Laura, these pictures are for you.

Reece got his wish to put his tie on along with his pajamas. This child is definitely the baby of the family.... always ready to strike a pose for the camera.

Reece and his tie

Aunt Nar sent an outfit, for Reece, with a clip-on tie. Wearing a tie is a new thing for this 4 year old, so I really didn't know what he would think of it. Well....he LOVED IT. At bed, when he was putting on his p.j.'s and helped him take the tie off and he got upset at me taking it off. He wanted to wear it again. I told him that it was his tie and he could wear it again, of course. So he gets his p.j.'s on and tries to clip the tie onto his pajamas. The tie was a "real winner" for this kid!

Easter from Aunt Nar

Our kids have the best Aunt in the whole world we are convinced. All the Easter clothes and the big Easter baskets are from their Aunt. Austin's basket had a skate board and Lindsey's had a Strawberry Shortcake basketball and Reece had a bunch of nerf balls in his. We'll save dyeing Easter eggs when we have the grandparents here this weekend. Then we can actually spread Easter out for two whole weeks. It's good to hear Lindsey's thinking through the "why"of these holidays. Coming home from church she commented on the fact that Christmas is for Jesus's birth and Easter is because he died on the cross and rose again. Then she asked why we celebrate Halloween. Good question. "Um...you know Daddy loves to answer those questions for you. Let's get home and ask him what he thinks."

The hunt is on

After the kids did their various Easter crafts, had storytime with Kelli and sang some songs, then they went to their favorite activity. Finding those Easter eggs. The older kids had to find the eggs with the stars on them which added an extra challenge. The last picture is of Laura, our very own professional photographer. You will most often find her behind a camera lens taking some awesome pictures of the kids. Thanks for an awesome party, Heather!!!

Easter Party

Heather, who has the true gift of hospitality, hosted our Easter Egg Party this year. The kids went around to various craft stations and also decorated cupcakes.

Deer in "our forest"

There is nothing new about seeing deer beyond our back yard fence, but the frustration is getting a picture of them before they run away. Each day this week we've been eating our lunch outside. Today the kids had fun watching 5 deer eat their lunch as well. The deer were far enough away that we didn't scare them. This morning they were right up by our fence eating breakfast, but the second you open the door they take off. I don't know what it is about deer, but I never get tired of watching them eat and drink in the creek. The other day there were two geese floating down the creek and two deer drinking from it. I just find it to be such a beautiful sight and so do the kids.

Surprise Easter Egg Hunt

Tuesday night the kids and I decided to surprise our neighbor (another Lindsey) with an Easter Egg Hunt in our back yard. So the kids helped me stuff a bunch of eggs and then we ran and rang our neighbor's door bell. We told little Lindsey that there were several eggs in our yard and asked to see if she would like to help get them all. She is a very enthusiastic girl and jumped right in. It was good to see all three of my kids shouting: "Here's an egg, Lindsey! Come over here Lindsey!" Trust me, my kids still found plenty for themselves.

Honey Beth at the Tea Party

I think Honey Beth deserves her own blog-post for her tea party costume complete with a magic wand!

Ashlyn's Birthday Tea Party

This afternoon Lindsey and I went to Ashlyn's 4th birthday party. As always, Honey Beth knows how to plan a marvelous party. She hosted the event at Judy's Olde English Tea Room in Wake Forest. Truly a treat! Lindsey loved dressing up and drinking from a tea cup. Ashlyn, and all the girls, were such princesses. Happy Birthday Ashlyn!
After soccer, Scrap Mania, swim lessons, Kidz Praise practice, Easter Party ministry, and the Tea Party --- it really feels good to be home this evening. :)

Easter Party at Providence

Today our Sunday School class helped host an Easter party for the children in some apartments behind the church. These children registered and then went to small groups to hear the Ressurection Egg Gospel Story. Stacia brought in Chik Fil A to provide chicken nugget trays and sweet tea and of course the cow that all the kids love. While these children went off on an Easter egg hunt, Austin, Lindsey, and Reece helped pour the sweet tea into cups and set up all the drinks. I was too busy to snap pictures of that, but I was so happy to have my kids be a part of a wonderful cause and understand that this party wasn't for them, but for other children to hear the gospel.

The last swim lessons for Spring

Today Lindsey and Reece had their last swim lessons (Austin had a Kidz Praise rehearsal and had to miss swim lessons). All the kids really enjoyed their lessons. I was able to get more pictures of Reece, because once they hit Lindsey's age they are constantly in motion and hard to capture on camera. The last picture is of Lindsey using the Lifeguard's flotation device to save someone in the water.

Scrap Mania

While Brian and the kids were at Lindsey's soccer game, I had planned a Scrap Mania event for the ladies of our Sunday School class. I was supposed to plan an event for January, but it took longer to get into the swing of things after Christmas. So.....here we are in March and our evening to scrapbook had come to fruition. We were at the store, Archivers. The evening was from 5-11p.m. and included dinner, bottled drinks, dessert, snacks, a gift, and prizes. It was such a good time of working on albums and fellowship. The absolute best opportunity happened at Suzanne and Kelli's table when a lady, of a very different faith, engaged in a great discussion on our beliefs as Christians. I don't know if this lady noticed that there were two others tables practically leaning our bodies (espcially our ears) over into their conversation. Most of us sat there just praying that God would give Suzanne and Kelli the right words to say. Seeds were planted and what an awesome oppotunity to share Christ!