A few pics from our 2011 egg hunt...

A few fun shots from our egg hunt...

Mia had a very short attention span during her first Easter egg hunt.  

Noni and Ali pointed out eggs for Mia.  So sweet. :)

She LOVES Tia.

"Woo hoo!  I ROCK!"

Counting eggs...

Flying with Uncle Graham

 The kids were having trouble finding the eggs, so I started taking pictures to try to give them clues.  It didn't work.  haha  Can you find the eggs in these next few pics?

Did you find them all?  :)

Where's Ali? :)

Counting eggs...

She spilled a glass of water on her shirt.  Don't you just want to squeeze her?

BUBBLES!!!  (Mia's new favorite word)

Sweet Cam

Snapshot of Easter 2011

Trying to get a good family picture is a bit difficult...

Happy Easter!  4.5 mo prego

Getting a good picture with a baby is tough stuff around our house!  Mia had just put her feet in the water and was currently playing with the water on her toes.  :)

I LOVE her expression here!

Peek-a-boo!

Reaching for her daddy!  

I wish I had Caleb behind the camera all of the time.  He always makes her smile!

I hope your Easter was as fun as ours.  We are truly blessed. :)

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

I have a TON of eggs from when I was a teacher.  I dumped some of them out for Mia the other day and she loved it!

I kept trying to get her to look at me and smile.  This is all I got.  haha!

haha!  WHY do kids like to put stuff in their mouth?!!!

Feeding the bunny

"Shhhh!  Don't tell anyone that I ate all of those jellybeans!"

Having a kid is FUN! :)

Earth Day around my house...

:)

Easter...

Last week Caleb and I were talking about Easter.

Caleb: "It's crazy!  What do people who don't believe in Jesus think Easter is all about?  Why do they celebrate it?  Do they think it is about bunnies and eggs?"

I have been thinking about this ALL week.

My mom got Mia a book called What is Easter?  by Michelle Medlock Adams.  Here is what it says: (make sure you read it all the way to the end!)


The little bunny hops, hops, hops.

Is this what Easter means?
Is it about the Easter eggs
All filled with jellybeans?

Is Easter about hunting eggs?
I do that every year.
Does it mean eating chocolate stuff?
I ate my bunny's ear.

Is it about the baby chicks?
They're fuzzy, and they're fun!
I saw some Easter chicks for sale.
I really wanted one.

Is it about the Easter toys?
They're really fun, I think.
One time a bunny came to me.
His little nose was pink.

Is it about my brand-new dress?
And my new Easter hat?
Does it mean wearing shiny shoes?
I really do love that!

Is it about a big parade
With lots of pretty floats?
Is it about the Easter choir?
They sing the highest notes!

NO! That's not what Easter means.

Easter means much more than that.
It's all about God's son.
See, God sent Jesus down to earth
To die for everyone.

He had to die upon a tree
To save us from our sin.
But he was only dead three days,
And then he rose again.

Now that's what Easter really means!
It's quite a special day.
Jesus our Savior rose again.
Hooray!  Hooray!  Hooray!

Today, he sits right next to God
In Heaven up above.
He wants to live inside you too
And fill you up with love!

Okay, now I get it.
The Easter Bunny is okay,
And Easter eggs are fun.
But Easters' not about that stuff...

It's all about God's son.


I just put Mia's Easter basket together today and filled the eggs with jellybeans.  I have to remember though, that even though she is just 15 months, I need to be intentional on focussing Easter on what it really IS.  :)  The bunnies, eggs, candy, and fun clothes are all great, but THEY do not define Easter.

This children's book was a good reminder for me. :)

A night out...PAST 8:30!!!

I LOVE getting to spend time with great friends.  Old ones...new ones...it doesn't matter to me. :)  Last Friday was especially fun because my in-laws kept Mia so that we could stay out late.  We did a lot of hanging out, talking, eating, and laughing.  I ate until I couldn't eat anymore, and I STILL got to take leftovers home!  And get this...when 8:00 rolled around, we didn't even blink.  (Our curfew has changed a bit since Mia has joined our family, so if an 8:00 curfew sounds silly to you just know that it would have to us 14 months ago as well. :/    Holla if you hear me, parents with youngin's!)  In fact, we lost track of time and didn't get home until 11:30.  I felt bad for Caleb's mom (who was at our house waiting for us to get home), but I sure was soooooo thankful that she sacrificed her time to let us have some fun.  So THANKS, Debbie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mmmm....Thanks, Amber!!!!

:)

The guys hung out in the wind storm outside! 

I wish I could have known what they were talking about.  What DO guys talk about when girls aren't around?!!!

So fun!  Can't wait to do it again!...SOON!!!! :)

Lydia's Visit

Lydia came over to play last week!  She and Mia had a blast.  They are both expecting younger siblings soon...isn't that fun?  Here are a few pics of their time together...

Move over, Mia!  You're squishing me!

Lydia's coming over again tomorrow!  I'm sure we'll have TONS of fun! :)

veggies made FUN!

I really want to get started on redoing a coffee table I found, but I just couldn't resist sharing this cute idea with all of you!  Want to make veggies FUN around your house?  Or even decorate with them at a party?  Check out this cute idea I found at www.livinglocurto.com.  You can find the tutorial here.

I can't wait to make these!  They are so easy and FUN! :)  Happy Spring!!!

A good laugh...

The other day I changed Mia's diaper, but thought "It's pretty warm in here.  I'll just let her play in her diaper for a while."  Upon returning from throwing her diaper away I saw this...

I lost it!  hahaha My sister has told me hilarious stories of my nieces undressing themselves, but this was the first time Mia has ever done it.  Needless to say, we always put pants on her now so that those little hands can't take the diaper off!  (p.s.  I actually let her play in her car for a little while while I took pictures.  Thankfully there were no accidents!)

All of you moms out there...what are YOUR funny stories about your kids undressing themselves?  

Put down that "to do" list, Mommy!

Now that I'm out of the sickness stage of pregnancy, I've been trying to catch up on my house.  I make a list everyday and pat myself on the back each night as I look back at everything I have accomplished in the last 12 hours.  

Yesterday I noticed that I only accomplished about half of the things on my list, but I didn't mind at all.  Mia and I had a wonderful day together playing outside, eating popsicles, reading, taking care of her babies, etc.  It was glorious!  I do have to admit though... if it wasn't for Mia's persistence that we go outside (she stood at the door and cried until I took her out) I probably would have just gone on cleaning windows and bathrooms. 

Mamie, Caleb's grandmother from France, came to visit over the weekend.  She gave us a turtle sprinkler that I couldn't wait to use.  Unfortunately it didn't really work, so I took the turtle off and voila!  It became a little hosepipe for Mia!  She thought it was the GREATEST thing!  Check out some of the pictures! 

Playing in the water!

Watch out Mommy!!!!

Mmmm...

I FINALLY turned the water off so that our utilities bill wouldn't break the bank.  Thank goodness for swings!

Woo hoo!

She is all about buckles right now...

FUN!

So yeah...I guess I'll try to finish those items on yesterday's list today!  Now that Mia is older though, I'm really trying to be intentional about spending time with her throughout the day!  (esp since she won't be an only child for much longer!)  Who knows...maybe I'll still be working on the list by the time Friday rolls around. :)