Rare family photo

The other night, we had the opportunity to have a family photo taken... keep in mind we had just been volunteering outside for several hours. The big girls had been jumping in jump houses in 100 degree weather. So, given that info, it's understandable why our hair (minus Rob's hair) is a bit messy.

Yet, the photo looks nice nonetheless. I'm usually the one behind the camera, so it's kind of nice to be in a photo for once.

Maggie, 7 months

Maggie is 7 months! She is just about to crawl- she still needs to figure out how to move her arms in sync with her legs. Her big news is she sleeps all night in her crib-  meaning she doesn't wake for a bottle until morning. We are impressed.

Maggie loves her sisters, loves her variety of baby food... loves to do just about everything. She is in a world of discovery with all of the toys and play things around the house. 

Here are a few photos I took this morning of our little Maggie bug. 

We love you Maggie!

Spider-Lilly

We celebrated the opening of The Bridge, an outreach Christian youth center in Chandler. It is an amazing facility... rock walls, skate park, basketball courts, cafe... really nice and very well done. After we were there for an hour, Lilly got up the nerve to climb the rock wall. 

She did it! 

She climbed all the way to the top in a dress, nonetheless.

Go Lilly! Go! 

Claire attempted it too, but she started crying after she started... we will give her three cheers for trying, at least.  I couldn't figure out how to take pictures with Rob's phone, so I missed the photo op of Claire. Maybe next time!

Claire's first day

Believe it or not, Claire started preschool today. Where does time go?

She wasn't eager to go and actually kept asking, "Mom, you're going to stay with me?" We met her teacher yesterday morning, so she was at least familiar with her.

Thank goodness Claire was all smiles once we arrived.

Her classroom schedule indicated "easel painting" today, so we avoided wearing a fancy dress.

 The clouds were in rare form this morning, and Claire was impressed with them. When we're in the car and clouds are in the sky, she always notices; I guess she is my cloud informer.

This image is a bit dark, but Claire liked the clouds nonetheless.

Claire and her teacher. 

Claire is probably thinking, "Okay lady, let's see what this preschool thing is all about."

Let's hope she has fun! 

Claire already told me where she wants to go to lunch when done. 

Wish you could join us!

It's a bird.. it's a plane...

Warning... flying baby seen hovering above Chandler neighborhood...

 Maggie is a very good sport when her sisters decide to "decorate her."

And, her dad is a good sport too. You can probably imagine the giggles coming from Lilly and Claire when Rob "flew" Maggie around the kitchen. :)

Fun times at the Z house!

Hannah's celebration continued...

As I mentioned in a previous post, the neighborhood families gathered outside Shelly and JC's home at 7:20am. We wanted them to know they were not alone. And so, we celebrated with pink balloons, just as we did at Hannah's funeral. Here's part of the group..

Away they go... up to you, Hannah.

One neat part of the day was tagging along with Shelly in her quest to give. Shelly has such a giving heart. Through all of this, she wanted to make sure others were brought joy on Hannah's birthday. We took two HUGE boxes of toys and 120 pink cupcakes to the hematology/oncology center at PCH. Here's Shelly entering the building; everyone was thrilled to see her.

 The children and their families were offered pink cupcakes to honor Hannah. It was neat to see the little children, all hooked up to infusion pumps, eating pink! They were also thrilled to be given toys.. just like Christmas. Such joy!

A few days before Hannah's birthday, while sitting at dinner, Lilly announced we needed to bake Hannah a birthday cake. I asked her what type of cake she would like to make. Lilly said, "an angel cake, mom, because that's what angels eat." So, that's what we did... here's our pink homemade angel food cake. 

We also gave Dylan, Hannah's brother, a photo book of Lilly and Hannah. As you can imagine, I have years of photos of the two, and I wanted him to know just how special his big sister was. So, we filled the book with stories and photos all about Hannah and Lilly's adventures as best friends. Lilly has a copy too.

Happy 6th birthday Miss Hannah. We look forward to next August 2 when we can help your mom and dad make other children smile, all in your memory. We miss you, sweet angel.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

High in the heavens is a little girl celebrating her 6th birthday with Jesus and the other angels. Today, our dear Hannah would have been 6 years old. We miss her terribly and are thinking of her parents today. Bright and early this morning, the neighborhood families gathered outside of Hannah's house for a pink balloon launch. Hannah's parents were touched. Now off to Phoenix Children's Hospital to deliver pink cupcakes and toys galore to the neural surgery center and cancer center- all for Hannah.

This song always reminds me of Hannah. Lilly loves it too. Take a moment to listen. Hannah truly is somewhere over the rainbow...

More to come... the celebration is just beginning.