Our Easter

What a special Easter we celebrated this year! As we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, we were surrounded by family and delicious food. While it is easy to fall into the temptation to make Easter about egg hunts and bunnies, may we always cherish the true meaning and center of the Easter holiday: Jesus. 

I want to know Christ-- yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:10-12

Here is a picture story of our glorious day :o) 

Once Mac and Paisley got up from their morning nap, we dressed them and started capturing our memories. 

Annnnnd they were getting tired of the pictures already. If Mac would talk, he'd tell me to have Paisley leave him alone. I bet that will happen quite a bit in our future ;-)

Family pictures!

Cousins!!

These are my two favorite girls... Paisley will have such fun with her Lilly Scott and KK.

I even got to blow out candles! :o) 

Love all these kiddos and babies! 

I must pause and share these pictures from last Easter...

 ... and here we are now... a family of four. Wow. 

We love you, M and P! We are SO incredibly blessed to be your mom and dad.

-ashley

Special Saturday

We are visiting family for Easter, and we have especially enjoyed having Mac and Paisley here this year :o) It has been fun to visit, egg hunt, and eat! This year makes me even more excited for next year when our little nuggets are running around hunting the eggs. :o)

Since this blog is my way of journaling to M and P, I captured the day in pictures...

Paisley didn't sleep Friday night so we were pretty sluggish Saturday morning. I have narrowed down the cause to peas. From what I can remember, when P has peas (ironic, huh?), she wakes up about 2 hours after being asleep and cries pretty hard. So, no more peas for our P. 

We spent our morning cuddling and playing at Mimi and Geep's house.

After Jordan, my dad, and I went for a run (I'm on week 5 of the couch to 5k app... that's what 7 weeks of bed rest will do to your leg muscles), we went to a picnic! We had lots of family there to love on M and P. 

 

 We had a couple of tired babes on our hands so Uncle Jeff took them for a walk... and they were out.

 After the picnic at Aunt Dee and Uncle Larry's, we went to an egg hunt at the park. Mac and Paisley's cousins Paxton, Caitlin, and Blake and Aunt Courtney and Uncle Kyle came too :o) Paw Paw and Lilly were there, our cousins Donna and Dreya came from Georgia, and Rachel, Colton and Brittney joined us. Jordan and I treated ourselves to snow cones (yummmmmm), and I unfortunately didn't treat my skin to any SPF :o(

 

 

We went to church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! Thank you for defeating death so that we may experience grace.

He is Risen, Indeed!!!!!  

-ashley

364 days

Jordan kindly reminded me this morning that I have 364 days until my birthday. I'm a sucker for birthdays. I love them. It's a day that's a celebration of you.... even though our mom's did all the work, haha. I get excited to celebrate birthdays for any and everyone. It's about feeling special for me, and yesterday I felt special. :o) Between the phone calls, texts, gatherings with friends, and a dinner date with Jordan (thank you, Jessica), yesterday was a good.. no, great birthday. 

Here are some highlights... And I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of my lunch dates, Mary and Frances. Next time, ladies. 

 We only had "2" and "6" candles so we put those on a cake and added the "+1".

 Jordan made me a delicious vegan lime cake... yum yum yum. I'm carb-loading like I'm about to compete in an ironman triathlon. :o/ When in Rome, folks, when in Rome...

-ashley

Sayonara, 26

Today we played and ran errands. Mac is too interested in his surroundings so he doesn't nap when we are out and about. Plus his seat in the stroller has great views whereas Paisley's seat is kind of hidden underneath. 

Here are pictures from our last hospital visit for labs (hopefully the last time, poor babies), this weekend, and today :o)

 Mac was eyeing the phlebotomist... not a fan    Paisley wasn't so sure either

 This is my view during meals... P is concerned with Mac. (She was eating peas)

 peek a boo, I love you!

 

 

 We did it!! Mac and Paisley went to the church nursery Sunday, and they. did. great!!We got a report card on their temperament, diapers, and other neat info that only parents appreciate :o)

 Mac is too cool in his new shades.

 I have a feeling I'll be battling this all summer... oh, P.

Tomorrow is my birthday so I'm signing off for the last time as a 26 year old. What a special number this year has been. Bring on 27! 

-ashley

Mr. and Miss Personality

How sweet are babies in the morning?? I love how they love to snuggle and be close when they first wake up- it's one of my favorite times. Yesterday I took a couple of pictures of M and P in the morning to share with you just how sweet they are... as if you didn't already know. ;o) Paisley was catching some last minute z's and I was searching for pearly whites in Mac's gums. He was like, What are you doing, mom??!

Here we are at playtime before our morning nap. I love watching them play together. It is so sweet. They were born with a best friend. :o) 

Paisley kept switching the button to Spanish... Sadly it took me a minute to figure out why the toy was speaking Spanish. Silly girl, silly mama.

 I put a dress on Paisley yesterday, and she became so giddy it was hilarious. It's like she knew that she was wearing a dress and would twirl all day if she could. She fluffed the fabric and laughed over and over again. And of course Mac, well, he's so easy going, he could care less what I put on him... much like his dad. :o) And I guess that would make Paisley much like her mama :o)

P: Hey, big brother.  M: I'm watching something.

 P: Oh, there's mommy's camera... cheese!! M: feet! I remembered my feet!

 Me: Mac and Paisley! Hey, guys!

 Me: Let's switch spots so P is leaning on brother.

 P: I love my big brother. M: let go of my arm, please.

 P: I still love my big brother. M: Is this over yet?

P: Hey, mama. M: Surprise!!

 Paisley gives kisses to her brother... and he's such a boy- he isn't phased.

 We want to say thank you to our friend Becca at laughing bee designs for making Mac's onesie and Paisley's dress :o) 

Paisley's headband is from one of my favorite Etsy shops- Fairy Flowers & Bows. This shop is also making Paisley's Easter headband. I can't wait to see it!! Check out the store, and use the discount code "SAVE10" to get 10% off your order! Tell her I sent ya~

It's THURSDAY!!! Woo hoo!!

-ashley 

** I just checked on some bread I made to see if it was done... It should be done... If only I had actually put it in the oven.  :o/

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

I was reading one of our free books from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library the other day. The book was The Little Engine That Could. As I read about the difficulty that poor train had, I thought, goodness, sometimes I say 'I think I can, I think I can' throughout our day! I love love love being a stay at home mom, but there are days when I want to call in sick. Seriously.

Just about every diaper has had a surprise for me (read about our diapering method here)...  I caught vomit in my hand... and I've had a baby clinging to me since this morning... this is how some days go, and it. is. hard. I am no hero, and by no means do I have it all together. We are good to get from one hour to the next sometimes.

I love hosting showers, and my favorite part of showers are the invitations because invites set the tone for the event: casual vs formal, couples vs individuals, colors/theme, etc. After the invitation has been edited, I enjoy reading the grammar and punctuation to make sure everything is just perfect. I am a nerd about grammar... I still try to be- when I have time. I have been responsible for invitations with the last few showers I have hosted, and I have messed up something on each invitation! I beat myself up over it time and again, but then I have to let it go and realize that while my "cup overflows," so does my plate.

True story... I went to Earthfare to get some pears to make for M and P. As I was peeling them, I thought, these sure smell like mangoes. Low and behold, they were mangoes!!

 So please don't let me fool you. I do NOT have it all together. My head regularly spins. It's a survival thing, and we just do it. It's how women are created.

 I'm excited because I've made it almost 2 weeks without stopping by a Wendy's drive thru! haha! Believe it or not, I actually can have most foods from there! Read about Mac and Paisley's food intolerances here and here.

I thought this was accurate.. except for the Vodka part... I still nurse ;o)

In a world of negativity, I make an effort to be positive. I hope the blog portrays that but not without a sense of readers knowing that I am human just like everyone else. My super power is grace- God's grace, and He has blessed with a supportive husband, family, and friends. Thank you for being the glue that keeps me together when I feel like I'm falling apart! I love you! 


But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

-ashley

Thank you