Easter

This was J's first coherent Easter.  Of course, next Easter will probably be dubbed, "The first Easter he could really hunt eggs", and the next will be, "the first Easter he will actually remember", and the next "no, this one he'll actually remember"... and so on.

Lots of pictures. I hope you don't have problems loading it. Proceed with patience.

Saturday, we packed up our Easter basket and chick-fil-a and headed over to Brooks' house for an Easter egg hunt (more of a collection as no hiding was involved) and picnic with fellow one-year-olds.  The wet weather that morning moved us indoors and on the porch, but the toddlers didn't mind at all. And no one ate dirt. Win, win.



To be honest, it was a little overwhelming at first... so, we had to work through some tears.



Group shots with 1 year old's are a challenge. The Roosta was contributing to the challenge. The hostess, Katie, captioned this one the best: "uh, are you going to do something about him?"



"I'm so done with this." (kicks Easter egg)



J started to warm up to the process once everyone else had lost interest.  There were probably 200 plastic eggs on the ground, but all J wanted were the 2 plastic balls M had shown him the moment we got there.







Eggs and all, I think the car was the clear Easter winner for J and Walt.



Fast forward to Sunday morning...

Easter basket time! We put Veggie Tales fruit snacks in the eggs and of course, Peeps.  Defining moment in every child's life, do I like Peeps, or do I hate them? I hate them. Roosta felt differently.





"So... you're just gonna let me eat this?"



and... sugar rush.

(for some reason I couldn't get the color just right on these)









THERE ARE MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





OH MY GOSH, IS SHE STILL SHOWING US PICTURES OF HER CHILD EATING PEEPS???





and then, we dropped him off at the church nursery. :)

but, first... THIS is the photo I got of J all ready for church.

So here we are in the laundry room, cat food and all. Boys will be boys.



After church and Sunday school, the 3 of us came home and got ready for M's parents, Glynice, Rob and Mallory to come over for Easter lunch.

I made my first glazed ham. Felt like a real grown up.

After lunch we took J outside to play, and for some family photos...

Here's an adorable one WHERE MY CAMERA IS ON ALL THE WRONG SETTINGS. Boo. Oh well...



Better (with play shoes)



with Daddy...



Our family...



J with Momo and Popo



Glynice & Rob (I cannot believe we didn't get Mallory in a picture! She was kind enough to be the photographer when I was in the picture)



Last one... promise. Your computer is so tired.



It was a great weekend spent with family and friends.  Most importantly, we celebrated and marveled (though we can never possibly fully grasp on this earth) the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. A celebration of grace.

Here is my favorite verse from one of my favorite hymns, Beneath the Cross of Jesus...

I take, oh cross, thy shadow

for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than

the sunshine of His face;

content to let the world go by,

to know no gain nor loss,

my sinful self my only shame,

my glory all the cross.

I believe that says it all.

*Quick last minute note if you've made it this far in my lengthy post!!  What to do with all that left over ham?? I made the following recipe last night, adapted from one on allrecipes.com, and it was delicious and super simple.

Leftover Ham & Pasta Casserole

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups cooked pasta (I used a mix of bow tie and penne because that's what I had! Any type would work)


• 1 cup cooked, chopped ham


• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 oz)


• 1 1/4 cup milk (I used 2%, and just measured it from the soup can)


• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated


• 1 tea onion powder


• 1 cup frozen peas & carrots

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375


• Mix all ingredients in a greased casserole dish


• Bake for 25-30 minutes, till bubbly