My March madness...

March is one of my handsome husbands favorite times, not because the flowers begin to bloom and the weather is turning warmer. No, it is because of March Madness. Basketball season in its finest and games galore. Well this March truly has been madness in our household and it had nothing to do with basketball. It was so busy I didn't have time to do not a single post about what we had been up to.

We started the month off with a bang. It was Mom Hawthorne's 75th birthday. Nathan had been out of town on business and her birthday just so happened to fall on a Friday. So you know what that meant. Yep, pizza for dinner. We bought her favorite (mine too), veggie lovers thin crust from Pizza Hut. Then off for balloons and a yummy extra chocolate cake. Nathan made it home just in time for the celebration.


The next few days were full of spaghetti, sauce, tickets, talents and projects to do. Our Young Women at church were having their annual Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser. Needless to say it was a crazy few weeks and I was so happy when the night was over, but instead of being able to rest we were on to our next adventure.

Kathie, Bryan and Aubrey, friends from back home had come to town for the Gate River Run. Kaitlyn had her very first bus ride and Taylor loved having Aubrey hear to spend all day with her Saturday.


Unfortunately Kaitlyn didn't like being left out by the big kids. As you can see there was one too many sad faces during the race. We ended up being at the beginning of the wrong race to start. When we realized the mistake we hurried up trying to see if we could spot Bryan running. Disappointed by the fact our path was now blocked by runners in the 5k race we paused to see if there was anyway we could cross the road. Right about that time we spotted a young lady and a young man, both of which had a leg amputated. The young lady was having difficulty with her prosthetic leg. She stopped about a block away from us, sat down on the sidewalk and appeared to be adjusting her leg. A few minutes past and she tried running again only to have to stop at the same intersection we had been watching from. "You don't have a set of pliers by chance, do ya?", she asked. We both said no, but then Kathie offered her Swiss army set from her purse. After a few tries the young lady was faced with the possibility of not being able to race due to her prosthetic leg not connecting correctly. That is when Kathie had the brilliant idea to ask a police officer if they had any pliers.

Dodging runners as she darted across the busy street she returned with a set of pliers. Thrilled the young lady took the pliers and was able to fix her leg. That is when I noticed on the side of her leg the words, "wounded warriors project". This young lady had given one of the greatest sacrifices anyone could ever give...she gave a part of herself to protect me, to protect Kathie, to protect our children who were watching with wide eyes. My Kaitlyn Bell was full of questions as to how this special young lady had lost her leg. It was a beautiful moment and I have no doubt that we were instruments in the Lords hands that day. She thanked us and was on her way to finish the race. Fortunately we were able to make our way back over to the finish line, not Bryan's but the finish line for that young lady who our hearts busted with pride as both she and her friend crossed it.


Between birthdays, fundraisers, and visits with friends I still had Standards Night at church to prepare for with the youth. We were responsible for a booth at the Standards Fair and our topic was physical health. The scripture that goes with this topic is found in the Doctrine and Covenants section 89 verses 18-20 “All saints who remember to keep and do these sayings . . . shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint”. So we decided to have a pirate theme since the scripture promises "great treasures...even hidden treasures". We made a pirate ship with sail and treasure chest. The youth dressed in pirate costumes and the other youth that visited our booth could receive their own treasure, or nugget of gold (chocolate) if they answered questions correctly regarding our topic. It was a lot of fun.

The following Wednesday both Nathan and I had been asked to play the part of Emma and Joseph Smith in a reenactment of the organization of the Relief Society in celebration of its 169th birthday. Nathan looked so handsome and it was nice to have him at the activity with me. He truly is my best friend!


The next day was St. Patty's day and both girls were quite disappointed when we didn't have a special breakfast like we had done on Valentine's Day. To be completely honest, I was way too tired to even go there. They were lucky I remembered Taylor had this hand-me-down shirt from her cousin Amber and I actually had a brain cell left when I was at Walmart over the weekend and bought K.B. hers. They "ah Momed" me when I wanted to snap this photo, but ya gotta love them anyway.


I took the week off from work and spent Spring Break with my girls. I needed to just get away. The month had been hectic and right before my vacation was to begin work became especially difficult when one of the children on a case I had been assigned was critically injured and died. I only met him once, but needless to say it was emotionally draining. I know there was nothing I could have done differently, but he will be a reminder to me forever that sometimes my best just isn't good enough and a child or children can still be harmed. I will never, I mean never be the same.

So wanting to just disappear we headed home, home to my mama and daddy's house. We spent time doing absolutely nothing in seclusion with two of the people I love most in this world. Jamie came with the babies to visit one day. Nathan and I went to the temple an other day. He was able to take Thursday and Friday off to play with us and worked in the field doing market visits in Orlando earlier that week.


For Christmas Jamie and Jeremy got passes for the entire family to go to Sea World so we decided to spend the day together at Sea World. The last time we bought tickets was the year they moved to South Carolina and I remember Jamie giving me a really hard time because they had tickets for years before they moved and now that they were gone we decided to get passes. I told her I had no idea you could buy one ticket and come back the rest of the year for free. It really is an awesome deal. It's even nicer because you aren't rushed to do everything because if you miss it, well, you'll just do it the next time you come back. My Taylor Mackenzi rode her first "grown up" roller coaster. One that lets your feet dangle and goes upside down and she loved it.





The end of March had just as much excitement, if not more, as the beginning and middle. This past Tuesday Nathan and his co-workers were given box tickets to see FSU vs UF play in baseball. Last year he and I went on a date, but this year we were able to bring the girls too. They loved it from beginning to end. They ate hot dogs, cookies, popcorn and drank soda until they had to tinkle.


I love my family! I love being a mother! It is the greatest blessing and joy I could have ever wished for in life. I am thankful for the knowledge I have that Heavenly Father knows me, loves me and has a plan for me! That knowledge brings me peace.


I wish I could say that April will be a little less hectic and they'll be a lot more pictures and posts about what's happening in the Hawthorne household, but I have a feeling that it is going to be just as exciting with General Conference, visits with friends, birthday celebrations, Easter and so much more. I can tell already that it's only just begun! As maddening as it was I wouldn't trade my March madness for the world!