Preschool Graduate

As I am raising our girls and as they are getting older, I understand more and more why my parents would stand in the driveway with tears in their eyes as I backed out in my car to drive back to college.  I get it now.  The love is so big it hurts.  Seeing the growth and change and all that comes along with it is so exciting in some ways, but so emotional in others.  That is why last week as I was getting Kyla ready for her last morning of preschool, I could feel the emotions coming.  A chapter was closing and things are going to change.  And I see the growth happening right before my eyes.......

Two years ago....Kyla's first day of preschool (3 years old)

Last week.....Kyla's last day of preschool (5 years old)

She looks so much more like a girl and less like a toddler.  She is acting older, reacting older, thinking older.  And so that morning as I dropped Kyla off at preschool one last time, the tears started to come.  Luckily, she didn't see me and I could make it to the car to get the rest of my tears out.

Kyla on her last day with her sweet teacher (and our friend), Mrs. Garcia

Not only was there a last day, but there was a preschool graduation.  Such a sweet and special ceremony, which included caps and gowns and each child walking down the aisle to the graduation song.

My sweet girl, taking her walk

Standing tall and proud

I am sure I will have this picture up one day at her high school graduation party

With our growing girl, all graduated from preschool

We have big changes coming.....kindergarten. I am so excited for her in so many ways, but scared in my own ways, too.  The other day I was talking to Kyla about how the Bible tells us that God has good and perfect plans for her life.  I need the reminder of that promise too.....God is in control of this precious life that He has entrusted to us.  The future is a good place, because that is where God is.  Which means, God is already waiting for her at kindergarten. 

Ten Years

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated ten years of marriage.  As I write this, I really have no way to explain the joy this brings me.  The joy of spending a decade being married to him.  The emotions that come when I think about all the ten years has held....the happiness, laughter, sorrow, prayers.....all that comes with life, but sharing it with the person you love more than any other.  It is so good.  We were giddy the whole day.  As soon as I woke up yesterday morning, I was thinking about what was going on ten years ago and getting ready to get married.  And I was thinking about it, I looked over to say good morning to my husband of ten years while hearing Ashlyn sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" at the top of her lungs from her room.  Ten years.....it is so, so good.  I could go on and on about how in love I am with my husband, but I will spare you.  I will just leave it at....I am crazy about him. 

Ten years later, our family

Troy and I headed down to Indy for our anniversary dinner.  We ate at Meridian's, where we have celebrated an anniversary before.  It is so delicious and the restaurant is beautiful.  We were lucky enough that last night the weather was perfect (kind of like a day I remember 10 years ago).  So, we ate outside on their gorgeous patio.

At dinner last night we were talking about many of our memories from the last ten years.  It is so rich....all that God has brought into our life....the places, people, churches, houses, babies.  All of those things that mix together to make up ten years of life together.  My heart is full and so in love.  A new decade is here and we are so ready.

Therapy

A couple of days after we received Ashlyn's diagnosis of Down Syndrome, we found a social worker in our hospital room talking to us about things available to us.  I remember her giving us many different pamphlets and phone numbers.  I was in such a haze at that point, it was really hard to focus.  I do remember hearing the word "therapy."  She told us that Ashlyn would qualify for state funded therapy until she turned three and that the therapists would come to our house.  At the time that sounded horrible to me.  I did not want my child to need therapy.

When Ashlyn was just a couple of months old, the therapy process started.  They sent people to our home to evaluate her and then assigned us to therapists.  I remember the first times, I would watch their cars pull up to our house and I would fight back tears that all of this was happening.  Little did I know, that three years later they would be like family to us.  We were blessed with three fantastic therapists who have been in our home for a weekly basis for the past almost three years.  The bad feelings I had about the whole thing soon faded away as I saw how loving and caring they were to Ashlyn.  And I saw that they weren't just doing a job, they really wanted her to succeed.  I saw them rejoice, sometimes with their own tears, as they watched Ashlyn make gains. 

It got to the point where I didn't dread therapists coming, I looked forward to it.  And, Ashlyn did too!  She loves all of her therapists so much.  We could not have asked for three better people to help Ashlyn get off to such a great start.  And, thank goodness, we are going to continue to see each of our therapists privately or I would have been a mess saying goodbye to them when Ashlyn turned three. Please meet three people who are so special to us....

Ann - occupational therapy

Working on cutting

Ashlyn and Ann

Mandi - speech therapy

Ashlyn intently listening to Mandi.....she always loves speech time

And Mandi was so good with Kyla too, who was always with us for speech

Big love

Jim - physical therapy

Working on stepping over

Ashlyn and Jim

We really are going to miss having them in our home each week, but are just thankful they are still a part of "Team Ashlyn" as we call it. 

Three years

April 30th will forever hold so many emotions.  It is Ashlyn's birthday and also a day that changed us.  It is date that is so significant that it is impossible to just breeze through it without remembering.  Remembering all that happened that day, because that day changed your life.

Troy had to be away today at an annual meeting for pastors.  The meeting actually started last night but he drove back last night just so he could be here in the morning to see Ashlyn.  He knew he would have to be away all day but just couldn't bare not seeing her on her birthday.  When we woke up this morning, we were laying in bed before the girls were awake and talking about all this day means.  I had already cried the night before and felt the emotions again as soon as I woke up.  Not bad tears, just tears of the anniversary of a life changing day.  As we laid in bed we talked about how on the morning of April 30th three years ago we didn't know that we would be meeting our second daughter that day or that later that night we would be huddled together in a little hospital bed, holding onto each other wondering what was going on.  As we sat in bed this morning Troy kept saying, "God has been so faithful to us."  He has been so faithful.  I think that is also a big part of the emotions.....remembering that day three years ago and the intense grief that followed it compared to the joy of today.  Remembering that three years ago I was handed something I thought I would never be able to handle compared to the feeling of being so thankful for this precious child given to us.  It is a full circle feeling....that is what so much of today was.

Happy Birthday morning to our precious girl

Morning cuddles with the man of her life.  The man who had to see her today.

Last night as the emotions of today were beginning to hit me and as I began thinking back to all that April 30th three years ago held, I remembered my lunch plans on April 30, 2009.  My friend, Tracy, and I were supposed to get together at Chick Fil A for lunch that day.  The only thing was that I was starting to have contractions but nothing too bad at that point.  I called her and told her what was going on and we decided I should stay home and rest, having no idea what the next hours of my life held. 

Tracy and I met soon after our family moved to Lafayette.  We met at a local MOPS group.  I decided to go to MOPS to try to meet some moms my age and to help with the lonliness that can come with moving to a brand new town.  It just so happened that God had planned for Tracy and I to be assigned to the same table and sit right by each other.  We exchanged phone numbers and the next day she called and invited me over to her house for a play date.  From the very beginning, it was easy.  It was just friendship in its truest form.  When Ashlyn was born, we were only about nine months into living here and it felt so out of control for our world to be turned so upside down in a place that still felt new to me.  We had so many loving people come visit us and our church family was so gracious to us and held us up.  There were many times when I had Troy go visit with people outside of our room just because I was such a mess.  I couldn't stop crying.  My face was so swollen......a mixture of just giving birth swollen and unstoppable crying swollen.  I knew Tracy had tried to call me a couple of times and I never got the chance to call her back in between all of the craziness going on around us.  One day during our hospital stay Troy told me that Tracy was calling him to just see how I was and if she could come see me.  I immediately said yes....I really wanted her to come.  I knew I looked horrible....face all swollen, no makeup, bathrobe wrapped around me but I just needed to see my friend.  She had walked through my whole pregnancy with me.  As soon as I heard her knock on my door, I opened it and buried my head on her shoulder, sobbing.  I remember just blurting out to her, "How could God have let this happen?"  She held me and said, "I don't know.  But, I think He knew that you and Troy are the perfect parents for her."  And we just stood there and hugged as I cried.  I had no idea that when I walked into a MOPS group nine months earlier that God was placing in my life a friend that would walk with me through one of my darkest times.  Thank you, Tracy....I love you.

So, last night I sent her a text that said, "Hey, remember how on April 30 three years ago we were supposed to meet for lunch at Chick Fil A but couldn't because I was having contractions?  Well, do you want to go tomorrow to celebrate Ashlyn's birthday? And, this time I promise there will be no labor pains" :)  She texted me back and said of course!  So, today we sat at Chick Fil  A with our kids, three years later, and a friendship that I am so thankful for.

Happy to be at Chick Fil A for a birthday lunch

Ashlyn and Tracy....Ashlyn adores her

There is just something about looking back that makes you realize how full circle you have come.  Today on April 30, even the routine things were magnified as I remembered just how not routine they were three years ago.  As we sat at Kyla's gymnastics class tonight I was remembering how at that very time three years ago I was in full on labor, not knowing yet how much my world was about to change.  But, today we sat as Kyla tumbled around and I watched Ashlyn sing, run and wave to everyone in sight.  The shock wore off, the crying that I thought would never stop did and here we are three years later so thankful for what God has given us.

Me and Ashlyn.....April 30th just before 6:26 p.m., the time she was born

Happy Birthday to our three year old girl.....we will never be the same because of you and that is the best thing that could have ever happened to us.

Wild Chilld

I have been calling Ashlyn a wild woman every since she first started moving around.  She is just wild....in a great way.  She keeps life really fun and we are always laughing.  How can you not when the first thing you see when you open her door in the morning is this......

That hair is honestly just an insight into her personality, which is why I started laughing as soon as I opened her door.  Best way to start your day....laughing.  And the laughter just keeps coming.  Sometime in the late afternoon Ashlyn figured out that she could take the shirt she had on today off all by herself.  She loves to pull her shirts up over her head and run around like that while laughing....again, insight into her personality.  Here she is showing off her shirt over the head trick at dinner tonight.....

But why stop at just the head when the whole thing can come off?

And it is off!!

Shirtless supper....what fun! 

Wild child....there is a never a dull moment and we love it!  Her wild ways keep us laughing everyday...love this girl!

Easter

Our family had a really special Easter.  Because of what Christ did for us and all that Easter means for our salvation, it is so special.  This year was particularly special for me because I could see Kyla starting to get it more.  She talks about Jesus dying on the cross and the events that happened that surround Easter.  She asks questions and talks about it from her point of view.  As parents, we pray everyday that our children will choose Christ as their Savior and choose Him always, which is why taking the time at Easter to be intentional with them is so important to us.  We started our Easter celebration the night before by making Resurrection cookies, which is an interactive way to get your children involved in the Easter story.  Kyla helped me with each step.

Beating pecans with a wooden spoon, representing how Jesus' body was beaten before being crucified

After all the steps, we placed the cookies in the oven and shut it with tape to represent the tomb being closed

Easter Sunday morning, opening the tomb

The inside of the cookies are hallow, the tomb is empty.  Jesus has risen!

A big part of every Sunday for us is church.  But since Easter Sunday is really special, we decided it might be nice to do something extra special with our hair.  Enter the hot rollers!

Kyla experiencing hot rollers for the first time

Pretty curls for Easter

I decided Ashlyn should have a chance for some curls on Easter too

She was less than impressed.  At this point, the curls are not worth the trouble for her!

Once we got past the tears of the hot rollers, it was time for some Easter Sunday morning pictures in our pretty matching dresses....

Then we left to meet Daddy at church.  We had a wonderful service at church and I was so proud of my husband, who like every Sunday, faithfully preaches the Word of God.  I am so thankful he is my pastor. After church we were so blessed to go share Easter dinner at the home of a very sweet family from church.  We had a great time with their family and guests and the girls loved it because there was a big Easter egg hunt for all of the kids

All the kids.....ready to go hunt

Ashlyn is looking....

Kyla found one

Checking out what she has so far

Action shot....finding eggs at the same time

Our family

Hope your Easter was blessed.