Easter Egg Hunt at The Renaissance

The Renaissance, where Mama Lucy lives, hosted the best little Easter Egg Hunt.  There were tons of eggs, but there weren't tons of kids.  The kids had a blast finding a lot of candy filled eggs.  There were three golden eggs.  If you found a golden egg, you won a $20 Walmart gift card.  Kamdyn was proud as punch to find one.....with a little help from her Daddy.  Karcie also thought she found a golden egg.  We will never tell her that we actually just hid  Kamdyn's again so that she could find one, too.  ;)  It was a sweet morning with Mama Lucy and Ruthie.  So glad that Mama Lucy got to see the girls participate in this.  I think she really loved having all of us there.  

Anxious for the egg hunt to begin.

It was a chilly morning.  Daddy had to get our jackets.

It's funny because Karcie has on a jacket that is one of her school friends.  They got their jean jackets mixed up at school and I didn't even notice it until I was looking back through these photos on my camera that day.  Karcie's real jacket is a little big lighter!  

Checking out where all of the eggs are!

Our precious little girl!

Posing with Daddy!

Four beautiful generations!!

And I jumped in on this one!!

Giving Ruthie hugs!

Waiting patiently!

And, GO!!  They ran past five million eggs to get to the tree!

crazy girls!

She was looking hard for a golden egg!

Most of the kiddos.

Eggs are still everywhere!

When the Easter Bunny walked up, Karcie spotted her first!  I really didn't think Karcie was going to let go.  It was so sweet!

Then Kamdyn got a hug from EB.

Then Mama Lucy had some fun with EB.

Love seeing Mama Lucy this happy!

And more hugs from Karcie

Even Ruthie got a photo with the Easter Bunny!

Yep, she got that Golden Egg!!

And the gift card!

My sweet precious girls with the Easter Bunny!

Happy 11th Anniversary!

We got married so long ago that digital photos were just starting to come around.  We have some digital photos that others at our wedding took, but our photographer did not give digital images.  It wasn't even an option back then.  Anywho, these were photos of photos.  It was the best that I could do.

11 years of wedded bliss to the perfect man for me!  He's the peanut butter to my jelly.  And while he may not be perfect, he is absolutely perfect for me.  

I love you, sweetie!!

Special Time with Mama Lucy

We visited Mama Lucy several times while we were in Anderson.  It's always so good to see her.  The girls still know where the two toys are that Mama Lucy has in her room.  They always rush right to the peg game and the square block game.  They now have crayons and coloring books there to occupy them, too.  Karcie convinced Mama Lucy to help her color in the Minnie Mouse book.  I love that I captured so many sweet moments while we were there.  Mama Lucy is one special lady!

Hanging in Anderson

We spent much of our anniversary hanging out in Anderson with Ruthie.  It was a beautiful day!  Once I realized that we were actually IN the city where we got married, I insisted on photos on the steps of the Arts Center where we had our reception.  It was probably the first time since we got married that we were actually IN Anderson on our actual Anniversary.  It was kind of sweet and neat!!  Richard was a good sport even though I know he was probably rolling his eyeballs behind his sunglasses.

Taking a stroll with Ruthie down Main Street after our Mellow Mushroom lunch.

It's crazy that it's been 11 years!

This building hosted such a fun and unforgettable night for us.

Then, I found this quote on the sidewalk that I thought was pretty profound.  In all things, love....for sure!!

I've always thought that this was such a beautiful building.  

We ended the evening at Capris Italian Restaurant in Easley. It's one of my faves.  I always want to go there when we are in town.  Thanks to Nanny for watching our girls so that we could have a nice dinner out!

Olivia the Pig

Book Character Day was the day after Kamdyn's birthday.  After all of the crazy birthday excitement was over I had to quickly come up with some pig ears for her to wear late that night.  Thankfully, my neighbor had a pink piece of construction paper.  We had a pink headband and Google Images had a template that I traced.  Woo!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute.  I will say, she was a cute little Olivia pig.

Dear Kamdyn

My Dearest Kamdyn,

I can hardly believe that you are 9.  That seems completely cliche to say, but it's so true.  Being your Mom has been the biggest blessing of my life.  I have loved every single second of the past nine years.  When I look back at photos of you when you were little, I get so sad.  Sad because life was so busy when you were little.  Being a working Mom left us in a whirlwind a lot of the time.  And even though I know that we created many wonderful memories for you, I still get weepy when I think of all of the time that I missed sharing with you.  You were forced to grow up quickly.  We were always on a schedule.  We had places to be and short amounts of time to get there.  You were an independent, little old soul from the get-go. You jumped right up to the challenge and helped whenever you could.  I hardly remember a time when you weren't able to do things for yourself.

While I sometimes get sad when looking back on your nine years, I also laugh and smile when hearing your sweet baby voice or seeing your precious little baby smile.  Watching you learn and grow has been such a pleasure. You will always be Mommy's greatest joy for you were the one that first called me Mommy.  You made my heart burst with love when you were born on that April Fool's morning in 2006.  You were a teeny tiny 6 lb. 5 1/2 oz. bundle of pure sweetness.  You cried a lot in the beginning, but I honestly think you were ready to be grown from the beginning.  I had no idea what I was doing, but you taught me quickly what being a Mommy was all about.  Sometimes I wish that I could hold you as a baby just one more time.  If only I could smell that sweet baby smell while rocking you.....one more time. It's true what they say, "the days are long, but the years are short."  It is so hard to remember those words when you are in the trenches without sleep and barely able to get through each day.  I would give anything to have one of those days back.

My wish is that when you look back on your life that you are able to see just how much I loved you and how perfect I wanted/want your life to be.    I know that I have made mistakes along the way (and will continue to make mistakes) and I am so sorry for being anything less than my best for you.  I appreciate you always being so forgiving and loving me even on the "mommy is in a bad mood" days.  Being a Mommy is tough stuff sometimes.  You will see how wonderfully hard it is one day and will realize the struggles that I had/have from time to time.

My greatest hope is that you will continue to always be true to yourself.  You are so admirable, Kamdyn Lucy.  All of your friends love you so much because you stay true to your beliefs.  You do what is right even when no one is looking.  Those special qualities may give you grief one day when peer pressures roll around, but I hope you will continue to stand your ground.  You will have many, many difficult decisions to make as you grow and become a teenager. Decisions that will make the nine-year-old struggles that you have now seem minuscule. You will make mistakes and that's okay.  We all do.  But I want you to know that I am here for you no matter the situation.  I hope you will always come to me, as you do now, with pure innocent openness.  You heart is so big.  Your feelings are so transparent.  You are sensitive, yet wise beyond your years.  You are YOU and I hope you always want to be YOU.  Being YOU is the absolute best thing for you! 

As we enter in to the double digits, I know that we will continue to learn from each other.  I hear that the teenage years are nighmarish, but I choose to believe that we will both be fine.  You are a brilliant little girl with a very sound conscience and mind.  Continue to trust in God and He will never leave you nor let you down.  You are my heart, Kamdyn.  I thank God for giving you to me.  I do not exaggerate when I say that you make me want to be a better person.  This ole' world needs a whole lot more Kamdyn Lucys in it.  It would be a much better place, for sure!

I love you, sweet girl!  I hope you know and feel my love every single second of the day.  My life was instantly better the second that I met you!! 

Love,

Mommy