April...

What an unusual Spring we had here in H-town. It was actually cool for quite a long time, summer didn't start in February this year, like it normally does. So weird! I loved it! So that meant we got to spend a lot of time outside enjoying the nice cool weather, going to parks, riding bikes and scooters and loving the niceness of it all. Here's just some random pictures...

Abby collected these things one afternoon and made this lovely tableau, quite artistic wouldn't you say? Especially for a blade of grass a couple berries and a weed etc. ;) 

Here's some evidence that the brainwashing I've been doing as Ethan's teacher at church, just might be paying off! Amen.

We spent the Saturday before Easter at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was so fun, the kids love being with their cousins they played and ran and jumped and played some more. They had an Easter egg hunt too, played with bubbles, frisbees, footballs etc. Cousins are fun!

 Being the totally on top of it and prepared mom I am, I forgot to bring their Easter baskets, luckily Grandma had some extra, and yes, that's a Christmas basket Ethan is holding...

 Grandma and the kids!

 Mom and her boys!

 We had a little Easter celebration at our house too. And we had like 14 egg hunts. OK, maybe not 14 but we had a lot. 

This little bunny loved the thrill of the hunt!

 Yes, we did do an Easter egg hunt in our PJ's, there's no shame in our game...

 This guy loved the thrill of a nap!

New Easter finery from Grammie, thanks Grammie you keep your grandchildren looking good!

 Abby colored a special Easter egg just for Amber it was purple and sparkly. So sweet she thought of her sister and wanted to take it to her grave...

Abby had some dance pictures taken in her recital costume, just waiting for our turn..

 She's just growing up way too fast!

 Here's the end result, yes I took a picture of the picture... ;)

Amber's birthday..

It was a nice day, I was really busy all day which is probably a good thing, didn't have much time to dwell on missing my baby. We received so many kind and thoughtful notes and messages and treats and balloons and stuffed animals and cards and just love and support from so many wonderful people! It really was so nice to know that others were thinking about Amber and haven't forgotten her. Amber's short little time on earth really did affect many people. I'm so grateful for that.

 The kids woke up and remembered it was the 30th and without any prompting from me they sat down and made a card..

After a long day of running around, we went to dinner and then went and got a couple balloons for Ethan and Abby to let go of, like they did at the funeral and last year on her birthday. They  love their sister and talk about her a lot. They make it easier for Alex and me to talk about and remember Amber because when they talk about her, they are happy to talk about her, sometimes they ask the hard questions but that's OK. They love their sister and know she's a part of our family and always will be. Both Alex and I were pretty emotional at the cemetery. It's hard to put into words the feelings that we have, we've sort of run the entire spectrum of feelings in the last 2 years. And probably will for a while. We miss our girl and that won't ever change.