Giggles

John Phillip's giggles are contagious! We want to record on video every time he laughs because we can't get enough of it.  He now giggles almost every day and we think there's nothing cuter. :) He usually laughs the most when we raise him up in the air, then bring him down for a kiss. He is one happy baby.

Easter

He has risen!!! Christ has risen from the dead, and has risen again in our hearts. Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. It refreshes my soul, and we get to recommit our love and dedication to Jesus. Meditating on the Pasion is something that always brings me closest to the heart of Christ. His love is so beautiful, his love is for ME. Having a baby boy now, I could relate to Mary's heart more this year too. Mary, help me to never leave Jesus' side and to be a woman of the Kingdom like you!

We got to go to Beloit, Kansas and spend Easter with family. We are always so happy to see family and are especially happy we didn't stay here because it was a white Easter...yuck. We had such a good weekend full of festivites, good food, and sweet moments. I love watching the little kids interact with each other and get excited about John Phillip soon trying to join that possy. I guess we'll have to get him some trains soon so he can fit in. :) He likes hanging with baby Margaret right now. We got to see new baby Veronica which was such a highlight. She is nothing but a beauty! Maria is always an amazing hostess. Everyone always looks forward to meal time at her house. Me and Phil thoroughly enjoyed our first Easter together with baby rabbit, John Phillip. We had too much fun dressing him up. Holidays just aren't the same without children! We also had fun preparing the Egg hunt for the kiddos. It was a real struggle trying to leave. After getting packed up, saying goodbyes, and getting situated in the car, Phil decided that we needed to stay for dinner....."we're back!" We felt a little better about saying goodbye after that.  

Nashville

We didn't want to leave! Even John Phillip started crying as we left. :( We had a wonderful time with family and friends and always get spoiled with love when we visit the Simpson's. John was always held and loved hanging out with his aunts and uncles. We can't wait till your visit out to Colorado this summer! We also got to celebrate our 1 Year Anniversary on Sunday. We ate a delicious brunch prepared by Mama Simpson, Phillip sung and danced with me to "kiss the girl" haha, and we sliced into some of our wedding cake! We of course rejoiced in our anniversary gift too, our precious John Phillip. God couldn't have blessed us more in our marriage. It has been the best year of our lives. I want to bottle up these sweet memories forever. Thank you Jesus for my dearest husband, Phillip!

GOLD CAMP ROAD

For those of you who want to come out and visit us this year, we are exploring some new places to take you to. :) This past weekend was beautiful out so we took advantage of our free Saturday and went for a drive on Gold Camp Road here in Colorado Springs. It was about a 1 1/2 hour drive total but only 26 miles! Thankfully we took a faster and smoother way back. You have to drive pretty slow because the road is so narrow. Going around curves....well, you don't know what's coming around that curve in the opposite direction. We had to pull over or reverse our car multiple times for people to pass by. It was scary! The views were so beautiful though. Nature is so breathtaking. There's no way you can't feel closer to God when experiencing his creations like this.We want to go back in the fall when all the aspens are yellow. They lined the road the whole way. I guess that's why they call it a golden road. This road took us to an old mining town, and then to a casino town called Cripple Creek. I didn't get any pictures of those towns because 1. I was feeding the babe and 2. We drove right through it to get back in time for the UK game.

We love discovering our beautiful Colorado!

You could see all of Colorado Springs from up top.

Family Visits!

We were so excited to be able to visit with our families and share in the joy of new baby John Phillip. It's been a busy month of traveling, and a month that holds a lot of precious memories. He already looks up to all his aunts and uncles...all 22 of them! We had so much fun in Kansas visiting with Bridget and William and the rest of Phil's family. And we are so in love with our little beautiful Godchild, Margaret McKenzie. John and Margaret are the best of cousins now. We couldn't wait to put them next to each other and watch them look into each other's eyes. haha They were too cute!

We then headed to St. Louis towards the end of the month for my family to meet little John. He loved being held and squished all day and got a little spoiled. We had a much fun and relaxing time there. And John loved finally being in his Godmother's, Jana's, arms! Another highlight was watching the UK vs. OSU March Madness game with my family. haha As you can tell by the video on facebook, we made the most out of the night and were ESTATIC that they won..yeehaw!

Me and Phillip are more than blessed to have such an amazing family who loves us so much. Here's some photos that capture some of the days.

Singing

Lately I've been singing to John and he tries to sing along with me. :) I captured a bit of it, but this was after he got a little tired...I was too late. He really sounds like he tries to sing so I hope to get it on film sometime. It's so cute!

Me and My Boots

I never thought I would love having a little boy as much as I do! I just couldn't picture myself with a boy and thought I wouldn't know what to do with one! Girls seemed so much easier. But now that I have little John Phillip, I couldn't imagine anything else. I want lots of boys now! haha He melts my heart every day.

This is one of my favorite pictures. He got so excited and worked up, smiling and cooing. I can tell he wants to be just like Dad already and he seemed to know he looked like such a big boy. :) Then he got all tuckered out and fell asleep.

Smiles

Seeing baby John smile/giggle is seriously one of the greatest joys I've ever experienced. :D

Visit with Uncle Gabe and Aunt Anna!

We had so much fun with Gabe, Anna, little Gaber, and baby #2 on the way! They came out to visit us two weekends ago and we did not want to let them go back home. We are so lucky to have such an amazing couple to look up to. Me and Phil always miss our families and look forward to the times we get to spend with them.

Some highlights of the weekend:

1. Playing Settlers and actually knowing what was going on this time around. :)

2. Thrift store shopping, finding some steals.

3. Pizzeria Rustica restaurant experience. A taste of Italy. Yummy!

4. A beautiful day at Garden of the Gods.

5. Seeing my sister, Anna, pregnant again with baby kicking inside!