Easter

My parents came to spend Easter with us! I don't think dad has ever been anywhere but "home" for Easter. We had a nice weekend. On Saturday mom and I took NJ to an egg hunt. Grace chose to run errands with her daddy and Poppa. Her answer when I asked if she wanted to go to another egg hunt..."NOT ANOTHER ONE!!!" She marches to the beat of a different drummer, one I think I marched to at that age, come to think of it. ;-) It made me happy that mom and I had some time alone while Noah napped in the van. Then, we focused on him during one of his first egg hunts and we enjoyed that too. :) After the egg hunt and errands, we all came home for yet another tornado warning. I am so glad to report that none have touched down in Hopkins County. It rained all afternoon and all night last night...we are supposed to get 8" by Wednesday.

Today is Easter Sunday. I set the alarm to go off a little earlier than usual because I needed to get a jumpstart on the day. I had deviled eggs to fix and the kids to get ready. Noah John was easy...suit pants, vest, tie, shirt and a quick brush of his hair. Grace was not so easy. It took me about 30 minutes to fix her hair. It turned out so pretty. When she was in cousin Chelsea's wedding, she was given a tiara to wear. I wanted her to don it again today. It took 4 or 5 painful attempts to get it in place. I told her, "beauty isn't easy." Then I quickly corrected myself with, "You are beautiful with or without a tiara..." I had to use Shawn to distract her as I curled her caramel brown hair. He has had a super bad eye infection for 6 days and didn't really feel up to it, but he obligingly squatted in front of her and talked to her about all the things that came to mind while I curled away. If you are not gathering it, curling hair is an event in and of itself. Not always a happy event but one my daughter is learning to tolerate for the desired outcome of curly locks. I think she has perserverence in her veins. If it surprises you that I would that out here, you obviously have never curled her hair yourself. It requires patience from both of us!

After getting everybody ready, we were running about 10 minutes late for service at our church (which starts at 10:15) so we decided to go to Nebo Baptist, where Shawn grew up and where his parents still attend. It was just wonderful to be in church with my parents on Easter Sunday (Shawn's parents had nursery duty). I thanked them for coming to be with us, as I know how hard it is to want to be in two places at once on the holidays. After the cantata (which was so good) we came home to change clothes and headed to Shawn's parents for a delicious good ole Southern lunch. The kids hunted eggs inside after getting their Easter baskets from Mamaw and Papaw. Grace shrieked and jumped when she saw that she got Rapunzel's tower and Rapunzel, Flynn, & his horse. Tangled is THE movie of the year for little girls this year. Noah John got a Little People Barn with a horse, duck, farmer, and red tractor. He also got a cute duck that laughs when tickled. His favorite, though is a yellow school bus that he calls his "cool bus." Mamaw and Papaw are great gift-givers. They are just generous in general, and I love that about them. Which reminds me, the other day, I asked Grace if she knew the true meaning of Easter. This year I let go a little bit and let the kids have their taken with the infamous white rabbit. I wanted to make sure I hadn't foiled the real meaning of Easter. I am happy to say Grace answered quickly that we celebrate Easter because Jesus rose from the dead. I'm not sure if I have relaxed my standards or just simply relaxed but this year, the rabbit and the little basket he left didn't bother me as much. Here is a picture of the two who have my heart, taken on Easter morning.

And another:

After taking very long naps during the afternoon (all 4 of us) we jumped into Shawn's jeep and splashed down to the farm. We fed the catfish and sloshed through big puddles. It was fun. A good way to spend Easter: with each other just going with what we had been handed (a mega-wet, dreary weekend). It was wonderful and I wouldn't change it.

4/27 UPDATE
This past week has been even more rain-filled (and stormy). Hopkins County did have a tornado afterall, a couple days after I started the post. Terms that come to mind from this past week are: flood, tornadoes, over-flowing, full, to the brim, gushing water, more rain, water...you get the point.... Thankfully no one was injured in Hopkins County and here in Nebo, although it threatened, the storms were moderate. Unfortunately, so far the death toll in the deeper south is at 250. This is such a sad time for many people. I lift up those people and pray that they will find peace and restoration. The mile-wide tornado that hit caused a lot of devastation. Lives lost. Homes gone. Towns flattened. The grief that many are enduring must be overwhelming right now. For many, their lives are forever changed. Prayers going up and I'm believing that from this, blessings will come down. Please agree with me in prayer about this right now. Late one afternoon, the storm was approaching Nebo so the kids and I went into the closet. Grace took the time to arrange blankets and pillows in the floor, plus 1 toy each for her and Noah John. Very calmly, I informed the children that I would be putting helmets on their heads in case of a tornado. I thought I should record that somewhere, in case somewhere down the line, I might look back and laugh. :) Ha. Shawn came home in the middle of it all and let's just say he wasn't sure what to think about the kids sitting in the closet floor with their blankies and bike helmets on. lol

On another note, after about a week, the sun came out...the rain halted....and we had a playdate this morning. The Duncan girls came over (3 and 1). It seemed the ideal time for a playdate as it is the first time in a week that the sun has been shining all day! They stayed through lunch. It was so very nice to have them over. My heart "runneth over" with gratitude that we have friends like them. Noah John and Greta are still too little to play unsupervised but of course, they are growing like weeds and this time will pass before our eyes just as fast as it did with Grace and Emma.

Thank you God for today, tomorrow things will change
Thank you God for today, although my house's rearranged
Thank you God for the toys, my floor is covered up
Thank you God for the toys, like that big stuffed animal pup
Thank you God for food and drink, juice's splattered on my floor
Thank you God for food and drink, may we never want for more
Thank you God for our home, it's a cozy place
Thank you God for our home, where my 1 and 4 yr old race
Thank you God for all the things you bless us with each day
Hugs, smiles, and songs...what else can I say?

Thank you God.