Easter

Easter is probably my favorite holiday... I dont even like the word holiday to describe Easter because "holiday" doesnt do it justice.

LOVE!

Easter is about freedom.
Easter is about Jesus being found guilty of my sin.
Easter is about the sin of the entire world being placed on HIM.
Easter is about the same sin that led to Jesus' death not being strong enough to keep him in the grave. 
Easter is about Jesus beating death... beating sin.
Easter is about being connected to a Sovereign God who planned Easter before the beginning of time.
Easter is my pardon.

We had a busy few days preparing for Easter.  Chad and I were asked by some of his work friends to go to the Passion Concert in Georgia on Good Friday.  We went back in 2012 and had a nice time so decided to do it again.  The actual "concert" was average... great song selection, just really loud (I sound like an old lady).  Louise Giglio, who we have really enjoyed in the past, left us a little disappointed in his Easter message.  However, it was nice to get away for a night.  Hub and Patsy kept the boys and took them to the movies and kept them quite entertained... thank you!

Cruising down the highway.

The highlight of the trip was eating at The Dwarf House which had an all you can eat CFA buffet.... I chose to go for chicken and waffles... I mean, come on, look at the CFA logo on the waffle.  It was so good!

Nolan was able to come down (with Riggs) to celebrate as well.  (Zach and his crew were with Anna's family).  It is always good to see Uncle and Riggsy.  We dyed some eggs and then had an egg hunt with prizes in eggs and prized eggs!

My family.  Moses nailed this picture!  Love this dog and these people!

My men

Dying the eggs.

Chad's mom leads the choir at their church and they had an Easter cantata and asked if we could come.  The church did a great job and I know Jesus was in our midst.  We then had Easter lunch at the Building and hid Easter eggs with some prized eggs.

The praise team

PapaHub was an angel for the performance!  Had to record this!

Grandma with her grandbabies

The cousin picture

This picture cracks me up and I hope my sister in law doesnt hate me for posting it!  So awkward! 

One year ago today, we were celebrating their wedding.  Johnny and his sweet wife, Rebecca 1 year and going strong

The hunt is on.

Julie and Joey girl on the egg hunt.

It was a wonderful weekend full of family and Jesus.  Thanks for my parents and Chad's parents for loving on my kids and us.

He is Risen Indeed!  

You Know You are a Mom of Boys When... Volume 4

1-... This is what your most of your Friday/ Saturdays consist of.... football (or sports) (in this case, Clemson Spring game)

2- ... Conversation between me, Ashton, and Shepherd
Ashton- "Bennett, Shepherd said you were the worst at Minecraft."
Me- "Ashton, dont say that even if Shepherd told you that.  That is how rumors and gossip and mean words get spread.  You have the choose to stop it so it doesnt hurt someone's feelings.  Don't use your tongue as a weapon."
Shepherd- "Eww mom.  That's just gross."

3- ... During March Madness, your table looks like this.

8 brackets

The winning bracket.... Shepherd

Our family (plus our upstairs neighbors AKA, my parents) all filled out a basketball bracket.  The winner gets to pick his/ her movie. The losers have to pay for their own ticket and pitch in and pay for the winner's ticket and concession.
Welp, ol' Shepherd won... and of course, he wants to see Boss Baby.  Multiple participants in the bracket game have tried to back out of going to this movie but I told if I have to sit through it, so do you.  We watched it Tuesday night and it was... eh, pretty stupid.  Even Shep said he thought it would be funnier.  I took a picture but I know mom will not approve of the picture so I will refrain from posting it (I did put it on Instagram- haha. Mom, you will not see it on there.) :)

4- You make a deal with your 4 year old that if he will give up sucking/ sleeping with his blanket that you will buy him two stuffed Paw Patrol characters.  Marshall and Zuma should arrive at our house in a couple days and Bennett has been totally blanket free with 3 days now.  I had started rolling his blanket into a little roll so he couldnt cram as much in his mouth.  I used electrical tape to keep it tightly rolled... the little snot still figured out a way to suck a fair amount of it and because it was rolled, the moisture was more condensed and created a nasty little rash on his  mouth.  I told him that was it and we (he) agreed that a hurting mouth was not worth sucking on blankie (plus getting two Paw Patrols was a pretty good deal.)  I am very proud of him but must admit that I will kind of miss that ol' rag.

Here are some pics of good ol' blankie over the years... and they way Bennett loved it.  It really feels like we are saying good bye to a old friend

Blankets are good for carrides (and car naps)

Blankies are good for naps.

Balnkets are good for toting around Carowinds

Blankets are good for sucking in the middle of the floor.
This wasnt the true blankie but it was all he could find at the time.

Blankets are good for props in a impromptu photo shoots... Notice the progression of blanket

He realizes he is sitting on it.

Tries to get it out from under himself.

Gives up and just leans over to love it. How did my baby grow so fast!!!

5-  When the Easter baskets turn into Adidas gym sacks, Pokemon yak (have I  mentioned how much I despise Pokemon), super hero stuff, Adidas shoes/ shorts/ soccer socks, sunglasses, Wii remotes, and of course some candy.  I look at these bags/ baskets this year and see little boys growing up.

The loot

All packaged up! 

6- This posting was not as funny as many "You Know" posts, however this one is a good one to end on... Chad, the boys, and Chad's parents took the boys to Texas Roadhouse to eat lunch.  While waiting on a table, some random stranger walked by and Bennett gave him a moussie in the housie.  In case you dont know what a moussie in the housie is- well, you take your pointer finger and give a quick poke to the butt area (I really dont want to type butthole, but essentially, that is what you do.)
Anyway, I wasnt even there and I was humiliated.  We are hoping that Bennett thought it was someone in our family (that would make it a little better I suppose.)
He also tapped the butt of a little girl who is a family friend (she is Ashton's age, so 9).  She had on these little dance shorts and he just walked by and gave her heiney a little tap.  She turned around and said, "what are you doing?"  I saw it happen and immediately told him not to do that and he needed to keep his hands to himself (the little girl thought it was funny and Bennett now understands that he cant do that).  Glad he learned that lesson before 4K.  Yikes!

There you have it... a small installment of "You Know You are a Mom to Boys When..."

Easter post and pics are up next...

Pre- Easter Update

One time...one time is all I blogged in March.  Add that to the fact that I havent charged my camera in a over a month and have taken just a handful of pics on my phone and I feel quite guilty

A lot has been going on in Apartment B (my parents basement).  This is going to be one of those posts where I try to quickly record/ catch you up on our happenings this past month... so hold on!

First, can I say how much I appreciate a week off now that I am working again?  Seriously.  Easter Break makes me so happy!

Second, we are officially home-less as we closed on our Clover house yesterday.  We feel so fortunate that it sold so quickly (6 days on the market before we went under contract) and that we got so close to our asking price.  Just another reminder of how God's fingerprints or should I say handprints are all over this move.

Farewell Clover house! 

Third, we had to say good bye to some dear friends who are moving away just as we are coming back.  Olivia and her crew of boys move today and though I am sad to see them go; I know the Lord has orchestrated this opportunity for them and am therefore, excited!  A friendship that has lasted over a decade will continue even though distance keeps getting in the way.

A cropping of boys.

At CFA getting dinner

Had to zoom in on this two crazy boys... haha.

Forth, Chad, the boys, and I went to Clemson's spring game.  We had never been to Clemson with Chad in tow.   How horrible is that?  We normally do the Clemson scene when Chad is busy with his own football season.

Go Tigers!

Fifth, work is going well.  This job was seriously handcrafted for me and I am really enjoying it though I do miss the ease of staying at home.... notice I did not say easiness of staying at home.  But, the pace is slower as a stay at home mom.  I have yet to decorate my office as they may move me to the guidance wing next year.  But, I feel like I am getting into the swing of it again.

Sixth, can I say again how amazingly awesome my parents are!!!   They have made this transition seamless.  I dont know how we would have done it without them.  GrandmaDean has also come through by letting us crash on her while we move and allowing Chad to live with her yet again while he finishes up the school year in Clover.

Bennett and Esther. 

Just a sweet pics at GrandmaDean's house... Shelby and Riggs are totally smitten with one another.

Seventh, since we sold our house, we can now begin the process of looking for a new one.  I want to be excited about it, but buying a house is stressful.

Eight, Bennett was screened for speech and it looks like an evaluation is next.  I think he does need a little bit of intervention as he is hard to understand.  Bennett had a fever for a few days a couple weeks ago and the only one who caught it was his caretaker... Mantis.  Sorry dad!

Ninth, the boys enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt with Holly Springs Baptist (Chad's parents church.)  They got a lot of really good candy and had a blast!  Thanks Aunt Joan and Julie.  We also had an answer to prayer in that pne of Julie's friend, acknowledged his need for a Savior.  Many, many people have been praying for the Lord to open his eyes and we are so very thankful that He has.

I know I have left out sooo much but will post more over this week... I have a small "You Know You are a Mom of Boys" post almost done... I will try to post it in a couple days.

Until then, enjoy your families as you reflect on the significance of this week.