Easter 2014

We started Easter weekend off Saturday morning by going to the Munford Easter Egg Drop. A helicopter dropped 16,000 eggs onto a field and the kids were able to pick them up! It sounded fun... My mom took the girls several years ago and they had fun but this year it was SO many people that it just wasn’t that exciting. The girls got lots of eggs and candy though. Lydia even won a few ice cream cones from Sonic, woo-hoo! Aunt Amy met us there with Jaxson. He was so excited about all the eggs. But when it came time to talk to the Easter Bunny, he wasn’t a happy little boy!

 

My baby looks almost as tall as the bunny! :(

 

 

One of my best friends growing up, works on the local Hospital Wing in our area. She always said she wanted to do something different when we grew up. I would say she succeeded, big, what an honorable job.

 

We dyed eggs Saturday afternoon. Recently, I seen something on Pintrest about how to dye eggs with Kool-Aid. I thought that might be better than the kit & vinegar. We had 8 different colored packets and the eggs turned out so pretty. The colors were so bright. And the best part was the girls were able to taste the colors! I know that sounds strange but every year, Layton begs me for just a little taste. I always have to tell her no but not this year!! I think we will dye eggs like this every year from now on.

 

The next morning we woke up to lots of surprises from the Easter Bunny! Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures but the girls each received a bible cover with their name monogrammed on it & lots of other fun goodies! They were beyond excited, especially about the bible covers.





 

Praise God, HE LIVES!

 

Bro. Steve preached a wonderful message about our Risen Savior that morning and we all enjoyed worshipping together. The kids choir sang during our service that morning and they did a wonderful job. I don’t think I will ever tire of hearing my babies sing. The love it and so do I!

*A quick story* All the kids, in kids choir,  were sitting on the stage steps waiting on church to start. They were being so patient and all looked so pretty in the Easter outfits. I noticed that the little girl beside Layton was sticking her finger in Layton’s face and I assumed was talking ugly to her. Layton is the type of person that will not accept someone being rude to her (or anyone else around her!). So, my mama alert immediately went up! I just knew that Layton would probably push/hit/kick the little girl and she would fall off the stage and …….. I showed Dave and his words of encouragement were “Oh no………….” but the longer I sat there (and prayed REALLY hard!), I thought maybe we should just let her handle it. I prayed that she would handle it in the way we are trying to teach her, not aggressively! And low and behold, PRAISE Jesus, she handled it great! She did put her finger in the little girls face, said something, and it was over. The little girl stopped being rude to Layton. They sat there until song time, looking pretty as ever. After they sang, Layton came to her seat and, Dave & I, both bombarded her with praises about how proud we were that she handled the situation in the way that she did. She acted like it was no big deal but it was huge to us! It kind of makes me think we are doing something right!!!!!!

After church we headed to Mimi’s house for lunch and the annual egg hunt.

I love this picture! Layton loves her big sister.

 

It never fails, every time I see a picture with  my husband & our babies, it melts my heart! And it also makes me giggle to think how much these little girls have this big man wrapped around their little fingers..... :)

 



 

 

Mimi & Papa’s great grandbabies; ages 10,9,8,6,4.

 

 

 

Mimi and my girls.  

Thankfully after a million pictures, they were able to change clothes and find eggs!

 



 

I am so thankful the day was beautiful and we were able to play outside and enjoy family time but more thankful that God gave his only Son to die for my sins and that I am able to worship him freely.

 

 



 



 

 

Spring Break 2014

This year for spring break we decided, at the last minute (of course!), to go camping. I didn’t want to travel too far since the weather was a little cool so we decided to go to Chickasaw. It was our first time to go there and it definitely won’t be our last! After church on Sunday, we headed out and stayed 3 days and 2 nights. The park was very nice. We were the only campers around our site so it was quiet. We enjoyed sitting by the fire, eating marshmallows, riding horses, riding bikes, napping, just being lazy. It was so nice to have a break for reality for a few days! Lydia said several times that it was her favorite vacation, better than the beach! Whoa!!!  

Loaded up and truckin!

 

We managed to wear Layton AND Reece out in the same trip = success!

 

 

Riding bikes

 

 

The horseback riding was one of our favorite parts. We all agreed that it was one of the coolest things we have ever done as a family.  Both girls did great listening to the guide when he told them how to go up and down hills. We rode for 1 hour. The guide told us we went approximately 5 miles through the woods! It was beautiful.

 

 

On the last night, we all decided to stay 1 more night and day but when we woke up the next morning, the wind was crazy and the temperatures were falling. We decided that mama & daddy would stay off 1 more day and go to the Discovery Park of America the next day.

The Discovery Park of America is a new museum type park in Union City. It is 3 stories tall and full of dinosaurs facts, Tennessee history, an earthquake simulator,  lots of science things, military history, old cars and trucks on display, small aquariums and a 2 story slide! The outside has several different parts that you can walk through too; old log cabins, barns, a train depot, several  old town set up’s. It was really neat to walk around and look at everything. We will definitely go back again.

 

 

My little artists...

The girls have been taking an Art class from Ms. Barbara McBride for a while now. Lydia has been going over a year and Layton started last August. Once a month, they go on a Saturday morning for 3 hours. They paint a canvas picture and some other small art project while there. They love going and I LOVE seeing what they paint.

 Lydia is so creative and through this class, we have seen that she is a very talented artist.  She often comes up with what she wants to paint on her own. She gives a lot of her paintings away, to relatives and recently she donated one to church. Although I would love to keep them all, I am proud of her giving spirit.

Lydia and Bro. Steve Carpenter, she donated her picture to Gateway Baptist Church, February 2014.

 

Layton does really well for her age. Ms. Barbara compliments her on her placing things on the canvases by herself. Normally she has to trace her picture on the canvas, then paints it. She does very good staying inside the lines.  

 This has been my favorite of Layton's paintings, probably because she is so crazy over Mimi's chickens. It's a joke in our family that we call her the chicken whisperer. She will run and try to catch them and just when you think she can't, she appears with one in her arms. They are so fast but she is faster!

Recently, they had an art exhibit at DSCC, in Covington, that displayed all of Ms. Barbara’s students’ art. The exhibit was really neat and the girls liked showing their art off!