Beau Harrison at 5 Years

 

Our sweet and spunky Beauman turned FIVE this month! After discussing many party themes with him, he finally settled on a Lego party to celebrate with his buddies. My favorite part of the party ended up being this Lego photo booth backdrop my mom set up, complete with wacky props. As you'll see, some kids in came back quite a few times!

 

Cool families take awkward photos together on purpose.

Ella and Mal must have tried every prop we had. They are such sweet friends!

The Johnston crew, looking sharp!

Lillian & Nora

Laughing Hillary & cool cowboy Jackson





 

 

My kids rounded up every basic Lego piece we could find, along with a bunch of wheels. Thanks to the genius of Mr. Justin Chamblee, a car ramp station was constructed! Several boys never seemed to leave this area.

We've used our church fellowship hall for most of the kids parties over the last few years. What a blessing to have a great space to use that doesn't involve twenty kids running wild through your house!

This may be the saddest looking Lego cake ever constructed, but Beau was pleased. Orange cake & orange icing for my orange loving boy!

Five-year-olds playing Twister is just greatness!

Even better when an adult joins in!

Car construction concentration (say that five times fast!)

Funny girls!

We'll save this for their wedding slideshow! ;)

We've used our bounce house at Beau's last three birthday parties. Recycling at its best!

It's a shame that this child is so uncomfortable with being the center of attention. He directed the chorus as his friends sang happy birthday to him.

Birthday joy!

Precious cousin friends!

Payton adores Mal, and this picture made me laugh!

Papa in disguise

Me & my favorite brother

Brody & Papa

Pinata time - stand back!

Aaand they're back!

My kids have such fun grandmothers!

Sherriff Mal

Nice look, J!

Aubrey couldn't get enough! She even convinced her big brother to join her.

You're never too old for Legos!

Mimi & Pops

 

As a big five-year-old, Beau continues to have a huge personality for such a little guy. He seems to have limitless energy but still loves to snuggle and gives unsolicited hugs and kisses often. His vocabulary keeps expanding to include lots of grown-up words that make me giggle when heard coming from a preschooler's mouth. His memory is sharp, and he holds us to anything we say.

 

Beau loves just about everyone he meets and adores his brother and sister. But as high as any of us in his family may rank, we know that his favorite person - hands down - is Nora. She is probably the biggest reason he's sad about leaving Texas. Thankfully, she loves him too and is planning to visit us in Georgia. Our gregarious little man never meets a stranger and is happy to talk to anyone who will listen. He seems to say at least twice as many words in a day as other children, and much of what he says is hilarious!

 

Beau Harrison, you are pure joy. Your daddy and I love you dearly and know that God has great plans for that winning personality of yours. Happy birthday, sweet boy!

 

Easter at Our House

Most of our holidays are spent, at least in part, at the home of either my parents or Justin's. Easter, however, has always been our turn to host. I love the excitement that this time of renewal brings as we celebrate our risen Savior!

 

Our first Easter in our Garland home was also Jake & Mallory's first Easter. These cute, bald sweeties in matching sailor outfits didn't have a clue what was going on, but they had fun anyway. I think Jake even tasted banana pudding for the first time that day, thanks to Pops. We had just moved into our house a week prior, and both sets of grandparents spent the holiday with us in our new home.

Each year, my babies have come downstairs to find baskets filled with goodies, donned their Sunday best, and worshipped with our family at Prestoncrest Church of Christ. Rain or shine, we've hunted eggs, although the indoor hunts get trickier as they get older.

The beautiful liners in the kids' Easter baskets were lovingly made by their Grammy, and they're so excited to pull them out each year. Beau was only about six weeks old on his first Easter, so he fit nicely into his basket!

Whether it's smocked sweetness or matching bow ties, I just love buying Easter outfits each year!

We've been joined by many friends for this holiday over the years, as well as our family. I truly love having people into our home and gathering around a table.

For the past several years, our children's minister has put together a sweet little program for the kids to participate in. They get excited about being on stage and are proud to recite their lines and sing songs of praise to our Lord.

I think Nana & Papa have been here for every Easter since the kids were born. What a treat to have them with us!

Though we will make new traditions and new memories in the years to come, I will miss these that we've established in this house.

Dyeing eggs is always a must!

So today, we posed for one more family Easter picture in this place we've called home for seven years.

We hunted eggs once more in this yard, and we celebrated the empty tomb as a family at Prestoncrest.

Easter will look different next year, and that's okay. I'm learning that change is a part of life, and God does some of his best work in our hearts during times of change. From our family to yours, Happy Easter!