April = busy girls and Eric's promotion!

April is at an end, and it seems to have flown by.

Jenna's favorite game this month has been our daily ritual of playing 3 little pigs in the back yard. It's so much fun! She runs and hides behind something and I run up and through my arms in the air like claws and say in a growing voice, "Little Pig, Little Pig, LET ME IN!" And Jenna screams at the top of her lungs, "NOT BY THE HAIR ON MY CHINNY CHIN CHINNERS!" On occasion I stop to laugh because she always says "chinners" instead of just "chin"...but then I carry on with "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in! ARGHHHHHHH"....and Jenna runs to the next spot where we repeat a second time with her make believe house of sticks, and finish with the brick house where she dances and cheers because I'm unable to blow down the walls of the brick house! That girl can even make my heart giggle, in fact, I think every part of me is filled with laughter when we play, and I get that same joy with Lexie, and an unimaginable kind of magic when both my girls are in my arms. When I'm in make believe land with them, I have a castle and I'm a Queen and I'm smart and beautiful...it is in their imaginary land that I feel I'm the closest to Heaven!

This past weekend we visited my grandparents, Bob and Arlene Hellwig, in Tifton, GA. I couldn't help but find myself talking about it all week at work- and showing off pictures of Grandpa Bob's BEAUTIFUL garden and landscaping. Jenna was so excited about going to see Grandpa Bob and I'm so filled with gladness that she loves them so much. I always enjoy any time I get to spend with Grandma Arlene and Grandpa Bob. I love them! Here is a picture below of Grandpa Bob's backyard garden - He built ALL of this himself! And its so beautiful year round, even moreso when in full bloom!

Jenna said in the car on the way home that she wants to visit Nana next and then her Mamaw's in Virginia. She's reminded me every day this week, so Eric and I have some serious planning to do!

And that brings me to my next announcement for April- Eric got promoted to supervisor at Greenville County Animal Care Services this month! So we can have a little extra to plan for all of these things, and of course start saving to buy a house. Say a prayer for us, we hope to be able to get a place of our own by the end of Autumn!!

And last, but certainly not the least, Miss Lexie Noelle had her 4 month well-baby check up this morning. They finally said she's old enough to do something about her allergies, they put her on Zyrtec once a day to see if it helps. Woo Hoo! Months of red eyes and clogged tear ducts had all of the family asking me when they would do something, well they FINALLY gave us some meds! Also- Lexie has grown to a whopping 12.5 lbs and 25 inches long! I can't believe its been 4 months since my not-so-tiny 9lb 1oz, 21.5inch long baby came into this world...and now, she's 4 months old! Which, for Lexie, this means exciting things like rolling over consistently, holding her self upright (next step sitting *hopefully*), filling a room with her newfound giggles and laughter, and of course Lexie's favorite thing to do - chew on her feet and toes. ha ha! She has a love for my hair, too, she'll run her fingers through it or sometimes just grab it and pull.

Here are some more pics from our trip to Georgia:

Grandma Arlene and LexieGrandpa Bob, Lexie, and JennaPlaying Croquet is tradition! My mom and her dad finishing the game Jenna insisted on playing.Four Generations!Beautiful sisters, Grandma Arlene and Aunt Bea!

God? Are you in the attic??

Some of you are aware of a problem I have...I'm guilty of letting my child out of time out before the full time is up. However, I want to share a story with you to let you know just exactly what I'm up against!

Jenna kept repeatedly turning her sister's swing off and stopping it, walking away, or taking a pacifier away from her..just kept picking at her and making her cry. I asked her 2 or 3 times to leave her sister alone or else she would have to go to time out.

Jenna stopped the swing again, then walked away, and Lexie just burst into alligator tears. You see, if the swing stops, Lexie expects to be picked up...she would smile with excitement when Jenna walked up and stopped the swing, then you could literally watch the sweet baby's heart break as Jenna walked away. (Yep, we already have a bit of sibling rivalry ha ha!) But anyways- Jenna was sent to time out with her own set of alligator tears.

I sat in the adjacent room from the "time out" spot and rocked Lexie to console her. About 3 minutes into the 5 minute time out session.... this is what I hear:

"God? God?? Where are you God? God? Are you in the attic? I need you God. This is Jenna! Can you tell mommy to let me out of time out?"

First of all- I had to laugh. I couldn't help but giggle the moment she asked if God was in the attic...and then the simple conversation with God that my 4 year old conducted.

Secondly, I couldn't help but take the opportunity to talk to her about God.

I sat down with her and said, "God told me he loved you and he especially loves when you talk to him. God also reminded me to forgive you. He wants me to remind you that He wants us to be loving and kind to everyone. And that He wants us to honor thy mother and father. He said if you will try to remember to be kind and loving to your sister, and to listen and obey your mommy and daddy, that you can get out of time out early".

Jenna hugged me and said "I'm sorry mom, I'll be love to Lexie" and ran off to play...only turning back once to wave at the attic door in the ceiling and say "Thanks God!"

All I have to say is... Yes indeed! Thank you God! Thank you for giving me these two precious little girls with such playful spirits. I'm so blessed and I look forward to every beautiful moment I will spend with them! I feel honored to be their mommy! And thanks for their daddy too- I couldn't have asked for anything more! Amen!

Pastor Jerry Retires

Pastor Gerald Smith and his wife Christy spent their final Sunday with us on Easter, April 12, 2009. We loved Pastor Jerry so much and we were sad to see him go, however, we are so happy for him on his retirement. We wish him and Christy the best! The congregation put together a scrap book of letters and poems written to Pastor and Christy regarding their 7 years here at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Greenville. I wrote a poem to be from our family - here it is below. :)

We love you Pastor and Christy- we wish you a very happy retirement!!

It Was You
By: Stephanie Pilkenton

I close my eyes
And remember a time
When grief broke my heart
My faith was tested
Instead of falling apart, it only grew
And the person who lifted me up with God’s words
Pastor, it was you.

A few years later
I fell in love
With a man I call my best friend
We shared the love of God
God joined our hearts to beat as one instead of two
And the person who joined our hands in marriage
Pastor, it was you.

Both of our children
These precious miracles God gave us
You made their baptisms so special
To one you sang “Child of Wonder and Grace”
The other celebrates her birthday with you
And the person who baptized them in His water
Pastor, it was you.

The three most important days
Of my life have come and gone
And there is one thing they all have in common
They all hold a beautiful place in my heart
And show me how to love in ways I never knew
And the person who was there for every smile and tear
Pastor, it was you.

We wish you the best
In all that you do,
May your retirement be blessed to the fullest,
And remember that WE LOVE YOU!

Love,

The Pilkentons

Eric, Stephanie

Jenna Jade, and Lexie Noelle

Happy Easter!

Rejoice! For Christ is Risen!! He is Risen indeed!!

Egg Hunts Galore!

Jenna got to go to 3 different Easter egg hunts this year! Thank GOODNESS that some of the eggs had small toys in them rather than candy!

The first Easter egg hunt was at Herdklotz park- the same park she had her birthday party at. She was so excited when she saw that the Easter bunny was there, and we stayed part of the day so that she could play. Jenna climbed all the way to the top of the tallest slide all by herself! Quite impressive for a little girl that used to tremble just a few feet off the ground.

more pics at www.dropshots.com/pilkentonpearls

Her 2nd Easter egg hunt was at school and I do not have any pictures of that- but her teacher said she had a lot of fun collecting eggs. She has learned a lot about the Easter story and has been asking a lot of questions regarding Jesus' death on the cross. Tonight we're making Easter cookies - it's pretty neat, each ingredient represents part of the story and even has a bible verse for you to read. When you are done mixing, you put the last ingredient inside the roll of cookie dough and explain that Jesus was placed in the tomb after he died. You put the cookies in an already heated oven - turn the oven OFF and have the kids put pieces of tape over the oven door, explaining that Jesus was sealed in the tomb and no one could open the door. After that you go to bed! You explain that the sadness of leaving the cookies in the oven and not getting to taste them is like that of the believers who felt sadness after leaving their Messiah in the tomb. The next morning- before the kids wake up, open the oven and get out the cookies. When the kids wake up and take a bite- they find that the cookies are HOLLOW!! And then you get to celebrate that Jesus has Risen! Explain that the tomb was found empty on Easter morning! Pretty cool huh? I'm so excited about starting this tradition of Easter cookies with my children- hopefully it will be something they will remember, and teach them to appreciate the ressurection of Christ. If you would like the recipe, email me at my work email - stephaniep@plusinc.net

The last Easter Egg Hunt was today at the Lutheran Church of Our Saviour. Mr. E. Bunny (also known as my dad, Grandpa Perry) was there to take pictures with all the little ones. Jenna and Lexie both had fun! Lexie didn't get to hunt, but she did win a prize! Her name was drawn from a hat and she won a stuffed white bunny that she immediately decided to try and EAT upon winning it. ha ha! Jenna got 19 eggs AND it didn't take her but a few seconds of sitting in Mr. E. Bunny's lap to figure out it was really Granpa Perry under there...she walked right over to me and said "Mommy, I think that Grandpa is in the Easter Bunny"...lol. She's one smart cookie- hope she didn't tell the other kids! Some of our best friends came out to the hunt - the Summer Family! Our Godchildren, Sidney and Shiann Summer both came out for pictures with Mr. E. Bunny. Sidney found 2 eggs and he was so happy and sweet with each of his hands holding an egg. We all had so much fun! This year has really been a success.


Here's my sweet Godson Sidney collecting his eggs!

This is little Shiann Elliana! She's the precious angel that I got to see come into this world, can you believe she's a month old already??? And she looks enough like Lexie that they could pass for twins!

Lexie eating her prize bunny! ha ha

The girls taking a pic with the Easter Bunny (a.k.a. Grandpa Perry)

The Easter Bunny and the kids! I hope everyone has a blessed Easter season- and remember that Jesus loves you so very much!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Pretty Girls on Palm Sunday

Here are a couple pics of the girls in their Palm Sunday outfits!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Tabs and I have been best friends since 2003. One of our favorite things to do in the days before Riley was go to the mall during prom season, play dress up, and take pictures in the dressing room. I wish I had the pictures from back then with me to show you - but alas, they're in storage.

Well....since Riley's passing, which for those of you like me who lost track of time...Monday is the 1 year anniversary of Riley's "Angel" date. It has been a long year - especially for Tabs of course, she was his mommy. And we lost eachother....and really- it all came down to the fact that when you are hurting, its human nature to lash out at the person you love the most. And last week - Tabs and I went for a late night Denny's run (tradition since we first became friends)....and planned a "reunion" so to speak of the two girls that played dress up at the mall.

It is prom season and the dresses were there....so we set a date and tonight we went out and had fun...just like old times. Mina and Shana tagged along- and it was so good to see them. I have missed them so much and they apparently missed me too as they became attached like velcro to each side of me. ha ha!

Tab's looked SOOOO beautiful in this little purple dress... and I managed to find a few things I looked fantastic in too! I swear that some of the dresses lied about their sizes... or, I was in denial about it anyways. Tab's laughed at me as I "swiveled" my way out of one of the last gowns...it was the only way I could think of to get out of it safely. LOL.

See More Pics at www.dropshots.com/pilkentonpearls

It was so much fun...and we need to do it again soon...very very soon. :)