Easter Weekend

We had a busy Easter weekend!

Saturday morning Rhett had a soccer game. It was windy, but much warmer than last week's game, so that's good! R didn't really want to go to the game. He wanted us to sign him up to play spring soccer, but now he has changed his mind. We will finish the season though. We encourage him to try his hardest when he's on the field and to cheer for his team when he's on the sideline.

(oops--I missed his head in this picture!)

loyal fans :)

Crosby found an extra ball to play with.

The Easter Bunny actually made a Saturday visit here this year. I'm glad, because Sunday was really rushed. The kids had baskets of goodies in the kitchen and eggs to hunt in the back yard. All this took place around 8 a.m. before the soccer game:

Crosby's basket

Rhett's

Alexee's

Crosby was most interested in finding chocolate.

Rhett got a few new new books and a spy code kit.

Rhett sorted all his things.

Alexee got an Aurora princess stamp and stamp pad, hair bow clip, book and coloring book.

Early morning, back yard egg hunt. It has rained SO MUCH lately. Our back yard was very muddy!

Crosby hunting in his PJs.

Back inside, counting eggs, etc.

They each got a plain, wooden cross in their basket. They all colored/decorated theirs that afternoon. Here's Alexee's cross:
Rhett working on his. He drew Jesus on the cross on one side and wrote John 3:16 on the back from memory.

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world..."

Alexee have Crosby a little help with his.

I'm very thankful for what Easter means to us, and I pray that the kids will grow up knowing it's not about Easter baskets and chocolate, but about remembering and celebrating the death and resurrection of our Savior!

I cooked a roast and a potato casserole for dinner Saturday. We ate early then went to the Saturday evening Easter service at our church. They have a regular Saturday night service, but we've never been. It was absolutely wonderful. The music was SO GOOD! When we got home and got the kids in bed I made salads for lunch at Lane's brother's house on Sunday.

Sunday morning the kids wore their Easter outfits and we went back to church because Lane and I were scheduled to serve in the cafe. We were offering a special holiday breakfast plate, and provided those to almost 120 choir members! It was a busy but exciting morning!

Thankful for my family!

Sunday a.m.

After church we hurried home to change clothes, grab the salads and go to Hot Springs to have lunch with Lane's family! There were eggs to hunt there, too, which the kids loved. Their older cousins, Luke and Katie, were very sweet to help them (they LOVE their cousins)!

Alexee gave Crosby one of her eggs.

Rhett gave Crosby one of his eggs.

I love it when they share and are kind to each other.

Katie & Alexee

(Oops--I cut off another head!) But that's Luke helping Crosby. Crosby would run after him and look where Luke told him to look. He would smile so big when he'd find an egg for his basket. :)

Grammy & Bobba arrived during the egg hunt.

Grammy & Alexee

Lance and Jennifer had prepared such a great meal, and we really appreciated their hospitality! Lane's parents were there, Aunt Shelby and cousin Dena, Dena's son Robert (about to graduate from college), and Jennifer's parents. Unfortunately after the egg hunt I kind-of forgot about taking pictures of the adults. Crosby did not slow down the entire time we were at Lance and Jennifer's house. I was nervous the whole time because their kids are older and so their house it not "baby-proofed" any more. They have three outside doors and Crosby basically ran out one, in another, out one, in another...for a few hours. He didn't stop to eat or sit! Two year olds have an amazing amount of energy--Too bad my energy level doesn't match his. Ha! I was tired by the time we got home and got the kids in bed. I fell asleep on the couch very early (while trying to watch Amazing Race--sad when I heard results), and I think it was close to midnight when I woke up to the sound of Alexee crying at the top of the stairs. (She'd had a bad dream about alligators.)

Thankful for this weekend. We're so blessed!

Birds, Soccer, Blog Friend and More

We've had this bird feeder right outside our kitchen window for a while now, but we have suddenly attracted a new bird--the goldfinch. We have several of them, and they are very bright and beautiful! I don't know if it's the time of year or the new food that Lane bought or both, but these little birds have been spending a lot of time in our back yard. We all enjoy seeing them!
Rhett had a soccer game last Saturday morning, and it was terribly COLD and WINDY. Lane took him early for team pictures and sent me a text recommending warmer clothes and blankets for game time.

Crosby drinking Rhett's water

Rhett during warm-ups (I don't think I took any during the actual game...I just wanted to stay bundled up!)

Brrrrr! Alexee brought markers to keep her entertained, but Crosby would not sit still.

After the game, I had such a neat opportunity to meet my blog friend, Candy! Candy and I had never met in real life, but we have lots in common. We share a birthday (even the year), our husbands' birthdays are just one day apart, we both have three kids in the same order of boy, girl, boy, and it sounds like the kids' personalities are very similar. I just had a feeling it would seem like I'd known her forever when we met--and it did! She and a friend were in town for a Beth Moore conference, so we made arrangements to meet for lunch after the conference was over. It was so much fun--I wish we could have visited all afternoon. Hopefully it will work out for us to see each other again this summer in Hot Springs! Candy, it was GREAT to finally meet you! :)
Alexee & Crosby had their Easter parties at school. They were each asked to bring plastic eggs containing candy, stickers, etc. Blue and green eggs for C, pink and purple for A (her class was also asked to use an egg carton so each child would get the same number of eggs during the hunt).

Crosby's class has such cute spring decor--here's his rainboot tag for his lunchbox/backpack, his umbrella craft, and his carrot name tag on the classroom door. :)

Here's Alexee all dressed up in her rose dress and carrying her party snacks (we were really fancy with our snacks...Peeps and Oreos. ha!)

We've had a lot of rainy/stormy weather lately. We had a hail storm yesterday evening. This is what our deck looked like as it was hailing.

Today Alexee wanted to draw a picture but told me not to look as she was working on it. I was busy doing things around the house and forgot about what she was working on. Later I noticed this card sitting on my night stand--she'd placed it there for me to find. So sweet--it made my day! She has such a caring heart. :)
Here's a close-up of the card. I thanked her for the beautiful picture and asked her about the four people. She said the four are: Daddy, me, her and her friend Natalie. :)