Happy Easter!!!

The last couple of weeks have been filled with many different activities leading up to today...Easter Sunday.  Of course there have been the Easter parties, Easter baskets, Coloring Easter Eggs and many Easter Egg Hunts.  However, the most memorable for me was on Friday when we attended Daybreak's "Good Friday Experience.  This is the first year that we took Alexia through the experience and it was a very meaningful time of being able to help her understand more deeply the sacrifice that Jesus made for us (and more specifically, for her,) on the cross.  There were different stations that we went through that explained what happened to Jesus and then at the last station we were able to take communion together and say a prayer of thanks to Jesus for dying for us so that we can be free!  Megan was still a little young to go through it, but it made a huge impact on Alexia.
Yesterday, as we were driving around in the car, a worship song came on that Alexia has heard hundreds of times, but she kept wanting me to play it over and over again.  The song is called, Amazing Love...here are some of the lyrics...

I'm forgiven because You were forsaken

I'm accepted -- You were condemned

I'm alive and well -- Your spirit is within me

Because You died and rose again.

Amazing Love...how can it be?

That You, my King, would die for me?

Amazing Love...I know it's true...

It's my joy to honor You...in all I do....I honor You!

When I took a minute to stop and realize myself what song it was and listened to the lyrics...I asked Alexia why she liked this song so much.  She responded, "Because it talks about how much Jesus loves me...I can't believe He died for me...He must love me a lot!!!"  I assured her that Jesus loves her more than she could ever imagine!!  It was a very special moment.  I am sure there will be many great conversations to come as both girls begin to personalize their faith in Jesus as their Savior and the Leader of their Life.

As I mentioned earlier, we have been busy with the tradtional Easter activities as well.  Here are a few snapshots from various Easter Egg Hunts...you'd think hunting eggs would get old...but not for these two girls!

An outdoor Easter Egg on Friday at our house...

 

 

An indoor Easter Egg Hunt at our house with Grandma & Grandpa and Jillian...

An Easter Day Egg Hunt at Scott & Karen's house....

 

 

Needless to say, none of these eggs were empty and we therefore have enough candy to last us through Halloween!  I am not kidding, here!

The girls also enjoyed coloring eggs this year...

Oh, and I can't possibly forget Saturday morning when they decided they were going to make Easter Bunny Ears and paint each other's faces...simply priceless!

Today we celebrated Easter Sunday with digging into Easter baskets...



After church, we were invited to join Scott and Karen and some of their family and friends for Easter dinner on Scott and Karen's farm.  Although the forcast was calling for showers and storms today, we were blessed with a beautiful day and we had a great time! 

When we were leaving, the girls asked when we can go back and spend some time there again.  We are so blessed with such good friends...hopefully we can spend some more time there this summer! 

Thanks Scott and Karen for a great time today!

Squeezing in a few special moments...

When I took on my extra job almost 2 months ago now...my biggest concern what the impact that so many crazy hours would have on our family time and my one-on-one time with the kids...but somehow, in the midst of a ridiculously crazy schedule, God has helped me prioritize and I have managed to squeeze in some special times :)
One of those special times came last week when I joined Alexia's class on a field trip to the bowling alley! 

Here is the group of kids who were on my bowling team:

The kids did great and had a ton of fun!  It was a first bowling experience for many of them.  So, each group of kids received a "Safety Lesson" from the bowling alley manager...

Once everyone knew and committed to the "rules for safety"...they were ready to bowl :)

Alexia LOVES bowling and had a great time!  She was also a great encourager to her friends as they were getting the hang of it.  The kids did great (of course, the bumpers did have a little bit of an impact on their overall score!)

It was fun to watch Alexia interact with all of the girls outside of the classroom setting...it amazes me the friendships that have developed between these girls in just a few short months! 

Alexia and her posse!

And here is Mrs. Deiter with her whole crew...she has been a wonderful teacher for Alexia's first year of school...I am very thankful for her.  She's extremely kind-hearted, but very consistent in her expectations and follow-through with the kids. 





Then, after spending some time with Alexia and her classmates, it was time to join Megan and her class for their Easter Party this week!  I didn't tell her I was coming ahead of time and she was thrilled to see me.  I actually snuck into the room when she wasn't looking and sat down in a grouping of chairs with the other parents.  She was asking this one mom to take her picture (it was Ms. Krystal who is actually the mom of a family in our small group whom Megan knows very well)...anyway, right after she asked that, I spoke up and said, "I'll take your picture Megs!"  She turned and looked at me and the look on her face was PRICELESS!  She said, "Mommy...what are you doing here???"  Then she started yelling, "Yea, my mommy's here...Yea, my mommy's here!!"  I guess she was a little excited :)

Here she is when I first got her attention that I was there...

It was really neat to watch Megan interact with her friends.  Last year, she would have rarely chosen to be in a room full of kids, but she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying all of her new friends.  Every time I turned around, she was laughing and smiling...

Or tickling someone...

Or tackling someone...

Wait...that's the same boy -- uh oh!

Or hugging someone...

Or posing for a snapshot with a good friend!

After watching how much she enjoyed being with her friends, I now understand why she truly wants to invite every one of them to her birthday party!  I guess I'll be reserving a local park for her party :)

Her Easter Party was a lot of fun with good food and treats, fun games...

and of course...a huge Easter Egg Hunt!

I had a great time with Megan at her Easter Party!  I know it meant a lot to her that I was there, because I heard her telling Alexia all about it later that day. 

I'm sure the day will come when she won't be so excited to see me show up at her school, but for now...I'll enjoy every moment of spending this time with her!

Loving Her New Bike!!!

As promised, after school yesterday, we headed to Toys R Us to get Alexia her new bike.  Megan got a new tricycle , too, but her excitement about that didn't last much past the parking lot, I'm afriad.

Alexia, however, immediately had me take off the training wheels when we got home and to the street we went.  She learned how to ride w/o the training wheels on a 12 inch bike and her new one is 16 inches, so it took a few minutes to get use to it, but again, she was determined and after another 2 hours of bike riding, she was doing great.

Here she is...riding her new bike...in her glory!!

The biggest thing she was trying to master yesterday was making turns on her bike and being able to start each time completely on her own. 

She was loving it....and, although she took a break on her bike for a quick snack and later some dinner, she was pretty much on her bike until we made her come in to get ready for bed.

I think Daddy is going to have to get the dust wiped off and some air in the tires of his bike because this girl is ready to ride!!

Megan's bike riding was a bit short lived.  I did manage to get a few snapshots of her...

However, most of Megan's time outside is spent on the swings, the slide, golfing (Papa, you would be impressed with her swing!) and simply entertaining us...I'll try to get a few pics of her favorite activities to share, but in the meantime, I have to share this one from yesterday...

Megan has the ability to entertain and make me laugh like no other...I love her a ton!!

Playing outside the last couple of days with the girls makes me very excited for some spring temps and time outdoors!!  It was a long winter and we are ready to come out of hibernation :)