Good night and God bless ~

The quality isn't the best due to the low light,

but the sweet sound comes through beautifully.

Sweet dreams from my sweet baby ~

Big girl haircut

Can't start a new school without a "new school haircut"!

Introducing ~

Big Girl Avery with her new bangs!!!

Still just as sassy, but with bangs!

My 3 beautiful girls ~

To great experiences and new beginnings....

I really don't know how to start this post tonight.

Today was Avery's last day at DMACC's child development center.

Aves has been going to preschool there for almost 2 years.

We absolutely loved it!

It was an amazing center, filled with loving teachers and great kids.

I am so happy with everything that Avery has learned since she started.

She has grown so much and developed into quite the kid!

Unfortunately, the time has come for her to start a new adventure.

While we love DMACC, we do not love the drive.

We wanted to find something closer to home that was as good as DMACC.

It took a long time, but we finally found it.

Avery will start at her new preschool next week!

Although I didn't think it could happen, I love her new school!

It could have something to do with the fact that the Director is

a graduate of DMACC's Child Development Program! : )

Aves new school is an amazing learning center, with 24 kids aged

3-5 all learning together.  The older kids mentor the younger ones,

while the 3 teachers lead them.  I love it!

Avery loves it too!  Since touring it several times, she has asked

almost daily when she gets to go to her "new school".

She is so excited to start, which makes me even more excited too!

While I'm sad to say goodbye to one place, I'm excited for the

wonderful adventures that await Aves at the next!

Here are some pictures her teacher sent in her going away gift,

along with a homemade card signed by all of her friends!

Avery and her favorite teacher, Kirsten, on her last day!

My case for reality TV

I can't stand reality TV.  I don't care if they're surviving, birthing, dancing, singing, yelling, divorcing or marrying.  I just don't like any of it!

However, Avery gave me a moment at bedtime that made we wish we were a reality TV family.  You see, when you're life is being filmed, 24 hours a day, you'll be able to get every one of those adorable kid moments on camera.  Of course, you'll get all of those "not so great mommy-of-the-year" moments as well.  Maybe I don't want cameras 24 hours a day.  But, I do want to try to remember as many of those great moments as I can, and forgive and forget the not so great moments.

Avery after saying her prayers, "Mom, can you call Jesus and ask him to come to my house tomorrow for a playdate?" 
I can still hear her sweet voice as she innocently asks for the man she loves, and whom she knows loves her so much, to come play with her.  I hope she always feels His presence so powerfully and lovingly in her life!

Of course, that sweet question led to the ever-recurring discussion of Cookie (Boppa's beloved dog that passed away a year ago) and why she's still in heaven and maybe Jesus could bring her back soon.  And when can we go to heaven and so on and so forth.  So, as I said, remember the great.... : )

Avery's 3 1/2 birthday celebration!

This year has been full of milestones for our family.

Probably the biggest one was baby Avery becoming

Little Girl Avery.

No more crib, no more diapers, no more stroller!

Avery has grown, loudly and boldly, into a

wonderful little girl.

So smart, so sweet, so sassy!

As I say at every birthday:

Thank you God for giving me something that

I never knew I needed so much!

Avery keeps our house happy, moving and loud!

Happy 1/2 birthday sweet Aves!

The sparkler candle was really cool!

To celebrate her 1/2 birthday, we had a small

family celebration. 

I baked a strawberry, heart-shaped cake,

(just a little crispy on the edges!)

Her wonderful big sisters gave her homemade

gifts.  A collection of their own stuff she always

wants, and usually takes!

She was so excited and I don't think she was any

less happy than she was at her "real" 3rd bday party!

Claire wrote Aves card in

"mathmatical terms"

She used fraction circles to write 3 and half.

Gotta love my math whiz!

Avery is never shy in expressing her feelings.

I guess this wasn't at the top of her list!

But she loved the collection of erasers and silly bands!

Happy Birthday sweet baby!

Tradition, tradition!

I hope you all sang the title of this blog in your head, as I do.

Traditiooonnnn, Tradition!

You know how I love my Fiddler on the Roof!

As is our St. Paddy's Day tradition, the Liskey and Rouse

girls loaded up and headed downtown for the parade!

This year was especially nice with the beautiful and

much warmer weather than last year.

While the weather was nicer, the parade was about the same.

Lots of beads, beer and PG-13 views!

But, we all had a great time irregardless! : )

The crew all lined up and ready for to start, really, seriously,

when is it going to start.......

Avery was so excited!  Candy was on her mind!

 She was not as excited about the loud trucks

as she was about the candy ~

What a beautiful group of girls ~

A nice shot before the street became flooded and crazy!

Our girls held their ground fairly well.

We still ended up with pounds of Tootsie Rolls!

As with all Traditions, it's the friends that make them so great.

We love you Liskeys!

Spring Break Fun!

What a week!  What a blessing!

The girls are all tucked in their beds.

Dreaming of the fun they had, as they prepare to head back to school tomorrow.

We had such a great spring break!

No traveling for us this year.  Just stay at home fun.

And fun was definitely had!

We kicked the weekend off with a show at the Civic Center.

Avery enjoyed her first live performance, Madagascar.

The big girls enjoyed it as well and especially enjoyed

their little souvenirs!

We were very blessed with incredibly beautiful weather.

Sunny, warm, beautiful.

We spent many hours each day enjoy that forgotten backyard.

And of course, with nice weather comes the tree climbing!

We also found some fun ways to enjoy the indoors too!

Like getting together with our friends to watch Megamind

at the Clive library. The girls had a ton of fun eating popcorn

and watching the movie.

Avery wasn't sure what to think of a movie at the library,

but she quickly got over it and loved the movie!

Between all of special outings, Zoo trip with Dad, movies at the

library and the theater, we found time to just chill out and

play around too!

These last few months Dave and I have been very deliberate with

our time.  We have been very conscience of our priorities in life

and living them to the fullest.

We are all too aware of how short life can be.

We don't want to miss it!  We don't want to let another spring break

or even a boring old Tuesday, go by without breathing in the moment.

Watching the girls play.  Listening to Avery laugh.  Catching Ella

and Claire reading together and giggling. 

Thank you God for the gift of life, family and friends.

Please help us to continue to savor the moments you give us

and help us to be grateful for it each and every one.