#odellspringbreak2015, Hattiesburg!

We left New Orleans Sunday morning after enjoying beignets at Cafe du Monde.  We arrived in Hattiesburg in time to eat lunch with some sweet friends.  

Bianchi's was one of our favorite places to eat while we lived there, and the Morgans and the Gunters are some of our favorite people, so it was just perfect!  Only, the time went by way too fast! 

After lunch we rode out to see some more sweet friends, the Berteaus.  Look at those happy faces.  So glad to be reunited! 

They had the best afternoon riding and playing.  

Sunday night, we met up with lots of sweet friends for supper at Canes.  Flat Stanley got to meet Miss Sarah, which is a privilege in itself! 

Tilly's friend, Hannah, and her family popped by for a visit.  

And here's the whole crew.  Love these faces.  So much.  They have touched our lives in ways they will never know.  We love them big! 

After supper, David took Carter to spend the night with his favorite friend, Peyton.  Those two have been together since T-one, and they have the sweetest friendship.  While we were in Hattiesburg, Carter got to spend two nights with his friend.  So special.  

And then, I got to see this girl.  What a treasure she is to me!  Sherry is the kind of friend you meet and you know you will be friends forever.  She is so real and so genuine and you always know exactly what you will get with her.  I love that!  We sat at Starbucks and laughed and talked and drank coffee, and the time was gone in a blink! I am forever grateful for the many ways she has invested and poured into my life.  Whew, Sunday was a full day! 

Monday morning, we drove Story to PCS preschool to see her classmates.  She was so bashful! But they were sooo glad to see her.  One sweet little girl said, "Story! We have missed you so much!" I thought I would burst into tears on the spot! Here is Story with Miss Gin, her teacher.  Oh, how we love her! 

Monday afternoon, we drove the big three to PCS to see their classmates and friends.  Here is Summer with Mrs. Davis, her sweet teacher and Flat Stanley, ha! 

And Tilly with Sarah and Sarah Ann.  

And next few pictures, well these are my girls.  For the last two years, I have worked at PCS with the sweetest ladies in all the land.  They have been so precious to me, and I think about them daily and miss them so much!

Beth Ann started coming to the Bible study I led at church on Wednesday nights, and I am so thankful for her friendship.  She loves our children so well, too! 

And this girl, she's been my partner in crime for the last school year, and I miss laughing daily with her!  I got to see my students in Mrs. Brock's class, too, and it just made my day.  I got the sweetest hugs ever! 

PCS, we love you and are so thankful for the way you have invested in our family through the lives of our children.  We will forever be thankful for our time on this campus! 

Monday afternoon, Story got to go see her friend Mallory, while I took the big girls to the park with some other friends.  Story has been asking for Mallory and talking about Mallory ever since we planned our trip back to MS.  She was so glad to see her! 

Meanwhile, we were at the park with the King girls.  We love them so much, too!  It was such a great few days seeing so many people whom we love so much.  While we were in Hattiesburg, we stayed with the Powells, who lived across the street from us.  They are like family, and we love them so. Tuesday morning after breakfast at Cracker Barrel with the Brelands, we hit the road east towards Georgia.   

#odellspringbreak2015, New Orleans!

Our spring break got off to an early start due to a commitment David made before we moved to Arkansas.  However, on the Thursday before we left, David got to speak in chapel at Arkansas Baptist.  

Carter got to introduce him beforehand.  I love how proud our little fella looks! It was also spring picture day, hence the lack of uniforms.  

 David shared with the children a passage from the OT.  He used the Jesus Storybook Bible to tell the story.  If you don't have this book, it's a must.  It's our all time favorite! 

After school, we packed up our car and hit the road south towards New Orleans for the weekend.  David was to be the speaker for a city wide DNOW at First Baptist New Orleans.  

I love this bridge that crosses over the Mississippi River, so pretty! We arrived in New Orleans by mid-afternoon.  It's really not a bad drive from where we live now, which is good to know because you know how much we love New Orleans! 

 David had a speaking engagement Friday night, so he and Carter took off not long after we got settled.  The girls and I stayed behind at the seminary.  

 We played on the playground and took baths early, so we could get a good night's sleep.  

 This sweet girl popped in for a visit Friday night.  Callie was a student at USM in Hattiesburg, but she has since moved back to New Orleans and is studying at UNO.  She went to our church while in MS and came to a Bible study at our house on Thursday nights.  I adore this girl, and it was so great to see her! 

Saturday morning, we all went with David to the morning session at DNOW.  

 We ate lunch at this place.  It's one of our all time favorites.  Best po boys in the city in our humble opinion! 

We spent a lot of time on the playground.  Tilly loved the rock wall.  Summer loved the merry - go - round. And Story impressed us all with her monkey bar skills! 

 Carter made a new friend at the DNOW weekend.  Xa, short for Xavier, took Carter under his wing, and Carter had the best time following him around all weekend.  

 It was so much fun to watch our children worship! The big 3 can read the words on the screen and they sang their little hearts out! 

 Carter and Xa.  

 With the big girls, too.  

 Our family.  We had the best time at the DNOW weekend.  It was fun to meet some new friends and spend a weekend worshiping together as a family.  

 Saturday night after DNOW, we headed to the quarter to Mulate's for some live cajun music.  Carter was invited onto the stage to sing with the band by the restaurant owner! So cool! 

 And we also put away some yummy bread pudding! 

 Sunday morning, we left the seminary, but not before getting a picture of Summer and Flat Stanley in front of the chapel.  Flat Stanley had quite an adventure over spring break! 

Cafe du Monde was our last stop in New Orleans before heading out of town.  After a yummy breakfast, we headed east to Hattiesburg to spend a couple of days with our friends there! As you can tell, our spring break week is off to a great start! 

Field trips!

Our very first full week of school at Arkansas Baptist, Carter, Tilly and Story all had field trips!  Whew! Because we were trying to unapck our home, I was unable to attend.  Carter and Tilly went to the Children's Museum in Little Rock.  Story's class went to sing at a nursing home and then to play at an indoor playground.  

Tilly's teacher was so sweet to send me a picture of our girl on the bed of nails at the Children's museum.  Well, since those first field trips, the girls have all gone on a field trip with their classes again, and I was able to go - such a treat! 

Story's class went to one of the fire stations in Little Rock.  

They were able to tour the fire station and even climb through a fire truck.  While we were there, the firemen were called out to an emergency, so the children were able to see the men in action and hear the sirens and everything! 

After a tour of the fire station, the classes headed over to Shipley's Donuts for a tour of their facility and some tasty doughnuts.  So fun! 

Next, I got to go with this girl to see a production of "The Cat and the Hat" at the children's theater in Little Rock.  As you can tell, she loved it! 

Not long after Tilly's class left the theater, all of the first graders from Arkansas Baptist arrived to watch the show, too!  And as you can see, they all dressed the part! 

Here I am with Sally, I mean Summer just before the show.  She had a big red bow in her hair that really made the whole outfit, but she took it out! 

After the show, some of the cast members came out to meet the children, which was so neat! 

They even got to have their picture made with them!  We're making lots of fun memories at our new school! 

Snow Days!

As you know, we moved to Arkansas at the beginning of February after our trip to Disney.  From that week until this past week, when we celebrated spring break, we only had two full weeks of school thanks to the beautiful white stuff that kept falling from the sky! 

The first snow fall was more ice than powdery snow, but it was still so pretty.  

And it afforded us the opportunity to wear tutus and drink hot chocolate! 

This is the view from our front porch looking across our yard and street.  

Carter in our backyard.  

And you can't have a snow day without enjoying snow ice cream.  We use a can of sweetened condensed milk and a teaspoon of vanilla.  Sometimes, we add a little milk if it's too thick.  It is so, so good! 

The girls had so much fun playing dress up and walking around in my heels.  They can walk in them better than I can! 

The second snow of the season was way better!  A lot more of it, and it was very powdery.  This is again a view from the porch.  

And this is a picture of our house taken from the street.  It's crazy to blog about this now because those Bradford pear trees are now full of blooms! 

They were so excited to be able to play in the snow! This year, we were not very prepared for snow days.  Next year, we will be sure to have proper shoes and gloves, ha! 

David took the children around the neighborhood on the four wheeler.  I love Summer's face in this picture! 

And how cute is she! 

My mini me ;)

After some four wheeling fun, some of our church friends picked us up to go sledding at the high school.  Our little family has lived in Atlanta and South MS for the last 9 years, we have never done anything like this, and it was the most fun! 

I'm so sad, I didn't take more pictures.  I thought I was taking them, but apparently not, ha! The children had a blast.  I think Carter and Summer would have stayed all day.  The little ones were done once their feet got cold, ha! 

We enjoyed another round of snow ice cream, and I made a mocha frappe with snow cream using a recipe I found on Pinterest.  It was so, so good! And thanks to some smart thinking on the part of our school's administration and the use of cyber days, we don't have to make up any school days at the end of the year, wahoo!