And in the blink of an eye...

...she starts growing up.

Introducing...

our PLAYSET!!!

Yes, we invested in this set for our kiddos. (A nice tax return put to good use!) We've only had it complete for about 4 days, and all of us are delighted! Ella Beth and Landon want to be outside All. Day. Long. and Scott and I couldn't be happier that they are entertained and (for the most part) playing nicely together. :)

Ella Beth loves that this playset has a "restaurant" for her to serve endless meals and drinks. I see a lemonade stand in our very near future!

Landon just loves everything because he is outside!


But, I will say that the airplane/glider is probably his most favorite. (Can you tell it's bright outside?! ;))

And, then, overnight Ella Beth became a true big girl. A girl so big that she can swing all by herself!

So...this is where we will be for many, many days in our future. Come play with us! :)

Dance Time!

Ella Beth had her first dance recital today. It was absolutely incredible watching Ella Beth come out of her shell. No shyness. Not even a hint!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. :)

Anna Leah and Ella Beth - best buds at school! (And both girls have double names!!!)





My pretty ballerina. :)














Love, love, L-O-V-E how much fun she had!





Such concentration. ;)














This girl makes my heart dance. Her smile is just too contagious. :)





Tap time! (Wow! Did it get noisy!!!)








Group shot! Ms. Pennie gave all of the girls matching necklaces at the end of their recital. They girls were just tickled!





Have I mentioned that this tiny girl makes me happy?!?! I am one proud Mama!!!

Things I love

There are things I like.

And then there are things I love.

I love Landon's smile when he's laughing.

I love Ella Beth's crazy hair each morning.

I love Landon's morning breath. Still as sweet as ever!

I love when Ella Beth and Landon run up to me and hug me when we've been apart.

I love long days when we get to stay outside and play as a family each evening.

I love putting exhausted kiddos to bed. ;)

I love bed time stories - over and over again.

I love winding down with Scott each day.

I love getting up and doing it all over again.

I love being a mom.

What logic!!

Scott and I received this email from Ella Beth's teacher the other day. We were tickled beyond measure. Love our girl!!!

--
Dear Amber and Scott,

I had to let you know of a precious moment in class today. I was teaching some countries to a small group of children including Ella Beth. We were working with the Asia map and learning India, Turkey and the Philippines. We played lots of games where I ask the children to point to the country. For example, "Touch India, Point to the Philippines....."

The last part of the lesson involves the children naming the country. I pointed to Turkey and asked Ella Beth, "What country is this?" She immediately replied, "Ham!"

I knew exactly where she was coming from! What logic!

Warm Wishes,

Rose

Easter time

This year at Easter, our family enjoyed lots of time together. We celebrated each other, but most importantly we celebrated how much our Heavenly Father loves us. Ella Beth and Landon (3 and 2) are still a little young (in my opinion) to grasp the entire Easter story, but we did introduce it to Ella Beth. Our sweet girl is VERY sensitive, and when we briefly read over the part where "Jesus died"...well, tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't grasp that He died to save us, she was just sad that He died. I know that next year when we truly dive deeper into the story of Easter that we are going to need to tread lightly on this major detail. We are going to be working extra hard this year to give her the foundation of God's unconditional love so that will be her lens through which she understands Jesus' death. She and I read Little Girls Bible Easter Storybook for Mothers and Daughters It is a sweet book that brings in different stories revolving around God's love.

Of course, we had too many egg hunts to mention. All were fun! And I'm convinced that Easter is worse than Halloween when it comes to candy. Maybe it's because since I'm stuffing many of the eggs, I'm putting the "good stuff" in there! Candy is hidden in our house now. From the kiddos at least. Ahem.

and...Ella Beth is off! Girl's on a mission. :)


















Landon was so proud of his eggs!


















No time for a picture, mom. There are more eggs to find!


















Once again this year, Landon had to open every. single. egg. before putting it into his bucket. :)


















Every Easter morning lots of eggs "appear" in our front yard over night. (Thanks, Aunt Jamie and Uncle Jason!)












Most of our family was out of town for Easter this year (in Disney World...poor them, I know) so I won't bore you with any more egg-hunting pictures. Our Easter day was low-key and family-centered. Just the way this Castleberry Clan likes things. :)

Haiti bound!

Apparently, serving once one the mission field is just the beginning. At least for me; and I love it!

I am happy to announce that Scott and I are leading a trip to Haiti this June 18-25. We are looking forward to all that God has in store for us. And, I am looking forward to serving others side-by-side with my husband.


I'd love for you to partner with Scott and me through prayer. If you would please pray for team unity, team flexibility, health before and during our trip, and specifically for us that we will not be overly anxious about leaving Ella Beth and Landon. We have no second thoughts of leaving our two sweet kiddos (not to say that it won't be difficult once June rolls around!), but we are excited to show our children what serving others looks like. I am excited that there is already a thread of "missions" in our family. Since coming back from my trip to Kenya last year, Ella Beth already has a heart for Africa. She asks at least once a week when she can go. I love that! I want our family to be open to the needs of others. I want us to be a family of contentment with what God has blessed us with so that we can use any "extra" to bless others.

I'd also love to invite you to partner with us financially if you feel led. Financial support is essential to our going on the trip. The total cost for our group's trip is $49,500 - which is $1650 per person. If you do feel led to support us financially, please visit https://my410bridge.org/aecastleberry This is the fundraising page for both Scott and me ($3300). Simply click on the "Donate" button under the thermometer. :)

Thank you for your excitement, prayers, and support as we plan for and lead our trip to Haiti. Our God is B-I-G!