happy easter

Last Easter we were making a fun little announcement.

And this year, our sweet little Gavin is much bigger than the little sonogram picture.



We had such a wonderful Easter weekend.  These kids REALLY were getting it this year, what Easter is all about.  We spent Friday talking about Good Friday and how we can call it good if that day in history was filled with such hate and horrible things.  Taylor truly truly got it.  It makes our heart so joyful.  They asked again and again to watch more YouTube videos of Easter worship songs and the story of Jesus dying on the cross.  And then we waited for Sunday to celebrate his resurrection!!

We dyed eggs at home.  The first year EVER that I was on top of it enough to do it before Saturday night when it was dark.  It was much more fun and less messy to do it outside.

And we dyed eggs and Nana and Papas.

And then we went to a "fancy" dinner (says the girls).  6 kids, fancy dishes, real glasses, quiet restaurant.  It seriously could have been a horrifying disaster.  But they actually did quite well!



And to top off a fabulous weekend,

we got to be a part of such an awesome and special church service!

We are so excited to be a part of the launch team for Grace Hillsboro, a new church that has been planted by our church, in a town about 30 miles away.

Today was the very first EVER service, in a building at the fairgrounds.

Our kids were such big helpers, and it's just so neat to get to talk them about the team they are on and the work they are getting to do.

When we explained to the kids about how our family has chosen to be a part of this launch team, we told them that not only did mom and dad sign up to work on a team, but we also signed them up for a special job of welcoming new kids and making sure they always wanted to come back and learn about Jesus.  Mason's response was "why didn't you sign us up for cleaning?"

We are so excited to be a part of God's work in Hillsboro.

What a special Easter that we will forever remember.