Words cannot express the gratitude we have as a family at the outpouring of love, support and prayers since our father's passing last Friday. Many have inquired about flowers and/or donations in his memory. After much thought, the family has chosen two charities that would have been close to Dad's heart:

VH1 Save the Music Foundation: a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in America's public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child's complete education. To date, the Foundation has provided more than $47 million in new musical instruments to 1,750 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, impacting the lives of over 1.6 million children. http://www.savethemusic.com/

St. Jude Children's Research Foundation: St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. http://www.stjude.org/

Thank you again for all of your love!

School is Cool!

As we rounded the corner of the first three weeks of school, Carson has settled into the rhythm of his new school and Pre-K 4 class. He loves his new teachers, his buddies and his girlfriend Tiffany. Amidst a very busy schedule which includes: reading, math, computers, art, drama, music, spanish, gym, library, chapel and more, he somehow found the time to hold Tiffany's hand at recess!! Sweet.
He comes home to spend quiet time by himself with his library books and speaks new Spanish words every day. Sweeter.
He jumps out of bed every day, excited to go to school for a new adventure in learning. Sweetest.

Carson's class

Down on the Blueberry Farm

Mother's Day

My emotional cup always spills over every Mother's Day...I am so blessed to be the Mommy of these two unbelievable kids and blessed again to call three fantastic women in my life "Mom."

I love taking a picture every Mother's Day and reflecting on the joys in my life and how each year as a Mom is so different than the last.

2006

2007

2008

2009

AirFest 2010

Today, Carson and I headed to the annual AirFest at MacDill Air Force Base. He couldn't wait to see the jets go "vroom, vroom!" In fact, he could barely focus on his soccer game this morning in anticipation of seeing the Blue Angels in action.

They closed the gates of the base just before we arrived because it was at capacity, so we headed to an open field nearby to watch the show. Apparently, this is a popular spot...there were hundreds of cars tailgaiting along with 4-wheelers, monster trucks and dirt bikes to add to Carson's delight!

Bonus show!

I was clearly disappointed that we didn't make it in for the show on base, but it really turned out to be a great time...perfect weather, nice tailgating neighbors (with candy to share) and NO traffic jam when the show was over :-)

Girl's Night Out!

Some of us girls from MOPS headed out for a night of bowling ~ good times!

I am definitely no bowler, but somehow I managed to bowl my best game EVER!!! My victory jump after a strike...Yipeeeee!! Girl time is SO good for the soul ;-)

Fun With Grandma and Grandpa

Today was a gorgeous Spring day, so we decided to head over to Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Fred's house for a visit. We hopped over to the VA Park for some serious play time.

Carson quickly found a new friend to play with and they headed over to the WWII tank to check it out.

Mia's favorite...the slide!

And for our children~an important rite of passage...figuring out how to escape through the doggy door. Go Mia!!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Top o' the mornin' to ya from the Wilbur lad and lassie!

For a school project, Carson had to make a Leprechaun Trap to bring in this week. All of his friends set their traps all around the school to try to catch a Leprechaun today.

When we arrived at school, we could see that sneaky little Leprechaun had been all over the place leaving his gold coins and tiny footprints in the magic dust. Carson was sure he would be able to catch him!

Carson and Tiffany in their St. Patty's Day finery.

Our favorite St. Patrick's Day gift of all...Ella!
Today we celebrated her birthday :-)

Phillies Spring Training

We went to catch the action in Clearwater at the Phillies vs. Tigers Spring Training game with the Stricklands.

Gavin and Carson hangin' around. Phillies win!!!
Can we have a ball, please?

This ball park has an awesome playground!

Littlest American Idol Fan

Mia is not much of a TV watcher, but last week I was trying to catch up on an old episode of American Idol while Carson was napping and Mia parked herself on her bouncy turtle and tuned in! She sure loves her music, dancing and clapping at the end. Maybe this week she will learn how to dial in her vote!

Carson's First Soccer Game

This last Saturday, Carson had his first soccer game. Even though he took more diggers than we care to remember, he had a blast and finished his first game without a scratch. He even scored one goal (not that they keep score.) It is so fun to see three and four year olds burn tons of energy out there and as the game winds down, they are building dirt castles in the field, staring at the clouds and waiting for their lollipops at the end of the game. Sounds like fun to me!