We had such a wonderful first Easter with Avery Nicole. I'm seriously loving all of these "firsts" and am overflowing with so much joy as Chris and I get to experience these things with eachother and with Avery.
Our small group had an Easter party on Saturday complete with an Easter egg hunt for all 20+ kids that were there. Obviously Avery did not participate, but she did get to be a part of the big group picture with all of the kiddos. What a fun memory (for Chris and me, since she obviously won't be remembering it *wink*)! Brad and Amy were so sweet to have us all over to their house and we enjoyed some delicious food and great fellowship with eachother. We are so blessed to be a part of this small group and look forward to the many more memories we will make with them.
(Don't forget you can click on each picture to enlarge them!!)
On Easter Sunday we went to our home church here in FL. Avery hung out in the nursery with her friends while Chris and I enjoyed a really wonderful Easter service. Our pastor's message was really great and was followed by the cardboard testimonies. If you've never heard of this or seen it done I encourage you to research it. The idea is that on one side you write one of your struggles and on the other side you write how God has saved you from that pain. A number of our congregation participated and I don't think there was a dry eye in the entire building. God works in each of our lives and uses different circumstances to ultimately bring us closer to Him. Those that shared their cardboard testimonies on Sunday had suffered from a great deal of pain in their lives, but in the end they have found faith and hope in God and have turned their pain into a means to glorify our God. It was so impactful.
After the service we went to my parents house where Avery got to have her first Easter egg hunt! She was very interested in how the eggs tasted. hehe. After her Easter egg hunt we all changed and headed to the marina where my parents rented a pontoon boat for my sister's 23rd birthday and Avery's half-birthday- both of which were on Monday the 25th. Aunt Tara also went with us and we had a very fun and relaxing 4 hours out on the water. Chris took his paddle board and it was so fun watching us all try it out. Bailey also got to go out with us and we put her in the water to try and improve her swimming skills.... she is absolutely TERRIFIED of the water and was shaking all over. She prefers to be on the boat instead of in the water.
...Avery with her Easter goodies....
...isn't our little bunny so precious?...
{family pictures}
...I love my baby girl oh so much....
....Avery with her Aunt Amanda...
...Avery with her Great-Aunt Tara (aka. Aunt TaTa)...
...I loved, loved, loved her Easter dress-she is so beautiful!...
...Mimi, Avery, and Granddaddy...
...mommy's favorite....
...Avery's first Easter egg hunt...
...Easter goodies from Mimi, Granddaddy and Aunt Amanda...
....Aunt Tara trying out the paddle board for the first time...
...she did it!!!...
...sister, sister... (ewww, I'm so pale next to her!)
...even Bailey tried out the board...
...happy birthday!!!...
...Avery's first time on a boat....
...love them....
There are a lot of pictures from our time on the boat, but I guess they are all on my parent's camera. I'll have get them and post them later for you all to see!
It was a wonderful Easter weekend and I'm so glad that we were able to celebrate Amanda's birthday as well. I hope you all have a wonderful time with family or friends as you celebrated our risen Savior.
1 comment:
Paddleboarding on Easter! It was so cold and rainy here and we were under dressed at church.... haha. I'm so glad that you got to witness a cardboard testimony. It is so moving. I LOVE Avery in that sweet dress.
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