Spring has sprung! (AKA Easter 09)

Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I finally have a moment to post about Easter. The bad news: somehow (I know, I know) there are no pictures of the children/family on Easter day. Many apologies to all the grandparents who have been waiting for those shots. I think I must've gotten too busy with dinner prep to think of taking pictures with my camera. I know there were photos taken....maybe by other relatives. Anyway, I do have *some* pictures. Just not of the typical "Sunday dress" ones. And I suppose it's just as well, sense this year the kids wore absolutely nothing new. I could blog a whole lot on how for many people the clothes are more important than the real reason for celebrating, but I will save it. Be thankful!

The above shot was taken quite a few weeks ago when the very first signs of spring showed up. The daffodils have been so pretty and of course, my Dori is the most beautiful thing in this picture. :)

LOL...this is a self-taken photo of Dori at Micah's second baseball game. She loves to shoot and also support her brothers ball efforts.

This is Micah at bat. Wow....baseball is really a big deal around here. I have a love/hate relationship with baseball. See, it's sort of like a lifestyle. You are at the beck and call of the coaches...they have your cell number, email, home phone. They call at any hour. They tell you practice has been called. They tell you practice is cancelled. They expect you to be there on time every time. Do I really need to elaborate on how I struggle with this? Last year was our first experience with baseball. Jason has been adamant that the boys play. And yes, they do absolutely LOVE playing and they are both quite good (this is James' first year). I guess it is weird to me since going to baseball games was not part of my childhood. ***side note: it is absolutely hilarious to watch James' 3 year old tball team in action. Oh wow....the ball is hit and like a pack of puppies, they all swarm together to chase it--falling and dirtying up their uniforms along the way. James finds me in the stands every 10 minute or so of his game and gives me a wave, thumbs up, and a smile. My heart melts.

I think Dori took this picture. Judson is lovin' on me and I him. He's so affectionate...just like James. He is talking about everything these days. His vocabulary consists of:

flowah---flower

reh-dee---ready....and he is usually preparing to jump in your arms while saying this

I wah pay---I want to play....usually said when he is being put down for a nap

I wah dat---I want that

I wah cup---I want cup

Dad-deeeee--Daddy

buh-dee--um....booty.

Well, this *was* actually at our Easter dinner, but after Judson had completely destroyed his outfit from church. Judder loves Aunt Amanda

Nanny, Jason, and Me

This is James' Easter basket

This is Dori's Easter Basket. She sewed on the "handle" and really wanted to use this for her basket. This year I included a bag of wildflower seeds for the children to plant. Anything to cut back on the amount of candy that is in the basket!

Micah's Easter basket.

Judson's Easter basket.

This year we were free of childhood illness! It was wonderful and also strange for us to celebrate Easter with Jason's family. We haven't been able to do that for almost 8 years, so it was really neat. I had to wake up SOOOOOO early and go to our church for the early service. I was impressed that Jason managed to dress all the children *and* get them there on time. Judson and James were without socks, lol, but they were clothed properly.

After church, we came back to the house and family began arriving around 1:45 for our 2pm eating time. We had a delicious meal and things were very relaxed, despite the ominous thunder clouds that were rolling in. We hid eggs in the house, and while I was explaining to the children about hunting eggs, cousins Mason and Emmy sneaked off and racked up! HAHAHA. James threw a fit about the eggs, mainly because he didn't understand that the eggs actually had candy in them. Whew, that was an interesting situation! The kids had fun, though, and shortly after the egg hunt and dessert, everyone parted ways and we relaxed and did pretty much nothing the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was great!

I'm sorry again for the lack of prettied up photos. I promise to do better next time. Hope you'll all forgive!