Easter

Scenes from a happy Easter...

Crochet bunnies in a carrot pouch!

Parable Pouch.  Each wooden symbol represents a different Bible verse.

Easter...the only time it's safe to put all your eggs in one basket :)

Child Advocacy and A Little Road Trip

Today is Missouri's annual Child Advocacy Day. A day for parents, child care professionals, health care providers and community members to speak up and ask lawmakers to make the health, safety and education of Missouri’s children a top priority for the state.

STATS on MISSOURI’S CHILDREN:

• 1.4 million children live in Missouri
• 306 thousand live in poverty
• 310 thousand under 6 need child care
• 268 thousand living in food insecure houses
• 141 thousand do not have health insurance
• 45 thousand are abused or neglected
• 10 thousand drop out of school each year

Last week the boys were happy to help Aunt Een (aka Erin Brower, Director of Advocacy/Public Policy for Partnership for Children) promote Child Advocacy to legislators at the Capitol. They handed out buttons and got to meet some important people.  I'm relieved they didn't do anything too embarrassing.  Only one minor meltdown from Sullivan.  And Max chirped like a bird in response to questions in a couple of the offices he visited.  Other than that I don't think we caused too much damage :)

Een putting on his Child Advocacy button.

I think the boys did their small part to make a difference for fellow Missouri children.  Max was pretty proud of himself at the end of the day :)

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Here's our behind the scenes trip to Jefferson City....

The trip was initiated because Billy had to be there for business and I was itching for a little road trip.  We joked how we used to plan elaborate, two week, vacations to Europe and now we're just pumped to be driving down the road two hours.  The old me would have felt very bad for this new me :) Doing something out of the ordinary still gave our family that little buzz of excitement that recharges your batteries though.  Even if the destination wasn't so glamorous.

The drive there wasn't bad.  We made stops along the way and Billy gave the boys a little money to spend when we stopped.  We ended up with a fishing pole, a stuffed bunny, a rubber ball and finger puppets.  They were thrilled :)

Holding hands and playing games.

We stopped in Columbia to visit some friends.  We had lunch and let the kids get some energy out.

Lunch for the kids.  Stella hoping for some scraps.

Sullivan hand feeding Stella her lunch.

 The boys got a quick cat nap on the car ride from Columbia to Jeff City.  

The moment we got to the hotel Max was begging to go swimming.  So we dropped off our bags in the room and loaded them up on the luggage carrier...

 That evening we had a nice dinner out with Erin and Matt followed by dessert and a jacuzzi bubble bath back at the hotel.

The boys had their first slumber party in their own room (attached to ours).  The slept side-by-side in two Pack N Plays and didn't make a peep all night.   The next morning room service arrived and the boys were living it up. Breakfast in bed and PBS Kids on TV.  Ah...vacation ;)

We scurried to get vests and ties on and hair brushed to get to the Capitol by 9:00am.

Once inside, the boys made themselves at home.  Running up and down the marble halls.

As payment for their hard work Aunt Een bought them each a bird from the souvenir shop.

A quick last minute, yet productive, trip!  

Team Loves Lila

We're so happy to be a part of March for Babies again this year.  
To walk among other families and capture a glimpse of their story.  Some have triumphed, some have suffered unimaginable loss and some are still praying for a healthy child.  The love and bravery witnessed during the walk is inspiring.

For me, the hardest part of being a parent is the raw vulnerability of loving another being so much. The force of that realization hit me the moment I became a mother.  It shook me to the core of my soul.  And it's a permanent feeling.  It doesn't seem to subside with time like many feelings do.  It's probably because we don't really have much control.  Even from the beginning we can only protect our children to a certain degree.

The fragility of life seemed infinitely more fragile after holding each of my babies for the first time.  How  is it possible that they exist?   It seems beyond reason that such perfection could be created by two people who are far from perfect.  

I still kiss their tiny fingers and listen to their heartbeats.  Those ordinary wonders which started within me will remain a part of each of them for their entire lives. I often look at their sweet lips and count their long eyelashes and try to make sense of how complicated and miraculous creating life actually is.  A process so scientific, yet magical.

And when you really break it down...every healthy baby is a miracle.

That is why we're so happy to be supporting the March of Dimes and their efforts to find answers to the problems that threaten unborn babies.  

If you'd like to join us in supporting this great cause please click the "Donate Now" button at the top of the blog.  We'll be walking in memory of our sweet niece, Lila, who was born sleeping nearly eight years ago.

No amount is too small.

Thank you!

Max McAlister ~ born 2/13/10 ~ 7lbs 9oz

Sullivan Michael ~ born 8/6/11 ~ a healthy 10 lbs even.

Shenanigans

St. Pat's may be a secondary holiday to most, but it gets top billing in the Murray family :)   

In preparation for the holiday we hosted a "St. Patrick's Day Warm-up" playgroup at our house.

Max admired all of the snacks before his guests arrived...

He went around listing everything..".Lucky Charms, applesauce, shamrock chips..."

I think he approved of the spread :)

Can't resist those Lucky Charms marshmellows!

Got a little shy when Emerson showed up ;)

He got brave and decided to show her how to make the rainbow craft we came up with.

I asked the  kids to tell me why they feel lucky and wrote it on the cloud.  Max came up with this sweet answer on his own :) 

Building with Thomas.

 *Poor Sullivan wasn't feeling well and napped upstairs during the whole party.  

Another way we celebrated St. Patrick's "Week" was by blasting Irish music and jamming/dancing until we were exhausted.  We have a bunch of Irish music records from Billy's parents and, of course, every Elders track you can name.  

Max had a little jam session before nap time.  Using the wooden horse as a guitar.

It's a party when Dad's home.  I wish you could hear how loud the music was in these photos...

On Snake Saturday we walked in the Brookside Parade with the Brookside Mothers' Association and then had family back to our house for our traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner.

It was a little chilly.

This is the look Max gets on his face when he's about to torment his brother :)

Sullivan can hold his own though!

Sullivan waving to his adoring public :)

After the parade...

Getting into all the food.

Lolli's Pinterest creation...Shamrock dip!

Speaking of Pinterest Max and I made these for the cousins to take home:

It was a fun color sorting game for Max (with CLEAN hands :) earlier in the week. Sullivan helped too and did a great job getting the Skittles in the right bowl.  Then we layered them like a rainbow...with gold on the bottom and a cloud on the other end!

Here's Max hard at work earlier in the week.

After we ate, we played a few games.  They were captivated by the game Nora was playing :)

A little Jenga with Een.

St. Patrick's Day breakfast {prior to our Quigley's breakfast with the Murray family}

Digging the marshmellows out of their Lucky Charms :)  They loved the bagels with green cream cheese too.

 Max didn't like the Shatto Chocolate Mint milk so I made him green milk.
Lots of food coloring being consumed here :)

I got the boys a little Lucky Shamrock kit from the $1 aisle at Target.  They had fun planting their seeds...

 And then placing it in the window...  

 They're still waiting patiently for their lucky shamrocks to sprout!!

Lucky to have these lads in my life.