Easter Memories

My favorite holiday has always been Easter for as long as I can remember. It seems like a magical time to me. New hope, new beginnings, and of course all of my favorite colors! I had always wanted to get married in April or have a baby in April. Since I was a teacher in my previous life the summer was the wedding time. And baby planning is left up to the great Gift Giver himself. But this Easter was one of the most special. We actually joined the new church that I had posted about previously. It feels like we have finally come "home".

Our day started with an Easter egg hunt very early in the morning. Well, actually we first had to explore our baskets and eat a little candy while Daddy was taking a shower so he could wake-up. My sweet hubby is NOT a morning person.

Once Clark found his eggs he was so good to help Will Henry.

Bella Ruth is not a morning person either, but the idea of candy got her motivated. :-)

The Easter bunny brought the sweetest dolls in their baskets. They look like each of the peeps and have their name and a special bible verse on their tummy. I just happen to know that he got them from www.babybeblessed.com . Bella Ruth and Will Henry have not put their baby dolls down since Easter morning. And Clark loves to sleep with his.

Waiting for Daddy so they can hunt eggs. THis is one of the many funny faces from our little man. His Ninna says that his Daddy had lots of funny faces growing up.

We went to my in-laws for a late egg hunt with their cousins and dinner. Bella Ruth was pretty tired by this time. But lots of fun was still had!

The peeps loved the bubbles that the Easter bunny left for them. We ended up in the neighbors yard blowing bubbles for a long time.

The last picture of the day. These are all of the cousins on my husbands side. We live within 1 mile of each other so the peeps see each other lots.

We went to the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday night. It was just breathe-taking, beautiful and moving. Yes, I was confirmed into the Catholic church at this time. We are very excited and are enjoying this journey as a family. I hope that each of you had a special Easter too.

Meeting the Bishop (and a prayer request)

Meeting the Bishop.

My RCIA class and their sponsors.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet the Bishop. It was the Rite of Election service for the Catholic churches in our area. The service was beautiful. After the service there was a small reception and that is where we actually had a chance to meet the Bishop and talk to him. Lucky for me my sponsor, Julie, just walked right up and introduced us. (hi julie!) She even remembered her camera. (I need to do a post on my faith journey sometime soon.)

I also have another prayer request for my prayer warriors: Please pray for this sweet family as they are taking their precious baby girl, Gracie, off of ECMO today. I have followed this story for a few weeks and her family are such strong Christians. Please pray for her Mommy, Daddy, brothers and sister to have peace, grace and courage as they send Gracie home to Jesus. Their blog is http://www.thegledhillfamily.blogspot.com/ .

Warm and Cozy

Tonight, while we were at mass, there was a soft snow falling. It was so warm and cozy just knowing what waited for us outside the door. But please, let us miss no more school!

Update from Sunday

The new church that we visited was very welcoming and we really felt right at home. Since we live in a small town you know lots of people wherever you go. Some of our closest friends attend this church, and our children attend school there. But this is also why it can be a little difficult to try new things. You see, we are very active in our old church and we knew that everyone would hear the news... that we were "church shopping." And we got a call Monday morning asking if we were changing churches. The truth is that we have been praying and talking about this move for a long time. I mean for a few years. My husband is the type of person that takes lots of time to actually make a decision, but when he does he is finished with the debating or contemplating. Remember how long this house building has taken us. :) Also, this is not the first church that we visited, we have actually "shopped" a couple other churches over the course of a couple years. We feel very confident in our decision and are excited to become a part of this church family.

On our way to Church

We are on our way to a new church this morning. This will be the first time that we actually attend as a whole family. All of our marriage we have attended the same church that my husband was born and raised in. The church has had some major changes over the past 5 years and he is not comfortable there anymore. Please pray that all goes well today. I will try to post some other updates later this afternoon.

Love,

Chesnye