Easter 2009

We had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection

of our Lord and Savior!

We started off our day with some Easter treats

can you tell which basket is Drew's?:-)

Ready for church

We had an awesome morning worshiping the Lord! There is nothing better than seeing people give their life to Jesus!

Everyday can be a Sunday! God is everywhere, we don't have to wait until Sunday or Easter to worship Him and experience seeing lives change! My prayer is that I will make everyday a Sunday!!!

After church we enjoyed some time together as a family

The kids hunted eggs

and enjoyed playing outside


We also got some much needed naps:-)

For the rest of the week we are going to enjoy SPRING BREAK!!!

The kids and I are going tomorrow on an overnight trip with friends! We are very excited and plan on enjoying every minute of our week!

Family Night/Egg hunt

We started off our weekend by having
"Easter Family Night"!

For dinner, I kept it easy!

We played Easter Bingo

which the kids LOVED!

You think they were a little excited
about winning bingo?:-)

We played egg toss and did an egg relay, but my camera was not on the right setting and the pictures were all a big BLUR!:-(

Next was time to dye eggs!



They were so proud!

We finished our night by telling them the Easter story
and making Easter story cookies!



Now on to Saturday..........
We went to an egg hunt at church.
Like always the kids had a great time!






Although we had a blast this weekend doing all the Easter festivities, I pray that our kids will not be distracted by all the "fun" and they will fully understand why we celebrate Easter. It's not about us it's all about Him! HE IS ALIVE!!!!

Grace Anne's New Look!

Today was the big day! Grace Anne got her hair cut off! She was not very excited about it and she still is unsure about that new look. Her hair is thin and fine and it had gotten WAY out of hand! I am hoping that cutting it will help it thicken up! Lets keep our fingers crossed!:-)

Here she is BEFORE

and here she is AFTER

I am still getting use to it myself, but I think it is SUPER CUTE!

Please pray that GA will start to like her new look, she is not happy that she can't put her hair

in a pony tail!:-)

Bunny's, Easter story cookies and pictures!

Thought I would share some Easter treats with you! Here are some bunny cupcakes that I made for Grace Anne's party at school.

The ears are 1 large marshmallow cut in half and then cover the sticky part with sprinkles.
Use M&M's or any kind of small candy for the eyes and nose and 2 regular size marshmallows for the mouth/checks! The kids loved them and they were fun and easy to make!

Also I wanted to share this neat recipe that I remember doing when I was a kid. I Googled it and found it! We are going to make these Easter Story cookies tomorrow during our "Easter Family Night".

Easter Story Cookies
You need:
1 c. pecans (or walnuts)
1 c. sugar
1 tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
masking tape
Bible
waxed paper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell vinegar Put 2 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read: John 19:28-30.
Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read: John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 c. sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with mixer on high for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper-covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put cookie sheet in oven, close door and turn oven off. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

Go to bed! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20,22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.
Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty!
Read Matthew 28:1-9.
JESUS IS RISEN!

I will leave you with these pictures from today at Grace Anne's school Easter party. Daniel had to go out of town for a funeral and since he was my babysitter for the day, Drew had to tag along
with me.

he did not mind at all!

he thought he was TOO BIG

and made his self right at home!

here is Grace Anne hunting for eggs!

It was a fun day! Now, I must go and get some much need rest!:-)

Wow! What a week!

It has been CRAZY around our house! We have been going and going and I am afraid that it is not going to slow doing anytime soon!

This past Saturday we spent ALL day outside doing yard work! It was a beautiful day, and we took advantage of it by getting the yard in shape.

On Saturday night, Grace Anne went to a Cheerleader Birthday Party! She was so excited about seeing Lily! Grace Anne and Lily met 3 years ago at preschool, they were in the same class for 3k and 4k. Now that they are in 5k and go to different schools they don't see each other as much as they would like, but we still try to make play dates for them to get together!
Their friendship is so sweet, they just pick up where they left off!


Friday starts the beginning of SPRING BREAK!!!! Grace Anne is super excited and is ready for the break. She is just in kindergarten and she is already asking when is spring break! She loves school, but she loves weekends and holidays more! HA!

We have a fun weekend and week planned!
So tune in next week for pictures and updates on our
SPRING BREAK!!!!
Let the fun begin!!!!

Update on Tami

Thank you all for praying for our friend Tami. She had an okay weekend, she did have some side effects, but in all she did better than excepted! God is good!

Check out The Clabo's Blog by clicking HERE! You will find updates on her weekend and the weeks to come. I ask you to PLEASE continue to keep Tami in your prayers. She has a long road ahead of her and needs lots of prayers and encouragement. Also, feel free to leave comments on their blog, I am sure it would brighten her day to know that she is being lifted up in prayer from all over the world!

Photo Shoot!

You all know by now that I LOVE to take pictures. I never leave home without my camera!

Yesterday the kids and I went to the park for a photo shoot! When we got to the park,the kids took off toward the playground. I told them to wait because I wanted to take a few pictures first. Of course you know what came next.......BUT MOMMY, WE WANT TO PLAY!!!! PLEASE MOMMY!!!
I thought for a minute to myself....you know they are kids, just let them play, but I REALLY want to take their pictures.
So, I said "Kids who wants a milkshake???" Of course they both said "ME!!!" "Well if you let me take your pictures and you do good then we will go and play on the playground and then go get a milkshake!"
I know I bribed my kids, but at the end we all were happy!!!

Here are some pictures of our afternoon at the park....Enjoy!