Happy Resurrection Day!

We hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior! We had a wonderful service praising our Lord and then a great time with Jason's family in Burk. I have to share something that struck me yesterday morning during Sunday School that I never caught before. We were studying some of the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion and talked about Peter's denial. There was one point where Jesus was carrying his cross and the crowd was following, one of the gospels mentioned that Peter followed at a distance. While we talked about that...distance...I found myself wondering why I sometimes follow at a distance instead of being near my Lord (much like John...the Gospel of John mentions that he was near the cross!). Why would I ever want to be distant from the Lord, distant from what he wants for me, distant from his love? I felt led to share...I pray that you all are well and fall even more in love with our Savior...for he is Alive and Risen!!! Praise God for his Goodness, Mercy, and Love!!!

I Love this Man!...

Daddy loves his "Little Bit"!...

Mommy loves her "Honey Bunny"!...

It's safe to say that the bunnies were precious and the puffs will be thoroughly enjoyed, but I think Elina was most intrigued by that green stuff in the basket. She didn't leave one piece of grass in the basket. Thank you again Nana and PaPaw for her Easter Basket!...

The Girls!...Elina loves her Nana and Great-Grandma!

The boys were pretty full after Easter lunch!...Daddy, PaPaw and Uncle D acting silly!

PaPaw got down Daddy's old rocking chair for Elina to play with, and she LOVED it...

...just for fun...

A few Extras...

Seattle...

We had the privilege of sightseeing some of Seattle's tourist locations. This a pier right next to the market some of the ships come in and out. It was a beautiful day to go sightseeing and perfect for going up in the "Needle" (even though we didn't get to). We for got to bring a blanket for Elina while riding in the stroller, but my jacket kept her nice and warm...

This is where the men in orange pants would throw the fish around (at least that's what we hear). Apparently it's quite the show, but they don't do it until someone buy their fish...which didn't happen and didn't happen and didn't happen...

This is the face of someone who was very disappointed about not getting to see flying fish. Kidding!...she was still getting over being sick at this point. She did enjoy just strolling around the market though...

It was so fun to see so many different kinds of fresh fruits and veggies! We actually bought some amazingly tasty plums (that didn't taste as great later on in the week). I would love to get to eat FRESH everyday!

We went to the Seattle Aquarium where Jason tried to kiss a big fish...

But seriously, when you walk in, there is a glass wall at least 20 feet tall and 1-2 feet thick with beautiful fish swimming all around...

Elina got to touch marine life for the first time...

In the end we figured out that she enjoyed touching Daddy's ear more than anything else! Ha.

Kisses!

First Plane Ride

Elina experienced her first plane ride during our trip to Washington at the beginning of March. Before we even made it past Wichita Falls Jason and I looked back to find this...

This is one of her favorite toys to chew on in the car. We found it pretty amusing that that bear stayed in her mouth for a good 30 minutes. We kept looking back to see if it had fallen out or not. Elina's car seat sits behind the passenger seat so I just held the camera over her and got this picture...hence the reason it's upside down.

At one point on our way to Dallas, we pulled over so Jason could take a break and Elina could take his place at the wheel. Ha...I know I'm not that funny...but I thought she was so cute when we pulled over for her to take a break from the car seat (and to eat). She takes this driving thing very seriously...

We stopped at Wal-Mart for some last minute things and to also waste some time before going to the airport. When we came back to the car, this is what we found! That bear was not going to be left behind that's for sure! It was also crazy that we dropped the same bear in line at the airport and a little while later someone asked us if it was ours! Poor little fellow, he'd really been through it that day...and it was just day one!
In the tarmak (sp?)...we thought it would be fun to wheel Elina on instead of carrying her! j/k But she did think this was a fun ride!
Getting ready for take off...
This was before I started balling my eyes out and praying intensely out of worry! I was fine until we were taxiing out. I started to worry about Elina's ears. We tried to get her to drink from a bottle just for this trip so her ears wouldn't hurt. She would suck some but not consistantly. I worried that she wouldn't nurse at the right time because of her habits we've gotten into lately. Without going into more detail...God was so good and answered my prayer to give Elina a willingness to eat even though she wanted to look all around. Jason was so wonderful and supportive the whole time!
Anyway...back to before take-off pics...
Elina thought it was fun to stand between my legs in the little bitty space between the seats.

I promise we brought some toys for her to play with, remember the bear! Isn't crazy that kids prefer to play with anything that's not a toy!...sunglasses, cell phones, remote controls!
Here's Daddy trying to get Elina to drink and swallow...she actually took more than we thought she would. But if this tells you anything...that bottle never even came close to getting empty. I have to admit...it's kinda weird to see her with a bottle in her mouth!

First Tomlin Concert...

We got to take Elina to her first Chris Tomlin concert at end of February. While Jason was Indescribably excited...Elina was...well...

Turned out that she started running a fever on the way to Dallas...103!...so we pulled over and got some Baby Motrin. She really did well throughout the evening. Poor girl, she just didn't feel good! We were able to catch most of the opening act and then the beginning of Chris. I took just a few pictures and then we sat out in the foyer for the rest of the concert.
While Jason may or may not agree, the best part of the trip was getting to see Valerie! We had an extra ticket, so Val met us for dinner and then followed us to the concert. She was also so sweet to sit with Ellie and me out in the foyer. I guess she didn't want to sit next to Jason in my place! :) I don't know that I would have wanted to be next to him the whole time anyway...I still haven't found out how he acted in there...it was Chris ya know!

Elina's First Recital...

"Hmmm...what shall I play?"

"Oh I know...here goes..."
"Pretty Music!"

Birthday Pictures...

I haven't posted Elina's monthly birthday pictures for several months, so I thought I would catch up all at once.
Happy Belated Birthday Sweet Girl!

Elina...8 Months Old

Elina...9 Months Old

Elina...10 Months Old