Easter Festivities

The Easter season is so special because it reminds us of the reason for our hope...the death and resurrection of our Savior. He paid the price for our sins on the cross, absorbing the wrath of God that we earned for ourselves...and then rose victorious to prove that His sacrifice worked! Our Redeemer lives!

We were so excited to spend the week of Easter with Spencer's side of the family. We had a great time seeing family members that we don't get to see very much (such as Spencer's dad and brother) but missed seeing others that were out of town. Claire had loads of fun, of course.

And Hughley enjoyed watching all the fun...

Claire had her first ride on the four-wheeler...and she was hooked. After this, she wanted to ride every chance she got.


Family ride...


And of course, Gran wanted in on the action, too...

Pawpaw, Gran, and Claire...



On Friday night we had an Easter egg hunt for Claire and her cousins, Grayson, Bryson, and Garrison.



Claire caught on very quickly to the idea. She loved opening each egg as she got it to check out the "goods"...blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries! Mmmmm...

The boys were very kind to let Claire "find" the prize egg.


And here is Claire sitting with her cousin Madison, enjoying the banana that was in the prize egg!


Of course, lots of bubbles were involved during this visit...





And some quality "Gran-time"...



Claire finally got a basketball goal just her size. This was like a dream come true. She has showed a love for basketball ever since she could point, and she just had the best time finally making the goals for herself.


Claire had lots of fun with Uncle Travis, playing ball...


...and getting in the kayak!

We were so thankful for the time we got to spend with Spencer's side of the family. On Easter morning we got up and traveled to see my side of the family for a few hours. We didn't get to stay long because both Claire and her cousin Justice were not feeling well by that time, but it was great to see everyone even just for a little while.

Aunt Jeni was so happy to see her nieces, and they were happy to see her too!


Claire just loved seeing "Baby Justice."


Here is Claire giving Baby Justice a kiss...yes, it resembles a head-butt more than a kiss, but trust me, it was given with the best of intentions.


My sweet niece!


Here is our beautiful, ever-expanding family! Due to Nan's request, I will refrain from putting pictures of her on here, but of course we loved seeing Nan and Papa as well. They gave the girls the sweetest books that they recorded themselves reading. What a precious gift!

Welcome Back

Today - April 19, 2011 - was Spencer's LAST DAY OF CLASS. He took his final final...and tonight, for the first time in two years, he did not study. Now, the road isn't over yet...we still have a few months of clinicals and then the boards exam, but today was a huge day for all of us.

We celebrated by...well, by playing. And not studying.




I am going to be mushy for just a second. So if you are not comfortable with mushy, then tune back in to the next post and I'll be back to normal. But I can't begin to express how proud I am of my husband. For a guy who swore he would never go to school past college, he has now been in graduate school for five years, and he has completed the most vigorous and intense program that I have ever witnessed myself. Not only that, but up to this point he has only had one B the entire time he has been in PT school. (I am saying that now, before he gets his final grades for this semester :)

Besides the academic work, he has remained a man of integrity during these crazy, stressful couple of years. He is a godly husband and a loving father, and Claire and I could never ask for a better leader for our family. He loves Jesus and demonstrates God's love to us.

Have I mentioned that I love Spencer? That I have a slight crush on him? And that I am proud of him? Just checking.

And we are more than thrilled to have him back. We loaned him out to PT school for a couple of years, but we are reclaiming our husband/daddy now, and we couldn't be more excited...


Welcome back, Spencer. And congratulations...we love you!

Could I Get a Little Ham with that Cheese???

A Day Before 17 Months...

• Spencer and I are now officially "Dadduh" and "Mammy." Mammy? Really???

• Every book that is bigger than most of Claire's books is officially a "by-buh" (Bible). Yesterday I was trying to read a few pages of a book when Claire took it out of my hands, shaking her head and assuring me that it was "dadduh by-buh" (Daddy's Bible). In actuality, it was a book called "Jump off the Hormone Swing." Haha.
  

• I can't keep enough food in the house. For my ONE YEAR OLD. I'm not kidding. It takes 30 extra minutes to go anywhere because I have to pack an arsenal of food. This morning we were at the gym for 2 hours, between my fitness class, personal workout, and playtime on the jungle gym. I packed grapes, cheerios, a banana, an orange, and an almond butter sandwich. (Please understand, this was AFTER a bowl full of oat bran for breakfast.) How much was left by the time we got back home? You got it. NOTHING. And she was asking for lunch as soon as we walked in the door. What am I going to do when she weighs more than 24 pounds???
  

• Claire likes to put things on her head.