He Is Risen! Indeed He Is!

We hosted our families for Easter Lunch this year. We really enjoyed the preparations as a family. It was a collaboration of all five of us. It has been awhile since we had the Holiday meal and it was nice for the Mom and Mom in Law and Sister to get a break! I need to give a shout out to Abby for coordinating every one's "Easter Frock" as my Mother always says. She is really into fashion lately and she is good at it! Look at the cute dresses she ordered for the girls to wear...I couldn't believe the girls wanted me to dress like them. We had SO MUCH FUN with that Thanks, Abby! She also helped me iron the boys outfits and lay out every ones clothes the night before Easter morning. I remember my Mom ALWAYS laid out our Church clothes on Saturday nights. She always polished my white shoes, too! We always had a new dress, hat, gloves, shoes, socks, jewelry and purse for Easter Sunday! Memories...

The boys looked awesome in their pinks and blues. 

I love fresh flowers and anytime I have an excuse, I have them in the house! 

My dining room table...so festive!

Abby has really been into helping me in the kitchen. She is a good little cook. This is a picture of her making her Easter cake. It turned out really cute. Her Dad helped out by mixing the pink and blue icing to make purple. He had to leave his mark on something! 

Yes! The Easter Bunny found us! We were a little concerned. We are always at the Lake on Easter. We decided to stay in Covington this year so that it would be easier on Mee-Maw. 

Easter Bunny traditions...Dinstuhl's Chocolates, sunglasses, magazines or books, money in hidden eggs, water guns or goggles, jelly beans, etc. 

My support crew in the kitchen. We went to the early service as usual and then came back and hit it hard in the kitchen. I really don't think I could have done it without the girls help. They are really good help (when they want to be)! 

We set up the tripod and our camera and had a photo shoot before everyone got there. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! IT WAS THE MOST STRESS FREE PICTURE TAKING OUR FAMILY HAS EVER EXPERIENCED! I think we have started a new tradition! 

A family that plays together, stays together! 

 My GORGEOUS GIRLS

 Mom, the shrimp in the family! 

 Having fun!

 Dad and his daughters. 

 Mom and her baby boy. 

 The niece and nephew. 

 Silly Britt and Oney.

 Mee-Maw and her daughter, granddaughters and great grand daughters. 

 The kids favorite...deviled eggs. Their creation...with or without relish! 

 A sign of a great meal...napping all over the house! Blessed this Easter!

 Thankful for my help cleaning the kitchen after that big meal! 

Easter Sunday at Pickwick

Happy Easter Sunday! What a beautiful day it was at Pickwick! We spent this Easter at the Lake like we have done in most years past. It is so nice and simple at the Lake. We always go to the little country church, Pickwick United Methodist. It reminds me so much of the church I grew up attending, Elm Grove United Methodist in Burlison. Great memories! The picture of the sunrise above reminds me of those early Sunday morning sunrise services that we always attended as a child. We were dressed to a "t" in our new Easter dresses, bonnets, purses, shoes, jewelry, corsages, gloves...you name it and we had it! What a Mom!

As much as my family loves the contemporary early service that we now attend at home, I still believe it is important for them to be familiar with and visit a traditional service every once in awhile. The traditions of those services are an important part of their religion. The hymns, the formality, the reverence, etc. And just look who is on their prayer list...our own sweet little Lucy Krull! My kids were so proud to see that she had made it to the "Pickwick Church" prayer list.

After the early service, we went to Mom and Dad's for brunch. WOW! It was yummy! Of course, we all ate entirely too much. Boy it was good! Thanks Ginny for all of your preparation...I know how much time it takes! After we ate, we had an Easter Egg hunt with the "kids", Max, Britt, Ally, Abby and Oney. Yes...they all five hunted for eggs! It's amazing what a little cash in the eggs will do for a little motivation! It was serious! This picture is from the dye fest from the night before at Das's.

After brunch, some went fishing, reading, on a boat ride, etc. I took a nice afternoon nap! Sweet! For dinner, we had Jay, Kathryn, Jeanne Claire and Joseph over for burgers. The kids played outside. It was a nice end to a great weekend.

Oh, and Bubba Watson won the Masters! He was my personal favorite! Just read his profile information. Glad a good person took the green coat this year!

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

The Season of Lent

Lent is a forty-day season of preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. The season begins on Ash Wednesday, when pastors mark the foreheads of Christians with ashes as a reminder that we are created from dust and to dust we shall return.

During Lent we follow Jesus from his adult ministry through his suffering during Holy Week to his crucifixion and death on Good Friday. And we read the Psalms that foretold what happened during that week.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, also called the Sunday of the Passion, and continues through Holy Thursday (when Holy Communion was instituted at the Last Supper) and Good Friday, when Jesus was tried, crucified, and buried.

Because the Last Supper was celebrated during the Feast of the Passover, which is calculated on the phases of the moon, Easter is called a movable feast. Lent is scheduled backwards from Easter. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon after the spring equinox. The forty days of fasting and penitence during Lent do not include Sundays. Christians always celebrate Sunday as the day Jesus rose from the dead, so it is never a day of fasting.

Many Northern Europeans celebrate the day before Ash Wednesday, mardi gras (French for Fat Tuesday, also called Shrove Tuesday), by eating up everything good in the house that medieval Christians believed was inappropriate to eat during Lent (eggs, butter, cream, meat). This celebration has expanded into all sorts of festivals all over the world, although most modern Christians do eat some - or all - of those foods during Lent.

Lent is a time of stripping down to essentials, as each Christian focuses on his or her individual relationship with God. It is a time when Christians remember our baptisms, when Jesus washed away our sins, giving us newness of life to celebrate in the triumph of Palm Sunday and the glory of Easter. Many early Christians were baptized on Easter Sunday, so Lent became a special time of study and prayer in preparation for their baptisms. Later the entire congregation joined in the study and prayer as they looked forward to the anniversary of their baptisms on Easter.

Because Lent is a time of letting go of the bondage of sin, it is also a time of celebrating the freedom from the bondage of slavery. At the Feast of the Passover, all Jews give thanks for their freedom from the captivity of the Egyptians.

We remember Moses, their leader, as we perform Out of Egypt.

This was the most "elementary" explanation of Lent that I could find. I found it on a Sunday School teachers web page! My family is obviously not Catholic but because of my sweet Mother in Law's influence, I began giving something up for Lent each year. Judson and the kids joined in over the past couple of years. Some years are bigger sacrifices than others. It is a tiny daily reminder of the awesome sacrifices He made for us. Hopefully these next 40 days will draw us all closer to Him.

This year we added a "new dimension" thanks to Kate Krull...we are all going to do a "good deed" each day as well, to sort of have an offering to others.

Here is our "Family Lent List"...

Sacrifices (things we are giving up)
Judson- everything in the donut case at Naifeh's (donuts, cookies, cupcakes, etc)
Dana- bringing paperwork home with me every night and drinking no more than 5 diet cokes each day
Ally- honey buns
Abby- Mt Dew and Coke
Oney- Dr. Pepper and Coke

Anyone that knows us realizes that these are ALL huge sacrifices for ALL of us! Mine do not seem very big but, I bring home work EVERYDAY and I drink at least 12 diet cokes EVERYDAY!

Offerings (things we are going to do)
Judson- Being kind/patient to his and my parents
Dana- reading my Bible and a devotional daily and sending a card to someone each day
Ally- giving a compliment to someone every day
Abby- texting or calling her grandparents or someone special each day
Oney- remembering to say his prayers everyday

*****Note to anyone reading this post...according to my mother in law, we shouldn't "talk or boast" about what how we are celebrating Lent, rather simply and quietly "just do it"! I agree...I am blogging about this just so we can look back in a few years and see how things have changed!*****

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011

I love decorating for the Holidays every year. I am so proud of my ornaments, many were given to Judson and I at our Wedding.

I find myself getting more and more emotional when it comes to taking pictures with Mee-Maw. I keep telling myself and my kids that Mee-Maw may not make it to the next Holiday. I sure hope that she continues to prove me wrong! I think she actually looks pretty good in this picture. The kids are so patient with her...makes me proud.

Just a few pictures of us opening gifts at Mom and Dad's house. We always get together at my parent's on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning after Santa has arrived. One of the kids "big" items was drums for Ally, a video camera for Abby, and a money collection for Oney.They were all surprised with these things...I LOVE BEING ABLE TO PULL OFF A SURPRISE!

I had already changed into my pajamas in this picture, but I wanted a picture with Mee-Maw! She looks so happy in this picture! That has been our peace of mind with her being in an assisted living..she has been VERY content. That has made it so much easier on Mom.

Here are a few pictures of us opening gifts at Judson's parents house. I LOVE the armadillo that Joe received. He liked it too!

The boys were definitely Sittie's BEST shoppers! She took them shopping together before Christmas. They picked out lots of goodies! Joseph gave Oney a Grizzlies shirt like his for Christmas.

This picture was taken before the kids walked in to the den to see what Santa had brought. We always have to hold them back to get this shot! I love it!

BEATS by Dr. Dre...The big ticket item from us this year! It was a last minute idea but definitely one of the kids favorites! They were expensive but boy do they sound good!

I bought everyone a different "hunting" themed t-shirt since I am an addict when it comes to the deer stand. Judson's was my favorite..."This is my idea of bagging groceries"!

We teased Ally with drum sticks and a set of WI drums on the stair case!

Our drama Queen, Abby, got this cute t-shirt..."Save the drama for your lama"!

Oney loved his safe from Aunt Das and he immediately put his new coin collection in it. He also got a jet sled to pull behind the polaris!

Daddy got a Browning hat like mine...maybe he will let me wear mine now!

The folks that made it all possible!!! THANKS to our Grandparents and Parents...for everything in life! May we strive to be a fraction as wonderful as you all have been!