This is what independence will do for an almost 3 year old...

By the way....these are size 10s that my sweet girl's toes are poking out of. How did this girl get such big feet? I know that both she and cousin Bryce have big feet...maybe it is a Whitlark trait?!?

An exciting day

Hannah's dream these days has been to ride a horse. I feel like it is a dream of most little girls at some point in their lives, and for our sweet one it has already come. We told her that we would find a place for her to ride a horse for her 3rd birthday next month and she has not stopped talking about that since. So, today was extra special when we found a horse for her to sit on at Baylor. Today is called "Diadeloso" at Baylor and they let all classes out for the entire day and jam it full of super fun stuff. So, as we were walking around checking it all out we saw a horse from Baylor's riding club. Immediately Hannah was drawn to it and they were so sweet to throw her right up there on the horse.
She kept asking that the horse go walking around, but this one was just for taking pictures on today. The horse was 24 years old! It was super docile and just stood there faithfully. How cool is that?!

What a small blessing for this girl who absolutely is in love with horses these days. You just can't take these small things for granted!

My worst fear came true

I think my child likes *gasp* snakes and such! These pictures alone gross me out, but you should have seen it in person! For the record, please let me say that snakes are my WORST fear in life. There is nothing more awful to me than any snake. I don't care how small or harmless they are...they all scare me. And yes, this one was small, and I pray that it was full grown, because I don't want to find it's mama anytime soon. Also, this is the 3rd such snake that we found in as many days. It really makes me want to go play in our backyard....

Jason found this small grass snake in our backyard and decided to pick it up and show it to Hannah. At first she seemed scared but interested and stayed back a bit.

She became more curious quickly.

This is about when I began to panic. My baby is holding a snake! That is wrong to me on so many levels!

Oh, this was way too much for this mama to handle! She wanted to show it to me, but I didn't need to see anymore than I already had...YUCK!

Bluebonnet Fun

We took our annual trip to take pictures in the bluebonnets last weekend and we got some good shots. For some reason the flowers this year were even more gorgeous and plentiful. The field where we have gone for the past 3 years had more flowers in it than I have ever seen. It made for a beautiful backdrop.

After last year we learned that the kids do much better when they have something to play with, so Kelly provided us with some balls to throw around. Joe enjoyed the tennis ball while Hannah stuck with the baseball. They were pretty cute as they were each throwing their ball around the field....at least it kept them happy!

Our favorite Aunt Kelly!

Crystal and Joe took some cute pictures this year too. By the way, next April when we take our pictures again, there will be an addition to this sweet family. Crystal is expecting a baby in October. So, we are delighted to have another baby to add to this fun mix.

We have never been able to get a picture of the 5 of us since we have not had a tripod and no one has ever gone with us (can you believe that our husbands have decided this is not the most fun thing to do?!?!). Anyway, since it was so beautiful this day, there were others taking pictures too, so we got one of all of us.

See last year's pictures here

And 2 years ago it looked like this with the below picture being one of my favorites!! Oh, these faces truly crack me up!!!

I am so thankful for 3 wonderful years of celebrating our kids together and even more years of wondeful friendships with these 2 awesome friends!

Spring

It is definitely spring here in Texas, and we are loving it! There is something in me (and probably most people) that feels like it comes alive when I am able to once again go outside and enjoy nature. Our days are SO much better when we are able to get outside and play. We have grass and flowers growing and I love taking all that beauty in. I love the cold months too, but I have to say that the VERY short spring that we have in Texas is beautiful! I am praising God today for the beauty that we find in our very own backyard.
And, as you can tell by the below pictures, Hannah loves being outside too!

A special celebration

Happy Resurrection Day! I pray that you were able to enjoy celebrating the resurrection of Jesus today. We have had a relatively quiet day today after worship this morning. Most of our activity happened yesterday. It started with a special treat from Kelly. She called on Friday night and said she had a surprise for Hannah on Sat morning. So, at 9am we drove out to the school where Kelly teaches and found eggs scattered all over the field. Hannah had the whole thing to herself (Joe...we sure wish you were there!!!!) and she LOVED it.

She got an entire bucket full of eggs and each and every one was filled with treats.

She got these special hair clips in one egg.

Several eggs had fruit snacks in them and if you know Hannah she absoutely loves fruit snacks. If I would let her, she would eat them all day long.

She quickly stuffed ALL the fruit snacks from one egg in her mouth. She couldn't stop herself.

Some eggs had balloons in them and Hannah was delighted by that too. She also got some gummy candies, stickers, and goldfish.

We are so blessed to have Kelly as a friend! She has an amazing love for Hannah and our family that is a gift from God. Thanks Kelly for such a special morning for Hannah! We love you friend!

After our egg hunt, we went to the zoo and walked around for about 2 hours. For our small town of Waco, we have a great little zoo. After the zoo, we were able to meet Papaw and Granny for lunch. They came back to our house to play with Hannah which delighted her. Thanks for coming over Papaw and Granny...we loved seeing you! I think Hannah had more fun things in one day than she knew what to do with. It made for such a special day for all of us.

Bittersweet independence

Hannah has definitely asserted her independence lately and it has been bittersweet for me. She likes to go potty all by herself now and doesn't even like for us to be in the bathroom with her. She has learned how to unlock and open our doors (deadbolts and all) and has been out the door before I knew it. This also means she likes to let Molly in and out, in and out, etc. She now has an opinion as to what she wears every day, right down to her underwear. Gone are the days of us doing most things for her as she is now itching to do them by herself. I have found this latest stage to be bittersweet. I love that she is asserting her independence (most of the time) but it also makes me sad that she doesn't want/need me to do many things for her anymore. It is also a bit scary for me too since independence and freedom in an almost 3 year old means she is out in the backyard playing by herself before I realize it. Aside from my fears or hesitations, Hannah is loving her independence. I am just praying for grace from God to allow her this (within reason) without being so controlling...YIKES, did I just say that outloud!?!? Yes, I have found that lately, especially with potty training, I am realizing that I like to be in control. When things are out of my control I find that I get easily frustrated, impatient, and quick to anger. God is slowly reminding me though that He is ultimately in control of our lives. I pray that these gentle reminders from God will allow me to be patient, calm, and slow to anger during this time. I know that this sweet, growing girl needs a Mommy who is full of the Holy Spirit and can show her love and support as she grows. Obviously I am aware that these things come from God alone, so I am praying that He supplies me with these things in abundance according to His word.

I am so incredibly thankful for Hannah and for all that God is teaching me through being her Mommy. I feel so blessed by her!