Happy Easter!

     Well, we survived our first week solo (without Mom here to help), and it really went pretty smooth. Of course it helped that Dalton took Cooper with him to work two mornings. The most challenging part was nap time for Cooper, because Ace seems to wake up just before it's time for Cooper to go down. Still, there weren't any major problems. We'll see how it all goes when I take them both with me to the store or to run errands...that's when the challenges will begin. : )

     This weekend was Easter weekend and we were blessed to spend it with family. Saturday Dalton's aunts came to visit, along with Auntie M, Mere Mere and Popsey. The weather was beautiful so we all enjoyed burgers on the patio while we visited. It was so nice to see Aunt Kim and Aunt Rita, and to have visitors at the house.

 Cooper and Aunt Rita reading together

 Aunt Kim brought racing turtles from Cuba...so neat!

 One of the turtles

 Cooper's getting the wagon ride of his life. Hold on tight!

Pulling is much easier than pushing 

Aww, sweet big brother. Or is he just finding ways to stay close to the center of attention. : )

     Sunday morning we got up and dressed and headed to church. This was our first outing as a complete family of four, and it went really well. We made it to church on time, enjoyed a great celebration of Christ's resurrection with our church family, and then headed to Aunt Ellen's for Easter lunch and egg hunting.

 Ready for church, Bible in hand. Made me tear up it's so precious. : )

 Happy first Easter Ace!

 "Now explain this egg hunting thing again?"

The cousins are ready to hunt!

     Cooper got to hunt eggs with his cousins this year and he really enjoyed it. At first he just ran through the eggs and then would pick up one, but didn't get the concept. Then he shook one, figured out something was in the eggs, and that really got him motivated. He would pick up an egg and let out a hooray, then take it to his basket and go for another one. He found a spot with several eggs, which made him really excited. There were plenty of people on hand to help him hunt too, so he was sure to be successful. It was great fun!

 Aunt Ellen trying to help Cooper

 He hit the jackpot in the rose bed

 Proud of his collection

Mere Mere and Popsey helped him find some eggs too

     Ace behaved wonderfully all day too. He was wide awake during church and then slept through most of lunch. Then he woke up to visit with the family before we had to leave. When we got home from our festivities we all had a nice nap and enjoyed our evening together.

     Now another week has begun and we are just enjoying everyday activities. The garden is growing, and the need for weeding has begun...this will help me get some form of outdoor exercise anyway. I've gotten some more lettuce from the garden, so it's salad time! And one of our strawberry plants is producing. Cooper brought me a strawberry and when I tried to take it from me he protested. He wanted to eat it. So I washed it off and handed it back to him and he proceeded to eat the entire thing. I snuck a nibble and it was pretty tart, but I guess that didn't matter to him. I think he likes getting to eat food he's picked himself.

‎"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" 1 Peter 1:3