Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, our family took a little trip out to a ranch near Glen Rose, TX wanting a relaxing time connecting as a family. And thankfully, we got just that. The kids were excited to see the horses as we pulled up to the ranch and were even more excited to see the cabin we rented. The thing they were most excited about was the loft portion of the cabin which was at the top of a ship's ladder. The big kids got to sleep up there which they thought was quite awesome! They spent a lot of time climbing up and down that ladder which gave them tons of joy and mommy mini-heart attacks pretty much every time. But I am happy to report they are good climbers and there were no ladder accidents. It was a warm weekend so we had fun taking a hike using our map, exploring the backyard area of our cabin, and having family movie night at the cabin. It was the perfect size for our family and was decorated in a Texas theme which was very cute and fun!

The bird feeder on the front porch

Gabriella trying out the porch swing

Melia found the bathroom for us!


Going exploring!

Oliver at the top of the ladder!

Mother's Day!!

The next morning, we did a "Who Done It" scavenger hunt around the ranch searching for clues as to who robbed the bank in the little western town near the ranch office. After following the map and gathering all of the clues, it was determined that the two ranch pigs did it - Butch and Sundance! We made sure to visit them in their pen on the way out and feed them our leftover food.

On our way home we drove into downtown Glen Rose and ate lunch at a yummy restaurant there called the Green Pickle. We played at their awesome outside garden for a bit before heading to Big Rocks City Park. Our neighbor Brit recommended this place and it was truly cool. The whole family enjoyed exploring and playing in the cool river on a hot day. And thankfully, the water was slow moving and mostly shallow so the kids could play without too much worry!






It was a great weekend and such a blessing to spend time enjoying conversation, laughs, and making memories with the people we love most!

He is Risen!

Happy Easter everyone!

We had a nice long Easter celebration that started off with the kids' Easter parties at preschool. Melia and I were able to attend both of them. We LOVE our preschool Graham Cracker Express and are so thankful for our awesome teachers and friends.

Gabriella with her Easter cross craft

Hunting eggs inside - it was a rainy party day!

Nothing better than listening to the Easter story in Ms. Cheryl's lap! We love Ms. Cheryl!

With her best buddy Olivia

Oliver making his Easter craft

Showing it to his friends

With some of his best buddies after the egg hunt!

We celebrated our Easter weekend with most of my family which was such a treat. The kids love having everyone around and I think the feeling is mutual. We are so blessed to have such a close-knit family. A blessing that I count very often.

We started off the festivities with a "Beck Family Bunny Run 5k." The sisters even made matching shirts:



Aunt Natty took the cake by running the whole way:



Matt and Bossy rode bikes with the kids... and Oliver rode all by himself for the first loop (1.6 miles!)

And Dad walked the whole 5k!


While Meme and my grandmother Nana held the baby!



Next was an Easter Egg hunt in our backyard:





We ended the weekend by celebrating our Risen Lord at our church with my family that was still in town. Here we are all ready to go:

Happy Easter!

Self-Reflection

For the majority of my day, I deal solely with little people. These little people are super cute and have super personalities. These personalities can sometimes lead to precious, take-a-picture-in-my-mind moments that I want to bottle up for ever. Take for example, this picture:

Love her.

I'm also faced with equally important moments that try my patience and bring me to my knees when deciding how I should respond to mold these little characters into people who reflect the qualities of our God. Take for example, this picture:

Love her too.

But life is good here in the Dillard home. Where we have smiles like this to sustain us through the tougher days:



This little baby is trying her hardest to be a big girl. Eating real food, pulling up, even standing on her own for a few seconds. Even though I've experienced these milestones two times before with my other kids, it is still amazing to watch and fills our hearts with joy at watching this sweet little thing blossom into a little girl. Life is good.


It warms my heart (and sends me running for my camera) to stumble upon my kids doing things that showcase their growing personalities, increasing independence and blossoming imagination.

Here is Gabriella reading after nap time in our newly remodeled window seat.


Melia is in her element outside. I can't wait to see where her love for nature is going to take this one.


Below is Oliver exhibiting his "boy-ness" - trying to throw his friend Benjamin Bear as high as he can in the air. "Did you see that mom," is a phrase I hear often and I always try to stop what I'm doing and take notice.


Life is also changing in the Dillard home. Slowly but surely, these kids keep getting older. While I do not feel like the time has just FLOWN by in such a way that I feel like I have missed watching them grow, it is sobering to begin to experience the fact that as a mom, my goal is to slowly work myself out of a job. Yes, Oliver will be going to Kindergarten this fall and we registered him at Weatherford Elementary a week ago. Daddy got to come too and we enjoyed meeting some of the faculty and staff there as well as getting a tour of the school. Oliver told me, "Mom, I'm not excited about this" as we were preparing him for registration a few days before. I asked him why and he said, "Because I like my [pre] school now!" As hard as it was to experience this sadness and loss with him, it was one of those opportunities to help mold his little characters into one that reflects the qualities of our God. I acknowledged his sadness and had the opportunity to teach him how to deal with change. Priceless moment.

Thankfully, we all (mom especially) feel much more comfortable and excited about Kindergarten after this visit!

Oliver, Dad, and Benjamin Bear (his visiting friend from his preschool class) at Weatherford Elementary.

I do feel sadness at the time I will miss with Oliver starting this fall, but also look forward to getting to spend everyday with these two cuties:



I love you three so much and gladly accept the responsibility of being your Mommy. Through this good and bad, hum-drum and ever changing life, I will always be on my knees seeking wisdom from our God on how I should mold your little characters into people who reflect and glorify Him, our awesome Creator.

A camping we will go

We were able to take our family camping a few weeks ago with some families from our church. They have an awesome place that they go to often which had a huge open area for tents, camp fires and playing. PLUS there was a river that was super slow moving and very shallow - perfect for little kids!

Our kids were in heaven sleeping in tents, being outside, and playing with their friends all day! Melia especially loves being outside so she was in a great mood the whole weekend! Some of the families had older kids who were super sweet and played with our kids. Oliver loves being around older kids so he spent a lot of time following them around! He also loved chasing and keeping tracks of the dogs that were there. Gabriella was thrilled to have one of her best friends, Olivia, on the trip with her and they enjoyed playing babies and pushing each other around in Melia's stroller!

We had fun...

...chasing kites

...eating smores (Oliver declared this to be his favorite part of camping and I don't blame him!)

...watching for "pirates" on the water

...throwing rocks

...going exploring, while singing of course!

...climbing trees

...riding bikes

...SWIMMING!

...eating, eating and more eating

...and spending quality time bonding with mom and dad!

Thanks to our friends for making our weekend so special!