Resurrection Sunday Celebrations

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Jesus' Resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith and I love teaching my children about the power of Easter. We had probably the best sermon preached at our church The Austin Stone, that I have ever heard. It wasn't a short and sweet, light Easter sermon. Our pastor preached on Peters letters to the church, telling them how we need to rejoice in our suffering because our inheritance in heaven is our only hope. We talked a LOT about heaven and how our bodies will be born again, imperishable, and our souls undefiled. Imagine what it will be like standing face to face with our Creator when nothing else matters. Easter gives us hope. Our only hope is Jesus Christ and I love celebrating Him with my family and friends. 

The Easter celebrations started early last week when we dyed Easter eggs and made Resurrection rolls. We had 4 egg hunts from Thursday to Sunday and Monday morning Ford woke up asking when the next Easter hunt was. Let's just say we are going through some Easter withdrawls, ha! Ford had an egg hunt and celebration at school, our sweet neighbors hosted a beautiful brunch and hunt where the kids got to meet the Easter bunny and hit a pinata, Saturday we had our neighborhood's egg hunt where Ford got his face painted, and then Sunday we spent the evening with friends from church and one more egg hunt. To say our weekend was packed is an understatement. But would I want it any other way? No. Lucy also turned 11 months on Easter Sunday... her last "first" holiday until her birthday. Sunday we prayed the bold prayer that God would bring our 3rd baby home before next Easter. We are starting to long to know about our baby and ask that you pray along side of us. I hope you and your families had a beautiful weekend celebrating our God who lives and reigns ALIVE today!

Easter 2015

I remember thinking how much fun Ford's first year of holidays was but his second has been SO much more fun! Last year on Easter Ford was a plump little toothless 8 month old on the verge of crawling and he didn't exactly partake in any of the festivities. This year Ford really loved participating in all the Easter fun and it was so precious to watch him. He had his first egg hunt the weekend before Easter at my mom's house and he was a maniac! He loved finding the eggs and putting them in his basket, he didn't so much care for what was inside. Our neighborhood hosts an annual egg hunt and Ford ended up finding the grand prize egg for his age group! He won a giant Easter basket with lots of fun goodies but again, he had the most fun collecting the eggs rather than eating any treats. He didn't care for the Easter bunny (we snapped a quick picture of him at the egg hunt, he never sat on his lap) and was more interested in the mini ponies and petting zoo nearby. He wore bunny ears the entire time and his favorite little gift is a wind up chick I got from the Dollar Tree. I was prepping food on Easter afternoon and he played by himself for a good 30 minutes taking malted milk balls out of one egg and putting them into another. Gosh I love that kid. The only baby who won't put candy in his mouth but rather divide it and play games. Last week we went over to our neighbors to decorate eggs and that was pretty funny. Ford wanted nothing to do with it at the beginning (he was all about the water table) but once he realized what was happening, he was hooked. He and I dyed a dozen eggs and he was very stressed that his hands were stained, he IS his father's son!

Easter Sunday we made a yummy waffle bar (Ford can eat as much as me at breakfast these days!) and went to a beautiful service at our church, The Austin Stone. Unfortunately it was a rainy day but that didn't stop us from celebrating the wonder and beauty of our King Jesus' Resurrection! Ford absolutely loves going to Sunday school and usually runs right in without saying goodbye to us, such a blessing to have people who love on our babies and serve. That afternoon we all took naps and then grilled out for dinner with my parents and brother. Ford sure does get a lot of attention and did NOT want his fans to leave. The Easter gear is packed up and the next holiday we will be celebrating is Lucy's birthday! I look forward to each year, celebrating Easter as Ford (and Lucy) get older. I can't wait to teach them about the meaning of Easter, make Resurrection rolls, read the bible, and share God's love with them. I am still in awe that God loves ME so much that He didn't even withhold his Son. Praise His holy name!

Our Easter

Our family had an incredible Easter! Holidays seem a lot more fun and magical (as cheesy as that sounds) when babies are involved and this was the first holiday that I feel like Ford could actually participate in. He didn't hunt for eggs but he sure did love shaking them and going through the goodies in his TWO Easter baskets! One from us and one from Mimi and Papa. We spent a few days at my parents lakehouse where Ford got his toes in the sand and had lots of playtime with Embry and we came home Saturday night to get some rest for Sunday's festivities. 

Our church, The Austin Stone, relaunched their West campus which happens to be closer to our house on Sunday. Even though our previous campus felt like home, The Lord was calling us to the new campus and it was perfect. We will now be able to serve our community, invite neighbors to church with us, and "do life" with those around us. Worship kicked butt, we witnessed submersion baptisms, and the sermon knocked our socks off. Jon and I were both so glad that our pastor, Matt Carter, didn't preach on the traditional Easter story rather preached on our heavenly inheritance and the first chapter of the book of Ephesians. It gave us hope in knowing as hard as we try to be successful and provide for our family and Ford, those things fade. Our heavenly inheritance will never perish or spoil. Matt also shared that "The Holy Spirit is like a down payment for our heavenly inheritance". Truth! It is amazing to me that once I enter the Kingdom of Heaven, I am at the right hand of Jesus. I am one of God's saints!! If you'd like to listen to the sermon, you can find it here. Do it. 

Managed to only get a picture of our family on my iPhone

After Ford's nap we headed to a potluck lunch and egg hunt with friends from church. I realized I only really took pictures of my baby but we had so much fun with old friends, new friends, and about 6 babies to oogle over. Life is so sweet when lived in community. 
Ford's new smile...

Ford and Ethan...BFFs and 8 days apart

Hope you had a blessed Easter!

My cross His suffering

Today we celebrate and mourn one of the most glorious, frightening, and beautiful events in history, the death of Jesus Christ our King. This week has been full of emotion as I've studied and prayed over the last few days of Jesus' life. The story never seems to get easier to read as scripture describes His brutal death on the cross, yet each time I read it, my heart swells with so much joy. My sins, hanging there on Jesus' bloody, slowly dying body, and I sit here spotless, blameless, and accepted. 
This year, Jon participated in a church wide fast that ended last night with our missional community group and although I kept my body nourished (being pregnant and still being sick, I really couldn't participate), I felt humbled watching my husband and friends abstain from food. Jon was worried that he'd be cranky during a lunch meeting yesterday yet by the providence of God, his meeting pushed to next week. God sure does take care of His children. Jon is hypoglycemic and usually can't go more than 2 or so hours without food to regulate his sugar and I am so proud of him for making it. Sounds silly but I know I'd be super cranky and complain. I called Jon at lunch and he had just finished watching The Passion and said that food and drink was no longer a want after watching Christs' suffering. As Christians, fasting is meant to remove all distractions and idols of food and drink to focus on God and prayer. 
The first time I felt our son move was during worship at church....
From the cross, from the grave, You rose victoriously Son of God, King of Love, You reign victoriously
Some vintage Easter pics...

Jon and I are heading to the lake for the weekend this morning and really looking forward to getting away. Today is the last day of the quarter for Jon so he needs some relaxation (and this belly needs some sun!). If you are looking for a place to celebrate the beautiful Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Sunday, I invite you to the Frank Erwin Center with The Austin Stone at 10:30am. We'll be there!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.-John 3:16

Easter things

Good morning friends. How was your Easter? I hate that the weekend is over but we have a fun and crazy week/weekend ahead of us and we are ready for it :-). Not only was the weather beautiful this weekend, we spent time with family and friends and with the Lord. 

Friday

Our church hosted a multisensory/multivenue Good Friday Experience that we attended for 2 hours. It was come as you go but there were different short films, audio, music, confession, prayer, communion, and activities. Before walking in, Jon and I prayed under the gorgeous setting sun that God would open up our hearts and allow us to be fully immersed in His son's death. It was such a powerful night for us as Christians and as a married couple. 

They had different items used during the crucifixion and readings about how they were used. It was so interested, yet so frightening to read about the anatomy behind the death of Jesus. 

We attended a 45 minute "mini service" where we watched the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the Passion of the Christ while the church band played beautiful songs. There was acting/poetry from our very own church members and one of the pastors led us in prayer. This felt like such a cornerstone of my faith. It has been about a year since I have fully dedicated my life to the Lord. I have always been a believer and when Jon and I met we started praying together, attending small group, and going deeper into our faith but it wasn't until about a year ago that I gave it all to the Lord. And watching my God die on the cross, it all hit me. This was real. It happened. For me and for you. I couldn't catch my breath and Jon held onto me tight. I told myself, "look into His eyes, He is the King." As horrific and gruesome the scene at Mount Calvary, it was so moving and powerful for me. This is why my #1 duty in life is to serve God. 

Jon and I also got the opportunity to carry a 75lb cross through the grounds of our church campus. It is speculated that the cross Jesus carried was closer to 125lbs but there was no way I was going to be able to carry it (they had multiple crosses varying in weight). This was so humbling. The cross was incredibly padded and I had a towel to protect my shoulder. I was so thankful for that but then felt foolish that Jesus carried a heavier cross farther, without padding, after being whipped and beaten. I was holding back tears carrying the cross only 100 feet before Jon had to help me, just like Simon helped Jesus. We stopped and read 3 verses throughout the experience to symbolize the 3 times Jesus fell along his way to Golgotha, Isaiah 53:3-5, 1 Peter 2:23-25, and Luke 9:23.

Saturday
We woke up early to pack up our cars and head to the new house. We met a painter who is coming to paint this week (so excited!) and finally chose paint colors, I can't wait to show you guys. We unpacked, changed lightbulbs, washed dishes, and made a long list for a Home Depot run. I love Home Depot for many reasons but mostly I love bringing Ernie there, he was quite the star on Saturday. I had never spent so long in Home Depot but we kept finding things we needed and even ended up buying a washer and dryer! In our rental house we loved our GE Energy Star washer so we ended up getting the same one and we got an awesome deal. It took us probably 30 minutes to check out because I had so many Lowe's coupons that they matched (p.s. if you follow me on Twitter, you'd know I despise Lowe's...they are discriminatory to religions FYI). I felt silly but I was smiling and so happy as we walked through the garden center outside. I already love our house so much and can't wait to do projects and make it ours. 

Our new couch got delivered last week but we want to wait until after we paint to put it in so check out our living room set up. This is Jon's video game TV which is actually a 32inch but it looks so teeny. We meant to go look at new TVs for the family room this weekend but forgot/too tired.

Craft room crafts

We hung out with our couple BFFs (Justin and Leah) Saturday night and had dinner and froyo (forgot to mention Jon and I went to froyo both Friday and Saturday haha). We were psyched SNL was finally new, btw we have seen every episode in the past 10+ years, and loved Sofia Vergara. Um, she looks amazing too and is old enough to be my mom!

Sunday

We were amazed at how packed church was Sunday morning! Literally standing room only (and our church is HUGE). I was so happy to know so many new people were checking out Gateway and pray they continue to join us. Church rocked Saturday. Awesome music, real life stories and such a great message. Our pastor went through the book of Isaiah which foretells the coming of Christ 600 years before he was born. The sermon was about letting God write your great story. 

(my mom always keeps up with her 'Dress Me Up' plate)

We had a delicious steak lunch with my parents and 2 of my siblings and hung out around their house that afternoon. My mom, little sister, and I went through our baby things (pictures, cards, clothes, books, etc). Tomi put one of her bonnets on Ernie and he looked so weird. His lip always gets stuck on his crooked teeth lol

And we took some family pictures

Last year was our first Easter being married and I went all out. Easter baskets for Jon and Ernie and even an egg hunt. This year, our lives are kind of all over the place with the move and I did nada! Jon's birthday is on Wednesday and I have done nothing!!! (he knows that though hehe, we are going to do a party after we get settled). 

Ernie was so fancy in his bowtie

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter/Passover/weekend! What did you do?? How did you celebrate??