1, 2, 3 Easter Egg Hunts

This year was filled with lots of different Easter activities.  Last year for Easter we went to Ohio and spend the holiday with Tyler's sister.   So, this was our first Easter at home with our friends and Church family.

We had a fun neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt the weekend before Easter.  It was little chilly outside but at least the rain stayed away and made for a fun afternoon with all our neighbors.  Neal wasn't so sure that he wanted to hunt for eggs but once the hunt started and he realized that there was candy in all the eggs he was running around with everyone else.   They had a popcorn machine there and Neal was amazed at the amount of popcorn that was inside.  He said, "that is hug popcorn.  More popcorn then at my house mommy."

Then on saturday our neighbor invited us to join them at an Easter Egg hunt in our community.  This was by far the best egg hunt.  They had lots of games, a huge bouncy house and hotdog lunch.  Neal had so much fun.  Not only did he get a ton of easter eggs on the egg hunt but him and his friends had the time of their lives in the bouncy house.

Finally, we had an easter morning hunt here at our house.  Tyler hid the eggs that Neal decorated and Neal had so much fun looking for his colored eggs.  The prize for finding all the eggs was a fun Easter basket filled with lots of treats and fun things from Grandma.

The last egg Tyler hid way up high in the lights and Neal thought it was so funny that the egg was "on the ceiling."

Our Easter Sunday at church was a little different then normal, Tyler wasn't feeling great (sinus infection) and I had to work in the nursery, but it was still a wonderful morning fellowshipping with our church family and praising the Lord for his gift of salvation and work on the cross.  We ended our Easter with an all church picnic, filled with food, friends, games and a skit about the Easter Story.

Not only did we have a wonderful Easter Sunday but a fun filled week.  We hope you all had a wonderful Easter celebrating the resurrection of Christ with family, friends and lots of candy.

Waiting for Spring

When we first arrived in NC on March 1st of last year we were welcomed with beautiful sunshine and 80 degree weather.  This year spring has yet to arrive.  It has been cold, cloudy and wet here and we are waiting for the weather to get above the 40's or 50's so we can get outside before the hot summer months hit.  

So, as we wait for spring we have had to get a bit more creative in how we spend our days.   Finding indoor activities is what we have been doing for the last several weeks.  Because of this we have managed to make several visits to the Children's Museum (Thanks Aunt Linda for the family passes).   It is always a hit with Neal when we venture out to the museum and it makes for fun filled morning or afternoon.

Just this last week Grandma (Laura's mom) was in town and we got to take her with us.   We did all sorts of things from driving cars, washing animals, cooking, grocery shopping, and art work.   Neal discovered the Pizza kitchen this time and spent quite a bit of time "baking" some pizza for Grandma and I to try.  

It was delicious and fun to watch him go though all the steps from placing on the topping, cooking it in the oven, playing cashier so we can "pay" for our pizza, and then delivering it to us in a pizza box to our table.  

A fun filled day like that sure makes for one tired little boy....

So I guess no matter how long spring takes to get here we will be taking advantage of our museum passes a lot more.

Growing Family

We are thrilled to announce that our family is growing!

We are expecting our second child in September!  We told Neal a few days ago and thought he didn't really understand.  However, at church on Sunday when his sunday school teacher asked him if he was going to be a big brother Neal surprised us all and started talking nonstop about the baby.  He told her how he was going to be a big brother, how baby is growing in mommy's tummy and how all his friends can come and visit the baby.  

This time around I have spend a lot of time on the couch,  feeling quite nauseous.  I remind myself during the day that the feeling of being sick is just reassurance that the baby is healthy and growing (It helps pass the hours when I feel like I can't do anything).  Only a few weeks 'till the second trimester so hopefully that milestone will bring some energy and less nausea.  

Praising the Lord for such a blessing and excited to meet our new bundle of joy this fall!

Family Time

While Tyler is at work Neal and I try and have fun during the day and go different places.  Some of our favorite places to go are to Library Story Time, the park, Children's Museum and of course the McDonald's play place.   

Neal and I had a fun "date" one morning at McDonald's.  Neal got to run around and play and I had time to write some letters to friends.   We also enjoyed some yummy fruit smoothies while there.   

While Neal and I always have fun together during the day I think Neal's favorite time of the day is when Tyler gets home.  Neal will run to the door and squeal with delight as soon as he sees Tyler.  After that it is hard to find him apart from his dad.  He loves to wrestle, jump, chase and play with him the rest of the evening.  The other night I found them on the floor playing a game.   

Nothing better then game night right?   No matter what we do during the day my favorite part of the day is hanging out together as a family playing games and watching movies.   

The First Snow

About a week ago we finally got our first snow.  It was a saturday and we all enjoyed sitting inside, drinking coffee and watching the snow fall for several hours.   There is just something so relaxing and peaceful about watching snow fall.  I love the way it quietly falls and slowly covers the ground in a beautiful layer of white.

Neal ran to the window to look at the snow and said, "mommy snow, that means it's Christmas time."

Later that day we asked Neal if he wanted to go outside and play in the snow or build a snowman.  His response was "no thanks."  We did get to go outside and make a few footprints in the snow as we walked out to the car later that day but that was the extent of our playtime in the snow.  I guess Neal got his fill of snow his first 2 years in AK.  The snow only stayed around for that one day but it sure what pretty while it lasted.  

A Pirate Party

Unbelievable that it was 3 years ago that we got to meet Neal and welcome into our family.   This last week was filled with lots of birthday celebrating.  First Neal's actual birthday was on Wednesday and then the follow few days more gifts arrived in the mail for him and on Sunday he got to have a Pirate Party with some good friends.

Here is our big 3 year old on his birthday.   He looks so big and grown up here to me, more like 3 going on 10.

The morning of his birthday Neal climbed into bed with Tyler and I and we asked him if he knew what special day it was.  When we told him it was his birthday his response was "I don't want to be the birthday boy."   He quickly changed his mind later that day when he got a birthday balloon and gifts.

On Sunday evening we had a few of Neal's friends over with their whole families for a pirate pizza party.  When everyone showed up at the house Neal was so excited he turned to me and said "wow mommy I have a lot of friends."    While Tyler was praying before dinner Neal whispered (which for a 3 year old really isn't a whisper) in his ear something like "don't forget about happy birthday singing."  We had a great time visiting, playing and eating and finally got to the "happy birthday singing" around the cake.  It was a great party with lots of fun people.

We feel so blessed not only by Neal, which the Lord blessed us with 3 years ago, but also by the dear friends we have made since moving here.  We all had a great time.

Moments to Remember

There are many moments as a parents that you want to remember and some that you want to forget.

The other night was one of those sweet moments that I want to remember.   Neal was getting ready to climb on the couch so we could read some stories before bedtime.  Before he got any books he climbed on the couch and crawled under the blanket with me and said, " let's just snuggle mommy."  Once he got settled in next to me he leaned his head on my shoulder and said, " I love snuggles mommy.  They make me really really happy."

I love snuggles too, they make me happy no matter what kind of day I have had.