a bendel easter 2013

I love Easter.
It's tied with Christmas for my favorite holiday.

We had a busy, but stress free holiday. Olivia woke up around 9 and opened her Easter basket.
She loved everything, but her favorites were the Paula Deen "My First Cookbook" and her new apron. (She has fallen in love with cooking shows lately. She is always asking to "watch the yady cook." Her favorites are Pioneer Woman, Trisha Yearwood and Paula Deen. She's a southern girl through and through!) 

We didn't want to feel rushed, and since momma had the day off we decided to go to the late service at church. It was an awesome service. Lots of testimonies and worship. Olivia is really loving the children's ministry at our church. She decided a few months ago that she didn't want to go to the nursery anymore, that she wanted to attend children's church. We were proud of her, because giving up snacks and play kitchens for a real "service" is a big deal for an almost 3 year old. We talked to her and made sure she knew what she was committing to, and she made it perfectly clear where she wanted to be! She is about 2 years younger then the next youngest children, but I've been told she does a great job listening and participating. So proud of her.

After church, my mother-in-law and I hosted a family lunch. For the most part we just fixed the staples. Ham, hashbrown casserole, green beans, deviled eggs, and sweet tea. But we did try a new recipe for dessert, sharing that recipe later this week!

We were super lucky to have a dear family friend come by to take pictures of Olivia. We'd been having a hard time finding a good time to get together for Olivia's 3 year pictures, so Easter it was! Deborah got some amazing shots, and Olivia had a blast! We did a version of 'trash the dress.' You may remember that Olivia was a flower girl in my sister's wedding in June 2011- well, that darn dress still fit; so we put it on her, she donned her rain boots and hit the rain puddles!

We spent about 2 hours with Deborah soaking up the last few minutes of sunlight. After the camera and props were packed away we loaded Olivia up in the car for one last Easter celebration. We ran over to our "bonus parents" house. We are so blessed by their love for us and Olivia. I have no idea how we're going to explain to her one day that they are not actually related to her. She adores her Grandma and Pops! They had a huge basket for her and an indoor egg hunt. The picture above is her fanning herself, wearing the princess gear from her basket.

We hope your Easter was as blessed as ours was, and that amid all the eggs and candies- you never loose sight of the real reason we celebrate. He is risen, friends, risen indeed!

Mother's Day 2012

We had a low-key kind of day here at the Bendel household. We took our time this morning and went to the 11 o'clock service. It was lovely. The sermon was, of course, about moms. That was nice- but the sweetest part was at the end. The children's ministry director had arranged for all the children to sing "This Little Light of Mine." It was the sweetest thing. Olivia did not go up front- but she did sing in our seats. Then before we were dismissed, the children lead us in prayer and they all prayed for their moms. Y'all, I almost died from sweetness.

This was after church. I'm so glad Chance snapped this picture of us. It captures so much. That little girl, she has been an angel to our families. She's brought so much peace and joy. She has helped build bridges to repair strained relationships. I've said before, she saved our marriage.
We are blessed beyond measure.

This afternoon we went to Sunday dinner at our 'bonus parents' home. They love us well. She served my favorite, Italian beef sandwiches and strawberry shortcake. Amazing.  I ate so much that I could barely stay awake through our visit. They bought Olivia a DVD of Charlotte's Web and when we put it in this afternoon, I was so excited to see that it was the same version I watched as a little girl. I love sharing things from my childhood with Olivia.
After Sunday dinner we had a short visit at my Grandmother's. My mom and both my sisters were able to make it as well. Lindsay brought my new nephew and I got to love on him while Olivia spent some quality time with her Aunt Boo and Aunt Kelsey.

When we got home tonight we had some fun in the yard. Liv ran and kicked her ball and played with her Tyler and then ran some more.

That girl loves her puppy. Our evening was uneventful as well. We came in and ate more strawberries and 'swam' in the bath tub. Then we settled in for a little "mee-mo" {Finding Nemo.}
Liv wanted me to make a picture of our 'pretty pants.' Goodness.

Relay for Life 2012

Tonight we celebrated 'Dee Dee' {my amazing mother-in-law,} we remembered those that we've lost and we fought for a cure. Such a bittersweet night for me. A night that brings back so many memories of those that have gone before, specifically my Paw Paw.
But we choose to live in joy and gratitude for the blessings that He has given us.

Olivia cheered and said "Yay Dee Dee" when Debbi went to receive her survivor medal. When Debbi started making her way back to our seats, Olivia took off after her. She was so proud of her Dee Dee- her little body just couldn't contain it! Sweet, sweet child.

Debbi {wearing her 'Team Dee Dee' shirt} starting her survivor's lap.

Debbi and her boys walking the care taker's lap.

Olivia 'walking' the caretaker's lap.

After we made our way around the track, we began our way from tent to tent. We had BBQ sandwiches from one, and Olivia got her face painted at another. She was so excited about her pink dragon fly. FYI- this lady had an awesome idea. For little ones, who tend to squirm a lot, she used foam stamps. One easy step- super cute result.  I'm not sure why I never thought of this, but it worked perfectly!

 

Olivia enjoyed popcorn, lots of 'prizes' that people just kept handing her left and right, and a balloon twisted into a flower. Oh that flower, I thought the world might stop when it popped. Luckily we had about 27 other goodies to distract her with.

Around 9:30 we finally called it a night and went home. Liv was so tired she barely made it through her bedtime prayers. She asked me to rock her to sleep, I don't even think it took 3 minutes. Sweet, sweet moments. Moments like this are what get me through the day to day of raising a head strong toddler.

It was a beautiful night and we are so thankful that we were able to celebrate life as a family.

A Day at the Zoo

Birthdays are a big deal around our house.
They're a day completely dedicated to celebrating our girl.

So after a girls day, a birthday dinner and a birthday party naturally- we had to go to the zoo.
It's about a 3.5 hour drive for us so we left bright and early at 6:30, Chance was tickled pink.
Olivia was fantastic on the drive and we finally arrived in St. Louis around 10.

You may remember {or maybe not} we decided last year that a trip to the zoo would be a birthday tradition.
Chance and I both love the zoo, and as luck would have it- so does Olivia.

 Olivia and Chance visiting the giraffes, ostrich, and antelope.

A sweet story about the picture above. Olivia said "Mommy look, ostrich! Like a bush... where's Diego?" Translation: Olivia saw an ostrich, she remembered the episode of Diego featuring an ostrich and that they lay on the ground and cover their heads to look like a bush to protect their eggs, and she wanted to know where Diego was. That girl, she makes me smile.

Olivia really enjoyed the monkeys, zebras & giraffes and got to pet a guinea pig and a goat. She thought the peacock was really pretty. He was obviously very proud of himself. He stayed like this for probably 10 minutes, turning from side to side showing off his pretty feathers.

We rode the train and the carousel, Liv loved both! She wanted to ride the zebra or the giraffe on the carousel, but two particularly pushy eager 12 year olds got there just before we did. Olivia was disappointed and asked why she couldn't ride 'her' zebra. I explained to Olivia that the zebra belonged to the zoo and that those girls must have really wanted to ride it since they nearly knocked us over in their mad dash for it were so excited to get to it. That seemed to appease Olivia, the teeny boppers on the other hand received a quick glance and I assure you they were pickin' up what I was puttin' down. 

Another tradition we decided to carry over from last year was the Build-a-Bear strategically placed smack dab in the middle of the zoo. Those retailers- they know how to get you. Olivia chose the giraffe to stuff, and even pushed the pedal to fill her up. We named her Ginny and they've been inseparable ever since. It's really precious. Ginny is the first item Olivia has ever been really attached too. 

Another sweet story:

At lunch, Chance was discussing with Olivia what her options where for lunch. He sweetly read and re-read the entire kid's menu to her and asked her what she might like to eat. She chose 'chicken, gwapes, and twees' (chicken nuggets, grapes and broccoli.) 

We stayed until the zoo was closing. I'm so thankful that I remembered to get a picture of the 3 of us before we left. We were all so tired.

Olivia had a blast, and was so well behaved. There were ZERO meltdowns. I was so proud of her.

It was a fun day for the 3 of us, surrounded by people who love Olivia and want to be a part of every little thing she does. I feel so blessed to have such a support system. 

We can't wait to go back this summer!

We're Back!

We're home from Virginia!
Olivia did awesome on our flights!! What a relief.

Tons of fun was had.
Two life long friendships were strengthened.
Lots of sweet moments between two little girls.
Lots of relaxing.
It was a good trip.

Here are a few pictures from our week away...

Ready for our first flight!

  

Olivia was so good, on both flights.

 

 She really liked looking out the window.

We took a field trip to the library. Olivia had never seen that many books- she was in awe. Precious.

Thanks for having us Nikki, Michael and Ellie!!!

December, really?

First things first, a very dear family friend is struggling right now in the ICU at a local hospital. They believe he may have had a stroke but has been in pretty much the same condition since early last week. Please pray for his healing, for comfort for his family and wisdom for the doctors and nurses caring for him.

December snuck up on me. Big time!
I was so busy with the bustle of Thanksgiving, I feel like I blinked and November was over! And here we are in December- the happiest month of the year. I love everything about the holiday season; especially all the fun traditions.

Last Firday was Chance's birthday, he's 28 now.

Olivia helped make his birthday cupcakes- carrot cake with cream cheese icing. He's the only one in the house that likes them. (I gag a little just thinking about them)

Saturday was a big day for us too. We took Olivia to see her very first Christmas parade. We were able to meet up with our dear friends the Pooles. You've heard me talk about our awesome play dates before.
Olivia and Adley just have the best time together, and it's so fun to watch them learn to interact.

Adley (Right) & Olivia (Left)

Olivia liked the marching bands and the gymnastics teams... Adley liked the pup-pups (dogs) best.

These girls make my heart smile. I love that Olivia is building friendships even at her young age. She asks for Adley all the time. I sure hope we're able to squeeze in a few playdates before the Christmas craziness starts!



Olivia is at such a fun age right now. She is so articulate, and has no problem telling you exactly what it is she wants!

In other fun news, and adding to the craziness, Olivia and I get to spend the week in Lexington, VA. We fly out on the 14th and won't be back until the 21st!! So the Bendel Christmas has to be planned and prepared for by the 13th! Whew- I feel a list coming on.

What we're up to...

Checking lights...

Decorating trees...

Eating candy canes off the Christmas tree...

Making precious memories.

What a weekend!

This weekend was crazy! Fun, but crazy. The Bendels were so busy.
Of course I was running around frantically trying to complete my checklist.
Our girl ended up spending a good portion of --- night in the emergency room after a swallowed penny scare. No worries- no such penny showed up on the multiple x-rays.

This photo was taken shortly after our arrival at the hospital, around 2:30 am. I think we finally got home around 4:45, and to be honest- I don't even remember laying back down.
I was so tired Friday, but that checklist was staring at me. I hit the ground running at 7:30 and didn't stop until around midnight. Saturday was even more hectic but with the help of a very sweet friend I was able to get it all done. Thanks Dana!
She came over Saturday morning and helped me, then when it came time for me to go set up- she took our girls back to her house. She's a life saver that one!

Aren't they precious in their little car seats together?? I love it!

Happily only 1 task was ignored. {the diaper cake tutorial}
The shower went on without a hitch.
The mommy and daddy-to-be scored tons of fabulous loot. Including a gift basket from us; which consisted of handmade burp clothes and onesies, a piggy bank, a lullaby cd, and a stuffed frog and elephant.

Here are a few pictures from the shower:

Lindsay and Brandon seemed to be very pleased with everything and loved everything they got.

After the shower it was time for some quick clean up. Olivia and I were super excited about our play date/ slumber party with Dana and Adley. The girls {for the most part} play so well together. I love watching them interact. Olivia is definitely the aggressive one. Adley's much more laid back.

They have a blast together and I'm so glad that Olivia has a friend that she's getting close to.

Sunday has been a lazy one for us. I ate a lot of left overs and was a complete slob and took a 2 hour nap with Olivia. I.HAVE.NEVER.DONE.THAT. Even when she was a baby. It was nice.

We have many things to be thankful for this weekend- family, friends, new babies..
God is good friends.