Oh! Happy Day!

It's been a wild week here, with spring break, snotty noses, unexplained fevers, unseasonably cold weather, my baby girl turning 10 months, yard work, Easter eggs, carrot cakes, and (shudder) the first snake of the season.

I won't go into all of that because it would take way too much time.

But I would like to talk about my Emmie for a second-she did turn 10 months on Tuesday. I was all ready to sit down and blog about her milestones and her personality. I decided that first I would read everyone else's blogs for the day, just to catch up.

The first one I clicked on was Bring The Rain at

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

And it brought me up short.

If you don't know Angie's story, go grab you a box of tissues and get ready for one of the most moving stories you will ever read-written by one of the most faithful Christian woman bloggers I have ever read. Long story short, Tuesday would have her daughter Audrey's first birthday. I cried through her post and was amazed by her faith-again.

I was rendered completely unable to write anything.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think for a second that I should have felt bad for being proud of my baby. I did feel, however, that out of respect I would write about it later. Honestly, though, I did spend the rest of the day alternately thanking God for my healthy babies and then feeling guilty for doing so. Irrational, I know. Does anyone else feel that way? Like talking about your healthy kids will make a mother who's suffered loss feel bad.

Anyway.

Emmie isn't walking yet, but she stands unassisted for extended periods of time, and she pushes her hippo all over the living room-sometimes waving as she goes by!

And Ashton gave her her first mohawk in the tub the other day

She says mama, dada, bye-bye (complete with the backward wave,) and uh-oh. She has a smile for everyone-and I mean everyone. She gets a lot of attention from her smile at home, but she really turns it on in public. Her new favorite thing is shaking her head no. She doesn't know that's what it means, of course, but it's SOOO cute and we all do it with her. She had 5 teeth, 3 on top and 2 on bottom until today-the 4th one on top finally broke through.

So, after the cold weather I mentioned messed up the beginning of the week, the weekend has been beautiful. Paul and I worked in the yard all day-me on the mower, and he (with some help from Ashton) planting the beautiful flowers and pink flowering dogwood tree that he bought me. I will post pics of these later. Toward the end of the day, Paul flagged me over to look in a 5 gallon bucket. Ashton had found this guy-

under one of our big oak trees. Note the arrow shaped head. He might be little, but he's definitely poisonous. Needless to say, we had to 'do away' with him. Ash asked that we give him a proper burial-always the animal advocate.

Tonight we dyed Easter eggs. We have some really interesting decorations. Fun!

I wanted to end with an Easter story that I think about every year, but have never written down. It's probably one of my favorite stories from when Sydney was little. I think she was 4.

We had been to church and Sydney had a little Jesus on a popcicle stick. As soon as we got home, she asked me for a paper towel roll. I managed to come up with one, and watched as she played with her popcicle-stick-Jesus, setting the paper towel roll aside. As she played, she told the Easter story. I was really impressed how well she remembered the story, and was enjoying the play. Then she stuffed her little popcicle-stick-Jesus into the paper towel roll and sat it to the side, looking at me proudly. Unable to resist, I asked her why she put Jesus in the paper towel roll. She looked at me in her best didn't you pay attention at church? look and sighed.

"You know, Momma! Three days later, He a-rose from the tube!"

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. Mark 16:4-6

Praise God! He is not here-He arose from the tube!!

Remember the real reason for Easter, and then have a wonderful one!

TTFN,