eager to see what God has in store. We love our little life here, but we do miss family too.
However, I'll continue to count my blessings! I think I enjoy being a mom so much because of my incredible examples. Being a mom is fun. Being a mom is an adventure. Being a mom is a blessing. And while I don't want to sugar coat it and make it seem easy-peesy, it's challenging, I do know that because of my mom and grandma I LOVE IT.
Thanks for being incredible role models and loving me for me. We can't wait to see you in December!

Royal Celebration

 Guess who left her Castle in Disneyland visited Arkansas for a special girls birthday party. "Belle" wasn't sure what to think of her special guest. She was a bit overwhelmed! Who wouldn't be...it's CINDERELLA after all :)

 I love this picture because if you look closely...this is when the "little" princesses noticed Cinderella arriving ( a total surprise).

 Who knew Cinderella's carriage made pit stops in Fayetteville?

 Cinderella brought a gift for the birthday girl. Stella just stared at her.

 Most of the princesses with the special guest. It was so hard to get a picture because the girls just kept looking at Cinderella.

 Amelia and Cinderella

 Cinderella and Ashlen

 Hannah with her twin Cinderella

 Lilly showing Cinderella her fresh manicure from the Bibbibi Bobbiti Boutique :)

 Singing happy birthday to the birthday girl. Stella was conducting everyone with her wand.

 Digging in. I love how Stella is holding this cupcake with her new her rings on.

 Having a picnic with Belle and Ashlen.

 Little Sister was a Rock Princess.

 Miss Kate getting her nails done by the fairy Godmother.

 And of course EVERY Royal Celebration has a Prince Charming...and Josiah was oh so charming. Other boys were there but somehow I managed to NOT get any pcitures of them.

 Kate and Hannah playing at "Belle's Ball" (see this post for explanation)

 Princess Amelia decorating her "Cinderella Carriage"

 More Boutique fun.

It was so fun to see these little sweethearts dress up. Loved it. Sleeping Beauty (Ashlen), Cinderella (Kate), and Belle (Stella)

All princesses MUST wear their heals when playing on the slide.

I have to admit this was such a fun party to plan, but it was even more "magical" to watch it unfold. Stella had such a great time with all her friends. She is still talking about and has asked me if Cinderella made her way back to the Prince:)

I'm glad my Little Belle had a good time because really that's all that matters. Plus lets face it, I love Disneyland and Disney World so it was fun to have a little taste of it right here in our backyard.

Happy Birthday Sweet Princess Stella.

Party Prep

 You might wonder what it takes to be a princess! Well, Princess Stella is willing to share a few tips and give you the details from her Royal ball. Of course, you have to do your hair the night BEFORE the celebration.

 My mom (GaGa) bought these for her and we decided to try them out to get "Belle" hair for the party :)

 When your the princess you have to get ready early and make sure everything is in place. (the hair was a very curly ponytail...it was super cute)

 All the princesses were there. This was the dessert table...I didn't get the food table. When trying to keep up with a princess time can slip away :)

 Here are the party favors...the girls princesses got Disney cups with bracelets, a ring and of course a wand. The knights/princes took home swords with candy :)

 Every princess has a castle. This is Rapunzel's castle. It was a big hit with the boys.

 All princesses need to be glitzed up so we opened the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique nail salon. It was a HUGE hit.

 Jasmine was nice enough to loan us Aladdins' magic carpet.

 We decorated Cinderella's carriage.

 Belle's ball was a treasure box filled with treats under all the "balls". (this was daddy's idea and so fun)

And of course every princess party needs a fairy Godmother (aka Aunt Lori) who made the party extra magical with all the sparkly signs and special stickers for all the manicures.

It was so fun and I"m very thankful for Grandma Reen (my grandma), Gaga (my mom) and Grammie (Tom's mom) for cleaning, rearranging, suggesting, cooking, shopping to make this Royal Celebration a little Princesses Dream.

Party Pics coming soon!

Happy Birthday Sweet Stella

 Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Stella!

 It seems like just yesterday you came into our world.

 How has it already been 3 years since I first held you in my arms. Time is flying by and I need it to SLOW down.

 I can still remember the toothy grin from your first birthday.

And your "me-do" attitude at your second birthday.

And here we are..THREE YEARS OLD! For some reason you going from 2 to 3 is hard on me. My little girl is growing up and I just want to press pause. You are so fun right now and I want to bottle you up.

Stella,

I love you more than I will ever be able to tell you. I remember your "birth"day like it was yesterday. You were my little sumo wrestler with a head of dark hair. Now you're my tall, dark, and sweet little girl. You've really started to give a real glimpse of what your little personality is going to be like. You fun and ALL girl. You love to dance, laugh and dress up. You are eager to be a "big" girl, but are still a bit timid at times. I'm pretty sure you're going to be a leader. And I KNOW that whatever you do you're going to do it a 100% and make sure everyone else is doing it right too. :)
You love to tell stories. You love your doggie and Daisy. You love to shop and pick out shoes and clothes (Lord, help us). You tend to favor mommy, but daddy hangs the moon. You are an INCREDIBLE big sister and Emerson watches your every move.

I'm so proud to be your mommy. And no matter what I'll be your biggest cheerleader in life!

happy 3 years Stella!

Mommy

Beach Bums

 I know I'm WAY behind on my Oregon posts, but better late than never. One day while I was home we drove to the beach. Before we go on I must fill you in. If you've ever been to the Oregon coast then skip ahead,but if not you need to know why we are bundled up in sweatshirts. You see even if it's an amazing day at the beach (70's plus) you still need to be ready for the cool wind. So we were but for the first time in FOREVER...it wasn't windy at the beach. It was actually HOT. I know my pictures don't show it, but these were taken in the first minutes we were there...not soon after we were all shedding layers and applying sunscreen. It was a great day!

 Emerson enjoyed it. She was just chill watching everything around her

 Someone was very serious about her sand castle!

 It didn't take long before the crew had to hit the water in search for seashells. Hunter was all over the place I didn't even get him in action.

 Sawyer LOVED the water. I think he would've swam with the sharks if we let him :)

 Stella wasn't sure about the tide going in and out at times.

 By the end of our time on the beach...Hunter and Sawyer were soaked. Stella was wet but not as much (she is prissy afterall)

 And after a change of clothes, a yummy lunch, and the ride home...everyone had to check out their loot.

Now, you see why I barely got a picture of Hunter. He was very busy collecting sea "treasures."