Easter 2014

Easter morning here at the Ray house was much the same as other years.  Lots of candy, a little egg hunt and a few gifts from the Easter bunny.  

Benny LOVES to check in on Sullivan and make him smile.  Back before Sullivan could move around as much, this was a common sight at our house.  

The hunt is on.

The Easter Bunny tried to incorporate a little bit of Italian culture to our celebration.  Italians don't have a magical visitor on Easter that comes, but they do have giant chocolate eggs that they give each other.  The eggs are hollowed out and have little toys or trinkets inside them.  

Grandma and Grandpa did not disappoint with the Easter outfits this year.  

Love this one of all the kiddos.  Still shocks me sometimes that I have four kids.  

After church we got we held a little hunt for all the kids just on Taormina street.  It was so fun!!  Each family donated 20-30 eggs and we hid them all while the kids waited at the park around the corner.  

Camilla Cardona, Brenna Blair, Ivana Cranston, Seth Cauble, Bella, Colin Urquilla, Mason Hockenberry, Harrison and Victoria Barnes, Graham, Aaron Cranston, Benny, Russell and Sam Melvey, Lucy, Megan and Evan and Brendan Fahey, Christian Cardona, Dexter Blair

On your mark......get set....

GO!!

Benny stopped after the hunt to have a picture with our neighbor, Juan Cardona.  Benny always knocks on his door and asks for candy.  We're so proud.  

Lucy and Ivana

That evening we went to a little potluck dinner with some friends from church and the neighborhood. Sullivan chilled in his walker there in the culdesac.  

Graham was thrilled to be stopping for a photo op.  

It was a great weekend!  I felt like I was able to take a few minutes and really think about why we celebrate Easter and focus on our Savior.  There's always room for improvement, but I feel like the kids had that, too.  I am so grateful for the life I have and I know that it is because of Him that I can have my sweet family forever.  I feel blessed to know that God doesn't require perfection.  I know that because he suffered for my sins, I can repent and keep trying to become the better, happier person that the Lord sees in me.  

Spring Break in Cefalu, Italy

APRIL 2014

We were lucky enough to get away for spring break and make our way over to Cefalu.  Cefalu is a little town on the coast of the other side of Sicily, so it was only about 1.5 hours away!  We went with our good friends, the Fomby fam.  Jason had to study for his upcoming Professional Engineering Exam (more on that later) and Matt had to work, so it was just me and Susanna managing the troops.  

We rented a little house to stay in.  It had this awesome outdoor kitchen.  We ate our meals out there and played games.  So fun!  

We spent most of our time there at the beach.  Oh how we've missed our beach time!  We've heard that in the summer this particular beach gets crazy busy.  The Italians were looking at us like we're crazy for letting the kids play in the water.  They are all still all bundled up with wool coats and scarves.  It was like 65-70 degrees.....plenty warm for swimming!

The first day we didn't have as long to hang out, so we thought we'd just play in the sand and get our feet wet.  No swimsuits were put on.   I don't know why I ever think that's going to work.  Within about 10 minutes, they were all soaking wet.  

Benny was the first to fall subject to the sea.  Wet from head to toe within moments.  

This is where Susanna and I hung out.  

Cefalu's city center was so cute!  This church was pretty cool.  There's always a church in the city centers here in Italy.  I find that so comforting and it makes me happy.  

Nikolas and McKenzie getting crazy with Graham and Lucy.  

More beach time.   This day we had suits on, so it was legit.  

The kids were excited about this sand couch they made.  They made friends with a couple kids from London.  The little girl on the right is Florence.  

Sullivan loves Susanna!

Graham and Boris (best name ever!) played like they had been buddies for years!  When I first asked Graham what his new friend's name was, he said, "Boss".  That British accent can be tough!

We, of course, had to get gelato.  We may or may not have gotten it twice.  

I have four kids......yikes.

The kids kept hardcore photo bombing.  This is just one of many, many photos we attempted.  

Sullivan had a fabulous time.....can't you tell?

Typical Italian street.  We had our gelato and we were on our way to the beach again.  

We borrowed this beach tent from my friend.  It was perfect for Sullivan!  

Our views from our sandy spot.  

The second day there it was more like 75 degrees, so we had a few others come to play and lay out.  

Benny was being such a ham this night.  Too much Fanta, I guess.  This picture makes me laugh every time I see it.  

We played A LOT of Banana-grams.  This was Lucy's magic after one of our games.  Now I'm ticked that I don't have the game for our family.  Sometimes I really, really, really miss me some WalMart and Target.  I know I can order it, but sometimes you just want it NOW.  

Great vacation!  Great company!  Next time we need to take Dad and it will not only be great, but more relaxing, too ;) 

Sully-Man

APRIL 2014

It's hard to believe that six months has come since Sullivan joined our family.  This little man and his Mom had a rough first few months, but he is such a happy baby now.  All of the stomach trouble he had is in the past and he's Mr. Smiley.

Everyone always comments on his big, beautiful smile.  He is so quick to grin from ear to ear whenever someone makes eye contact with him.  Laughing comes so easily and his little chuckle is so cute.  Whenever he hears one of his siblings talk, even from across the room, he stops what he is doing and searches for them.  

This little guy started rolling from his back to his stomach last month, but it took him forever to learn to roll back.  He would get soooo mad after just a short time on his belly.  He's trying so hard to crawl, but can only scoot backwards on his belly using his arms to push himself.  He'll back himself into a corner really quick and then yell for help.  

He's getting so big!  At his 6 month check-up he was 19.6 lbs!  

I love these beach shots of him from when we were at Cefalu.  

He's getting better and better at sitting up.  

In this picture, he doesn't quite have any teeth yet, but two have come in just in the last two weeks.  He had a fussy couple of days, but is back to his happy self.

His naps are getting better and better, too.  Those first three months were tough.  His little tummy really bothered him, so he would only sleep for 20-30 minutes at a time.  For the last couple months he has stretched it to 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours.  Happier baby and a much happier mama!

We have another early riser with this guy.  He's usually awake by 6:00 and he'll play and talk in his crib for bit, but he almost always wants to eat before 6:30 or 6:45.  It's funny how your perspective changes, though.  A couple months ago, he started his day around 5:30, so now we are so grateful that he goes another hour or so!

During those tough weeks when he struggled with sleeping, I would try so hard to have perspective and to remember that he is my last baby and to just enjoy holding him.  There was still so much frustration and the days were long, but I'm grateful for what motherhood is teaching me.  Patience, most of all, is the lesson I'm daily being taught.  Each of my kids, in their own way, are helping me in this department right now.  I'm trying my darndest to speak a little softer and not be so quick to yell.  In the words of Princess Anna, I'm learning to "let it go" and not sweat the small stuff as much.

I sure love my kiddos and I'm eternally grateful for the person they are helping me to become.