Easter 2016

Happy Easter weekend!  We dressed up fancy for church and joined our friends Wen, Casey and Ezra at their new church, All Saints.  We didn't get any photos with Stuart before church (he went early to play music), but he was home with us to celebrate Easter!  Just not documented :(

Before service, they hosted a little egg hunt for the kiddos... It had to be moved inside due to rain, but still fun!  They also had donuts and biscuits from Rise.

After nap time we had planned to dye eggs, and Mema and P\paw happened to stop by on their way back from visiting family in WV, so it became a family event!  James had a lot of fun, though the orange dye did get knocked over at the end... We don't have a lot of experience around here working with materials that aren't washable!  We just did a few eggs, but it was fun!

Last, but certainly not least, we spent the week leading up to Easter Sunday (Holy Week) reading the stories of Jesus's last week from the Jesus Storybook Bible for the little people and from She Reads Truth for me.  I feel like we did a pretty okay job this year balancing spring celebrations (egg hunts, dying eggs, planting gardens, etc) and teaching our kids the truths and hope of Jesus, and that really He holds all the seasons together anyway and the Earth coming to life during spring time is simply a foreshadowing of Him making all things new.

"He is not here... He has risen, just as He said." Matthew 28:6

Lately (spring!)

Found this photo from Stuart's phone of our 30th birthday date - taken on the rooftop of The Durham.

Sam fascinated by the fire pit... Obviously we are teaching them they can't get this close to it :)

Tomato seedlings... struggling to find enough sunlight.

Bedhead and apple snack.

Katie sent me some great anti-aging products for my 30th birthday.  Ha, only a sister can do that....

Deck picnic.

Standing in line to vote in the Presidential primary election... We waited over an hour and all got sunburnt!

Continuing our regular exercising after nap each day - always end here at this spot for the boys to explore (there's a playground behind me, so we play there, too!).  I've been run/jog/walking regularly and have been feeling much more like myself after a very hard, dark season in our family.  I think exercise (the regularly scheduled time to clear my head, be outside with my boys, and the endorphins!) has helped a lot!  Also, Jesus.  Of course.  But I feel like I meet Him in Creation, so for me, I feel like getting outside and moving my body always moves me to know Him more.

Family date to Foster's Market for popsicles!!  One of my most favorite recent days :)

Lots of trips to Lowe's lately... Spring always brings on home improvement projects.

Saturday morning at the Durham Farmer's Market - it was cold!

Sam's favorite thing is making people laugh.  He thought this was a funny outfit :)

Palm Sunday - we joined our friends, the Reagans, at their new church, All Saints.  I really appreciate how heavily they celebrate the church calendar there.  Palm leaves and "Hosannas!"

We had a cold, wet spring egg hunt after church...

Stuart pulled out the mini violin for James' first lesson after the egg hunt.  James is a little obsessed with it right now.

Too cool for school on a trip to the library yesterday.  He melts my heart.

Birthday weekend: 30!

Last Sunday was my 30th birthday!  Here's all the ways we celebrated...

Earlier in the week, my mom met us in Raleigh and we went to a garden center to buy lots of plants (our love language!).  So, celebrations started on Wednesday!

Then we had a picnic at Pullen Park in downtown Raleigh and rode the train.  Poor little Sam scraped up his face, so he looks pitiful in these photos, but he had a great time :)







We had actually planned for the boys to spend the night in Zebulon with Mema and P\paw that night so that Stuart and I could attend a resident event, so after I left them in Raleigh that afternoon, I took myself out on an early birthday date to Guglhupf.  Cheese plate and sauvignon blanc plus some reading and journaling.  Good for the soul!



While the boys were enjoying their time in Zebulon...



I took advantage of my free morning the next day to rework all of our potted plants, mostly replacing old ones with new ones from the garden center trip.  Lots of edibles this year - kale and swiss chard on the front porch, herbs and ranunculus and variegated geranium on the deck with some new strawberry plants, and lots of pansies at the mailbox.



Thursday evening, I met both of my parents back in Raleigh to exchange the boys.  Goodberry's frozen custard for dessert :) (a bowl of sprinkles for James since custard is made with eggs...)



Friday morning, the little boys and I drove up to Roxboro to visit with Uncle Matt, Aunt Mere and Canaan...



and to meet their new baby A!  Matthew and Meredith completed their foster parenting licensure a few weeks ago, and baby A is their first placement.  Loved snuggling with her sweet little self.



Saturday, we took a family trip to Lowe's for supplies to build a fire pit (happy birthday to me!)



After Lowe's, we ended up at Southpoint Mall for Touch-a-Truck... they had all kinds of huge vehicles for kids to climb in and play all over.  The firetruck was a big hit...















Sam was pretty over it after a few minutes, until we found the popsicle truck :)  They did have a food truck there, so we had lunch and then LocoPops for dessert.



During naptime, my man built my fire pit for me!





After nap time, my very best friend Casey Reagan came over and babysat the boys all evening so Stuart and I could go on a date.  We started at Alley Twenty Six in downtown Durham...





Then we walked across the street to The Durham, a hotel with a rooftop bar with a beautiful view of Durham.  There were better views, but this one included the sunset.



We then walked down the street to Rue Cler, an old favorite French restaurant of ours for brunch, but we had never gone for dinner.  It was delicious, as expected.





Beignets for dessert, of course.



Stuart brought me breakfast in bed on Sunday - 30th birthday!

After church, we had lunch at Geer Street Garden (another favorite) with our heart people.  Not shown, but Wen and Casey were with us, and that's Ezra down there in the bottom photo next to Samuel.  We love them and it was a perfect way to spend the afternoon of my 30th birthday.

All in all, several days full of my favorite things - favorite restaurants, family time, some alone time, playing in the dirt, date night with my hubs and time with our best friends. Looking forward to the best year yet.