Lovely Easter Day

Jackson and Audrey awoke early this morning eager to hunt for eggs and see what was in their baskets. We had to slow them down so they weren't simply a blur in pictures...it didn't really work. They had lots of fun anyway and were excited about all of the candy, of course. We spent the morning playing games and enjoying some time together before church.

After the church service, we made our way to our friend's house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. The dads hid the eggs outside while the mom's kept the kids corralled inside. When the eggs were all hidden, the kids gathered at the door and eagerly waited to hear the word "go!" Then they were off! They had lots of fun searching high and low, and eating candy again. They also love the food and playing with their friends.

When we got home I convinced the kids to do a mini photo shoot in the backyard. Audrey was first and loved posing and smiling for the camera.

Jackson was next. He's always a great helper with picking spots for pictures and posing. He especially loved taking the picture above with Audrey.

It was a beautiful Easter day both because of the weather and the people we got to spend it with. There are more pictures in the album

Audrey is 6!

Six years ago when this beautiful little girl was born I almost died. The first few hours of her life I remember being so scared I wouldn't get to see her grow up, and now she's 6! I will never forget the peace I felt the moment they finally let me hold her. I'll never forget the joy I could see in her eyes in the weeks and months to follow. Audrey has a special light inside her that she can't contain. She brings love and joy to everyone around her. Her smile and laugh and that sparkle in her eyes are contagious.

Thursday was Audrey's birthday, and we celebrated with cake and presents and lots of phone calls from family.

Today we continued the celebration with a few of Audrey's closest friends. Audrey chose to have a trampoline party. I wondered to myself if she was going to be happy with her choice, but I don't know why. She LOVED it! She loves to bounce around, climb on things, and swing from anything hanging in the air. This place let her do all of those things with some of her favorite people!

Audrey invited friends from school, her best friend from pre-K4, and friends from our church to celebrate with us. It took a long time to decide, but she settled on Strawberry Shortcake decorations and cake. It was between that and Care Bears because she liked the toys on those cakes the best, and they didn't have Power Rangers. I love that she's so well rounded. ;-)

The most fun occurred after everyone was done with pizza and cake. We had about 15 minutes of jump time remaining, and Ross was ready to be a kid again! Unfortunately, I am sick, so I didn't join in. I really wanted to though!

Ross won the most fun dad of the year award for his running and jumping and playing with the kids. I loved watching his face just as much as the kids. They all had so much fun!

Audrey smiled and laughed and had lots of sparkle in her eyes today. It was a wonderful way to celebrate six years of her being in our lives!

There are more pictures of the fun in the album!