My Busy Spring

Spring has been a busy time for us! I have really been swamped and hate that I haven't kept up my blog. Karsen continues to grow and is 2.5 years old already! Tate is busy with spring baseball. Ashton is finishing up her 4th grade year. Justin is graduating in a few weeks. Jonathan just completed his first year of college. It's so hard watching your babies grow up. Part of you wants to hold onto them forever while the other part is proud to see them grow. Here are some pics of our spring:

Easter

Karsen at the dentist

Princess party at the park!

Playing on a warm sunny day.

Baby robins on our porch!

Justin's graduation party!

Playing outside.

Baby bird flies away!

Playing at mawmaws house

Spring....or is it?

Spring arrived. Or so the calendar said. For us here in West Virginia, we were still dealing with snow showers until this week.

And with Easter falling so close to St Patrick's Day, I didn't even decorate! My mom and brother came down the weekend before Easter for a quick visit. That was nice. I miss my family so much!

I have been staying busy with getting Justin ready to graduate in a few months. My poor blog has suffered. 

Karsen is such a cutie as always. Learning new words and sayings. She keeps us on our toes. She misses Jonathan when he is in college. And she is always happy when he is home and wants him to play "choo choo" with her. She wasn't even afraid of the Easter Bunny this year!

It is our second official Easter in West Virginia but for the most part, we have spent every Easter here in West VA with the exception of a just a few. It was always a tradition to be here. Church, then brunch at the Marriott or Embassy Suites in downtown Charleston. PawPaw loved to see his granddaughters dressed up! He loved having the whole family together. The entire Easter weekend was full of Easter egg hunts and meals and family fun. 

We miss him most at holidays because he really enjoyed them. And he would have really loved seeing Karsen all dressed up in her poufy dress on Sunday. She loved church. They did a musical and it was really nice. She was worried about Jesus and was so happy when He arose from the tomb. She almost made it thru the entire service before she got restless and we had to wait in the lobby. She still will not let me put her in the toddler room. 

For Easter brunch this year, we ate at the golf club that John worked at when he was in High School. It was nice and the wait wasn't as long as the Marriott. Ashton enjoyed the egg buffet. She ate at least 6 eggs. It was cold and rainy so not a lot of picture opportunities. Here is what I did manage to get:

Spring

Yesterday was a busy day spent going thru what seemed like a million boxes searching for my Easter decorations. (Thanks Mr. Movers).

I finally found them and realized that most of them won't be able to be displayed this year thanks in part to little Miss Karsen.

Most of my Easter decorations are very old and very fragile. Still, it is always fun going thru the boxes and rediscovering my spring treasures.

This is going to be our first official Easter in West Virginia (living here) but we have spent the majority of Easter's here since John & I married many years ago.

PawPaw Hanson, my father in law,  reminds me of spring. He loved nothing more than getting the entire family together for Easter brunch following church at the Marriott hotel in downtown Charleston. He always paid and he always loved seeing his little granddaughter's dressed in their frilliest finest. The last time I would see him would be the Easter trip home in  2010.

 

He was so sick. He had lost so much weight. His beautiful silver hair was gone thanks to the harsh chemo. He had every excuse NOT to want to go to church or to Easter dinner but he gathered all the strength he could and he went. Even though he had no appetite, he sat at the head of our table and he watched us all laughing, talking and enjoying ourselves. He probably knew this would be the last Easter he would preside over the large table. Maybe we knew too and just couldn't come to terms with it yet. It was a bittersweet day for us all.

This Easter has me missing him very much. He would have been delighted to see John move back home. He would have LOVED baby Karsen. He would have enjoyed watching Tate play spring baseball. He would be very proud to watch Justin playing basketball and he would have really been impressed with Jonathan's decision to enlist in the Air Force or Air Guard. He would have clapped the loudest at Ashton's upcoming dance recital.

It just isn't the same. In less than 1 year, our families lost both patriarchs. We are shattered and still trying to find our way in the new lives without them. Holidays are rough and I imagine they always will be. Easter and spring bring back so many memories of that last holiday spent with him. I am going to see if we call all go back to the Marriott this year in his honor.

Spring!

It's Spring!
The days are longer and the nights aren't so chilly.

Last week my mom, grandmother and sister spent the week with us.
We had so much fun.
We took all the little kids to the Children's Museum of Richmond.
We had a blast.

The museum was featuring original artwork from Golden Book's. I was especially excited to see Richard Scarry's artwork! The detail in his art was beyond belief!

My sister and I also managed to sneak off for a couple of hours of shopping at our favorite antique store in Virginia.

Time always flies when they are in town. Before we know it, the week ends and they have to drive back to NC. It is always bittersweet when they leave. The memories however, last much longer! And I am very thankful for that!

Goodbye Winter

I am going to miss winter. By mid March, I always come to the conclusion that winter is no more and I need to prepare myself for Spring.

I like Spring. I even love early Spring. Its summer that I dislike.

Give me a blizzard over tornado warnings anyday. A brisk 34 degrees over a melting 99 is my idea of a good day.

One thing I do love about spring is getting out all of my vintage spring decor.

Bunnies, vintage baskets and quaint little egg cups.......vintage cake toppers in colors of pinks and baby blues and daffodil yellows......



There are a few winter decorations that I keep out year round. Like my pine cone elves and my pink bottle brush tree. My winter birds and my Bethany Lowe paper pulp mica church.....I guess I keep a lot out year round lol.

Spring?

Today it feels like Spring outside.

Its 60 degrees already. The sun is out, and birds are chirping away.

Only its February. I admit, its kind of nice to have the windows open and have some fresh air breeze through. But I like winter. I love snow. And I hate being hot.

When Spring comes, it reminds me of one thing....its almost summer and I can't stand summer.

So while I will enjoy this nice 68 degree weather we are having, I will be happier tomorrow when its back in the low 40's. That's my kind of day!

I am ready for spring! Me, the girl who loves winter and 32 degree days is ready for 70 degree days (as long as there is a light breeze).

Papa loved warm days. His favorite thing to do on nice days was to sit on his front porch and let the sun warm his bare belly.

It's hard to believe he has been gone for three seasons already. When he died last August, the weather had turned so hot. It was almost unbearable. The humidity and dryness just made you feel overwhelmed.

Now, after a long, cold winter, I am ready to feel the sun on my skin again. Every time I am outside I think of Papa and how much he enjoyed being outside.

I haven't felt Baby Bean move yet. I am almost 17 weeks so any day now I should feel that wonderful flutter. I have ate like a pig the last couple of weeks so I am dreading being weighed at my next appointment.

And March Madness is just around the corner. I filled out my bracket online at CBS.

Every year I pick DUKE winning. A few times I was right. lets hope so again this year!

Lets go Duke!

Some Easter things I bought last week

Vintage Eden Rabbit

I am ready for Spring!

Normally, I am a devoted winter fan. I like the cold. But this winter has been far colder than I am used to and I am really excited about Spring!

Hopefully, Baby Bean will cooperate with my plans to fully clean this house from top to bottom! This hasn't been done since January! The morning sickness is truly dreadful and is a 24/7 deal that I am hoping goes away now that we are in our 2nd trimester.

Here are a few things I bought thrift shopping last week that make me smile!

Vintage cupcake picks (Raini & I split this bag--she found them)

Vintage lamb planter

Vintage 1960's plastic candy tray w/lid

Vintage Hallmark Honeycomb Paper decor