Thursday, December 29, 2016

Maddie's Dash



It was so great for the whole family to participate in this year's Maddie's Dash.  The older Charley gets, the more she is aware of what is going on around her.  Putting on such an awesome event to celebrate Maddie's life, honor the donor family and raise money for other families in the community with similar issues was such a great way to serve as a family.  Doing this event with close friends from out Bible class was not only fun, but it was an act of community that my girls can look up to and strive for in their future.  I'm so thankful for our church family and for the example that is set for Charley and Carter.  Being a part of Maddie's story has been so rewarding, but I am most thankful for the impact she has made on my family.  The girls have a first hand account of what it is like to put faith and trust in God, and that the power of prayer can move mountains.
















Carter Turns 2

On Carter's birthday, we took her to a special breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  Uncle Justin and Amma joined in on the fun.  Just don't tell Charley...she was at school and hates to miss outings like this!











Carter's Not-So-Scary Halloween Birthday Party

Carter is obsessed with Mickey Mouse, and since her birthday is around Halloween, a Not-So-Scary Halloween Birthday Party made for the perfect theme!  She was the cutest Minnie Mouse witch.  She was 24 hours into no sassy, which made me pretty nervous, but besides being a little shy from such a large crowd, she was great!  I LOVE a house full of people, and that was definitely what we had on Carter's birthday.  We had chili, potato soup and Hawaiian ham and swiss for lunch.  The dessert menu was the fun part.  We had Parcel's cupcakes (that's a whole story for another time), Oreo blondies, witch broom cake pops, Mickey sugar cookies, peanut butter Rice Krispie treats, and Candy Corn Oreo balls.  Everything was so yummy!  I couldn't have pulled this party off without help from Aunt Kari, Aunt Lulu, Marilyn and Amma.  Kari made the most adorable invitations and came with Lins to help me bring some of my crazy ideas to life...and not do anything stupid...like spray paint in the house!  haha  Marilyn helped me prep food the day before, and Amma had the girls so I could actually work on the party without distractions.  The phrase "it takes a village" is so true!  In this case, it was a not-so-scary village!

Happy 2nd Birthday Carter Lynn...WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!