Easter 2013

This year for Easter we were so excited that we got to host in our new house! It is so fun to finally be able to have the space to have everyone over and not be on top of each other. 

We really want to get to know the people in our neighborhood and have special community with them. I did not grow up on a street with kids and while I did not suffer, I am SO excited that Lyla will have that growing up. We have neighbors across the street that have three kids and Lyla LOVES them (as do we!). They are he sweetest family and have welcomed us so well. I know that they do not have family in Georgia, so I thought it would be so fun to celebrate Easter with them. I was so exited for Lyla to have other kids to Easter Egg Hunt with.

Sarah was able to come home as well, which is ALWAYS super exciting. My parents, grandmother and my Unlce Fred also joined us. Allison and Dan were supposed to join as well, but they got caught up on their side of town. We missed them! 

We decided to do an early lunch and egg hunt before nap time hit and also the weather was really yucky. We were hoping to even get an egg hunt in with all the rain. 

Since we were doing lunch so early, we decided to go to Saturday night service. I love being lead back to the cross and really thinking about what the Lord did for us. I cannot imagine giving my only daughter for a world that constantly sins against me but He loved us that much!! I am guilty of the fact that I love the Christmas season so much more, but really Easter is the reason that I have the hope that I will go to Heaven. In my walk this Spring/Summer (which I am sure I will blog more about) I am really learning to continually be at the foot of the Cross. I desire the gospel to be present in my life, even though I fail miserably all. the. time. I am so thankful for Grace and the fact that Christ died for me anyway. I am thankful that He is the one standing in my place. My prayer is that Lyla would continually see the gospel and that her heart would love the one who created her more than anything!

The rain held off Easter morning and we were able to get our egg hunt in. It was so fun being able to do it with Reed, Rosie and Vi. Lyla loves being around them so much and I hope over the years they will form a really tight bond.

The Thursby Family. Our across the street neighbors. So thankful for them!

Getting ready for the hunt.

Rosie and Lyla. All smiles!

Time to find the eggs!!

Lyla was much better prepared this time since we had already had our  Dunwoody Easter Egg Hunt.

Of course Rosie knew what she was doing!

Checking out her basket.

What's in there?

Are there any more??

Yes there are!

Reed, the master egg hunter. And he is so great to put up with all these girls!

Found another one!

Vi did not do much hunting, she was more of the supervisor.

Sweet Rosie.

My mom, Sarah and my dad.

Three older kids.

All of the kids.

My sweet Easter bunny.

So cute.

Enough pictures!!

My sweet little family.

The family.

With Uncle Fred.

Time to eat!! Always have to have a "kid" table.

After all the excitement from the day, we found Reed fast asleep on the floor, in Lyla's tent.  He wore himself out. 

We also found out that the Thursby's monitor reaches to our house, so they were able to put Vi down for her nap at their house and the fun was able to continue! And don't worry, we are keeping that in mind for future get togethers as well :)

I know a lot of people do the Easter basket filled with lots of things on Easter morning. We were out of town last year visiting Sarah in Fort Worth, so Lyla did not get one then and I did not do one this year either. I am still not sure how I feel about them. She did get one for her first Easter, so its not like I have never done one. I just am not sure I want that to be the focus on Easter. Yes the egg hunt is fun and that gives her something to put in her Easter basket, but I do not know. I want her to have fun, enjoy the holidays and look forward to them. I just for some reason feel like Easter is such a sacred holiday. I want her to be excited about it because it is the reason she has eternal life. But don't get me wrong, I also want her to enjoy these parts of childhood too.  I will have to see how I feel about it next year. The girl is definitely not going without for sure. I mean both grandmothers gave her special Easter treats. So for now that is good with me. 

It was such a great Easter weekend spent with family and friends and thinking about what the Lord has done for us.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt 2013

Last year (2012) my Dunwoody friends and I met up at the library for their annual Easter Egg hunt. It was so much fun having all the kids together!

 This year the library did not hold their egg hunt, but we decided we had so much fun last year, we would hold our own! There is a little playground/park right next door to our house, so I thought that would be the perfect location! Private, a nice area for the kids to run around and play, and easy! There are picnic tables there as well so it was easy to just spread our snacks out and the kids could grab something to eat and play.

We met after nap-time so that everyone would be refreshed and hopefully happy!

I love how "true" traditions just naturally happen! I know that this will be one that we continue to do. It is so much fun watching all the kids grow up together. Most of these girls have had their second babies, so there were almost TWICE the amount of kids as last year. So FUN!

We all brought different snacks and each mom brought a dozen eggs for their kids. Then, while the kids were playing, we hid the eggs around the park. It is so neat to see how much they have grown. They all knew what to do this year! Lyla did need a little bit of prompting, but sweet Hannah McKelvey helped Lyla figure it out. 

Once the craziness of the egg hunt was over, of course all the kids had to find out what was in those eggs. Boy did they go to town on their treats. As well as the snacks. It is funny, the kids in this group can eat!!

Some pre-party pictures!

Can we say GROWN-UP??!

Happy Girl!

Sweet Matthew.

Katherine.

Hannah Vaccaro.

Sweet girl! And can I mention L.O.V.E.S the swing. This girl is easily pleased!

Will. Will and Matt are ALL boy! Will was the only boy for awhile.

Happy boy!

Lyla Gray.

Baby Jack. He belongs with Katherine.

Baby Emma. She belongs with Hannah Vaccaro.

Baby feet.

Somehow I missed a picture of sweet Kyle. He belongs to Hannah McKelvey.

Time for the egg hunt!!

Looking hard!

Found one!

Watching how Hannah does it.

And another!

Ready to check out what is inside!

Yum Yum!

Anne.

Snack time!

Hannah McKelvey.

She has the sweetest heart and is totally the mother in the group!

Slide!

Sweet friends.

Last year we took a picture of all the kids lined up after the hunt. We had to get another this year and so we lined then up to be in the same order. We had to get the "original" kids first and then of course we had to add in the sweet little ones!

Time for the group picture! All the big kids.

With the littles. Anne and Lyla were both very distraught that they did not have a little to hold.

And just for comparison, here is what they looked like after their egg hunt, just a year ago!! I cannot believe how much they have grown!!

Heather put this together and I had to put it in here so that I could have it forever! Too cute!

Friends like this make my heart full. They all know and love each other and they get along so well. I love having these mommies in my life too because they get me. They know what I am going through because they are going through it too! I am so blessed by them and I cannot wait to see how these kids change by next year and see how our families have grown even more!