HE IS RISEN!

Cole was showing his excitement about Jesus being risen in this photo below!

And, although Easter has nothing to do with bunnies and presents, the Easter Bunny did come and visit Cole. Easter is just a good excuse for me to spoil Cole a little with some new toys. :-)

He woke up and checked out his new loot. He enjoyed the gum balls that filled his eggs.

Our attempt at getting a picture of him before church. Not very successful...

A picture of Cole and I. Again, not very successful.

And again. Can you see a pattern?

After church a few of our neighbors came over for lunch. Here are all the kiddos.

Waiting patiently for the egg hunt to begin. Zachary, Abby, Andrew, Cole and Adam.

And their off! Cole was so proud he found an egg!

Good stuff!

These two are peas in pod!

And our final attempt at a photo and it was still unsuccessful. Oh well, there's always next year! :-)

Thank you Jesus for bearing the burden for my sins. Thank you for taking all the guilt and shame so that I could have mercy and grace. I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. You came that I may have life and have it more abundantly. I love you, Lord!

HAPPY EASTER!

Easter Week

Cole and I have had a great week preparing for Easter. We started out by stuffing tons of eggs full of candy for our after lunch egg hunt.

Cole was a big help and he actually didn't eat too much candy. :-)

On Friday morning we made cross and heart sugar cookies. This was my second attempt at cut out cookies and it went much better this time. BUT, I probably won't be making them again anytime soon. My kitchen looked liked a bomb went off and they took forever. Two BIG drawbacks for me.

Cole was just slightly covered in flour! :-)

The finished product. The turned out pretty cute and they were very tasty!

On Saturday we took Cole to Bass Pro Shop to see the Easter Bunny.

I tried to get a smile from him, but this was the best I could get...

Heading in to Bass Pro Shop

Checking out the Easter Bunny. He did much better this year and Bass Pro gave us a free 4x6 photo.

On Saturday afternoon we dyed eggs. Bryce and Kaitlyn joined us in the fun.

Our finished eggs.

Our family!

We have had a great week, but Easter is certainly not about eggs, Easter bunnies and candy. While I enjoy all these things, I make it a point to remind Cole what Easter truly is about and why we celebrate. My heart just aches when Good Friday comes and then rejoices when Sunday comes around. HE is alive and for that I couldn't be more blessed!

BB turns 75 and Courtney goes to prom!

On Saturday (after getting back from our cruise on Thursday) we drove up to Cleveland, TN for my grandmother's surprise 75th birthday party.

Here is my sister and I posing with the birthday girl.

While we were inside enjoying birthday festivities, Cole was outside feeing the horses.

Cole and his cousin, Maclaire.

Daddy and Cole

Cole being his usual silly self!

My grandmother was so emotional during the entire party. She had me all teary eyed many times.

Praising Jesus!

The watercolor my aunt made for her.

And the scrapbook we all put together. It has a lifetime of memories in it!

The first page is a picture of her in her younger day. She was beautiful!

Courtney's prom was the same night so Stephanie helped do her hair and makeup. She made a short appearance at the birthday party and then it was off to dinner and prom.

Courtney with mom and her dad.

With Cole and Claire.

Sisters!!
Courtney and her dad.

She looked just beautiful! Jonathan took alot of pictures and he did a great job! Can't believe she is already old enough to go to prom!

We had a great time and I was so glad I was able to celebrate my grandmother's birthday with her. She was so excited to have everyone there and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Mexico Cruise- part 2 and final

On Tuesday we arrived in Cozumel, Mexico for the day. When we got off the boat we didn't have any real plans for the day and just wanted to play it by ear and see where we landed. :-) That is usually against my planning nature, but we ended up having a great, unplanned day!

A shot of the boat from the top.

Another night before dinner.

We rode around Cozumel on this bad boy. :-) Jonathan had a blast driving us around, but the let me tell you, the folks drive crazy there!!

We ended up at the beach Playa Mia and I love getting my toes in the sand!

Posing for me!

We found the hammocks and it was pure relaxtion! The temperatures were great and there was a nice breeze blowing in the air. Ahhh!!!

After we relaxed in the hammocks we got a massage on the beach. The massage station was set up right behind the hammocks.

Jonathan got a picture of the Mexican navy. I love how it shows how gorgeous the water was. It was so clear you could see the fish swimming.

Another towel animal. I posed like the bunny. :-)

The last day was a another sea day as we traveled back to Mobile. We hung out on the "adults only" deck and this was my view.

Our last dinner.
Our dinner friends, Pamela and Darren. I should of done a red0 since her eyes were closed.

The Elation. And yes, we were elated to be on the cruise! :-)

A beautiful sunset on a windy night.

At the hip hop dance class.

Our hip hop instructor. He was a phenomenal break dancer!

Jonathan was working it! I was so impressed at his skills! :-)

The sunrise in Mobile before we got off the boat.

Packing up!

So sad to leave! We are hoping to make this an annual trip! We had a blast together just being husband and wife!!

A HUGE thank you to Jonathan's parents for taking such great care of Cole while we were gone. He had a blast with them and we are so thankful to have them and their willingness to watch him for us. We can't wait to get closer to them soon!!