Easter Day

Romans 1:4-5

And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

What a blessing to be able to tell everyone what God has done for us. Do you tell everyone? I don't. I don't even tell some of the people closest to me. Terrible! Why is it so hard to tell others about the greatest gift of all, Jesus. He was sent to the world to die for my sins, your sins, all of our sins. How is that possible? How could a mother watch her son die such a horrible death? I can't imagine. No, I won't imagine. It is just too horrible. Yet, even if it is hard, I am called to tell people everywhere about the love, joy, mercy, grace, forgiveness that I have found through my personal relationship with Christ. Not religion but relationship! That is the key. Yes, I've had the religion part but didn't really get the relationship aspect until later in life. You see I talk to God numerous times a day and He talks to me. Not verbally but I feel Him and His presence all the time. I know that He is there for me and I may not understand what is happening or even like it but that He is in control and I have to trust that. After all He gave his one and only son's life for me. Little ol' me. So if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ I encourage you to get one. Not next week or next year or whenever you are good enough, because it will never happen. We are all sinners and fall short everyday but since Jesus took our beatings and death and overcame, He can forgive. Trust Him! Love Him! Be in a relationship with Him! It will be the best decision you ever made. An eternal decision. It will forever change the celebration of Easter as well. I cry every Easter service as I think of the miracle of the resurrection.

On Easter morning we woke up to see what the Easter bunny had left for Hannah Claire. Since she was scared of the Easter bunny this year, she was skeptical about coming into the living room. I think she thought he would be in there.

She quickly realized he was not here and the coast was clear.

Hannah Claire loves trains! I mean loves them! The child yelled "love you" to a train as it passed by after school one day. The EB must have gotten the memo because he brought her a train set. She also got a bunny that she loves and some new pj's.

After we played with the train a little she began looking for the eggs that the EB had hidden. She really enjoyed hunting eggs.

She was good at it too. The EB got real creative where he hid the eggs.

HC really enjoyed the morning festivities but we had to get ready for church. Shane ushered at the 8am service so we had to skedaddle.

When we got home we tried our best to get some family pictures.

Then HC wanted to "hide eggs". For some reason she refused to pick this egg up. She would point at it but would not touch it. We ended up having to throw it out in the yard so she would pick it up. Who knows!?!

Other than the one egg, she was quick to find and pick up the rest of the eggs.

"Found it"

The sweet little girl across the street brought HC a basket. HC had to sit down and take inventory of what all was in the basket.

After she found her candy in her new basket she was ready to eat it up. We still hear "candy" all the time. We didn't know this word until Easter. Well, I guess you have to learn it sometime. She also decided by the end of the day she wanted to hide the eggs herself. She really enjoyed Easter this year and so did Mommy & Daddy. We are so thankful for our sweet baby girl and look forward to many more celebrations of our Risen Savior!!!

Easter Eve

On Saturday we woke up and got ready to head over to Sheila & Rowan's for their now annual Easter egg hunt. We were super excited to see Jamie, Marley & the boys. Hannah Claire and Evan are so close in age and can now play together. We wish they didn't live so far away but we enjoy getting to see them when they visit! There was a house full of people and HC was not shy about joining in on the fun. She made her way over and sat in Mrs. Claire's lap to watch Toy Story 2 with the other kiddos.

Once the hunt started kids were everywhere. It had rained earlier so the eggs had been hidden downstairs and on the patio. HC was an old pro after her practice at school the day before. Although she could have racked up on more eggs. She found several and would only take one, leaving the others for the other kids. It will be interesting to see if she does this next year.

There were a few eggs that were hard to find. HC and Matt polished the last few off.

We had some great food after the egg hunt but most of all we got to spend some time with some dear friends.

Once we got home we had some work to do to get ready for a visit from the Easter bunny. Hannah Claire didn't really get the egg dying last year but she was much more involved this year. (Plus, Mommy loves it.) We got everything set up and HC joined me on the counter with her purple Peep. If you look closely you can see her bluish/purple mouth.

HC got right in on the action. She really enjoyed it.

HC put the final egg in the drying rack. She did a fantastic job!

Now it was time to cut up with Daddy. They are super silly!

They love each other so much!

Not too mushy though (just like her Mommy).

School Easter Party

Hannah Claire's school always does it up nice for Easter. They started off with an egg hunt. Each kiddo had their own bag and were released into the yard.

They all knew exactly what to do. HC and Leah spotted the same egg and the race was on.

Our sweet little angel won the foot race and quickly informed Leah "NO". Sweet Leah backed off and HC pocket the prize egg. Competitive you think?

After all the eggs were found HC was running across the yard and tripped and fell. She had sand all over her but would not get up because there was sand on her hands. So she just laid there. Priss!

After the egg hunt the kids got to jump in the bouncy house. It was a huge hit! They jumped and jumped and jumped some more. Rachel, the one laid out behind HC was a pro at it. She even dropped kicked the little boy in the back of the picture. Her dad said she jumps on the bed all the time. Since the bouncy house, Hannah Claire has decided she needs to jump on the bed when she gets the chance. She loves to "bounce".

Oh, the Easter Bunny!

We loaded up and ran over to the mall for our annual picture with the Easter Bunny. You see, Hannah Claire loved him last year. She even loved looking at the picture afterwards. We were very optimistic this year. Of course when we arrived he was on break. This always happens to us. So what did we do to wait you ask? Rode the escalators of course.

HC wanted to try it out for herself. It's hard to see but she is grinning from ear to ear.

She even stepped off by herself. Well, sorta by herself.

Finally the Easter bunny returned and well, I will let you see how it went.

Tricked by the camera. How mean we are to our kids. She really did love him last year. Well, at least we got to ride the escalators!

Daddy's Little Angel

How sweet is a daddy's love for his little girl. Especially this Daddy's love for this little girl!

Happy Early Easter

Hannah Claire got a box the week of Easter. Nana had told us it was coming and to go ahead and open it. HC wasted no time ripping into it.

She was super excited to see the baby. If only this stuff came out easier. There is so much pressure when you have a child begging for the baby and you can't get the silly thing out of the packaging. Seriously, are all those twisty ties necessary?

Hannah Claire is such a good mommy. She immediately loved on the baby.

And instructed Daddy on feeding the baby.

She also showed us her boo boo. She was very proud of it as you can tell.

Who Knows?

We are always surprised by things that Hannah Claire says and does. It keeps us on our toes and in hysterics laughing at, um I'm mean with, our little girl. Thankfully we keep the camera handy to snap some pictures of the joy we experience on a daily basis. Shane snapped this one before bed one night. He laughed at how she was laid out like a crime scene. It wasn't until we put it on the computer that we realized just how funny it was. Notice the sock on her right hand. Who knows what that is about? I also find it pretty funny that Tigger is in the same position. Coincidence? Who knows?

Hannah Claire already loves to play dress-up. Especially with Mommy's shoes.

She also likes to get into Mommy's drawers and has a thing for lotion, chapstick and antibacterial gel. I think her skin must have been dry on this particular day. A girl has gotta take care of her skin.

This may be my favorite. Shane and I are hanging out in the living room and around the corner comes this. I promise I don't dress her like that, but I do take pictures of it.

Again, she loves Mommy's shoes. I continue to be amazed at how much better she is in my heels than I am. The kid has some amazing balance while in my shoes but she trips and falls in her Keds all the time. Go figure.