"These Are A Few of My Favorite Things..."

I love how much a pregnant woman can get away with. 

You have an intense craving for a blizzard and you're pregnant? Then you go ahead and drive and go get it. Want Wendy's after your Easter dinner with family at 9:00 pm, then by ALL MEANS, you hit up that drive thru and make no apologies about it!

You get INTENSELY excited about hand-me-downs, take pictures of the piles and stay up two nights in a row sorting it all out?! That's fiiine....We will just call it "nesting" and then you don't seem like a crazy lunatic!

I know I've already blogged about the Mimi hand-me-downs from Easter. All Monday morning I just felt so blessed. They always seem to come at JUST the right time and have the perfect clothes for the next season. SO GREAT.


(Mimi was just as excited. She definitely tried on every combination of any clothes she could get her hands on, but especially loved the way-used Snow White nightgown and princess slippers...of course)

So imagine my surprise when I listened to my messages and checked my email and saw that TWO friends wanted to drop off boy hand-me-downs that morning?!?! I seriously couldn't have been happier. It nurtured my silly love for organizing and sorting things as well as my closet hoarder tendencies; I was in HOG HEAVEN! 


I have now laundered, folded and sorted my baby boy's wardrobe for the next year of his life. (and maybe there was some ironing involved because I'm just that cool...)


Yay for the week of hand-me-downs and yay for generous friends!


xoxo

Easter

We had a great Easter as a family.

Saturday Ben didn't have to work so we all loaded up and went to the Easter egg hunt at Calvary in Boulder.

It was SO fun and so well done! I was super impressed!!!

The kids got a cardstock sheet about which eggs to find. Once they found all of the eggs, they went to a table with a volunteer who would help them crack 'em open and find pieces of Jesus' resurrection story to paste in a book 

(with candy too of course!)

Pictures don't lie. 

This guy was tired and sick with a cold:

And this girl is getting super pregnant:

A close second to getting to have a corn dog and candy in the church gym was getting to have her own improptu Easter egg hunt for rocks...

Here are Mimi and Paytes' Easter baskets:

I was especially excited to give Payton hers!

Notice the trademark college dorm shower tote...a must for a freshie in college!

an address book with stamps...

thank you notes (for all of that graduation loot she will be getting!)

and candy and markers. Fun!

Mimi's basket:

Finally on the night before Easter, I clued Mimi in to the fact that the Easter Bunny would be  visiting. I am happy to say that she's been so excited learning about the story of Jesus. Our friend Brianne told us about a book her daughter Mikaela has that tells all about the fun Easter stuff but ends saying, "but the BEST part about Easter is that Jesus is ALIVE!" So we've incorporated that. 

And in a proud Mama moment, BT told me that when he was with Mimi on Friday, he asked Mimi who was coming on Easter. Her reply: "Jesus." 

Close enough.

(I think it's all a bit much to figure out, but we're getting there! :)

SOOO, on Easter morning the Easter Bunny did come! And hid eggs:

He even hid a pink egg in Henry the cat's FOOD BOWL! Silly Easter Bunny!

(That was the detail that was told and retold the whole day on Easter by Mimi)

         

And he brought an Easter basket!

First item of love:

Rapunzel undies!!!

Then it was off to church!

Easter service was AMAZING. I had goosebumps on my cheeks during worship..I didn't even know that was possible! 

Mimi was in love with her hat. She kept it on all through Sunday school! To a girl who loves dress up, Easter must feel like the Oscars.

 The annual "Rhodes Family Picnic" got moved inside due to the weather. Since Dad and Rach couldn't make it up with Phil and Cindy (the people they care for at their home) and the wheelchairs, we decided to go to them! 

It made for a FUN and relaxing day! After church we were able to go home, eat, change and even rest a bit before heading out again.

Dad even took some fun family pics!!!!! LOVE THEM! More to come soon..

Then it was onto Ben's aunt and uncle's house.

Yay for Andy and Fred's! 

Mimi jumped right in to an Easter egg hunt set up by Aunt Karen:

(Karen made Mimi a bag with her favorite zoo animal...Mimi the elephant :)

Every holiday it's so fun to see how Mimi grows up. This year she was off and running the whole time...I hardly saw her! She loves her "big girl" cousins.

At one point of the night I found her doing this:

Eating at the table with her cousies!

 It was  a fun day to celebrate with family :)

...BUT, to be honest, THIS is my favorite part of any holiday:

Every time we see Ben's family I come home with BAGS full of cute girl clothes for Mimi (thank goodness all of Ben's cousins have GIRLS!) So, needless to say, every holiday feels like Christmas to me. I stayed up for HOURS last night pulling it all out, sorting it, etc...the best thing in the entire world, for sure :)

(so who's idea was it to have a boy?! ;)