Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Easter Eggs, Birthdays & A Change
We gathered at my parents' house last Saturday for an our annual Easter Egg Hunt and to celebrate Robyn and Olivia's birthdays (both are this coming weekend).
This little counter is always the resting spot for cameras and gifts.
We all brought candy to put inside the eggs and we may or may not have eaten a lot of it ourselves. Who knew I had such a weakness for Rolos and Mini Snickers? I love Easter Candy, though I'm kind of freaking out about the high prices this year.
The kids are all getting so big...it's not quite as fun or cute anymore. The youngest cousin (Ashley) is now 5, so the adorable, baby-talking toddler years of fun are behind us (which is sad).
My parents recently added 2 sheep to their menagerie.
The backyard play set has seen better days...it looks like it's about to self-destruct.
Landon and Ashley.
Lori brought supplies to make brownie sundaes for dessert.
My masterpiece.
This was our first family gathering without Andrew. My parents moved him into a group home a week ago Saturday (after being on the waiting list for a long time). They think it will be better for him to live in a place with other special needs adults, rather than being bored at home so much of the time. But this was (and still is) a very emotional thing for our family. Eventually we'll be able to visit him and have him come home to sleep on Friday nights, but for the first couple of weeks while he is adjusting we can't seem him.
We have been very concerned for him and have been offering up a lot of prayers for his peace and comfort. While this is a HUGE change for him, it's also a ginormous change for my parents who haven't been kid-free for almost 40 years! They haven't lived alone as a couple since their first year of marriage in 1970! Also, my mom has never not had a kid at home to take care of. She has always had deadlines, schedules and babysitters to worry about even though Andrew is 23 years old. Crazy! I'm so excited for her to have some freedom.
This was our first family gathering without Andrew. My parents moved him into a group home a week ago Saturday (after being on the waiting list for a long time). They think it will be better for him to live in a place with other special needs adults, rather than being bored at home so much of the time. But this was (and still is) a very emotional thing for our family. Eventually we'll be able to visit him and have him come home to sleep on Friday nights, but for the first couple of weeks while he is adjusting we can't seem him.
We have been very concerned for him and have been offering up a lot of prayers for his peace and comfort. While this is a HUGE change for him, it's also a ginormous change for my parents who haven't been kid-free for almost 40 years! They haven't lived alone as a couple since their first year of marriage in 1970! Also, my mom has never not had a kid at home to take care of. She has always had deadlines, schedules and babysitters to worry about even though Andrew is 23 years old. Crazy! I'm so excited for her to have some freedom.
**What's your favorite Easter candy?
Are you floored by the prices this year?
Can you imagine having kids at home for 40 years?**
Are you floored by the prices this year?
Can you imagine having kids at home for 40 years?**
Comment Window Tidbit: It is so great to be back to feeling normal again! My iron levels are back up and now I'm taking an iron supplement every morning. Good times. We'll be paying for this episode for a long time though!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Family Olympics in Pictures
**Questions or Comments?**
Comment Window Tidbit: I talked to Betsy today and laughed so hard I cried...good times.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Easter Rewind
In my haste to get back to blogging last week after being sick the week before, I failed to write about our Easter activities with the family.
Randy and I filled many eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt. We had a ridiculous amount of candy (Randy did the shopping while I was sick in bed) and we still have lots left (oh dear).
We gathered at my parents' house at 3:00 on Saturday the 11th (that means I'm 10 days late in posting this).
It's nice that the kids can be crazy in the basement while the adults are upstairs talking and getting the food ready. SingStar is a whole new experience on their huge TV.
Ashley invited me to play with her in the play house. I just loved feeling like a giant in there...not.
She cracked me up because she had some candy in there from an egg hunt she'd gone to earlier that day and was eating the candy but said, "Shh, don't let mom see." Stealthiness in children starts so young!
It was too rainy and wet outside to have our egg hunt so we had to do it inside. We ended up having way more eggs than hiding places, so there were many eggs grouped together or just out in the open. Robyn tried to get a picture of the kids waiting to come upstairs for the hunt, and this is the best she could do. What is with kids and photos anyway?
Andrew joined us for the egg hunt even though he has no interest in candy at all. He loves the process of finding the eggs. Should that be a lesson to me about finding joy in the journey?
My mom and Robyn made homemade rolls and a stuffed turkey for our dinner. It's no easy thing to time a meal to feed 18 people!
Oh la la.
Turkey smells like heaven even though I don't really love eating it. I do love everything that goes with it though, and find the smell hugely festive and comforting.
Adam labeled all the kids' cups with funny nicknames and made us laugh with Ashley's cup because he put the letters E.D. on it. None of us knew what that was about until he said, "emotionally distant" because she tends to ignore him completely. Ha.
The kids really didn't appreciate the tastiness of the meal. They all had such tiny portions and still left half of that on their plates.
Lori and Landon had planned a bunch of fun activities for the day, but since it was raining we ended up staying inside and having a SingStar contest instead.
{click to enlarge}
Easter Sunday ended up being a beautiful day. We went to church, came home and gave the kids their Easter Baskets (there's no talk of bunnies here), then Randy and I took a nap before our evening meal and Family Home Evening lesson about Easter. It was a good, low key day since I still wasn't back to full strength.
Randy and I filled many eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt. We had a ridiculous amount of candy (Randy did the shopping while I was sick in bed) and we still have lots left (oh dear).
We gathered at my parents' house at 3:00 on Saturday the 11th (that means I'm 10 days late in posting this).
It's nice that the kids can be crazy in the basement while the adults are upstairs talking and getting the food ready. SingStar is a whole new experience on their huge TV.
Ashley invited me to play with her in the play house. I just loved feeling like a giant in there...not.
She cracked me up because she had some candy in there from an egg hunt she'd gone to earlier that day and was eating the candy but said, "Shh, don't let mom see." Stealthiness in children starts so young!
It was too rainy and wet outside to have our egg hunt so we had to do it inside. We ended up having way more eggs than hiding places, so there were many eggs grouped together or just out in the open. Robyn tried to get a picture of the kids waiting to come upstairs for the hunt, and this is the best she could do. What is with kids and photos anyway?
Andrew joined us for the egg hunt even though he has no interest in candy at all. He loves the process of finding the eggs. Should that be a lesson to me about finding joy in the journey?
My mom and Robyn made homemade rolls and a stuffed turkey for our dinner. It's no easy thing to time a meal to feed 18 people!
Oh la la.
Turkey smells like heaven even though I don't really love eating it. I do love everything that goes with it though, and find the smell hugely festive and comforting.
Adam labeled all the kids' cups with funny nicknames and made us laugh with Ashley's cup because he put the letters E.D. on it. None of us knew what that was about until he said, "emotionally distant" because she tends to ignore him completely. Ha.
The kids really didn't appreciate the tastiness of the meal. They all had such tiny portions and still left half of that on their plates.
Lori and Landon had planned a bunch of fun activities for the day, but since it was raining we ended up staying inside and having a SingStar contest instead.
{click to enlarge}Landon created this elimination sheet (you can see I lost to him in the first round) to chart the path to victory. Amy got 1st place, Randy got 2nd and Landon got 3rd with Jared closely behind in 4th, Lori and Landon had even purchased ribbons for the winners. I spent most of the night watching the contest and coughing (#$@!).
Easter Sunday ended up being a beautiful day. We went to church, came home and gave the kids their Easter Baskets (there's no talk of bunnies here), then Randy and I took a nap before our evening meal and Family Home Evening lesson about Easter. It was a good, low key day since I still wasn't back to full strength.
**Do you enjoy filling eggs with candy?
Do you find joy in the journey?
Do you love the smell of turkey cooking?
Have you ever had a tournament like this?**
Do you find joy in the journey?
Do you love the smell of turkey cooking?
Have you ever had a tournament like this?**
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