Easter Fun

OK, I'll apologize in advance for the picture overload, but we had SO many fun things going on this weekend and I, of course, had to catch them all on camera.

On Friday, Tay and I went to the park for a playdate with Hana, Brooke and Loralai (and Mommies).

Tay slides, and Loralai, well, just looks cute.

Tay and Hana lounge on the swinging bridge.
Brooke, Tay and Hana squeeze for a quick cheese.On Saturday morning, Taylor finally got to plant the flower that she potted at Azalea Fest last weekend. And, yes, she dressed herself.

Then, we headed out to a gymnastics birthday party. Taylor had a BLAST. Lots and lots of her friends were there, including Tyler, her boyfriend from school! Look how well they're listening to instructions.

Tay practiced headstands, and worked on the balance beam.













And she did very well on the obstacle course!

After the birthday party and a quick nap, we headed over to our friend's house for Easter egg painting, a hunt, and a very yummy dinner. The girls painted nicely, for about two minutes. They lost interest pretty quickly. But, with a swing set just a few yards away, what did we expect?
Tay painting, and Tay hunting.













On Sunday, we went to church. An absolutely amazing, touching service. It was my first Easter where the meaning of the day really hit home. Last year, I was saved, but I was still so new in my walk. (I'm sure I'll say the same thing next year). But, this time, I had a much deeper grasp on the sheer impact of what the day means for us as believers. The church was full, as expected. But there was a group of teenagers (probably about 16 years old) sitting in front of us that caught my attention. And, I have to tell you, that the simple display of their faith -- hands raised high, dancing energetically to the music -- brought me to tears immediately. I don't know for sure why it touched me like it did. I always love seeing people with tears in their eyes, or their hands raised high, or their eyes closed in prayer, or nodding thier head in understanding. It makes me so happy to see other people so deep in connection with the message, and so in love with our Savior. And, when I saw these teens so passionate about our God, it just filled my heart. I think, partly, I saw what I hope Taylor will be in a few years. If we raise her right. And, partly, I saw what I wish I would have experienced a few years ago. When I was 16. Either way, I couldn't stop the tears. And then there was an amazing song with excerpts from the past year's baptisms. Which brought many more tears. And that was before Mike even started preaching. It was an awesome awesome service. And I did my best at not hyperventilating. All tears of gratefulness for what my life has become because our Savior is risen. What an awesome day.

So, after a beautiful church service, we headed home for a yummy breakfast, and family time.
After Tay's nap, she discovered that the Easter bunny had made a visit.And he had dropped a few eggs out front. Each filled with candy. Too much candy. The hunt took far too long because our child wanted to eat the contents of each egg before she moved on to the next.













We then headed to our community park to meet a bunch of neighbors with kids Tay's age (so they could all run off thier sugar highs). At first, Tay was shy. I had to post this picture because I almost fell over when I saw her do this. The head tilt here is what I did when I was her age. I would tilt my head to the side when I was shy. I did it so much and for so long, the doctor was concerned that I had a muscular problem in my neck. Thankfully, Tay stopped this after just a few minutes...
...because she realized that there was another Easter egg hunt in store. Ay yi yi.And then we played off the sugar, again.














I hope that you all had a wonderful, beautiful Easter. His resurrection is proof that He LOVES us. He promises to be with us ALWAYS, even when we think we don't need Him. Because those are often the times we need Him the most (hello, ME, for the first 28 years of my life). And now it is so clear to me that the Lord has always been there. He will always be there. He died for us! He washed our sins, and gave us eternal life in Him. Eternal life. Beautiful life with HIM, with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Eternal life. How absolutely amazing is that? No guilt, just forgiveness. All of that for US. No matter how many times I write that or think that, it still amazes me. He loves us more than we can fathom. To send His son to die for us? That's love. A love like no other. He has blessed me and my family greatly and I am so grateful for His saving grace last February! This Easter, it felt SO good to celebrate Him, to praise Him, and to be reminded of the commitment that He has to His children. May that feeling of love, joy, hope and peace fill our hearts forever! AMEN!