March

We have a brand new Kroger that is about twice as large as our previous store.

I am excited, but will have to re-vamp my grocery planning word document 

since there are twice as many aisles!

I'm trying to do better at "couponing" - not like the crazy people on TV,

but at least clipping them and not forgetting them once I'm at check out

So far it has saved us some $$

Some girls in our Sunday School Class did a freezer 

meal swap. I made six of the same beef stew recipes

and then we got together and swapped, each leaving with 

six different meals for our family. Genius! 

 We used the below website for our freezer meal recipes

I have already made a couple and they are great!

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html?m=1  

Benjamin loves to "play" with the Swiffer

I try to make the most of it and let him clean up after meal time 

Benjamin's other favorite activity is ANYTHING that involves

                                              a ball. He is learning to roll, throw, and kick. 

At the new Kroc Center in midtown they have a wonderful

indoor soccer field. I enjoy taking him there to run around to

get out some of his energy - as well as kick a ball around (video below).

Shelby Farms Dog park 

We had a wonderful "Family Fun Day" this month!

Typically, either Frank or I work every Saturday, but this month we

both got a weekend off (Thanks Mandi Burke!)

We started it off by going to the Kroc Center.

They have an awesome zero entry pool and a lazy river. 

After Benjamin's nap we had a picnic at the park and 

enjoyed the sunshine, Valkyrie, and of course Benjamin's ball.

Benjamin loves to take out the sink from his kitchen and sit in it.

Probably because when he does, I push him around the house : )

We had a wonderful class reunion from our original Young Married

Class at Bellevue. Many of the couples moved back to East TN

after finishing grad school and the rest of us have started our own YM classes.

My how our group has grown!

All the adults were saying "cheese!!" and trying to get their

kids to smile...which apparently terrified Benjamin

(Far left) Poor baby

First signs of spring in our neighborhood

We love taking walks

I am so blessed to be the one to hold this little man's hand!

Sunny days require lunch on the porch...

and trips to the zoo with friends!

Marley spends his entire day following the sun spots 

around the house. Such a hard life!

Here is the finished headboard Frank built

Just in time for my parents to come visit next month!!

Above - Frank's 5th grade project

Below - Frank's project 20 years later

(look similar but on a much different scale)

Frank has been spending this whole month working on the

guest house. He has replaced the rotten boards and is now

working on straightening and leveling the house downstairs. 

Benjamin and I watch from a safe distance.

Here is a recent picture of Frank and some of the guys with whom he works

My two best friends from college (Beth and Diane) are both

pregnant! We got to celebrate at Beth's baby shower with Lindsey. 

We can still be silly together after all these years with

 our mustache stickers on our coffee mugs. 

I had the honor of hosting a baby shower for a friend Charity.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Ainsley Joy

and her upcoming arrival : )

Here is the finished product of the chalk board

that Frank built me : )

After the party Frank was so sweet to do the dishes for me...

but we realized that plastic tends to melt at high temps

Oh well...looks like modern art to me!

So...Benjamin had a little accident in the bathtub

"What?!"

"Nooo! Don't tell everyone..."

"...that I was eating chocolate pudding"

Self-feeding with a spoon training that turned into 

finger painting. LOL

Benjamin learned a hard lesson about gravity and momentum 

on our driveway. As my grandaddy would say, 

"Don't worry, it will get well before you get married."

Somebody got the curly hair gene : )

Happy Easter!