Easter

I should have titled this post "Easter Week" as I have a lot to blog about from the week of Easter. I already blogged about his Easter Egg Party at school, so the following post will continue on.

Ethan performed in Bendy the Circus at school. His teachers did a great job and all the kids participated so well (even mine! No crying! Yay!). He was a strong man and a clown. He actually picked out his green wig too (or so he told me).

On Thursday, we went with his class to visit the nursing home just down the street from our house. The children sang songs and made lots of cards for the residents. It was very sad, but is definitely something I will take them to do again. You could tell that all those fresh faces brought so much joy to those people.

Saturday was our Easter Egg Hunt at church, but we decided to visit Ethan's friend, Maggie's church instead. I just felt like having a low key egg hunt and our church is HUGE! I absolutely love our church, don't get me wrong, but I really only wanted to go to one and I knew he would want to be with Caleb and Maggie. The kids had a ball!

On Sunday, we went to church and then to lunch with The Turners. While we were there, a very good friend of Chris' from high school called and wanted to stop by on his way through. It was so nice visiting with David and Katie. After they left, we found our Easter baskets and dyed Easter eggs. It was a nice relaxing time together with great weather. Thank you Jesus for your sacrifices for ME! It is after all, all about You.

As usual, I have posted pictures and videos in the web album.

School Easter Egg Hunt 2010

Another mom and I were in charge of this years Easter Egg Hunt at school. It was pretty wet out, so we decided to have it in the breezeway. The kids had so much fun. They were able to collect twenty eggs a piece, so I asked Ethan if he would share five of his with his sister. I said, "Ethan, you can get fifteen and Emerson can get five." He was so happy with this because he was able to get more than her! He said, "So, I get the most?" After his teacher told them all how many they could get, he walked by me and said, "I didn't forget, Mommy. Emerson gets five." Of course she could care less how many she got. She was just happy that she had her pink basket. More pictures in the album.

Seventy

Oops! I completely forgot to blog about my father-in-law's 70th birthday party. He mentioned that he would like to have a party, so we gave him one! It was fun planning and being able to talk to family and friends that we don't get to see often (even if they were unable to attend, it was nice to hear their voices!). As for everyone who was able to attend, we had a great time. It was nice to see so many people who love Glenn and Ella. I had numerous people tell me how honored they were to be invited because he is like a brother to them. He is a great man and I pray for many more years with them both! Having said that, he also overcame surgery (2 stents) this week and feels like a teenager! I am anxious for this new chapter in his life to begin. Here are a few photos and lots more in the album.

Great Wolf Lodge

My sister and nephews came to my mom's house this past week for Logan's Spring break. My mother decided to treat us all to Great Wolf Lodge. What an amazing place for children and adults alike. The boys and Emerson had a great time splashing around. Here are a few pictures along with some in the album.

Who do you love?

Tic Tac Toe

I was just cleaning out my memory card and found a few photos of dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. Ethan built a tic tac toe game at Lowe's a few weeks back and wanted to show Grandpa. Here are a few shots from our evening.

Christmas 2009

Okay, so I know it is almost February. Sorry. Our computer died over a month ago and it took us that long to realize that we needed a new one. I will do my best to remember what happened over the holidays.

On Christmas Eve, we went over to Chris' parents house to celebrate with all of his family. The kids all had a ball playing together. Unfortunately, I lost my memory card and was unable to take any pictures. My mother-in-law cooked a wonderful meal as usual and then we opened gifts. We tried to leave in time to get all of our own stuff ready and had to go in search of a memory card.

After returning home from every drugstore in Lumberton, we had to prepare for Santa's arrival. We put out the reindeer food (glitter and trail mix on the lawn for the reindeer to spot our house), cookies and milk for Santa and the celery for the reindeer. Since we did not have any carrots on hand, we decided that reindeer really like celery better anyway. We then performed my family tradition of opening one gift. It was always so exciting to open a gift on Christmas Eve for my sister and I even though we always knew that it was pajamas. This is the year of superheros, so that is what Ethan received and Emerson received pajamas complete with a tutu...which she hated, by the way.

Before going to bed, we read the kids the Christmas story. It is a tradition in Chris' family to read it before opening gifts on Christmas morning. I loved the whole idea of it, but always felt so bad for those kids having to wait to rip open those presents! Needless to say, we are changing it up a bit! We started a new tradition this year as well. I bought the book Elf on a Shelf which comes with a little elf. You name the elf and he "moves" each night to a new location in your house. Ethan named ours Jeffrey because for the past two years, he has wanted me to have a baby and name him Jeffrey. If it was a girl, you guessed it, Jeffrey too. The children are not allowed to touch him and he is there to report to Santa. When I asked Ethan what he wanted for Christmas, he informed me that he already told Jeffrey.

Christmas morning...it gets more and more fun for Chris and I each year. Ethan woke up first and came to wake us up. He whispered to Chris, "Daddy, Santa really came!" It was so sweet not only him saying that, but trying not to wake Emerson and I. Apparently, Jeffrey told Santa that Ethan wanted a scooter that made fire. That was by far his favorite gift and Emerson's was her Barbie Jeep.

My mom and RT came on Christmas night, so to the kids, it was Christmas all over again! She always goes above and beyond! All in all, it was a great Christmas! I will try to do better at updating from now on!