Thursday, April 12, 2012

Easter came and went

 Our Easter weekend celebration started on Friday night with a neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  All of the local Mom's pitched in and filled a mess of eggs then Sara and I got to hiding them while enjoying a nice glass of wine in some semi quiet;)

  It was such a blast for the kids. We had a pizza party afterwards then all the families joined us inside to hang out for several hours.  It was so nice to be able to be a part of this.  The kids got to run wild and the adults got to relax and enjoy some adult conversation. We are truly blessed at every turn. We know the most wonderful people.

Saturday was a blur of 'stuff' to do, baby showers to attend and 'Easter' stuff to get done.  Before we knew it....it was Sunday morning.  Weekends do that around here.  They simply slip away.

The Easter Bunny had arrived.  He left a clever trail of goody filled eggs all the way from the top of the stairs by the bedrooms, to the baskets hiding in the dining room.  He must have done this post eating the carrots we left for him and making a mess out of it ;) Silly Rabbit.
Addy and I jumped out of bed, saw the eggs outside our door and decided to gently wake up the boys.  This was her posing.  All pictures require posing these days with her.  Not sure what she is going for with it, but a kids got to do weird things...that's just how they roll.
The boys were already awake to our surprise and were cheery balls of joy. 
I'd like to say the smiles were just out of excitement for the day but they were not.Both of them refuse to cooperate when I try to get them out of their cribs. This happens after every nap.  I reach in to pick them up, because of course they are standing, holding on to the railing with their arms in wait......so I lean in and , yup, they dive .  They move as far away from my grip as they can and laugh their little naughty bums off. This is terribly frustrating with a baby already in one arm, BUT it gets me giggling every time.    
   
Baskets were attacked and it was so much fun having three active and excited little people for the holiday.  The baskets were filled with incredibly fun things. Coloring books, bubbles, books, walkie talkies, clothes, sunglasses, make up.....it was endless.  The baskets were low on sugary treats which was well planned because the rest of the days activities contained heaping amount of cavity causing goodness.
Drew with his new cool Thomas glasses.  He had no real intention of wearing these...he was just in on the photo op. What a little ham he is already.
These huge balls are going to be a ton of the fun in the backyard once the weather gets nicer and more consistent. George loves anything to do with sports.  We are pretty brave with all these toys that have the potential to destroy the inside of our home. 
Shortly after the house was littered with Easter basket grass and breakfast remnants, we got all dolled up to worship our Jesus.  The boys were sporting button downs, chinos and big boy ties.  Thank goodness we were able to squeeze the boys in some much needed haircuts. Pretty cute if I say so myself
Chowing down on some goodies while waiting to get loaded in the van and on our way. He is such a handsome little fella.
Addy was in a carefully chosen plaid gown.  She even washed her own hair and prepped all by herself. Here my little beauty is showing off some cool new light up toys they all received. All the cool gadgets of the morning kept this one very busy and quiet for most of the day.  We had such a busy weekend already so the kids were pretty exhausted from the fun. It was nice to see her relaxed.

  

Like most days around here, the business of it all made it fly by all too fast.  The service was joyous and beautiful.  We travelled to Massachusetts after to enjoy dinner with my fathers side of the family.  The kids had a blast but before we knew it, we were back home and in pjs ( must say VERY ready for bed myself).

Thank you Jesus for giving me what feels like all the world.  I have Your love, Your forgiveness, Your word and this family.  You have shown me such favor.  What on earth could I have done to be worthy of it all?  



No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:37-39 

 


Thursday, April 5, 2012

His sacrifice

His sacrifice made all of this possible. 

We have three healthy and wonderful children here with us on the earth.  It brings immense joy every day, how could those faces not? Our life is so blessed and we have done nothing to deserve it.  His sacrifice was out of pure love for us.

 When I think of Christ in Heaven , I think of Him holding the hands of the two children that we deeply love but sadly lost. I see Him holding my babies tightly like we do to these beautiful miracles here.  He holds them close. He watches over them.  He promises there will be a reunion and it will be like nothing we could ever imagine.  When I think of my Jesus I am filled with joy.

 Life is so precious.  Not a day goes by that I dont' thank Jesus for everything He has done for us.
 His sacrifice made this possible and His promise gives me hope.

He is Risen....he is risen indeed. 

 Let us rejoice.




The LORD your God is with you,     
he is mighty to save.     
He will take great delight in you,     
he will quiet you with his love,     
he will rejoice over you with singing.
 Zephaniah 3:17


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Easter happenings

Last Saturday the next town over, where the new elementary school is, a Easter fun day was hosted.  Daddy was on an excursion to Boston with his Brother Mark and his Dad to a 'geek convention'(use your imagination) , and so I was left to make it alone. 

The thought of taking them to this single handed almost stopped me in my tracks, but in the end I refused to let this opportunity get away.  I had to eventually learn to do events like this on my own.  All I would need to aid this venture were the 'squeeker shoes'.  This would ensure them attempting a break away would be heard.  If they did not have these on I probably would have had a nervous breakdown.

Packed the kids up and put the stroller in the van.  The school is minutes away so at least we had that on our side.  We could be home in moments if the need arrived or when the fun was no longer fun.

What a great day!  When we arrived at the school there was quite a turn out for a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  There were games set up, music, cupcake decorating, balloons...the whole nine yards.  After about 15 minutes they directed us on where to do our 'hunt' according to age.  The boys did well in their carriage for the majority of the wait , but I was excited to get them free. 
 The hunt outdoors was massive! Hundreds, maybe thousands of eggs littered the whole back grounds of the school.  Addy was like lightening and grabbed a ton.  I found her afterwards placing eggs on the ground around little kids who didn't get many.  She did this with half her collection.  Proud of her heart.

Inside I took a deep breath and let the boys free.  Lol...you would have laughed at the site had you seen it yourself.  The joy was in the grin and the super fast charging they did away from me.  All you could hear was 'squeek squeek squeek'.  It gave many a good chuckle and really did make the experience easier.  The minute one was not in site, I stood up scanning the crowd, focused on the squeek direction and ran.  I did a lot of hustling around but they had fun and that's all that mattered. We had to hold tight for the Easter Bunny who seems to be a little behind schedule.  I refused to leave without the kids seeing him and getting a photo after all the effort that was put into this to make it happen.  We did see him eventually and got to sit on his lap.  George refused to stay on his lap so I had to get in the picture in order to get them all in it.  The boys thought he was a hysterical yet creepy 'thing'...they kept walking around him and pointing.  Not really in excitement but in awe. I almost couldn't get them away so others could get their pictures done.

 About two hours later we were on our way home.  I made it through and no one was harmed.  My white shirt did not fare well though...it looked like someone had painted it with chocolate kisses.  Good thing I had something to cover myself up on the way out.

Number one....Easter is nothing to do with eggs and candy.  
Its all about Jesus. 

 We could get caught up in boycotting it for how commercialized its become but it really boils down to how you share the gospel with your children.  
Do your kids understand what Jesus did for us?
  Do they know the meaning?  

I firmly believe that its okay to participate in the festivities as long as your family takes serious the sacrifice that was made so we could live, enjoy each other and in turn celebrate Him. My children can love Jesus everyday and having candy in their baskets doesn't make the love any less.  Ask my five year old the story of Christ and she will tell you better than most adults can.
Ask her about the story and she will tell you how if she were there on the day He was crucified, how she would get Him down from that cross and protect Him.  Brings tears just going to that place for me.  
Ask my five year old who she loves more than anyone in the world?  Not her Mama, although she'll be sure to remind me that I am a close second, but she will exclaim God.

Celebrate how you see fit, but remember to share the gospel with your children and family.  Its the greatest gift you can give.  Who else has ever offered you eternal life? Its truth.  Its a gift. Its easy to share.

 God created us to experience joy.  I don't know about you, but eating chocolate and watching my kids collect eggs in the backyard brings me joy.  May this week remind  you of how much God loves you.  

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 
 1 John 5:13