Easter Chaos Sunday

Sunday:
Wake up 5:45am. Wake children up and force them to follow bunny trail. Watch children Ooh and Aah over baskets of cheap fun things. Get ready for church and simultaneously cook for lunch. Leave for church early to rehearse for worship. Easter service #1 at 8:30. Watch sky fall out and funnel clouds form outside between services. Easter service #2 at 10:30. Begin tearing down church, only to realize we are late for our first family gathering and missing two others. Get ready to leave church, only to realize we are surrounded by the threat of multiple tornadoes and flooding. Attempt to wait out storm before heading out at 1:00pm. Drive home, get food and rain boots. Arrive one hour late to family gathering. Eat. Hunt eggs. Leave early to drive to Portland to try to see hubby's family. Arrive to find everyone gone and unable to track them down. Skip next gathering to visit with hubby's grandparents. Stop for dinner. Go home, homework, baths... it's all kind of blurry after that.

Here is a pretty picture of us smiling calmly and enjoying an absolutely "normal" holiday:

Community Egg Hunt= Success!

Saturday morning, we had our first annual community-wide egg hunt sponsored by Revolution. Ryan and Whitney (our children's directors) and all the volunteers put a lot of work into it and it paid off!

The kids and I (and nearly 600 people from the community!) arrived to three bouncy houses, free food and drink, four separate egg hunts (divided by age) and prizes.

I'm so proud of my church family!

It turned out to be a beautiful day, we had a blast! (We also made five stops after we left, ran home for dinner, then went back to church for Easter Unplugged- an acoustic worship service with a unique twist on Jesus' last days... SO good. Seven people were baptized! :)

The Great Gas Buy Down (#3)

On Good Friday, Revolution sponsored a third gas buy-down (we just serve the community by pumping their gas for them and giving them 25 cents back for every gallon they get). This one was advertised much more than last summer's, even Channel 5 news showed up :)

We also had LOTS more volunteers come than we ever have. Awesome!

It really does a community good to have people serving them in the name of Jesus. I actually didn't hear any stories this time of people declining our efforts (we usually have just a few), although we maybe had the occasional person who didn't really trust our intentions. It's almost sad that anyone would think it's impossible that someone would want to do something nice for you, without expecting anything in return.

We get nothing out of these (well, this time we ended up with news coverage lol, but that wasn't our intention!). It does inevitably help get word out about our church, but that's just a bonus.

Our mission is to live, love, and serve- it's that simple :)

eggs galore.

A required part of the Eastery fun.

We started out doing some traditional coloring...

While they were drying, we painted with the leftover egg dye...

And yes, we used empty pizza boxes as art tables.

Next, I semi-stole (well, no... it was full thievery) an idea from my friend, Rachel. We made "family" eggs- albeit, very basic ones!

The munchkins LOVED them. So much, that they started playing with them like dolls.

True to life, Cale's egg tackled Brynn's egg and well, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

J & K come to town!

Last Tuesday, I got to keep my friend's children, J&K! They live in North Carolina, and although we talk regularly and I follow her blog, I hadn't seen J since he was a baby and never met K. I feel like we see them all the time though!

They are the cutest little things and had no problems feeling comfortable here. The big kids played great together.

Little Miss K sweetly discovered all the girly things we had to offer. We had snack together and she stopped every so often to give me a hug :)

While she napped, all the four-year-olds had craft time.

I honestly don't know what I was thinking making a salt craft with this many little hands! But they seemed to enjoy it, mess and all!

After lunch... more outside time! We love this weather!

Next... naps all around! They woke up just in time for cupcake cones.

I was just an observer in their world today!!

Springitty springitty spring.

FLOWERS
The girls picked them and left them as a sweet surprise for me!

SUNSHINE

DIRT

I wish you could actually tell how filthy they were. They had to be pre-washed, twice, before their bath.

Nothing compared to Oakley. Shoots out the door, comes back 20 minutes later saturated in mud.

This one's gonna be the death of me.

100% Brynn.

This is Brynn:
playing hopscotch on roller blades in a princess costume.

The girl knows how to enjoy life!

Hug your babies tight.

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has given me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord." 1 Samuel: 27, 28

For those of you that don't know, a sweet little 3-yr-old from our church was found in a pool last Tuesday, unresponsive. He has fought hard for ten days. The impact this has had on our church family, on our community, and even bigger is unreal. Just on FB alone, there are over 5,100 people all over the world praying for baby Casey. And maybe some of those just clicked the button indicating that they were praying, but never actually did. Maybe.

If we weren't before, we have become the epitome of brothers and sisters in Christ. We have grown emotionally and spiritually closer than any number of people I've ever know. Our's is not a large church, we are still only 7 months old and we have around 200 "regular attenders". I can almost name each and every one of them. Not because I'm that great at names (I'm not), but because God has woven us together, both in good times and bad.

In my house, we have prayed. My children have prayed SO hard. Out loud, at bedtime, in the car. This is the first time, I think, that they have understood what they are praying for.

I held little Casey's hand today. He squeezed as I prayed over him. I hugged his mother and his grandmother as they wept. I held hands with his family in the waiting room while we prayed for peace with God's will.

When I left, they were walking back to take him off of life support.

I was crying and trying to get to my babies as quickly as safely possible. Who cares that Cale peed in my car yesterday? Who cares if Brynn squeezed out all the toothpaste or that Layla didn't put her shoes where they go?

I just want to hold them.

When I got in my car, this Steven Curtis Chapman song was on:

Be still and know that He is God.
Be still and know He is our Father.
Come rest your head upon his breast
Listen to the rhythm of His unfailing
heart of love beating for his little ones.


Casey passed away at 3:45pm today.

I have no idea how to tell my kids. How do I explain to them that God's plan is bigger than ours? I don't understand it, I can't expect them to. But hopefully... hopefully, they will see us praying, praising on behalf of little Casey. Hopefully, they will see His name lifted. Hopefully, they will feel His arms- and mine- around them tightly.

Cheyenne Parker :)

Our new itty bitty niece made her way into the world three weeks early!
She's a precious little pumpkin.

My sweet little bugs are smitten.

Cale said, "Mommy, can you get me a boy one of these for our house?"

And seeing her inspired this impromptu prayer from Brynnie:
"Dear God, please make good choices and bring us a baby... a girl baby, NOT a boy baby. It would be really helpful if you would just do the right thing. A girl, God. Be kind. Amen."



Cheyenne is a little doll baby! Evan is being a sweetheart loving on his baby sister and Catalina... well, she hasn't done anything to hurt her yet :)

Yeah... that just happened.

Let me paint a picture for you.

Cale had to potty. Bad.
Now, when Brynn says she needs to potty, she means NOW. And Cale has realized when she starts saying, "I can't waaaiiit!", we all scramble around to get her to a restroom as fast as we can. So, now on occasion, Cale will scream, "I can't waaaiiit!", whether he can or not. Nine times out of ten, he can.

Today was number ten.

On the way home, he says he needs to potty. Okay, almost home.
"I can't waaaaiiiitt!".
After saying it about four times, I realized he really may not be able to. So I pull over, thinking we are about to do the side-of-the-backroad drill, but as soon as I stop, he drops his pants.

I have NO IDEA what his plan was. Whatever it was, it didn't work.

You know in movies when there's a water hose with full water pressure up in the air, slinging about, spraying water everywhere?
Mmmhmmm.

In.my.car.

I was kind of panicking, I mean... there WAS urine spraying everywhere, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it! I grabbed an empty cup and attempted to get him to aim, but the poor boy had no control. His water hose was loaded. I'm talking, him (his clothes, his FACE), the door, the ceiling, the seat, his backpack, lunchbox, stuffed seal, the steering wheel, console, my arm. EVERYWHERE.

By the time it was over, I was laughing so hard I couldn't drive. I couldn't really think about what just happened or I would have puked. THANK GOODNESS, I had a can of lysol wipes and a stack of fast food napkins.

I didn't even know what to say.
Except, his future wife is going to love this story someday.
And I can't wait :)

Remember when...

Cale B- "Mommy, you 'member when I was little and I came to your home and I held on for a LOONG time, cause that was my daddy."

Possibly the most tender, precious thing I have ever heard. Ever.


Also, just reading back thru the blog and realized I have been writing about us being ready for another baby for exactly two years. That means we have been "trying" for another baby for six years.

It's about time we get going, don'tcha think?! ;)

Giveaway!

My friend, Rachel, at WhiteSugarBrownSugar is doing some awesome blog giveaways right now! I was trying not to enter, since I've won one of her giveaways before. I don't want to be greedy!

I passed on the Princess and the Frog tutu (I passed. On a TUTU. My daughter actually insists her name is Tiana and I passed.) I passed on the handmade dolls that come in every color (but ONLY because we already have two similar ones for each little girl in our house).

But now she is doing a giveaway for a sweet little HOPE (adoption) bracelet. I love it and I'm entering!

Scoot on over to her blog and check it out- you may want to enter or take a look at the rest of the etsy seller's (JUNKPOSSE) items!

Winner winner chicken dinner!

We had been discussing the idea of doing a pageant today (Sunday), and it was for a good cause (the money was going to the special education classroom of an elementary school). But it was kind of far away and not a program we are familiar with, so we couldn't decide.

Then Friday night, I find out there was one on Saturday in a neighboring town. It was closer and cheaper! So, we decided Saturday morning to go for it. We were both anxious for her to wear her new dress for the first time! I got Layla all prettied up (well, I enhanced the pretty she already has!) and we headed over. Just before the pageant started, they called all the parents and girls of her age division into a "meeting" to say that the girls in pageant dresses would be disqualified from placing. Apparently, they were only supposed to wear "Easter best". I had no idea. Neither did another mom. So, she couldn't win or take first runner up, but they would still let her do the pageant if she wanted. I left it up to her, and she wanted to stay. I figured it was good stage practice. She still managed to go home with 2nd runner up and Most Photogenic :)


BUT since she really didn't get to compete yesterday, we decided to go ahead with the other pageant for today. After church, we got ready in a hurry and drove the hour, barely making it in time. Slapped some mascara on the girl, took her rollers out and put her on stage, all in ten minutes.

Waiting for crowning...

Well, she didn't win her division.

But she did get called back for a Supreme title (even better lol)!!



She won Supreme Queen for under 9 division!! :)

I was STUNNED. And oh, so proud.
She was soooo excited. She LOVES her sash.

Layla Paige with all her trophies (she also won Best Dress, Prettiest Hair, and Most Photogenic!). I've been saying all she needed was a dress to make the whole thing come together...

I did have to take her for ice cream after. Not for winning her pageant, but for waiting until she got back into the car before pulling her front tooth out.

I literally bribed her to keep it in until after the pageant, ha. But before we could even get home, it was out!

Have you ever seen anything this hilarious?!

Smeared makeup, missing tooth and a crown. Supreme Queen of Redneckville.
I love it.