Family Celebration

We spent Resurrection Sunday at the Wittenbergs. I sent this quote to my dear friend Shannon 'We read the account tonight of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection and it was a blessing because this year I could tell that Laura was really understanding the seriousness of what Jesus did and does for us through his death. She even drew the correlation between the Passover lamb and Jesus, our perfect lamb whose blood was also shed..which replaced the old covenant blood on the doorpost."

..and while easter egg hunts are not really a part of our Resurrection Sunday celebration, it is a fun tradition that Barb's family has always done for the children. This egg hunt was no exception! Cousin Tom and his wife Annie had hidden them in some great places! 

Cousins Maddie & James

Daddy helps the girls!

Look at all those eggs!

One of Grace's eggs contained the much coveted laser pointer!

Cousin Dana looks at her loot!

James too!

Jenny and baby Claire

The tables are nicely set!

Kelly's sister Katie with baby Claire

Gracie & James hunt for the last missing eggs!

It was a very nice day! 

Havin' Fun Playing with Ashley's New Camera

Ash got a new camera! She has been busily watching youtubes and instructional videos to figure out how to use it. Its much more intricate than her last one. She is going to help snap a few photos at a wedding this weekend so is trying to learn as much as she can.

The current rental we are at is heavily landscaped. We live on 2 city parcels and the woman who owned it prior to our landlady was a master gardener.. there are some amazing treasures peeking up out of the soil right now. Sadly we are moving to the country (well, *that's* not sad!!!!!!!) so we wont be able to see all that this place has to offer in the summertime.. I can already see hints of gladiolas, peonies, herbs, blueberries, lilacs, budding butterfly bushes, heliotrope, violets, quince..tulips, and SO many more beauties!

..speaking of beauties! 

This one's going in a frame!

I love the black & white

Pretty Mandy

I think this is a holly bush?? Could be wrong..

We've already had a few visitors to this hummingbird feeder!

Sleepy guy after a hard day's work!

Laura, breaking into our vintage bookshelf. Her current favorite reads are history books

from the early 1900's. When we first moved back to the area, a family from the Valley gave us a ton of things free, left over from an estate sale. Including about 200 books from the late 1800's-the mid 1900's. We have had so much fun looking through them! Especially the 20 volume set of encyclopedia's from 1920!

After-dinner snack

Examining his new fly rod! Now for that trip to New Zealand....!!!

Happy Birthday Miss Amanda Nicole

We had such a lovely time for Mandy's birthday! Ashley watched the little girls while Mandy and I spent the day together. We were *supposed* to be shopping for shoes-however, we got lured into our local Bi-Mart store who had their lovely flower starts, pots and potting soil displayed outside. We couldn't help but 'look around'! Both being flower-lovers we ended up leaving with 2 beautiful flower containers, potting soil and enough flowers to fill the back of the van!

The flower escapade threw us off schedule! lol.. after shoe shopping we were supposed to meet the family at Pizza Amore in Albany for a celebration dinner for Amanda! The family arrived right on time and ordered.. then waited.. and waited for us to show up! We were only 20 minutes late! Oops!

Signing the birthday card..

Grant kept calling.."ummm..where are you guys!??'

Mr. Patience (?) 

..and they waited..

The pizza was getting cold by the time Mandy and I had arrived!

They had been so kind to wait for us though!

Happy Birthday Amanda!

We love their food! I ordered the greek salad.. Mandy had requested the chicken, bacon & alfredo gluten free pizza. And the guys had gotten pepperoni pizza!

Grant signed the guest book for us! Its a good thing they didn't have many customers that night.

We were kinda a rowdy crowd! 

Once we got home, Mandy opened a few additional gifts.. What a fun day!

We are so proud of this beautiful and godly young woman. I can truly say that she is one of my best-friends and one of the most wonderful women I know. Her desire to follow the Lord and live a life pleasing to him is apparent in her way of life.

Her love for others is very tangible..She inspires me daily.We love you darling Amanda