Easter........

so we decided that Easter weekend would be the perfect holiday to begin a tradition that i have wanted to start with our family since the day we had gracie. we, as a family of 8, decided to go to see our first movie together.......and what could be more appropriate on Easter then to see HOP!! of coarse the theater was packed when we got there so in our normal rose fashion, we all file into the the 3rd row from the front and take our place in the center of the row. how surreal it was to look down the row at my beautiful family and tear up at the realization that i have waited 9 yrs for this to happen.......i know, only a mom would tear up in a movie about a talking 2nd generation Easter bunny who is accepted as normal in mainstream America among humans! anyway, this is the order we sat in.......cardin (2 yrs), joseph, olivia (3 yrs), jackson (7 yrs), gracie (9 yrs), ela (5 yrs), me, and maxwell (2 yrs)!

the twins did so well for this being their first movie. i think they were mesmerized by the screen, the endless amount of their own treats, and the experience all together! cardin was so cute! when other people would laugh, she would let out a huge cackle and just laugh as loud as she could! when music would come on.....both she and max would immediately start dancing and grooving to the tunes!

ela kept leaning over and telling me that this was the first movie that i had been to with them. i am the one who usually stays home with the babies while the others head out with joseph to the movie of choice. i am so glad that i decided to go and enjoy the moment with our family and i think what thrills me even more is that my kids were happy to have both joseph and i there together with them. can't wait to do it again!

after the movie was over, we saw the theater had a mini photo booth! you know the one that snaps however many pictures of you so fast and then print them out on strips for you to take home?? ever since joseph and i started dating, we have always jumped in every little photo booth we came across along the way! we decided to squeeze all 6 of the kids into this little booth for a memento of our outing!

saturday night proved to be a late one for joseph and i. 3 am rolled around and i realized that the easter bunny himself had visited our home and left baskets for all of our little darlings! i know i saw the tale end of that little rabbit as he hopped on to our neighbors house!! the kids were so excited on Easter sunday to see what was left for them! i remember as a child many Easters spent waking up to a wonderful basket full of goodies, big meals, easter egg hunts with my cousins, getting all dressed up for church, always family time (grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins)! the easter bunny used to leave our baskets outside of our bedroom door! i am so grateful for the memories i have of these special times as a child and the "traditions" that have been instilled in me and that we are able to pass along to our children.

the kids found their easter baskets sitting on the kitchen table at their spots! we had a wonderful breakfast and were able to discuss the true meaning of Easter with them. there is something about family around a kitchen table that is "comforting" to me!! being all together, food, good conversations.......it really is a good time and place to talk, teach, listen to one another, and enjoy each other!

everyone dressed in their pretties.....this year we wore blue and white......and headed to church!

after a wonderful meal with friends and the kids bouncing off the walls from the sugar high they sustained from their 2nd day of treats, off to bed they went!

i am so thankful for our Lord and Savior, for the opportunity that i have come to know Him and feel of His spirit. i am so grateful for His life of service, forgiveness, healing, love, sacrifice, and the example He is to me. i am so thankful that i know He lives!! how fortunate i feel to have been blessed with parents who raised me to follow His example by watching them and then to come to know Him for myself!