Sunday, April 18, 2010

Easter











Easter is my favorite...I love spring, the new growth, the flowers, hiding eggs for the kids, watching their faces as they seek in earnest for each candy-filled treasure, but most of all, I love Easter Sunday - the celebration of Christ's resurrection and His payment for my sin...all of my horrible sin. I am so thankful for my Savior and all of the gifts that He has given me even though I deserve none of them, and He continues to be so patient with me as I have to be taught some of the same lessons over and over and over again. This Easter was awesome. It was Abby's first "American" Easter with her forever family. She was such a good sport. She took the basket I gave her and held it just like the other kids. However, she looked so confused - she looked like she was thinking, "What is with all these empty baskets?" She smiled sweetly for the picture before the egghunt (the picture with all 5 of the kiddos), and obediently walked with me while I showed her how to put the eggs in her basket. And then the "Ah-ha!" moment came. I showed her what was inside the eggs. Oh my word, she was THRILLED! When I wasn't looking, she put more jelly beans in her mouth than I have ever seen any child put in their mouth at one time. At one point in time, I looked over at her, and half-dissolved jelly beans were falling out of her mouth because she couldn't keep them in. It was great!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Spring has arrived (I think...)!







We finally got to get dressed in shorts and t-shirts this morning - no jackets! It was so great to get to go out and water plants and play for a while. We have also gotten to start back with our tradition of giving the garbage men freeze pops (or popsicles, whatever we have). The girls had a great time with that this morning - it is amazing what can provide entertainment.






This past weekend we had some of our dear friends from Jacksonville up to visit. The kids had a blast, and the weather was wonderful - thank you Lord! (Keeping 7 kids inside a house all weekend might have been a nightmare) The boys' buddy, Jackson, was able to go to the boys' track meet to cheer them on. The girls had a fantastic time driving the Barbie jeep all over the yard (which might be one explanation as to why we have no grass growing). All-in-all, it was a wonderful visit, and we are so thankful that they made the trip!