Easter Weekend

Easter is my favorite holiday. I love dying eggs...I love making Easter cakes (or cupcakes as was the case this year)...I love Easter clothes...I LOVE Cadburry eggs!...I love that Easter marks the beginning of Spring...I love that Easter holds such a dear religious significance of Christ rising from the grave...what a great holiday! This was the first time in many years I had been home for Easter, and we had such a great time with my family. We got to visit with some dear friends and family. Here are some highlights:

Here is Jake swinging on the porch swing with Grammy.

The above pictures are from the "Rocket Run." There is a big hill at the park in Yukon and years ago my nephew Ky nicknamed it the "Rocket Run" and the name has stuck. Ty loves to bring cardboard and slide down the hill. He saved the box Jake's car seat came in just to roll down the hill when we visited. My dad took both Jake and Hendrix down the hill as well. I'm not sure they knew what to think!

We had an Easter egg hunt for the boys on Saturday afternoon. Jake couldn't quite get the concept down. He was holding the basket walking toward the eggs when he got very distracted by this planter of dirt. He is all boy--he spent most of his time playing in the dirt with the spade and very little time hunting for eggs. He did take half of Hendrix's when were through when he discovered there were treats inside!

My sister-in-law Crystina got the game Rock Band for her birthday this month and she and my brother are hooked on it! They quickly indoctrinated us as well and I discovered I have an inner rocker in me just waiting to escape :) I was HORRIBLE playing the drums, but I did manage to get a good score while singing believe it or not. I would much prefer if it were "pop band" so I would know the songs better. Here are me, Crys, and Amber jamming out! Who knew we were really this cool?

Here are Easter pictures of our family and my brother's family. Jake fell asleep at church and was so exhausted he wouldn't wake up for the picture. He does look quite angelic sleeping though, and Ty is smiling in this picture so I'm happy!

Cousins

Growing up I always wanted a cousin my age to play with when we were all together during the holidays. I have great memories when I was really small playing with my cousins Gwyn and Geoff who were older than me. I can remember playing at the playground with them and remember Gwyn fixing my hair. At my Grandma's house Gwyn and Kathy would let me walk to the store with them so we could buy candy, and I felt so big! I also have fond memories of my younger cousins....I actually used to babysit them some. Lauren, Katie, and Lacey would come over to our house and I would take them to do things with my friends. But, I always wanted a cousin just my age to play with. I'm so excited Jake will have just that. Jake has two cousins close to his age. Ty's step-brother's little girl Elsie Jane is seven months older than Jake, and Hendrix is my little brother's son and is 8 months older than Jake. This weekend we were able to spend Easter with my family, and Jake and Hendrix got to spend a lot of time together. I have a feeling they will get in quite a bit of trouble as they get older. At one point they were hiding behind my parent's bed giggling...who knows what they're little one year old minds were thinking. Here are some pictures I snapped this weekend of the boys together. The top picture is one we had taken in Oklahoma City.

In the first picture they're sitting with they're friend Finn (my friend Amber's son)...Hendrix appears to be too cool for the picture!

In the picture above the boys have discovered that there are goldfish crackers in the eggs...they sat there for a good 45 minutes eating every last cracker. That was the first and only time they were still all weekend. Below is the boys Easter Sunday. We told Hendrix to hug Jake for the picture. So cute!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

With a name like McCathran, you have to celebrate St. Patrick's Day...so here's Jake in his fun St. Patrick's Day hat enjoying the backyard. We've had some great company this past weekend come to see Jake. Ty's brother Eric and his wife Jill came on Friday and stayed with us Friday night. We mostly ate and watched Jake but also managed to get in a walk to the park and some fun at Market Street. Saturday was such a beautiful day to be outside. We had a great time with them, and I think they enjoyed watching our little independent Jake toddle around the house. His new favorite thing to do is to close his eyes really tight and run with his arms straight out. He quickly runs into walls and various other obstacles, but he laughs and laughs like its the most fun. They got a kick out of that.

Sunday Ty's Dad and Stepmom came to stay with us for a night. We took them to Chuy's to eat Sunday night and today I took them to Ty's office to meet him for lunch. They enjoyed Jake as well, and I know he loved all of the added attention from Pops and Nonnie. He's turning into quite the comedian. He's babbled incessantly all weekend but its pretty much incomprehensible. I'm sure he's telling us great stories though. We did enjoy spending time with Ty's family and now we're getting ready to go to Oklahoma to hang out with my family next weekend for Easter. I do believe this is the first time since high school I've been home for Easter so its long overdue!

Here are pictures of Jake with Jill and Eric and Pops and Nonnie:

Lions and Tigers and Bears--Oh My!

On Saturday we had a fun family day at the Houston Zoo. Ty played in a tennis tournament for work all day Friday and half a day on Saturday. It was such a beautiful day when he got home, we decided to take Jake on his first Houston zoo trip. I do think Jake really had a great time. He loved watching the giraffes and monkeys the best. He had a great time in the petting zoo. He's definitely not afraid of animals--he walked around trying to hug all of the goats. Jake thought he was so big to get to walk around with the other kids. He also really loved the aquarium. You can see him in the first picture reaching up to see the fish. He seemed to want to jump into the tank with them...he also kept trying to kiss them. Always friendly our little Jake is! Honestly, I've never been a "zoo" person--when I was little I always thought they smelled bad. The only cool thing I liked was the dolphins at the Oklahoma City Zoo (which apparently have died and are no longer there I'm sad to say). But I had a great time on Saturday too. Its a whole different fun getting to witness the zoo through a child's eyes. Even though Jake is still pretty young, he was definitely excited to see the different animals. I just might have to change my mind about the zoo!

I snapped these two pictures of the giraffes and the lion below. Jake's nursery is jungle themed so I thought this might be a good opportunity for new pictures for the nursery...

Jake and Ty are watching the monkeys in the picture above and below is Jake with the goats in the petting zoo. You'll notice he has a sweater on below...I thought it was cold when we first got there, but I soon noticed poor little Jake was sweating in his sweater so we opted for outfit #2 for the rest of the day.

Here Jake just ate "Dip and Dots" for the first time. He loved it of course. My question is this...hasn't dip and dots been the "ice cream of the future" for at least the past 25 years? It seems they should get a new slogan since the whole idea never really took off :)

Happy Birthday Sallie!

March 6th--This date will forever be very special to me. Today is my best friend, Sallie's 31st birthday--so Happy Birthday Sal--I love you! Sal was my college roommate at Harding, and we have stayed close for the almost 10 years since we graduated. She now teaches in New York City (she has for almost 8 years now) and is currently getting her Master's in teaching the blind at Columbia University. I'm very proud of her!

Ten years ago she and I both were a part of a life changing event. A group of us from Harding had gone to the Purple Cow in Little Rock to celebrate Sal's birthday because they made her favorite purple milkshakes. After dinner, we went to the mall for some shopping. On the way in the mall, our good friend Michael hopped over a railing and instead of landing on the sidewalk that he thought was there, he fell 40 feet into the parking garage below. I was right behind him and saw the accident. The events that followed can only be described as surreal. The miracles that occured that night and would occur in the days and weeks to come are unbelievable. A man was getting into his car in the garage where Michael fell and immediately called 911...he then saw Michael's WWJD bracelet and immediately knelt over him and prayed. We found out later the man's name was Mr. Lamb and he played Jesus each year in his church's Easter pageant.

Michael had emergency brain surgery that night and Sallie and I met with the surgeon since his family was still en route to the hospital. The news was very grim, but he let us see Michael. Michael was unrecognizable and wasn't conscious, but we prayed with him and each held one of his hands. When we said "amen," he squeezed our hands. Someone put the scripture, Exodus 14:14 over his hospital bed--"The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still." Michael woke up 3 days later and after much physical therapy made a full recovery. Michael amazed the doctors who said he wouldn't live. He irritated the nurses because when he was waking up, they asked him if he could name any of the presidents. He not only named them all, but in chronological order. Today Michael is getting ready to graduate with his PhD in Psychology this summer and is married to his high school and college sweetheart and has a handsome son. Michael is a miracle.

It is so hard for me to believe that it has been 10 years today. Each year Sallie's birthday holds such significance because we not only celebrate her but Michael's life. After his accident, we could clearly see the power of the Lord. He was so mighty in the healing of Michael. Michael's parents received emails from all 50 states of people praying for him. Sometimes today I get so caught up in the mundane details of life, I forget about God's amazing power. Each year on March 6th I am reminded. Its hit me especially hard this year since its the 10th anniversary. Praise God for what he has done and what he continues to do!

Fun with Papa Al and Jo Mama

This week Jake stayed with his Papa Al and Jo Mama Monday through Wednesday so I could go with Ty to a conference he had for work in Galveston at Moody Gardens. I must say I missed Jake A LOT, but it was a much needed break too. Monday night Ty took me to dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant where we had pecan crusted red snapper--yum! Tuesday, Ty had meetings all day so I had the day to myself. I stayed in my cushy robe until 11:00 just relaxing and watching TV and then did a little shopping. That afternoon I did something I had never done before--I went to the movies by myself. I saw Definitely, Maybe which was just OK, but I enjoyed the experience! Tuesday evening I went with Ty to a work dinner at the Galveston Aviation Museum--we saw a B-17 which is like the planes his Grandad flew in WWII. This morning, I got up and headed home while Ty went to a few more meetings. It was so luxurious to get really restful sleep and take a nap in the middle of the day. I appreciate Ty encouraging me to come along with him!

Meanwhile, Jake lived the high life with his Grandparents...Jonesa lent me her camera today so I could get some pictures she had taken off of it. I know Jake was treated like a king while he was there and had a high time...here are some photos:

Crawling in bed with Grandma in the morning

Jake went campaigning with Al and Jonesa for their good friend Scott Goleman who is running for judge...I'm sure Jake snagged a few votes for Scott!
Jake discovered that he loves cats as much as he loves dogs!

Hanging out with Papa Al
He's had too much fun and is tired out...