may!

lots of things happening around this joint!

here are some highlights!

1. Bryce graduated preschool! This is extremely sad for me. I know that he will do great in kindergarten and I KNOW that he is more than ready...but I am sad that he will not be all mine everyday. I am sad that I won't be friends with his teachers like I am now. I am sad that he will not learn about Jesus during the day. I am sad that kindergarten starts and before I know it...he will be applying for college. This is the beginning of the fast track to crazy town....the McElhannons are aboard!!

Thank goodness I still have two precious guys at FBC Preschool.

2. I got to be a part of an AMAZING event for my sweet friend Katie! The One Less 5k/3k was a HUGE success! I was so honored to witness God's perfect orchestration! The weather was PERFECT...the most fun people in the world were there...the park was beautiful...and the best part was the Fickey family gave God every bit of the glory!!
I cannot wait to see and help with future One Less Races!!



3. This mission trip is for real. I am in awe of how quickly it is happening! We leave in 33 days! YIKES! I have never been away from my kids for this long(7 days). I know they are going to be so loved on...but man it is going to be HARD! We are starting to plan crafts for VBS and skits and lessons that we will teach the sweet children. I cannot wait to love on those kids. I am already starting a list in my brain of what all needs to happen...three kids going three different places = a LOT of planning/packing. Here is where we are going:

4. My most precious dad in the world came in town and watched my boys for FOUR DAYS so I could go to a beach retreat with my preschool friends. I dont know how I got so lucky...but our Pop Pop ROCKS! Justin was here to help him at night and on Sunday...but the rest of the time he was on his own. The boys had such a fun time. They all 3 cried their faces off when we dropped him off at the airport.

Here are some pics of his time with the boys:

(eating jello...in diapers of course!)

My weekend away was so fulfilling! Our preschool director rented condos for us at Port Royale and filled our weekend with Bible Studies, lots of fellowship and plenty of pool time!
Here are some pics of that:

80's NIGHT!!!

beach fun!

5 and on...Amanda and Cade came for a visit from Houston! We had so much fun with them and were so excited about how relaxed they were around all of our crazies.
I hosted a baby shower for Amber...did I take any pictures? Nope. What a dummy.
We have got to have some great playdates and spend time with super fun friends.

I have already got to start celebrating my birthday! How cool is that??
We have started the PPCD evaluation process for Brody. I am 100 million percent giving that to God....so I am interested to see what His plan is. Next meeting is May 26th. We have definitely determined that he will NOT go full time...but we are leaving the door open for part time or even just therapy.
We have completed tball season! Our guys made it to the 3rd round of the tournament! Go Rattlers!! We were so blessed to have such an awesome coach and are hoping to be on his team in the future!
We are so looking forward to a super awesome summer....lots of fun planned so get ready for some cute pics!!

Easter!

We spent a lot of time at church over the past week taking part in some pretty cool activities. Bryce and I went through the Journey of the Cross...it was amazing. It was so cool for Bryce to be able to SEE the things he has been told about. Our Good Friday service was also incredible...another visual experience for Bryce (and us!). This Easter we were able to do all the fun Easter things like bunnies and eggs and baskets and candy....BUT we really REALLY got to spend time soaking up the love of our savior. What a sacrifice...what a gift...what a just...WOW! Each time I tell the story to Bryce or even my preschool class...I am amazed at His love for us. I know the story front to back (Bryce knows it better)...but it still amazes me to my core each time I say it aloud. Bryce has a very sincere understanding of God's plan and the truth of the Bible. I am blessed each day by his love for the Lord and his hunger for the word!! Thanks FBC Boerne for making this Easter so filled with TRUTH and fun and everything great!

Here is some of our Easter fun in pictures...

Easter baskets!!

the easter bunny brought tee balls! hooray for him!

sweet brody

braxton being bossy

LOVE this baby!!!

where are all the eggs?

cute and cute

river house easter egg madness!

hanging with my handsome

are you sick of looking at us yet?

church easter egg hunt!

the easter bunny was at starbucks! how convenient for me!

the easter bunny that went to the river house was a lot fancier than the one that came to our house. our bunny brought jelly beans and nickels...this guy brought the big bucks!

And well... this has nothing to do with Easter...but look at the fun art party I went to with my friends!!

our first helicopter ride!

We were so blessed to be able to spend a day of fun with one of Brody's besties. There were LOTS of awesome activities for our whole family. But the BEST was that we all got to go on a HELICOPTER RIDE!!

ok this does not have anything to do with the helicopter ride....but darnit this baby is CUTE!!

Loading up! Me, Brax, Brody, Bryce and our sweet babysitter Katelyn!

Justin sure was jealous :(

Our view!! So fun! Not even a little bit scary!!

Bryce loved that we could talk to each other in the headphones!

And then I jumped out.

HA. NOT! But...another girl did. What a crazy head.

a little sunday babblin

Hmmm...have I been a pretty bad blogger lately? Yup.

The spring time is always full of so many fun things! Playdates at the park and birthday parties and good movies coming out (go see RIO!!) and baby showers and just fun fun fun! Not much time for sitting at the computer...thats for sure!

This time of year really reminds me of my mom. She loved the warm weather and shorts and eating out on the patio. She loved butterflies and wild flowers and sitting by the pool. She loved crawfish and live music and sitting out looking at the stars. I love every single one of those things too. I am so glad that I have so many memories of doing each one of these things countless times with my mom. She had a good time...no matter what. If you didnt want to have a good time with her...she would go on ahead and have one without you. She would make a friend...standing in line for the bathroom or something. She never met a stranger....hmmm I wonder if I am more like my mom that I thought :)

Right now I want my mom to see Bryce whack the ball over the fence and dance around in delight that we have to walk around the block to get it. I want her to see Brody laughing...at...EVERYTHING. I want her to see Braxton's smile...when he sees food. I want her to see them play in the sand out back and lay on the trampoline on their bellies teasing the dog. She NEEDS to see them eat cake and bean and cheese tacos...how does it get in their ears? She needs to see the little hineys filing out of the bathroom after bath time. I want her to hold them when they are sick. I want her to hug me.

I want her to see Justin's smile when he gets his grades in. I want her to know our church family. I want her to be a part of the dance party that takes place here each day before nap time (she totally loved dancing).

She was a mess. One big happy mess. She sometimes drove me crazy with all her mess. But man...I miss it all.

I am so blessed to have had such an amazing mom. I feel undeserving to have been blessed with the most amazing parents in the world. My dad has taken on the role of our family's biggest fan. Pop Pop is a rockstar. Our family and church family and our friends wrap us up in love and support so much...that on nights like this when I get to missin my mama...I can't help but smile. Our support system rocks my socks off and we wouldnt be who we are where we are without them. You know who you are....and we love you.

tball

Tball is in full SWING! It is so fun to see our big boy out there! Here are a few pics (mostly crummy because I am lame and use my phone)....

We are the TIMBER RATTLERS!!

GO #12

Super fun night! Bryce got to go out with the Boerne High School Greyhounds at a home game! He pretty much thought he was famous :)

Brody is one proud bubby!!

and its APRIL...

We have been lovin this weather SO much! So many fun things going on. And I kinda think people are just in a better mood this time of year lol. I am enjoying this season outside...but enjoying the "season" of our family even more. We are flat out all over the place. The two babies are off and in completely different directions. They keep me running...but I wouldnt have it any other way. I know that one day this "season" will be over...I know for some people that may sound appealing...But this is my favorite. There are some places that I cannot go and some things we cannot do and some days that I am VERY tired... and I am OK with that. We are just flat out having a BLAST!

Please continue to pray about our mission trip. Pray protection over us while we are there and for our kids while they are here. It is NOT too early to get started on those prayers!!

Here is our update in pictures:

It is not much because I usually do not have an extra hand for a camera :)! I just get what I can with my phone (which is why they are always so lame) ...

Watching my kids eat macaroni NEVER gets old!

I have been having some pretty fun craft days with friends...

Birthday party madness!! Can you spot my little orange people?

Baby Dedication Day!!

Yup...my kids are wearing ties and this is the best picture I got. Why wont they ever sit still??

How fun is this??

Hope everyone is enjoying spring as much as we are!! We love you all!!!