Happy Birthday Anna Kate!!

On Monday our sweet daugther turned 3 years old. She woke up Monday morning & said, "Mommy, it's MY DAY!!!" We had a great day complete with breakfast pancakes at May May's house, Paw Paw's steak for lunch, makeovers at Club Tabby with Karsyn, cupcakes at gymnastics, & chips & cheese (Casa Ole') for supper.

The past three years have truely flown by. They have been filled with lots of laughs, smiles, tears, tickels, firsts and most of all love! Anna Kate's vocabulary and personality have blossomed a lot in the past year. She is never at a loss of words and usually has something witty to say. She's a girl who knows what she wants and figured out a way to accomplish it! Some things we are especially proud of.

1. She can count to 20.

2. She can count to 10 in Spanish (like Dora).

3. Knows all her alphabet, can recognize the letters, tell you words that start with them & the sound they make.

4. Loves other children (best friends are Camille & Karsyn). However, yesterday she told us that her Daddy was her best friend in the whole wide world.

5. Loves all animals. She loves to ride her horses (yes plural...she already claimed my horse & her Paw Paw gave her a new one for her birthday).

6. Is very interested in Jesus and heaven. Lately she been asking almost daily when we get to see Jesus and exactly where is heaven. I pray a lot that I'll have the wisdom to answer her questions in a way that she will understand and that her curiousity will continue to blossom throughout her life.

7. One of her favorite activities is to dress up. She knows all of the princesses by name and she assigns us new roles to play each day. Usually she is Cinderella and I am Belle. Daddy used to be the Beast but lately he has been Prince Charming (notice a trend with her loving her Daddy!!)

8. Loves her baby brother. She is a wonderful big sister and loves to make him laugh, feed him from a spoon & even share her toys. I also pray that this love and friendship will continue for years to come.

9. She likes a variety of foods. Some of her favorites are sushi, filet mignon (aka Paw Paw's steak), king crab and boiled crawfish. However, she can also eat her weight in mashed potatoes.

10. Most of all...is everything that JD & I could possibly want (& more) in a daugther. We are so blessed with two amazing children that are the pride & joy of our lives. We are so thankful to have been entrusted with the opportunity to raise our children and pray that we will have many more birthdays to celebrate our precious daugther.

More Easter

I know Easter has long since come & gone, but I thought I would share more pictures from all of our Easter activities.


I didn't get any pictures from Anna Kate's school egg hunt, but it was over so quickly I didn't have much time! The day before Easter, we went to the Country Club for a hunt. Both of our parents, JD's brother & his family all celebrated together. Both of my children thought it was hilarious to put their buckets on their heads!! Crazy kiddos!


On Easter night, Anna Kate & I left out some carrots for the Easter Bunny to eat. We woke up Easter morning & he had left a trail of Easter eggs from Anna Kate's room all through the house to her bucket in the kitchen. Along the trail, we even discovered that he had ridden her bicycle during his visit & left his paw prints on it!! That silly bunny!

Finally on Easter Sunday we went to church and had a wonderful lunch at the Country Club. We then went to my grandma's to visit. Anna Kate had so much fun playing with all the cousins. These pictures were taken at the end of the day. Please note the huge stain on the front of Anna Kate's dress. I had forgotten to bring a change of clothes for her to Nanaw's house. Needless to say her Easter dress will never look the same.

Random

Well I never did find my gadget to download my pictures, so I bought a new one. I didn't realize how long it has been since I downloaded pictures off my camera. I had almost 250 on there that hadn't been downloaded!! Thought I would share a few randoms.



Krewe of Krewes Mardi Gras Parade Haley & Anna Kate


Swinging at May May's house Hair cut at Pigtails & Crewcuts

Jason's 5 year recognition banquet Will hanging out


Anna Kate & Paw Paw catching her 1st fish!

Cooking & napping



Gourgeous sunset!

Be Fruitful & Multiply

In honor of Will's baby dedication, JD & I wanted to get him a sentimental "prize." For Anna Katharine's, we bought her a pearl to add to her add-a-pearl necklace (the idea is to have a full strand of pearls at some point in the future). Since Will I don't think Will has the same appreciation for pearl necklaces, we decided to plant a tree for him. We thought a fruit tree would be appropriate because of Genesis 9:7, "As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it." So today JD went to Devers nursery and brought home a Mayhaw tree. If you don't know what a mayhaw is, they produce a small red berry. The berry itself isn't that great to eat, but you mash it, collect the juice & it makes the best jelly you've ever eaten in your life!! **As an aside, I do have a fond place in my heard for Mayhaws as I was the 1997 Jr. Miss Starks Mayhaw Festival Queen**

So, We went out to our new home pad tonight & planted the tree in our future yard. So fun!! I have visions in a few years of looking out my bedroom window (that's the side of the future house that we planted the tree) & seeing my children picking mayhaws off the tree. Excuse my daughter's attire..I promise she doensn't ALWAYS run around in her swim suit & rubber boats. Long story, but I forgot her gymnastics leotard today, so I had to grab one at Walmart, which they didn't have so I grabbed a swim suit instead. Mom dropped her to me at gym & accidentally left me with no shoes, so we found the rubber boats in the back of Daddy's truck! Nonetheless, we had a fun little family time planting our tree. I'm just hoping it survives the tsunami that is passing though our area!!

Caroline's 1st Birthday Party!

Our precious niece, Caroline had her 1st birthday party this afternoon at Graywood Park. It was a beautiful day to swing, slide & eat cake. Here is the link to the pictures my mother in law took at the party.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=1a893t47.chfj7xhv&x=1&y=8hvyv1&localeid=en_US

Happy Birthday layout!

So anyone who knows me, knows I love my birthday and think of the entire month of May as my birth month! Well I'm creating a little girl after my own heart, because Anna Kate also claims May (& she's working on April!) as her birth month. So in honor of the festivities to come in the next few weeks, I thought I would start early with a cute birthday layout. Plans are in the works for an exciting storybook birthday party next Saturday for Anna Katharine. For our birthday weekend, my law school classmate Lyndsey Knight (we share birthdays) & I are going to fly up to Chicago & visit our other law school classmate Kate Mascarenhas. I haven't looked forward to a birthday this much in a long time. I've heard there is nothing to look forward to after 21, but I beg to differ!!!

Our prayer for Will

Tomorrow is William's baby dedication at church. For Anna Katharine's baby dedication, our church in Houston had us write a prayer/blessing for our child. We decided to do the same thing for William. I have attached below the prayer that we wrote for him. We are so blessed by our little man (actually both of our children, but this is William's time in the spotlight). He will be 8 months old on Tuesday and has truly made an impact on our family. Thank you God for blessing our family with his life!

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come to you today in awe and thanksgiving for the precious life you have blessed us with, our dear William Rhodes Hankins. The verse that comes to our mind the most when we think of our son is Psalms 139:13-16, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Everything about our precious baby is perfectly made- your handiwork created quite a masterpiece!
On this day, we dedicate the life of William to you and your kingdom. We recognize that you have entrusted us with a delicate life and it is our desire to raise him according to your commandments. We love your scripture that says, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.” (Psalms 127:3) Just as we pray that William will leave a heritage that will honor our earthly family, we pray that he will leave a legacy that honors his heavenly father as well.
In only seven short months, William has already become such a blessing to our lives. We prayed for a mild-mannered, laid back, healthy baby and you delivered- above and beyond our expectations. William is already known for his sweet, gentle personality. He always has a gummy smile on his face that can light up an entire room. We are so blessed by such a small little guy. Having our own son has made us appreciate the sacrifice you gave in giving up your own son, Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. I can’t imagine how painful it must have been and we are truly appreciative of that enormous sacrifice.
We thank you again for all of the blessings you have bestowed on our family. It is our prayer that you will continue to provide the wisdom, patience and love we need to raise our children according to your word. In Jesus name, we offer this our prayer to you.
Amen.