Pigtails preview:

Have to run off to work outside the home right now. Thought I'd give you a preview of what's to come on my next post:

Easter Celebrations 2010

This was an especially enjoyable Easter. We spent Saturday morning at the Vicksburg Church for the children's activities. To say the kids were excited would be an understatement! There was a craft, followed by an egg hunt (with real, hard-boiled eggs), a snack, then the Resurrection story told through a carton of eggs. If you've never seen the story told this way, you should. Its GREAT for little/young kids! Each egg has an object that ties into the story from Palm Sunday through Easter morning. Gramma and Aunt Jennifer did a great job organizing an running the morning! The morning was wrapped up by practicing the bells for Sunday morning service. Now that is a hoot! But the kids all do a great job and it sounds great, too! Here's some shots from Saturday:

Miss Phia doing her "princess smile"...don't ask. Its something she's just started doing.

Miss Savannah on a mission to find some eggs:

Brayden after he accidentally crunched an egg with his boot!

Gramma sharing the Resurrection Story through the eggs:

The group practicing bells for Sunday morning:

Now onto Sunday morning. Firstly, some loud "thank yous" to Granny, Pap, Tia, and my nieces for finding/purchasing the kids outfits for this year. They COULD NOT wait to wear them to church! They really looked adorable...as always in my opinion =)

Anyways, Easter Sunday always seems to be exhausting, but worth it! Daryl was up extra early for the sunrise service. He had to play the guitar. That's a whole other story in and of itself that I won't get into! We agreed I would stay home with the kids. Waking four little ones at 5:30am would not be fun for anyone involved...especially those who'd have to be around us for the next few hours. Kudos to all of those who took their little ones. I've done it before and I'll do it again, but not this year. We went to his Dad's church for service. Daryl was playing the trumpet during offertory, Mama was in visiting, and the kiddos were to play the bells and sing. GOOD TIMES!

Daryl did an amazing jod on the trumpet. Seriously, it gave me chills. The girls were so excited to be singing and playing the bells. Brayden wanted none of it...so he sat next to Mama for the duration. On a funny note, the girls were in the front ringing their little hearts out. Savannah was so thrilled that she forgot to watch for her colors and instead rang the living daylights out of her bells for the duration of the song! In the process, she clocked Phia in the side of her head with one of the bells. Phia starts wailing, Savannah is clueless and just keeps ringing the bells like a Salvation Army volunteer at Christmas! The pics below I snapped (thankfully) before the whack.

We managed to get some pictures at the end of church. I'm thankful for that because I'm usually the one behind the camera, so family shots are few and far between! We all ended up at our house for Easter dinner and enjoyed an afternoon with our entire family, Mama Yount, Krystal's mom, Carol, and Krystal's brother Tom, his wife, Jenny, and their four kids. In total we had 29 people--17 of them under 11 years of age. It really was a GREAT time!!

Phia waiting for her color, while Savannah shakes away:

Our four blessings:

Take two:

Take three:

Take four. By this time Brayden was saying, "I'm going to drop her, Mom!":

Sweet Sophia:

Handsome Brayden:

Sweet Savannah:

Our little family:

Blessings to you! He is risen! Yes, He is risen indeed!!

6 months

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Celebrating 6 months tonight after dinner!

Our family celebrating Ava!

Ava is 6 months today. The time is FLYING. The kids love birthdays in a HUGE way--so we celebrated with a DQ cake! Brayden had his "6" candle from his birthday and plopped it on the cake so we could sing. What a fun little memory. We also gave her a taste of the mashed potatoes at dinnertime.  She wasn;t impressed, but her brother and sisters sure thought it was funny! Ava celebrated by popping her first tooth through the gumline today. UGH. I don't want her growing anymore!! We're so thankful for healthy and mostly happy kiddos!

Good Friday?

Good Friday.

Its an oxymoron.

I think about this every time Easter comes around. Why in the world would someone ever call this day good? A day in which Jesus, the Only Son of God, hung on that tree for hours and eventually died while suffering the sins of the world--my sins. Why do we call any part of that good?

While I know the historical and theological explaination/importance of it, I also know my own personal explaination of why one would call it good.

For the exact same reasons that it was so bad.

It had to happen for me and you to have the privilege of coming to the foot of God's Throne. It had to happen to fulfill prophesy. It had to happen because God loves us that much! That alone leaves my head spinning.

 Especially now that I am a parent.

I would do anything for my children.  And I would do anything to insure their safety and security. I now know God's heart for His children on a whole new level. Thinking on the fact that He gave His Only Son to atone for the sins of all people leaves me in tears and on my knees in both humbleness and awe. I can understand His heartbreak at the sight of Jesus hanging on that cross--bleeding, dying, beaten beyond recognition, being mocked and spat upon. And I am humbled all over again because I think about the fact that I would not be able to do that with any of my kids. The anger and devastation I would feel would overwhelm me. I know it because I feel it just thinking about it! And yet God knew it had to be done and Jesus chose to allow it to happen...all because of me, and you, and every single person whom has ever lived or will live on Earth. A people who continually turn away, do their own thing, mock God and His infinite wisdom. A people that despite all of this, God wants not even one to suffer an eternity apart from Him.

Good Friday? Yes! Its a humbling reminder that I will never be good or better and definately not best. Merely forgiven because of the blood shed on that Friday.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)