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!

Glory be to God in the Highest.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were much afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.  -Luke 2:8-20

Merry Christmas,

xo- Chance, Sarah and Olivia Bendel 

Fourth of July

{photo credit}

... and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Happy Fourth Y'all!

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.

Motherhood

{via}

Happy Mother's Day, friends.

A Few of my Favorite Things - Valentine Edition

These precious little mail boxes.

Sweet little owls.

This is how much I love you..

Valentine Play Date

Our kind of Christmas...

It was delightful.
Busy, but not crazy. The good kind of busy- filled with lots of love, good food, family, traditions and laughter.

Olivia was sick the entire weekend. {That was no fun} But we all managed to stay in the spirit.

Christmas Eve both families came together to celebrate. No presents, just togetherness. {I am so thankful that both sides of our family come together for things like this so that we can ALL enjoy the magical moments in life.} I love traditions. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of Christmas traditions. One of my favorites was every Christmas Eve my Gran would read me "Twas the Night Before Christmas;" it was a very special moment for me to share that with Olivia this year.

{she wore her cupcake shirt because we were throwing a birthday party for baby Jesus. She chose her outfit this evening, everything down to the leopard print ballet flats. What can I say- she's definitely my child.}

Another tradition was leaving cookies for Santa and sprinkling 'reindeer food' for Santa's flight crew.

{Don't tell Olivia, but we were out of milk from all the baking so Santa's milk is actually expired liquid coffee creamer. Sure hope he liked hazelnut as much as I do!}

Olivia sprinkled the reindeer food all by herself.

This Christmas morning was super special. My Mom, Step-Dad Robert, and Grandmother came to see Olivia open her presents. She got so much! Best part.. she said 'thank you' a lot!

Santa brought her a toy kitchen and a tricycle. You know, because she was a super special girl all year!

We rounded out the day with a visit to our "bonus parents." Chance's best friend, Terry's parents. They spoiled us, as always. They are so good to us and treat Olivia as though she's their granddaughter. So thankful to have so many people in our girls life that love her.
 

{excuse our scary eyes!}

I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours!!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

From our family you yours,

have a blessed and happy Christmas season.

With Love,

The Bendel's

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.

Meow!

I'm taking a break from the "what we've been up to" posts today to share about the Bendel Halloween.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret- I am a bit of a holiday/special occasion person. Actually I'm a huge holiday/special occasion person. I just love sharing all the fun and traditions with Olivia!
I make her a goody basket for each holiday.

First thing this morning she opened her Halloween basket...

And naturally, she gets a card at every possible opportunity!

I worked during the day, but couldn't wait to get home and get our girl all gussied up! She was a precious little black kitty cat. She was saying "meow" all night!! It was so sweet.

We were sad that my mom and grandmother weren't able to make it trick or treating with us; but so happy that Dee Dee {my sweet mother-in-law} joined in the fun! That girl loves her Dee Dee!!

Liv was so excited to get started she could hardly contain herself while we waited for Daddy to join us.

Thankfully, he didn't keep her waiting long!

This is Olivia receiving her first 'treat' at Trunk or Treat. She was awesome. She figured out the whole 'Trick or Treating' thing very early on- saying "twick-er-twee" at every car, and "dank oooo" once she'd scored the goods. She's such a big girl now!

We even got to see our sweet friends Dana and Adley {the sweet little lady bug.} Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks? She's a doll baby, and we love her. Olivia and I are so blessed to have these girls so close. They live just a couple of miles down the road- so we're able to get the girls together often. I so hope that their little friendship continues through school and that they are able to really be there for each other as they get older.

I think it is so important to have strong ties with friends. Up until this point in my life I've been blessed with 4 wonderful friends, who I couldn't imagine my life without. Dana is quickly joining that group! We've known each other since middle school, and graduated high school together- though we didn't become friends until just this year. She has been such a blessing to me.

I'll end this post with a sweet snap shot of me and Olivia the cat. She just loved all the festivities.. I think she's a bit more like me than we thought.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

{Our littlest blue fairy last year.}

We're looking forward to all the festivities tonight. I've got some major scheduling to do, I have the night planned down to the very last minute- in my head. Time to put it on paper, I'm praying we don't have to skip anything. We are so blessed to have so many people who love Olivia. We cherish each and every one of them. I would hate for any one to not get to see our little black cat this year!

Be safe tonight.. and try not to eat too much candy. It'll rot your teeth out.

p.s. I'll be posting again at 10, as promised, with another update as to what we've been up to the past 2 months.

Our Weekend ... July 1-4, 2011

We LOVE holidays around this house, any excuse to have people over, fire up the grill and jump in the pool! We had a wonderful weekend, filled with tons of fun!

Hope everyone had as much fun as we did this Fourth of July weekend!

Home of the Free

I'm just going to get to it... I love America!
The national anthem moves me to tears.

I love everything about the Fourth.

Fireworks, 

Burgers & Hotdogs,

Chance's Grilled Corn-on-the-cob (I'll share the oh so fattening way he makes it soon!),

Swimming pools,
Strawberry Shortcake,
But most importantly - Being surrounded family and friends.

Happy Fourth of July friends!
God Bless America!