Easter Afternoon

Following church on Sunday morning, we stopped by our new house to capture a few Easter memories.  The boys are slowly getting better at taking pictures.  

We got a few good ones... 

My mom and sister joined us at church for Easter morning, and so kindly took several pictures for us...

=Easter morning family picture=

These two little boys were very excited about their Easter gift from Aunt Julie and Nana... Aunt Julie took real footballs and filled them with Easter candy - so cute!!!

We finished up our Easter celebration with Russ' family.

His family always celebrates in Lexington, Tennessee at Mr. Richard's cousin's house. 

Living away, we've never been able to go... we didn't know what we were missing.

We had a great time!

I'm not sure on the number, but I'd guess about fifty people were there, many of them children.

We ate lunch, played outside, and hunted Easter eggs.

=Lawson played several games of corn hole with Beth=

A few random shots for the sake of our memory...

All of the children were moved inside while the Easter eggs were being hidden.

They sang songs while they waited, and never once complained.

They were very good!

Beautiful Zaden...

Emmitt made a new friend, Bryan.

When you ask him who is buddy is he says, "bye". :)

The Easter egg hunt is on!

Emmitt refused to keep his shoes on... dirty feet!!!

Lawson insisted on wearing his new jersey for the afternoon, of course!

Counting the eggs...

Dad says he actually found 28 eggs.  Lawson likes the number 100 these days. :)

Pretty girl....

Emmitt stayed parked on the patio with Bryan playing cars, trucks, and tractors!

He was so cute and happy!

Remember the dirty feet I mentioned above?

Granny rode home with us so I sat in the back.

Emmitt had not napped at all and was being quite silly by 4:00.

Our laughter on his first attempt at this caused multiple tries and lots of baby giggles... I will miss those giggles in the months to come.

And with regard to his boppy {paci}, he is currently sleeping without it.

I'm not sure how this has all come about, but he went 24 hours without it until he got hurt yesterday and I decided that he "needed" it, but I'm pretty sure we're on the road to a boppy-free household.  Mixed emotions. :(

That finally concludes our Easter celebrations!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Friday!

We're (esp Lawson) excited about our UTM Rodeo weekend... pics to come, I'm sure!

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny stopped by our place and left a few goodies for the boys.  It was so much fun! 

If you read the Easter Egg Hunt #1, then you read about the golden egg, and Lawson's disappointment in not finding the golden egg, simply for the cool gift, of course.

Well, thanks to the Easter Bunny, Lawson and Emmitt not only received a golden egg, but they also received a special gift with the golden egg!    

{And the best part about their new Nerf guns is that they can reload them by themselves!  Whew!} 

===

Here is an up-close look at what the Easter Bunny brought...

Chocolates and a new tractor for Emmitt

He is a farmer, I tell ya.  That is all he plays with these days; it is so funny!

The Farm birthday party is right around the corner - he will be two in 17 days!!!! 

And here is Lawson's basket...

He received a Tennessee Basketball Jersey - the real deal!

An NBA spiral notebook and some chocolates.

It was a fun morning!

They also received a new Buddies' video... Air Bud!

It is about the Buddies playing soccer.

Have you seen any of the Buddies' movies?  If not, you've got to check them out... we love them!

Here they are with their Easter gifts.

By all means, Lawson had to try on his new jersey with his 

basketball shorts. 

It's a boy's extra small, but it is the only one the Bunny could find.  He will probably be able to wear it for two more years. :)

He's worn it almost every day since Sunday {with an undershirt}, and is currently wearing it in a peaceful slumber right next to me.  

He loves sports... as much as Emmitt loves tractors! :)

Easter Eve

We spent Easter Eve with my Dad, Anita, and Abby.  

The evening began with an Easter Egg hunt for the boys, followed by a yummy supper of grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and the trimmings.

Here are a few pictures from the night...

My Dad and Anita have four rabbits... these two seemed most interested in the paparazzi on Easter Eve.  It only seemed natural that they would want their pictures taken on the night of the               Easter Bunny, right?

And now for some outside fun...

Aunt Julie was there, too!

I LOVE this picture!!!!!

Look at Emmitt waving at the kitty cat... isn't it precious?! :)

And that's all I've got for that Easter celebration... it was a very enjoyable evening.
Thanks Dad and Anita for a fun Easter Eve!

There's still more Easter to come!

The Easter Bunny

A few quick pictures of the Easter Bunny...

Emmitt was the Easter Bunny... :)

My sister and I made a quick trip to Paducah on Good Friday as we both needed something for Aunt Bertice's funeral.  I took my camera anticipating the Easter Bunny would be visiting the mall.  Sure enough he was there.  Unfortunately, they told me I couldn't use my camera unless I was going to pay them $17.  :(  I couldn't believe it.  Anyway, I got a few shots from afar, and Lawson visited with him; Emmitt was happy watching from the sidelines.  

Yes, Lawson has on Russ' magnetic name tag.  He found it in his briefcase before we left for the mall and insisted on wearing it.  Doesn't he look cute? :)

Such a big boy!

Easter Egg Hunt #1

It seems as though we've celebrated Easter for like a month. 

Not really, but we definitely celebrated for a full week!

It all began last Sunday as my mother hosted an egg hunt for the employees' families at the hospital where she works.  There were approximately fifty children in attendance, the weather was perfect, and the kids had a ball!  

This was officially Emmitt's first hunt, and you would have thought it was his hundredth.  He knew exactly what to do.   {I took like fifty pictures, so I "collaged" them to keep from boring you with this excited mama's photography... you can click on the collage for an up-close view, if you wish.} :)

-Emmitt's Egg Hunt-

-Lawson's Egg Hunt-

Lawson's age group struggled to find the "Golden Egg".  After all of the colored/decorative eggs were found, they had to go back and find the golden egg... With much dissappointment on his part, he didn't find the golden egg, which meant he didn't get to take home the child-size Corn Hole game.  Do not despair... the Easter Bunny came through with a golden egg and a surprise!

And lastly, here are their baskets full of eggs.

Lawson found 26 eggs.

Emmitt found 23 eggs.

They are at such a fun age.  I can't believe we are finally able to do things like this.  Although it was just an Easter Egg hunt, I was so proud of them as they were hunting.  :)  It was as if they were at the Olympics or something!  Ha!  I tend to be very competitive... I had to really work to keep from sharing that characteristic on Lawson as I prepared him for the hunt.  "It's just for fun, Lawson... this is not a race, and if you don't find the golden egg, it's ok."  That was hard for me.  I have lots to work on as they become more involved, don't I?  :)

It was a fun afternoon!  Good job, Mom... everyone seemed to have a hoppy time! :)

MORE EASTER TO COME!!!

She's in Heaven

Last Thursday afternoon, our family lost a very special lady.

My Aunt Bertice, who is my great aunt on my mother's side, fell last Thursday morning in her kitchen.  She sustained facial injuries and her body was unable to recover due to the blood loss.  

Her last fight on this earth was overcome with victory as she entered the pearly gates and is now walking the streets of gold.  Not only did she gain her angel wings as she entered Heaven, but she also rejoined her sweet husband, Uncle Jay... and as the preacher at her funeral said... "what a beautiful reunion that must have been."  

This tragic accident, along with her unexpected death, has made us so very sad, and it still seems unreal.  However, for the past twenty years she has lived on this earth waiting for the day she would once again walk hand-in-hand with her husband.  We know she is there with Uncle Jay, and we know that is what she wanted.  She is now whole, happy, and peaceful. 

The thought of them together makes my heart smile so big!

I've gone through my pictures and here are a few that I found... She was as lovely on the inside as she was on the outside.  And if only you could have heard her sweet voice.  

I will never forget her voice.

These two are from her birthday party this past August.  

She was 84 years old young... still going strong!

Isn't she lovely?

She will be missed.  Her absence has left a void for my mother's family.  I consider it a blessing that we have found comfort in the belief of everlasting life and knowing that she's in Heaven.

Aunt Bertice... 

 Thank you for loving us.  Thank you for your daily walk in the Lord.  You were a teacher for Him and lived a great life serving Him.

We are so proud to call you our's.

Until we meet again... know that you and Uncle Jay will always be in our hearts.

I love you, Aunt Bertice.

A Sneak Peek

I just realized that I haven't shared many general pictures of our new house, so here you go...

Russ' Office, like almost every other room in the house, has had lighting added or upgraded. {We still have lights that need to be upgraded, but for now, all are installed.}

A childhood friend, Benjamin, has been the brains behind the electrical additions.  He is the best and Russ couldn't have ever done it without him.  

All wood flooring in the house is being refinished as I type.

There you go... a few more pictures of our new house.  I have a kitchen/hearth room update, and more bathroom pictures coming soon!