Storms in the South

Yesterday, Mississippi and Alabama saw some of the worst weather in their history. I know all ya'll have heard about it already, but I just felt like I needed to mention it here, as this is like a journal for me. There are so many stories that are being told. It has affected so many people. We have family in Tuscaloosa, and thankfully they are all okay. 2 of my precious friends and their children were coming home from a fieldtrip to Atlanta when they saw the tornado and were able to turn around and get out of danger...they made it back home safely, praise the Lord. A sister of a friend of ours at church had major destruction to her home, but thankfully she and her son were okay.

Not all stories had happy endings. Someone we know here in our hometown lost her sister in Smithville yesterday. The sister had 3 small children who are in critical condition in a hospital now. A friend at church lost a cousin. A lady in our town lost an aunt and uncle. And there are so many more similar stories, these are just a few of that I know of at this point.

There is tragedy just down the road from where I live. I feel helpless. I want to do something, and I know there will be opportunities to provide help soon. For now, I can pray, and I ask each of you to pray as well. It is far from over.

Jade Gaskin used this verse on her blog, and I think it is so fitting to the circumstances in which those around us are experiencing right now...

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed."

Psalm 34:18

Play Ball

Lucy's first teeball game was tonight. She had so much fun and absolutely loved it!

I played softball for a couple of years a loooooooooong time. Team Sonic...how ironic as much as I do love me some Sonic! I realized pretty quickly that it wasn't my thing. I was the girl who got sent back to the dugout every time I got up to bat...to remove my hairbow and my jewelry.

Jason promptly handed me Lucy's bow right at game time.
But oh that girl...had the time of her life...and even stopped to pose for me to snap a picture every time she was up to bat. I finally got in trouble by Coach Daddy...he called an interference on me and asked me to sit down. Boo.

Sweet # 7...

Here's to many more teeball games to come!

Easter Weekend...A Long Post!

Our Easter weekend was wonderful! It seems as though the weekend of Easter has turned into one of the busiest weekends of the year for us, but I try to keep in check the real meaning of Easter for the girls and try not to let that part of it get lost in the shuffle of bunnies and eggs, etc.

I found these sprinkles in Wal-Mart the other day and decided they would be the perfect topping for my rendition of this recipe. My Mom and my sister came over for lunch on Friday, and I thought this would be a fun dessert. We have a traditon of flying kites on Good Friday. It started off as the perfect kite-flying afternoon, but the wind disappeared after about 5 minutes. We still had a lot of fun, though. Cousin Cade got to enjoy kite-flying with us while his big brother Carson was home with the stomach virus...boo.

Oh ya'll...when I saw this truck pull up at the park where we were flying kites, my heart skipped a beat. I mean, how cute is this truck?? I seriously almost ran the poor driver down and begged him to let me take a picture of the girls beside it. I took off for the truck...Macy and Lucy went running the other way...bless their hearts. Their Mama is SO embarassing. I never got a picture of them with it...

Somehow Lucy ended up behind a "Restricted Area" sign. She looks real worried, doesn't she??

We headed to my parents' house after flying kites for my sister-in-law's birthday dinner.

I am going to show you a horrible picture of me because I think this picture of Lucy is too funny (I am really tickled in this picture...hence the quadruple chin and puffed up cheeks!)...

Cade enjoying his Mama's birthday cupcakes (I think was the 2nd or 3rd one he had licked the icing off of)...

Some Easter goodies for the kids...

Saturday morning, we had our Holy Hunt at church. It was set up really neat this year, especially for the older children...there were "stations of the cross" set up in different rooms that they got to walk through and do activities in. We had a few different activities set up for the preschoolers that were fun for them too. Then, the infamous egg hunt!

Lucy had gotten a Crayola kit in some of her Easter stuff, so when we got home from church, she got busy making an Easter lamb...

Macy did some horse shrinky dinks (although you can't see them in this picture) *Ü* Remember shrinky dinks? Oh, how I love those things!!

And then later that day, time to dye Easter eggs!

I love seeing this...

turn into this...

After all the excitement, we ended our night before Easter making these cookies. Such a great tool for teaching children the real importance of Easter and what it means to us as Christians.

If you haven't seen this recipe or tried it, it is a great one. You leave the cookies in the oven all night, so it is a surprise in the morning to see what has happened to them. After sealing our cookies up in the oven (we actually "sealed" the oven door closed with tape), the girls went to bed. The Easter Bunny did hop by and bring a few happies...

The biggest surprise on Easter morning was the cookies...the girls were so eager to get up and see what had happened to them. They were hollow...to symbolize the empty tomb....thank you, Jesus, for that empty tomb!!

Macy and Lucy all ready for Easter Sunday at church...

And it all ended tonight...oh yes...I looked out the back door where Jason had been mowing the grass and the girls were playing in the backyard...that is Macy "surfing" on the destroyed swimming pool...Jason is pulling her on the lawnmower.

You might be a redneck if...

One more hoorah with some cute Easter cookies (the Cookie Mama TOTALLY approves of these!!)...

And one more set of pictures with the bunny masks...

Hope ya'll had a wonderful Easter!!

Thursday

Macy's class did a play at her school's chapel this morning...all about Easter...it was so sweet *Ü* I got some cute pictures of Macy with her precious little friends, but I am always funny about putting other people's kids' pictures on my blog unless they are readers.

Sporting new Easter jammies tonight... Oh, how we love Easter week!

"Soul Surfer"

One word...AMAZING.

Go see it!

Sunday Snaps

We had a great day at church today and enjoyed eating out with some wonderful friends after AWANA and church services tonight. What a blessing it is to worship the Lord with people you love spending time with. I have found times of greatest joy when we gather with our church family away from the actual church building.

Lucy wore a really cute twirly skirt today and wanted her picture made...2 things the girl is loving these days...the mirror (she loves looking at herself!) and having pictures made (so different from how it used to be). I loved Macy's dress today too...she looked like a big girl *Ü*

We have a busy week planned, plus it is a short week of school! Seems like the week leading up to Easter is always so packed! We are so looking forward to this Easter weekend!!

Playroom Makeover and Macy's Musical

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you've heard me talk about the girls' playroom...aka the-room-that-should-be-a-formal-dining-room-but-we-don't-do-formal-dining-around-here. When you walk into our house from the front doors, it is the room right to the left...and our house has a very open and flowing floor plan, so there is no hiding this room. I have shown you pictures of the playroom when it was pure chaos, and I have shown you pictures of when it was neat and tidy. I am so happy to show you pictures of our newly made-over playroom...

The inspiration for the makeover came when we made a trip to Tuscaloosa to choose some things from Jason's grandmother's house that we wanted to have. We were immediately drawn to this wardrobe/armoire and the little pink skirted chair in the corner. My mind started swirling.

We spent all day working on this room. The girls are a little Narnia-obsessed right now after watching the third movie at Jason's parents a couple of weekends ago. The wardrobe reminded of them of the one in the movie. I actually caught Macy and Lucy trying to climb into it *Ü* Another thing we spent was absolutely zero dollars. We totally transformed this room for nothing. Zilcho. Nada. Not a penny. Got to love that.

This would be the view from the front door...

This pillow also came from Grandmother Ruth's. I absolutely adore this pillow...

So where are the toys? The toy box is filled, as well as the wardrobe. And while I have not a single thing against toys, I love that they are now behind closed doors. This piece of furniture could not be more perfect for our needs. We were able to fit so much on the shelves, as well as in the 4 large drawers.

I felt like I had really accomplished something today! Love that feeling!!

Macy's musical that was called off last night due to the crazy weather we were having was postponed until tonight. We got all finished with the room makeover, then headed to the school. It was the sweetest musical. They sang the cutest little songs, and the message was great...it compared the problems that we face in our everyday lives now to the problems that were faced in everyday life back in Bible times. Problems have been a part of a Christian's life ever since then. The only way to survive our problems is to turn to Jesus. We truly love Macy's school and are so glad that God led us there. It has been the most wonderful blessing for her, as well as for Jason and I...and for Lucy too. I am so thankful that she is where she is...and so is she!

Hope you all had a happy Saturday!!