A-D-E-L-Y-N-N

A friend of mine had the awesome of idea of making up a song for her daughter to learn to spell her name - so of course, I copied!! She says this also works for phone numbers. Here is Adelynn singing her name song...

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Addie all ready for church in her Easter dress, hat and gloves!

We had a wonderful day celebrating with family and friends really the foundation that we base our life on...Jesus is alive!!! This morning our pastor was talking about if this isn't true then what's the point of our faith and we completely agree. Jesus was physically resurrected from the grave. What a blessing that we serve a God that is alive and is active in our daily lives!

A couple of weeks ago we visited some friends of ours church and in Addie's Sunday school class the kids all acted out the story of Jesus dying, being put in the tomb and then rising from the dead. This learning style must really impact Adelynn because this story and many details stuck in her mind. For the last couple of weeks we have been talking about the mean soldiers that killed Jesus on the cross, the heavy rock that was moved miraculously from the tomb, and that Jesus was now alive!! It really is amazing what a two year old can comprehend!

So, it was pretty funny this morning when we asked Addie why we were celebrating Easter...Keep in mind that for the last couple of weeks she would always answer, "Jesus is alive." or "Because Jesus is risen!" This morning it was like she had holiday overload, she was saying it was Christmas and we were celebrating because it was Jesus' birthday! Pretty funny, but she did get it straight later in the day.

The fam - in front of our house!

Grace and Adelynn - cute cousins!

Aunt Amanda with both of her nieces.

On the hunt!! Aunt Cora and Uncle Justin's backyard.

Dying easter eggs the day before - I think Daddy was more into than anyone else!

Addie's been sick

Addie has been sick with a fever since Monday morning, but no other symptoms. I must admit that I have loved the extra cuddle time! She is normally such a busy girl that she doesn't just want to lay on her Mommy all day!

Since she has been sick we have been watching a bunch of home videos on the computer, which has been perfect because I have been needing to file them by topic so that we can edit them and actually get them on DVD's. So fun to see to go back and watch what a little squirt she was.

Here are a couple little clips... She was a little over a year at the time.

Back to School for Cordell!

So Cordell is officially back in school! Last weekend he had orientation Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For the next eighteen months he will be enrolled in the Executive MBA program at Denver University.

We are both so excited and think the program is going to be excellent for broadening his skill set. The school has a strong emphasis on leadership development and some of the classes look like they are going to be very interesting.

Included in his program is a four day sailing trip/race in San Diego and then a twelve day international trip to the country of the cohorts choice. He will be attending class every week, rotating all day Friday or Saturday.

From everyone we have talked to the program appears to be VERY intense. We will definitely have to work hard to still have good family time and regular date nights together over the next eighteen months. We know it's going to be crazy, but we are ready for the ride! (I think!!)

How do they do it?!

There are a couple companies that amaze me (or scare me) with how they get into our kids brains. Here are a couple of examples -

Starbucks
She has known this word since she was tiny, even though she hasn't physically been there very many times she recognizes Daddy's cup and knows that it is Starbucks. Adelynn got a hot chocolate the other day and thought it was pretty fun to have her "coffee" with Daddy in his office.

Disney
A little background for you...Adelynn watched one scene from The Little Mermaid, I think she was a little over a year at the time. She has a puzzle with Ariel on it and two books that tell some of the stories of the Disney princesses. Oh and she has also been to one Princess Birthday party right before she turned two. On the way home from Ft. Lauderdale the Disney movie, "Enchanted" was playing. Addie looks up at the screen and sees the cartoon character and says, "Look Mommy, It's a Princess." Compared to most kids I feel like Addie's exposure to Disney has been pretty limited, but somehow they have managed to define what a princess is in her mind. Pretty Wild!

Addie watched parts of Enchanted on the airplane, we took some "breaks" from the movie to read books - Mommy's way to edit the scary parts.

McDonald's
Another one that they pick up on the name very quickly and chicken McNuggets. Aunt Amanda has taken Addie to McDonald's on a couple of dates. After the first time she went, if you asked her where she wanted to eat she would say, "McDonald's". She would also point them out if we drove by, this is all after only one visit. I am trying to remember how old she was, but probably about 18 months.

Fun little stories, but really kind-of crazy to think about the messages that are being sent to our little ones everyday!

Ft. Lauderdale

It was fast, but we had a blast! I feel like this little getaway was just what our family needed - we played and laughed a lot!Adelynn liked the sand, but wasn't so sure about the water this time. She liked being safe on the towels where the "water couldn't get her!"

A tired girl after arriving the night before at 10:30pm Colorado time, 12:30am Florida time. She did amazing on the plane, but didn't sleep for one second! On Tuesday Cordell was able to hang out with us in the morning at the beach, which was right across the street from our hotel.

Mommy and Adelynn - two beach girls! On Tuesday it was a little overcast and windy, but still warm. Wednesday was a beautiful sunny day! Cordell was so sweet on Tuesday he took Adelynn back to the hotel for her nap and while he worked in the room he let me lay on the beach and take a nap - one of my most favorite things in the world to do!

A short little video of Addie on the beach - she loved finding the seashells!

Off to Florida - Last minute Craziness!

Yesterday at 1:00pm Cordell had a trip come up to Florida, so Adelynn and I decided to come with him. We left last night at 6:30pm and then arrived in Florida about 12:30 last night! We are having a great time and I will post pictures when we return on Thursday!

Adjustments...

Last weekend the weather was wild in Littleton. On Saturday it was over 70 degrees and then on Sunday we got about 5 inches of snow! Definitely a little hard to adjust from wearing flip flops then to full snow gear and boots on Sunday. So on Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and had a picnic at the park. On Sunday afternoon, after the snow had tapered off we went sledding in our backyard. Addie loved it and had a huge smile on her face every time she came down the hill. As we were walking back inside Addie said, "This was really fun!"

I'm sure you all have noticed that I have not blogged since Christmas. We found out on Christmas Eve that we were expecting another baby - we were so excited! I have been extremely sick and really just trying to function for Adelynn and once she was asleep I would just sit on the couch and try not to throw up. On Tuesday Feb 26th, Cordell and I were at the doctor for a routine ultrasound and were shocked to see that the baby no longer had a heartbeat. This last week has been a hard one for us. We know that the Lord is sovereign and in control, but that doesn't take away the sadness we have been feeling over this loss. One of the craziest parts of this whole thing is how overwhelmed I have been by his goodness during this time. The Lord has just been extra sweet to us and so close. We have been so touched by people's support to us and really feel that people have been grieving right alongside of us.

Thanks for loving us and walking through this tough process.

Pictures from the last couple of months

This was the Easter dress that I bought for Adelynn last year, but she was sick on Easter and wasn't able to wear it. It's an 18 month size and I can't believe it still fits, it will work perfect for this Easter!

Right after the New Year Addie got pneumonia. So, we were very housebound for a good couple of weeks. One day we had a tea party with "real" tea and all her stuffed animals were invited!

The first week of February Adelynn started a ballet class. Her best little bud Emmy is in her class as well. She has a recitial in April.

She did so well on her first day of class. She just walked right in and sat down by her teacher Miss Alyssa. The class is suppose to be for 3 years and up, but they are allowing Addie to take the class because she did so well the first week.

Now back in January...Adelynn was feeling a little better so we decided to take her to Build a Bear to get out of the house, but not out in the cold. This is the bear she picked out - she named him "Brown Bear".

Addie on Uncle Jason's shoulders after our Build a Bear adventure!

Our New Year's party with just the adults!

Happy 2 - 0 - 0- 8!