Easter Photos With the Fam

After church, we took family pictures on the Blade side.  The kiddos were due for naps so it was a short photo session.  Aww, but don't they look cute all dressed up in their Easter attire.:)

Tweryon/Blade families

Brody giving hugs

Later that day, we took cousin pictures with the Requarth side.  Liv was tired at this point after all the hustle and bustle the holiday brings.  So she needed her paci during these pictures.  However, I tried to take her paci out just for a quick pic and brother was not having it.  Brody was very upset and wanted her paci back.  He's already looking out for his sissy.  What a sweet big brother he is. :)

Not her paci!!

Life is good again :)

Egg Huntin', Egg Dyin', Egg Crackin' Good Ole Fun!

Easter was the first holiday we celebrated as Illinois residents.  We celebrated the holiday with some good ole Easter egg fun!  We kicked the weekend off with breakfast at Nana and Papa's house, along with an egg hunt at the Rochester Park.  

Brody looking through his Easter bag at Nana and Papa's

Liv looking at the yummy candy

Brody found one egg during the hunt.  He was so taken back with all the goodies inside that one egg, he didn't have any interest finding any others.  Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny arrived on scene and Brody wanted nothing to do with them.  As you can notice in the picture below, he is holding onto my leg crying for dear life as we get a quick pic of the fam.

He loves him some candy!

Daddy and his little girl

Bray, Liv, and Addy posing with the Easter Bunny (Brody not so much).

We spent some much needed down time between the festivities.  Here is my baby girl doing her tummy time.  She loves being on her belly, something her older brother didn't want any part of when he was a little guy.  It's crazy how different their personalities already are.

Easter Sunday morning was an exciting busy time to say the least.  Brody anxiously opened up his Easter basket, as well as sissy's too (poor sissy, at least I managed to get a pic of it).  His basket was filled with all kind of goodies from the Easter Bunny.  He especially LOVED the candy and baseball set.  Daddy was trying to show Brody how to hit the ball, however Brody had his own special way. :) After we played with our new gifts, we headed to church to celebrate the REAL reason of Easter.

After church, we headed over to Granny and Papa Don's house.  Brody and Olivia got some fun toys and goodies and enjoyed another egg hunt.  Brody mastered how to open the Easter eggs this time around, unfortunately he didn't understand the importance of opening the eggs in your basket.  Oh well, he didn't seen to mind a little grass with his candy. )

Brody loves his trains!

Liv hanging out during the egg hunt

Love her smile!

Taking a break with Addy

Granny has the magic touch

And what would Easter be without dying eggs?!?!  Ok, maybe we finally got to the egg dyin' stuff a week later.  But that counts for something..right?!

Things were a bit crazier this year with having two little ones and all the family activities.  But, we are so thankful our children got to spend this holiday with all their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins!!  We cannot thank our families enough for making our kiddos feel so special!!  We love you!!

Until We Meet Again

Brody watching CARS while we're packing

As you may have heard, Stuart accepted a firefighter/paramedic job in IL.  On March 7th he received a call letting him know of a "conditional offer" for the job.  That day he purchased his ticket to Chicago.  He took his psych evaluation on his 31st birthday and he relates he could think of a million other ways he would have rather spent his birthday.  The next day he had his physical from 7am to 3pm.  By Saturday, he was back in Florida with the grandparents to help us pack.  We had one week to pack up our house and move to the glorious Land of Lincoln.  We were packing in faith at this point because we still had not received a call for the official offer.  It wasn't until we had the moving van packed that Stuart received confirmation that he passed the psychological and physical exams, which was hours before we pulled out of the driveway with the moving van. Our faith in God is what got us through the strain of applying and testing for different departments, packing a house, saying our goodbyes, and moving two young children over 1,000 miles.  We cannot thank those enough that helped us along the way!! Living in IL was our prayer.  It seemed so far in the distance at times, but we knew God was a loving and faithful God.  That he had a plan for our family that was FAR better than our expectations could imagine.  As written in Luke 11:13, "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."  We praise God each and every day for answered prayers that our children have the privilege to be close to their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins!

Brody when you're older, ask your father the moving truck story debacle.

Florida will always have a very special place in our hearts.  We have experienced many exciting new adventures here in the Sunshine State.  It is where I heard those four magical words "Will you marry me," exchanged our vows, our family grew to three, Brody took his first steps, Olivia made her surprise debut two weeks early, made incredible friendships, ate countless family dinners at the fire station, taught and learned from some amazing kiddos and teachers, dedicated Brody and Olivia at Faith Fellowship (our amazing church family), and made so many other unforgettable memories.  I will never forget the 5 years we spent in Brevard County, especially the beautiful WARM weather!! It is not only the place where our family grew in size, but stronger through all the ups and downs a year may bring.  Here's a glimpse of some of the AMAZING friends and places we'll always cherish in the place we called "home" for the past 5 years (12 for Stuart!).

My two incredible teacher friends, Angela and Lucy.

Our fire station family at SBFD

Brody and Liv with our wonderful sitter, Dee!

One of our last walks to Daddy's fire station

Brody hanging out with his buddy, Isabella. We will truly miss her and her family!

SBFD's AMAZING secretary Paula, or as Brody knows her as, the lady who always had candy when he visited the station. :)

Beach Babies

Aunt Becky came to visit last month to do a week of clinicals in Vero Beach.  We spent the weekend at the beach before her grueling week of driving back and forth to clinicals.  Little did we know, it was our last trip to the beach before the big move.  It was Livi's first time soakin' up the sun with an ocean view.  Brody had a blast building sandcastles with his Aunt Becky and Daddy.  They did manage to put their feet in the ocean too.  Brr...was it cold!  While they were busy playing in the sand, Livi and I left to venture back home because someone was getting fussy.  Daddy thinks I was wanting to leave early because the sand was blowing on me, however in my defense it was blowing on Livi too!

Brody checking on his sissy

Brody and Livi really enjoyed having their Aunt Becky around.  However, Aunt Becky did mention that all Livi did was eat, cry, and poop during most of her stay.  Oh silly Becky!  Even though she's not use to babies yet, we still love her.  Thankfully, we get to see her more often now with Daddy's new job.  Below is a picture of Aunt Becky, Brody, and Livi snuggling while watching Brody's favorite movie Cars.  This was our little bedtime routine while Daddy was at the station.  We would snuggle up on the couch while watching one of Brody's favorite movies.  After I would get his pjs on and his choc choc made, Brody would sit on the couch and pat the spot beside him waiting for you to come sit by him.  It was sooo sweet!

I Never Knew How Much I Loved Your Daddy Until I Saw How Much He Loved You

We celebrated Stuart's 31st birthday last month.  He spent his actual birthday taking an eight hour psych test for the job of a firefighter/paramedic at a department in IL, which he got I might add.  (I know...a real party animal) 

The following week, we celebrated his birth with delicious cupcakes while packing up our house to move back to the good ole state of IL.  When you get older birthdays are just another day, however I don't want to get into the habit of thinking that.   I thank God each and every day for the AMAZING husband and friend he has placed in my life, but most of all the loving father he has given our children.  Brody and Livi not only have a dad but a coach, friend, child thrower (and catcher of course!), wrestler, comedian, songwriter (best one at making up his own lyrics to nursery rhyme tunes), racecar driver, hair stylist (with little hair that Livi has), professional swaddler, booger sucker and so much more!  Where most firefighters work a second job away from home, our daddy feels that it wouldn't compete to the one he already has playing with his kids.  Here are a few snapshots of Brody and Livi with the best dad EVER!

Brody helping Daddy take apart Sissy's glider.

Daddies make the best pillows