Easter

We once again broke bread with our neighbors, family and beloved friends.

We wrestled Uncle Tom.

We went to church all dressed up and the kids quietly sat through mass, save for the moment I turned around and Luke (he is going to kill me for telling this someday) was sprawled out on the pew with his hands in his pants which resulted in a quick trip to the potty.

We colored eggs and made Gram LaSarso's famous lemon meringue pie.

We left carrots on the porch for the Easter bunny and in the morning we found that he had chewed them up!

We hunted for 16 Easter eggs hidden around Grandma's house.

We ate a savory meal, discussing small town gossip and the like.

We blew bubbles on Grandma's porch and watched the red-breasted robins dart about the yard and stood in awe as the house across the street had dirt dumped on their front lawn. Seriously. Luke was in heaven. It's the little things after all.

I tried to explain why we celebrate Easter and got as far as, "Jesus rose from the..." and decided we have a few more years before we need to venture there.

It was renewing and sweet to meld the old traditions of my childhood with the ones we are creating for our children, dump trucks and all.

Winter's thaw

The last few weeks we have had sick kids...

There was strep throat that rendered Luke unable to get out of bed for two days, resulting in a fever of 103.9 and a trip to the Urgent Care Clinic.

Ellie was blessed with yet another double ear infection.

Last week we had her first visit with the allergist and she was tested with a skin prick test all over her tiny back which resulted in her being allergic to nothing. Which obviously was a relief but also left us with no plan really. If she continues to get ear infections or requires the nebulizer we'll have to get an immunoglobulin blood test and then move on from there. Hopefully it was just a result of a long harsh winter.

Thankfully as of right now we're happy and healthy and on a random note, we're obsessed with this book. It makes John and I tear up every time we read it. I was not prepared for the 9/11 topic but it's beautifully done.

Here's to good days ahead!

You can take all the tea in China

You can take all the tea in china
Put it in a big brown bag for me
Sail right around the seven oceans
Drop it straight into the deep blue sea
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

I heard the doctor say, "Who wants to bet how much she weighs?" And in realtime Ellie looked me in the eye and said, "good job mom, good job."

You can't stop us on the road to freedom
You can't keep us 'cause our eyes can see

John slipped his arms around me and I remembered how a few days ago I wanted (for a brief moment) to run away from all of this. I heard Luke tell me, "I wish every day was a family day mom."

Men with insight, men in granite
Knights in armor bent on chivalry

I saw my parents renewing their vows at their surprise 30th wedding anniversary party.

She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

I remembered our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. John surprised me by getting the keys to our new house almost 2 months before we actually closed on it and we had our first meal sitting on lawn chairs in our future living room and drinking champagne, talking about how one day we'd have a toddler walking about the house.

You can't stop us on the road to freedom
You can't stop us 'cause our eyes can see
Men with insight, men in granite
Knights in armor intent on chivalry
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee

The tears flooded my cheeks and covered the shoulder of John's shirt as Luke kissed my legs and Ellie danced to the musings of Van Morrison, she declared, "be happy!"

I am so happy, so blessed, and so loved.

You know she's alright
You know she's alright with me
She's alright, she's alright (she's an angel)

You can take all the tea in china
Put it in a big brown bag for me
Sail it right around the seven oceans