handsful

We took a quick trip home to NC last weekend for Easter. We had a great time, despite the COLD weather. We woke up to a light dusting of snow on the ground on Saturday…the most snow we’ve seen in 3 years! As usual, we packed a lot of fun into a couple of days…we saw all 3 sets of grandparents; annual Easter egg hunt at Gram and Pa-Paul’s; a visit to my friend’s chocolate store (www.thechocolatebean.com), Easter Sunday at Grace Church, and lunch at Dad and Kathy’s with ALL the family! Here are a few pictures…

Gram and Pa-Paul’s 10 grandkids…reading for some egg hunting!

Can I help you, Dad?

Samara and Abbey

Handsome kid

Marley and Ethan, hunting hard

Ready for church!

In the last 2 days, both of my boys have busted their lips! Yesterday, Payton was opening a metal gate at the playground at our church and it jumped back on him (how, I’m not sure) and got him right on the bottom lip. Not too much blood or swelling, but it’s a little bruised today.

Today, the boys were playing basketball with a neighbor in our driveway and apparently the ball caught Ethan right on the top lip! EJ bled A LOT and it took us a second to find where he was bleeding from. Even after putting ice on it, his lip was HUGE tonight! He had grits and applesauce for supper, because it hurt him to chew. Poor kid. I’m praying that the swelling goes down more tonight. I thought I’d spare you pictures this time. Just imagine a very badly botched Botox injection on one side of a lip!

Randy and I were surprised when the kids decided to try the pool yesterday! It’s been in the low 80′s for the last couple of days, so they figured the water was just right. They said it was ”a little cold” (which, to me, would have been frigid…I prefer my pool water just slightly colder than bath water). But, as you can see, they had a blast. Payton and Marley even went back in a few hours later!

Happy Spring and bring on Summer! Here are a few more photos of the day…

Ethan chooses a strange place to warm up

Payton, the creature from the bottom of the pool!

Happy water girl!

Jack stays dry, as usual

Remember the kid a while back who fell into the basketball bin and gashed his head in two places? This is that same kid today, after “catching” a baseball in the left eye. He had his glasses on, which caused the cuts. Amazingly, the lens just popped out and didn’t break! No need for stitches, glue, or staples this time!

Life with 4 (going on 5!) kids is just never boring.

Welcome Spring, the coming of summer, and…gulp…bathing suit season. We bought this last night, in the hopes of working off some of the winter “blahs” that seem to have settled on the both of us. As I walk, I imagine I’m touring China and conquering the steps of the Great Wall! My bedroom won’t be making the pages of Southern Living, with this thing beside the window, but that’s okay. It’s something positive that we can do for ourselves, while we…wait.

This is my 8 year old daughter’s hand, holding one of her favorite things in the world…a lizard. During the majority of the year here, lizards are everywhere. In the summer, they scatter in every direction as you walk. They hide in our plants, sun-bathe on our driveway, and hang out on our black iron fencing. Living here with a fear of lizards would be hard.

Marley LOVES all animals. And, that’s putting it mildly. She’s our resident “lizard catcher” when they find their way into our home. If we see one, even my husband calls Marley to catch it…she never misses! Today, she caught one outside and made it a “play pen” in our dog Jack’s outdoor bed. She sat, talking to it, letting it walk all over her, petting it gently on the head. it was adorable. And, made me smile.