Caroline Grace Turns 5!

Caroline turned 5 on 4/4/13!! Her actual birthday fell on a Thursday. She was so excited about the day because she got to celebrate at preschool and wear a special crown :-) She had a fun day at school as the birthday girl! I picked Caroline up from school, and we went to get some ice cream with one of her sweet friends, Eleanor. We surprised the girls with tickets to Disney on Ice while they ate their ice cream. We then came home to spend some time with Grandad who had flown in from Colorado to help us celebrate. Once Matt came home from work, Caroline opened a few presents and we went to eat dinner at Chuy's (Caroline's choice because she wanted chips and queso :-)
Caroline's party was a couple of days later on 4/6/13. This year was a little different because Caroline picked out everything...the theme, invites, decorations, balloon colors, the craft, cake, etc... I didn't make one decision. It was fun to see her so excited about the details. Caroline chose to have a princess party and, believe it or not, Ariel showed up! :-) Many sweet people attended the party: Matt & me (of course), Nannie, Aunt Jean, Uncle John, Yaya, Grandad and some adorable friends.
The party in pictures:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a look of pure joy!!

Ariel was so fun and the girls couldn't believe the real Ariel was able to come all the way from Disneyworld to see them. Ariel had all kinds of special things planned...they played games, wore silly hats, went on a treasure hunt, had a dance party, and put on make-up (which was, by far, the most exciting thing!)

It was time to open presents once the party was over. Caroline never stopped smiling from ear to ear. It was fun to see her have such a wonderful day. I mean you only turn 5 once, right? She picked Mi Cocina for her birthday party dinner (more chips and queso of course) then we came home and crashed from a fun but exhausting day.

Happy 5th Birthday, Caroline!!!

Jesus is Risen, Indeed: Easter 2013

"MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS

THAN JESUS BLOOD AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.

I DARE NOT TRUST THE SWEETEST FRAME,

BUT WHOLLY LEAN ON JESUS' NAME."

---- Hymn, "On Christ the Solid Rock"

We had a wonderful time, this year, celebrating the hope we have in Jesus' resurrection. It's fun to participate in some of the "secular"events that go along with Easter. However, we never forget the holiness of this holiday. We talked a lot about how Easter events are fun, however, the significance of Resurrection weekend is the foundation for our faith...where our hope comes from!! May we live every day like it's Resurrection Day!!

Here is our Easter 2013 in bullet points:

• we dyed Easter eggs!

(wine glass work great if you forget to buy clear, plastic ones at the store...anyone wanna come over for a dinner party? haha) 

 

 

• we drew pictures of Jesus' resurrection  
• hunted some Easter eggs 
• celebrated at church!

 

• learned about the gospel through our Resurrection Eggs and Jesus Storybook Bible 
• opened some fun Easter surprises from Mimi and PopPop 
• went to a Helicopter Egg Drop & Carnival behind our house 

 

(Caroline ran into some sweet friends...Harper from her pre-school and our neighbor, Abby) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• went to my mom's house on Easter for a yummy lunch/time with family 

 

(hello from the kids' table :-)

(opening a couple of gifts from Yaya, love their expressions... they fit their personalities perfectly, ha)

one last Easter egg hunt in Yaya's front yard

• and, of course, the adult money egg hunt...it's a fight to the death ;)

I hope all of you had a very blessed Easter!

Love, The Krauss Fam