Joy in the Journey

Easter
We had a really fun Easter this year. My brother, Kevin, and his two cutie kiddos stayed with us for the entire week before. The kids were in "cousin heaven" and partied like it was a slumber party every single night! It was tons of fun (except for the end part when Kevin had already flown home and 4 of those 6 kids started throwing up all night long and each of them took a turn or two on the carpet, beds, and pretty much everywhere... yeah, that part was not so much fun). We colored lots and lots of eggs... we decided to try the tie-dye kind and the glittery kind too and we were all pretty pleased with the way they turned out. 
 

I felt kinda like I had my own little fan club with this sweet little Brooklyn following me around all day. That is until Ashley came home from school, and then Ashley was pretty much a ROCK STAR in her cousin's eyes.

Aren't these little cousins the cutest?

Everyone was pretty thrilled to wake up Easter morning and find that the Easter bunny had left a giant trail of jelly beans all the way down the stairs to the spot where the baskets were awaiting.

The Easter bunny delivered!

I love those cute little curler heads :)

Those kids of mine were not very anxious about having a family picture taken. The super bright sun after church didn't help things either... so this was as good as it gets. Check out Luke's awesome face! Oh and Zac's lack of hair... (more on that later) which is not my favorite "do", but makes me adore him all the more when I see it and think of why it's like that. 

Oh man, I love these crazy boys!

And this girl melts my heart. She is absolutely as sweet as can be, but is just fiesty enough to hold her own in a house full of boys!

I can't get enough of her cute little gap where two little baby teeth used to be

.

Wishing I could just freeze time and keep her this little.

These girls were so darling together.

And then there is this boy... the one that gives me kisses all day long... the one that tells me that I am his favorite.

I am pretty much crazy over this boy too. Look at that face.. how could you not be?

Luke's funny teeth smile here makes me laugh.

She is such a doll. Can you even believe those huge blue eyes?

Kevin, my handsome brother, with Brooklyn and Captain

Brooklyn was not the only cousin that was pretty taken with Ashley. This adorable boy thought she was pretty great too.  I found this sweet note that he wrote to Ashley...
melted me right into a puddle:

Just in case you are not a pro with kid spelling, it reads:

 I have never said 

 this to a girl

 but I think you

 are pretty and

 kind and loving

 with beautiful eyes

 and smile and laugh 

 from Captain

 I completely agree :) 

After church we did an Easter egg hunt in the front yard for the kids.

Excuse the blur, but Brooklyn's cute face was priceless!

With the promise of dollars in some of the eggs, even the big kids got in on the action.

I love Easter. I love the bunny, coloring eggs, the chocolate :) and having fun with my kids, but mostly I love my Savior. I love to spend a little extra time thinking about Him, about His life, and about His sacrifice for me. I am so grateful that because of Him, my family can be eternal, and nothing is most important to me than that. :)