Easter...just a month or so late...

Better late than never, I suppose.  Since this blog is a place to keep my memories, here we go with Easter, even if it is over a month late.

My parents got the kids some cute buckets filled with Easter goodies on Saturday before Easter.

Micah loved it.
 

 

We had their Easter baskets ready for them on Sunday morning when they woke up.

 

 
We don't make a big deal about the Easter bunny in our house.  We are totally cool with our kids knowing this stuff comes from us, and we are totally cool with completely downplaying the Easter bunny.  

{Because really all the Easter bunny does is take away from the real joy of Easter which is Jesus.}

We got the kids all dressed up in their Easter duds.

Aren't they so cute?!?
 

I know that is probably really self-absorbed to say as their mother, but they are just so precious to me and complete rays of sunshine in my life.

After getting them all dressed, my parents and sister and Chris's sister's family came over to enjoy a yummy Easter lunch of brisket, potato casserole, salad, rolls, and a delightful dessert.

It was scrumptious.  I love those kinds of meals...they are just comforting and cozy.

After lunch, Cade and Micah had a little Easter egg hunt in our backyard.
 

Micah definitely understood what she was doing this year. 


She was pretty into it. 
 
 
Especially once she realized there was candy in the eggs.  That will do it.

Look how cute these cousins are.  I love their sweet friendship.
 

 
No pictures of the babies because Beckett was sleeping...there's always next year...

After our naps, we celebrated the real meaning of Easter at church.  I just want to take a moment to say how grateful I am for our church family here.  We are blessed by the realness we get to experience with them, and I walk away every single Sunday feeling full in my spirit.  Easter Sunday was no different.  I loved truly pondering the meaning of Easter and all the events leading up to it.  Praise God that we serve a Risen Lord!!!

Happy Easter, better late than never, from the Field family!

The Big 2-8

I am another year older.

For some reason when I was younger, I always wanted to be 28.  It just sounded like a good age to me--old enough to be a grown up with a family but still young.

Sounds about right ;)

My actual birthday was awesome.

My husband knows me and loves me so well.

We started the day with our traditional birthday breakfast of donuts...yum!

This was followed by a super fun trip to a farm in Brenham.

Seriously, Chris is awesome.  

Perfect and fun outing for our whole family to do together.

 

 

Then, he arranged for my parents to keep the kids the rest of the day so that I could take a nap (uninterrupted!!!), shop for some clothes (for the cruise!!!), go to dinner, and end with a movie.

 

Seriously, the perfect day.

The next weekend, we celebrated with my family.

 

They made me feel special too.

I am so blessed.

Getting older isn't so bad at all...especially when I am surrounded by these precious people.

Baseball on the Brain

Spring is the time that Mercy Project has its annual Guinness World Record game.

In 2010, it was kickball for 50 hours.

 

In 2011, it was flag football for 24 hours.

This year, it was baseball for 49 hours.

 

54 players.

$49,000 raised.

AMAZING.

God is good and faithful to His children in Ghana.  That is all there is to it.

Everyone had a great time.

Especially this little girl.

 

She has a new love for baseball.  And her pink bat.

 I am pretty sure her daddy is in heaven :)

8 Months

My sweet Beckett Lucas,

You turned 8 months old on April 16, and I actually was not with you on that day.  I know it is silly, but I felt a little sad to miss one of your monthly birthdays.  Sentimentality is not something I am lacking!  We had a lot to celebrate because, true to baby-fashion, you changed a lot and experienced a lot of firsts this month.  The time is flying by, and I just want to soak up every inch of you just like you are right now because you are so sweet and so fun.

You are now a full-fledged crawler, and you are fast.  Once you got the whole thing figured out, you took off.  You love being able to easily get to toys, both yours and your sister's, as well as dog bowls, cords, and any tiny little piece of trash or other item laying on the floor that does not need to go in your mouth.  When you first discovered crawling, you would just hang out in the playroom for the longest time going from one toy to another.  I love your sweet, content personality, and it was fun to see that come out even in your play.  You are really moving these days, and as much as it makes me sad that you are becoming less and less of a "baby," I truly love watching you learn new things.

You said your first words this month!  You were babbling a lot even last month, so I knew a word would be coming soon.  On March 29, you were crying in the car because we were out past your feeding/bedtime, and you said "mama."  I wasn't sure at first, but Jojo was in the car and confirmed what I thought I heard.  You sure made my heart melt when you said it and have every single time since then.  You also said "dada" just a few days later.  Your little voice is one of the most precious sounds I have ever heard.  I love listening to you talk to yourself while we are driving in the car.

You love to play with toys, and you absolutely love putting everything in your mouth!  This kind of bothers your big sister, and she tries to take toys away from you when you put them in your mouth just so you won't "choke."  You love playing with Micah and love to be wherever she is.  One of your favorite things to play with is Wrigley's food bowl.  You love to bang it on the tile floor over and over.  You also love playing with the DVDs and will pull as many out as you can reach.  Even though it makes a mess that I have to clean up over and over again, I love seeing you explore and take charge of your world.  You are also a pretty big fan of Micah's play kitchen and opening and closing the oven door.  She is a good big sister and just lets you go to town.

Your eating is still going well, and you are becoming more patient with your solid food.  You still will scream at us sometimes if we don't hurry once you are in your highchair, and you will definitely let us know if you don't think we fed you enough!  Since you rarely fuss, it kind of catches us off-guard.  You love every food we have given you, and I cannot tell if you have any favorites.  You seem to love fruits and vegetables equally, and I really, really hope you carry that trend into your toddler and childhood years!  You are nursing four times a day, and I love it.

You are still our long and lean boy!  I don't know how much you weigh, but I know that your little 9 month shorts fall off your waist but are not at all too long.  You still wear size two diapers during the day and size three at night.  Your naps are becoming more consistent, and I am going to start trying to be more consistent in the times I put you down because I think that will help.  You take 2 naps a day, and you are sleeping about 11-12 hours at night.  Every once in a while, you will wake up in the night and cry for a couple of minutes, but you always put yourself back to sleep.  My favorite times of the day with you are still when I am rocking you to sleep, singing to you, and just staring at your sweet face.

My baby boy, you are too precious for words.  Your joy and contentment are such a blessing to your daddy and me, and we learn so much about those two characteristics of the Lord from you.  We are constantly being told by people what a happy baby you are and that is so true.  We pray that people will always say that about you, and we pray that we will nurture those God-given qualities in you.  Beckett Lucas, you are a gift to us and to the world.  We love being your mommy and daddy, and these past 8 months with you have been so blessed and full of joy because of your presence in our family.

I love you, to the moon and back!
Your Mommy