April Fun

 More creative fun! I loved this painting Mia made of outer space.  Super cool!

Ryan's back in his happy place: Braves on tv and Decker in his lap!

We enjoyed a beautiful Easter Sunday.  It was gorgeous weather, and we celebrated our risen Savior at a wonderful church service.  We are so thankful to be a part of First Baptist Smyrna!

The girls always enjoy getting Easter baskets in the morning.  Mia's included: shower steamers, Fablehaven book set, The Child t-shirt, The Child gummy snacks, Harry Potter magnetic bookmarks, nail polish, and an apple gift card.  Lily's included: bath bombs, three books, hair curlers, Stranger Things t-shirt, beautiful candle, Mike & Ike's candy, and an apple gift card.

Decker was ready for a ride!  He reminded us so much of Max from The Grinch here who we absolutely love.

Our friend, Crystal Pullen, had recently taken a few Upper School girls out after school one day.  She was excited to take Mia, Arabella DeWalt, and Sadie Pennington to Just Kiln Time.  They loved it! We are so thankful for how Crystal pours so much of her time into these girls.

I left this note on Dad's desk on April 15th.  He has helped so much (again) this tax season.  It's truly the smallest way I can say thank you.  He's the best!

David and Jan surprised me with a getaway to the Four Seasons in downtown Atlanta for a few days the weekend after April 15th.  Even though the tax deadline was extended to May 17th this year, I decided to still close the office for two days to give us all some time off to rest; it was a great mental break and would help us finish out the season strong.  I knew I couldn't go to Beach Club since they were still doing hurricane repairs, so when they offered to send me here for a few days, I knew it would be a perfect getaway!  I had a wonderful corner room with fresh fruit on arrival.  The bed gave me many hours of much-needed and fantastic sleep; the lounge chair was my perch for a few days as I read, watched Netflix, and just relaxed.

I got to have a spa treatment one day; there was a little mix-up with the original treatment, but the hotel switched it around so I came back later on in the weekend.  On top of that, they invited me back for a complimentary follow up spa treatment for a few weeks later.  How wonderful!

I enjoyed delicious room service each day.  I slept in and ordered breakfast which acted more like brunch; then I wasn't hungry until dinner rolled around.  Here are a few pictures of the fabulous food:

I can't go to a hotel and not try the club sandwich; really, this is the food I judge all room service by, and there's was wonderful.  The sweet potato fries and creme brulee dessert were great additions too.

Eggs benedict is always a favorite of mine, and their's was yummy.  The bacon was perfect, and I held on to the chocolate croissant as a mid-afternoon snack.

Shrimp and grits to be an extra special southern breakfast (and yes, I ordered bacon on the side because it was perfect).

This meal was the best one of all.  Cacio e Pepe pasta with a keylime cheesecake and berries for dessert.  I typically want to try different items off a menu (they had so many great options), but this one was so good on Friday night that I couldn't resist ordering it on Saturday night too.  Both nights were absolutely wonderful.

I so appreciate David and Jan gifting this to me.  It was a wonderful getaway that helps me feel both mentally and physically restored.  Thank you!

Marching Right Along

Busy, busy month as work has really picked up.  This is generally how I see the girls in the evening.  I appreciate when they FaceTime me so I can hear how their day has gone.  I miss my family so much when I'm working late nights.

Mia's class was studying Renaissance times, and she drew this really cool coat of arms for our family.  She put a lot of thought into the meaning of the colors and icons used.  

She then turned the coat of arms into an actual shield.  How awesome did this turn out?!

Her class held Renaissance games one afternoon, so everyone had their shields with them.  I'm always impressed with these kids.

Mia kept the creativity going by designing Golden Tickets.  She and Lily are both in drama club where they're getting ready to perform Willy Wonka.  The directors didn't have any tickets to use for rehearsal, so Mia took it upon herself to make them to help out the directors and cast.  They look great!

Ryan brought me these gorgeous yellow roses to perk up my office just before my birthday.  They certainly brightened everything up, and they lasted for almost two weeks!

Twinning!

When I come late at night after a long day at work, I just want to take a nice hot shower and get to bed.  There are so many evenings that Ryan puts my pajamas on our towel warmer, so they're warm when I get out of the shower; they're so cozy that way!

Ryan and Lily had a date night at Yard House; she loves these massive pretzels!

One of my clients knows how much I love Mr. Goodbars; what a fun treat when she picked up her return and had a lovely wrapped bouquet with 7 of them!  Yes, I shared them with others in my office (but not all of them!).

Our friend, Crystal Pullen, invests so much of her time with the girls in the church's youth group.  We are so appreciative of how well she loves on them and points them to Christ.  She picked up Lily and Lucy Elrod after school one day, then picked up Sadie Pennington.  She took the three of them to the Square to enjoy bubble tea and time together.  Lily said they had a great time.

My birthday fell on a Sunday this year which is always the best!  We enjoyed going to church together that morning, and then to Tasty China for lunch.  Dessert was a fabulous Goldbelly delivery.  We ordered the 8 slice of favorites from Buddy at Carlo's Bakery.  We love watching him on Food Network, so we were excited to get some of his delicious cake! I tried the rainbow cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.  It was so, so good!

Mia was excited to spend the night at Layne's house.  These two love their Braves!

Lily painted this beautiful flower painting, and gave it to me for my birthday.  I love it and hung it up in my bathroom, so I see each day.  The design and colors are beautiful!

I think it's safe to say that Decker is a fan of this cool Spring weather!

Mia loves a good backrub.  Really, she gets it honest; I love it too!

Decker with one of his favorite toys: Sonic (a hedgehog).  I have no idea how Mia managed to get him to leave this balanced for a minute.  He doesn't look amused though as I'm sure he'd much rather play fetch with him!

I feel like I miss a lot this month as work has totally picked up to full swing, but I love every minute I get with my favorite people (and dog)!

A Little More of February

We had the piano tuned one day, and it was a little weird to see it deconstructed like this!  Thankfully though it all came back together just right, and Lily can continue to make music on it.  I love how she fills our home with beautiful music!

How cute are these Squishmallow pillows?! Both girls ended up with The Child because he is just too irresistible.

Lily has absolutely loved watching Stranger Things, so she saved up to buy this awesome Lego set of Will's house and the Upside Down.  So cool!

He's such a begger. 😂

Not too much happening in the latter half of this month.  Just clipping way at school and work.

Half of February

It's been a pretty cold and mostly rainy February thus far.  That's ok; there's still lots to be thankful for! Like this group for instance.  This is the small group we've gotten plugged in to at First Baptist Smyrna.  We are enjoying studying the word together and getting to know one another.  Every so often, we just have a social gathering instead of Bible study, and this was an evening around our firepit.  What a great group of people!

Lily was on the Cambridge upper school geography bee team with Liam Harvey, Luke Denny, Nate Wilkinson, and Liam Hobson.  They won!  Way to go Cambridge!

I love when my kids get creative!  Mia made this beautiful watercolor painting one afternoon, and then Lily helped her write in "color your mind with knowledge."  So pretty!

I used Goldbelly to order some delicious cupcakes from Nadia Cakes.  She was a winner of Cupcake Wars on Food Network, so I figured they had to be good.  I was right.  I had these for the office to welcome in the official start of tax season.  Seems like a good reason for cupcakes.

Our family was "officially" introduced to the church recently as new members (along with another couple).  We are so very glad to be a part of First Baptist Church Smyrna!

Stonehaven always invites dads, granddads, or special men in a kids' life to join in for a Valentine's Feast.  Due to covid restrictions and two campuses, they had to get a little creative this year.  The plan was to tailgate in cars, but unfortunately, it was raining pretty hard.  That's okay; Chick-fil-a lunch is always welcome!

February 12 was lunar new year, so we celebrated with a fabulous dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Tasty China.  Their Schezuan style is spot on!

Lily had a Bible project based on Isaiah 6 where he has a vision of God.  She decided to paint a picture of this scene.  I thought it turned out great!  I love that she's using the perspective of looking through the wings of the seraphim, seeing all the smoke, and knowing God is present.

I used Goldbelly to order these fun and cute Valentine's bagels from The Bagel Nook in NJ.  I am loving all these fun food treats!

It's time for one of my favorite family traditions: valentine hearts on the girls' doors each evening!  I love this fun way of telling them some of the great qualities we see in them.  Our girls are different from one another (though both see here they are intelligent, beautiful, and fun), and this is great way to recognize their unique and wonderful qualities.  I am so incredibly proud to be Lily and Mia's mom; these girls are amazing!

Work is starting to pick up quickly, so I know the next couple of months will both fly by and feel interminably long.  I will enjoy as much time with family and friends as I can!