in love...

i was in love with the day's events on Easter

it was relaxing

 full of smiles

laughter

and a day of really "being"

in every sense of the word

I enjoyed waking up early

since the Easter bunny fell asleep the night before

without filling and delivering two baskets

{that would be moi}

and since I needed to prepare and hide two special baskets

it was my usual early morning

...a very fun morning, however

it was a day where the girls woke up and enjoyed finding their baskets

with 'hot and cold" directions

they decorated their bunny cake

and I bet you never had a bunny cake

with marshmallows, skittles, and jelly beans on it before, eh?

at least I made the cake with applesauce instead of vegetable oil

although i'm sure that didn't even make a difference in the end

with the amount of sugar probably consumed

we ate a very yummy breakfast

and made it to church all before noon

came back home and dyed 'marble' easter eggs

okay so one just looks marbled

i called the rest 'spotted'

it was a morning where we really didn't rush

maybe had moments of rushing

but not our usual running out the door 15 minutes late

we were actually on-time and not even trying

amazing how that can happen

 it was just so nice to know we had the entire day

to celebrate what Easter was all about

it was full of friendly competitions

Easter egg hunts

with my parents and our family

okay...maybe it was seriously competitive

because all of us are so competitive with games

but that's just our kind of fun

{smile}

 we all laughed at one another

the best egg hunt to watch was between my dad and bobby

hilarious

literally my mom and I were about falling off the couch laughing

it reminded me of the days when I was younger

and we'd have family competitions

with my parents, sister, and I

it was so fun to see Madison and Hayley enjoy those competitions like I used to 

we enjoyed one another's company

decorating graham cracker houses left over from Madison's birthday party

and of course...

we had "best house"

I will say my idea of smashing mini white marshmallows

to look like shingles on my house

was a darn good idea

{if I do say so myself}

{chuckle}

I loved that the girls enjoyed the holiday of Easter

but more importantly

they never lost the true meaning of Easter

I was in love with our Easter Sunday

and i hope yours was as much enjoyed

xo

pretty little house...

when you see a pretty little house with a barn

any day immediately becomes a perfect day to take some pictures...

especially little girls in their Easter dresses

I ended up taking around 100 pictures in 30 minutes...
{right before Saturday service}

so for the fact I am only showing about 30 of them is a pretty big downsize...

I love Easter...

maybe because of the girls in their pretty dresses

because they have fun getting dressed up and then playing outside in the dirt

in their dresses

because their Mama takes them to get their pictures pretty soon after it rains

so there is mud

dirt

worms to occupy them as I snap away

they had a blast

you can't tell but their stains were all over their dresses

before church even started

but I always say "clothes are meant to be worn and have fun in"

not meant to just always look pretty

wear them and be yourself...

and for my girls...it is picking flowers and playing in the dirt

I guess they get that from me since I pick weeds in my flower beds as I'm walking in or out of the house because I can't stand to just leave them you know...
{it doesn't matter what I wear I do it anyway ~ which makes Bobby laugh}

we had so much fun and everyone was willing to take pictures

even Daddy...

and Hayley

but I love Easter for the more important reason too...what it stands for

I love that we are all His children that He chose

every single one of us

I love the celebration

I love the praise we give Him at church

and I love knowing and being thankful for His sacrifice for us

the colors of Easter

are so happy and friendly

the colors give you a peak into summer...

I love the egg hunts the kids get so excited for

and making breakfast for my family

and I love that it's a relaxing day no matter what

I love that we always have a BBQ with family

and since my parents live right here in town~ it's celebrated with them
and they get so excited to get their Easter dresses for them every year

conversation is fun and relaxing...just the way it should be

Easter is always a beautiful celebration

of the gift we all have been given

but also the gifts we can give to others

Happy Easter from this little pretty house we found

and all the love, laughs, and smiles we had taking these pictures

{the picture of Bobby and I was taken by sweet Madison ~ she was so proud of herself}