I love Spring, don't you? Maybe it's because my birthday is in April, but I've always felt a stirring in my soul during the spring. I can visualize winter doldrums dropping off my body...if only it was actual pounds dropping off said body...but anyway...
Happy spring! We've had an eventful few weeks! My husband has his birthday in early March, then our anniversary is in mid-April, with my birthday just two days afterwards. And YES, my husband always does a fantastic job keeping the holidays separate! I get gifts/cards for both events. He is awesome about this, I must say. Even on our honeymoon cruise, he had the chef make a special birthday cake for me...although they got confused and my 'birthday' cake said "Happy Anniversary"...weird to see when you've been married exactly 72 hours!
THIS birthday was the first year that I got a card picked out and written in by my 4-year old son. He may be on the autism spectrum (see my previous blog posts), but the kid is smart and this is what the inside looked like:
Yeah, I cried a bit. Who wouldn't?
The Saturday before Easter was our annual Easter Egg Hunt in Waikele. So much fun! Samuel moved up this year from the 'baby' group of ages 0-3, and he had to wait until the 4-7 age group to go. Here they are waiting for the starting horn to blow.
Why yes, of course she wore a pair of her princess heels to hunt eggs.
I love having young kids and deciding what traditions we as a family are going to establish. I love the idea of Easter baskets, although growing up in a large family I didn't regularly get one. In fact, I think I may have gotten a basket once, thanks to my older sister! But while cruising the local stores I see that it would be easy to get caught up in all the massive amounts of toys and candy that you can get for baskets. It's a bit overwhelming, yes? Plus I don't like the idea of faux grass and pointless baskets that just clutter up the place. So Elton and I decided that we would get useful containers or none at all, and the baskets would consist of the mandatory chocolate Easter bunny (in dark chocolate in case Mommy sneaks a nibble!), and one toy. Grandma already got them stuffed animals, anyway. Am I too practical?
Anyway, because I'm trying to learn how to use coupons, I kept an eye out for toy coupons and am THRILLED that I was able to match coupons up with sales. I got a game for Samuel that was $3 after sale/coupon, and an awesome Rapunzel doll (from Disney's 'Tangled') for $5 after sale/coupon! The kids loved their 'baskets' and Mommy was proud of her coupon skills. We talked about the meaning of Easter and how we are celebrating the Jesus is alive!
Changing the subject....man, can you believe that April is almost over? Time is flying by! Speaking of time, I feel like I'm busier than ever now days. In fact, it's taken 3 days of working on this blog just to get it done. Crazy.
Here is the Gray family on Easter Sunday at our service in Honolulu. Wishing all of you a wonderful Spring and may you find the time to make wonderful memories with your loved ones and friends!
Ohmygosh! Olivia's egg hunting dress is ADORABLE. I love it! Of course, it's on a super-cute kid, so that makes it even cuter! :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous family SoShawna! Your little guy makes my heart smile.
ReplyDeleteAnd I completely agree with your easter basket ideas. If you start out huge, where do you go from there? :)
Wow! I really enjoy reading your blogs. I agree....Lorence and I have also shared with Isaiah about the reason for Easter. We don't want our kids to only be surrounded with baskets and eggs, but to understand the true meaning of Jesus. I wanted to ask if the easter hunting at Waikele open to the public. Might want to bring my boys next year, maybe.
ReplyDeleteNice family picture. And your outfit....really cute. :0)