New Morning New Mercies

Happy Monday!
Today is 4.13.2020.
Today is our families 2nd attempt at an Egg Hunt, due to a tickle in someone's throat, we said nope not chancing it & cancelled the whole fun day... so PF Changs got cancelled ( WAHHH) and Hannah's bake shoppe goodies were semi eaten and mostly added to the freezer ( WAHHH) and kiddos had to swallow their heartache for a minute ( WAHHH)  and yet- we all survived... it was different... it was hard... and I know obviously there are harder things for different families, but for us this was our hard, yesterday. Lately there have been pieces of hard in every day... but this keeps us humble thankful and always looking UP.

Thankfully Heaven hugged us all last night and the painted sky was just too much. We just drove, windows down, trying to catch the most of the beauty. We ended the night with pizza and wings and more bake shoppe goodness & reflected that 1- we are exhausted, so overcoming disappointments with exhaustion is something in itself 2- we are blessed : list is endless 3- bedtime always comes. And with that... my funk is over ... and here goes the many fun memories that we shared this week during our Spring Break. The title for this week is attributed to the beautiful sign above our sink here. "New Morning, New Mercies" We all need this refreshment DAILY... today especially... 

Sensory time : Cookie dough rolling = 2 in 1 

These cookies were oddly shaped and oh so delish! And the chef was really proud. 

 Horse riding day!

 Such a cool shot, edited obvi, and Hannah wants it framed.

 This walker is so legit, and she is on THE MOVE, and our ankles have cuts to prove it! That kissy face is worth all the "pain"! 🙌😍😂

 Messy hair, Burberry Dress, Baby blues. Thankful for our time off to enjoy all the moments!

 Our school wanted to jump on the cute bandwagon and make a collage for our students and families.

Thankful for insta and the encouragement different posts provide! Summed  it up. All the feels.

 These bunnies were fun to build, and were not long lasting. 3 rowdy games of bowling later and they gone. But Miss Craftlover enjoyed the process!

 Girl power! Zooming with Mimi

 Chalkin' it up!

 Hike date! As a fam! Tears might have been shed by someone for not wanting to see any snakes, but that someone persevered and did great! Another someone who is not outdoorsy by nature LOVED it so much he asks to hike daily! PTL!

 You may detect the tearful warrior below, but bravery came! All the hearts! Desert life can be crazy and the snake struggle is reality out here!

 And you may also detect the not so into the outdoorsy guy... yup his hand is raised! But he LOVED it. And I loved that he was so happy to share his news of the hike with his PE teacher.

 Big Bro has mad skills! King of the Mountain!

 Love the hand holding. 😍

 And I was thankful I could hang with Lulu, on lower ground!

 Sunny Smiles! We 💓 this place!

 Sweaty Sunny Squinty Smiles

 "Harrison you are fast like an ostrich". Music to Harrison's ears. 😂

THIS. You guys for real. Convicted me!
 (I think this Covid time is helping a lot of my hard heart places! TYJ!)

Fun in the sun, with a gun. I know I know, I should be a poet. 🙈😆  My father in law had a gun custom made from a friend locally, and big H was lucky enough to try it out!

 Meanwhile, home on the ranch, Cupcake wars happening... Hannah was signed up for an Easter Cupcake marathon, in IL on Easter Saturday... clearly cancelled and clearly not in IL, but we can still bake! And only 1 cupcake tray in this vacay rental, sooo we improvised in big ways, and results were finally taste tested on Sunday... she gets our votes!!

 Hannah decorated Mimi's windows in Early March. My mom loved it- but was like you know Easter is a month away right? Little did we know, the timing was perfect!

 Because I love to shop support small businesses, when I found out this local place wanted some customers, we HAPPILY obliged. It was the best cotton candy ice cream on the planet you guys. For real. We have tasted many. And Matt & Hannah loved the dairy free Watermelon Mint sorbet.
The chocolate banana bunny bites were Harrison's fave!

 Lulu got a Little People dollhouse for Easter ( but because we know she has no idea about timing) we gave it to her early and they both LOVE playing with it! Such a fun stage of life!

 A dear friend shared this, and we LOVED it. So true. Such a different kind of Sunday, but #Heisrisen.

 Here are our desserts, ready for Easter lunch

 Lulu Lemon

 The Easter Bunny visited! ( Aka Mimi and Target)

 Sunday Zoom Best! The 2 hour earlier difference makes getting us all camera ready a little challenging, but I found that I listened better without video access anyways, so it was a blessing we ran late!

 H O P P Y    E A S T E R !

 Thank you Mimi!! Happy, Happy kids!

 Teether Bunny Lulu 💛

 The online consignment store nailed the Dollcake dress for Lulu!!
 (Yes we had matching Easter dresses, with momma too, that still hang in our IL closet, and yes I have to be honest I was bumming that even though we had nowhere to go, we couldn't match or be cutesie .... but I had to be like Taylor and shake it off!)

 We love Honest diapers, and thankfully had a pack of Bunny diapers here!

 My mother in law is so cute! These finally came to us today ( Monday), but we were drooling over the picture all day Sunday!

 Being goofy and fun because sometimes you either do that or lose your mind!

 The carrot teether was perfect for our lil bunny.

 Our holiday exchange with bestie Bridger in Iowa, continues! So much fun to get surprises in the mail and his handsome lil picture too... all. the. hearts.

 Easter Sunday Skies.
Literally painted from Heaven.
So thankful.

 Today, we both had to begin a more intense Remote Learning plan, and get our kiddos in their classes too and figure out Lulu's cute self. The morning started at 6, so we could be on call at 8am Chicago time, and it was hectic to say the least. But did us SO much good! So nice to connect with the families and be getting back to a new work at home reality!
 Then we got to breathe and enjoy our Egg Hunt with my sweet MIL and niece, in a perfect park, with no one else, with perfect weather.
These new mercies just kill me. THANK YOU LORD.

 And our little love took her 1st steps. Again. and Again. GET IT GURL.

 Oh Hudson. The unposed salute is everything. #merica

 Cousins & Social Distance