'Read' or 'Delivered?"

"HELP, Mommy!"  Emerson screamed this just as we were headed out the door a few days ago.  I ran to her -QUICKLY- as several frightening scenarios ran through my mind.

1) Was she being attacked by an animal?

2) Had she touched an electrical outlet?

3) Or ignited a fire?

I frantically turned the corner, huffing and puffing, to find her smiling.

"I need "Wheels on the Bus" song, Mommy," she proclaimed.

THAT was her emergency?!??!

Rescue vehicle...

I can only imagine what her emergencies will be as she gets older.  Belk sales...Taylor Swift tickets...I'm in for it now.

Little girls may be challenging, but they are also super sweet.  Maggie will soon find out exactly what I mean in just a couple of months!

We had a wonderful time throwing a shower for her to welcome Baby Girl Moody #3!!!  After ten grandsons on the Moody side, the great granddaughters are taking over.

Emerson loved on both of her grandmothers. Smart girl!

And here are all the Moody ladies!

Continuing with all things pink was a precious, picnic-themed first Birthday party for Collins last weekend!  It was also her first time having cake.  The funny thing is, I look the same way when I eat appetizers at Outback...

Aside from the bubble station and bounce house, Megan also had blankets personalized for each child who came!  After receiving your blanket you got to make a plate of snacks, sit outside and enjoy it.  HOW precious is that?!?

Look at that face, Collins!  I get that expression when I open bills in the mail...or while looking at the total on my receipt.

I love Kate & Megan so much.  We've been friends for a VERY long portion of our lives.  Years ago we had a tradition of going to the Carolina Cup, which took place outside.  At one point during the party I went up to them and said, "Well, girls, this feels just like the Cup...except the people stumbling around are toddlers instead of college kids."  We got a good laugh out of that!

2007 flashback...

We also took a recent trip to the zoo!  Look how close Emerson got to that bear.

#BearlyThere

Lions and tigers and flamingoes...

No "Yo' Mama" llama jokes allowed.

No butts about it; we had a great trip to Riverbanks!

Now that Emerson is almost 2 1/2 she is getting more expressive by the day.  Here are a few recent favorites.

When I'm not picking up toys, saying "STOP!", or losing it, I forget that there is a normal person under there.  I had a few hours of normalcy last Friday night at the All Sons & Daughters concert.  We were super happy to run into Jaime and her husband, and I was thrilled to have Ashlyn in town.

When Dillon came to Chapin...

I first heard this duo when they opened for Chris Tomlin in 2012.  I ADORE every single one of their songs.  

I had a recent epiphany; work with me here.  If you have an iphone and send texts (which, let's be honest, is probably 75% of the population), then you know about the "read receipts."

When you send someone a text you will be notified that it was either "read" or "delivered."  Read receipts are awesome.  Why? Because you are sure that the person actually read your message.  Delivered just means that your conversation went somewhere in the universe and supposedly made it to the phone.  You see, people can choose to be sneaky and turn off the read receipts, leaving you in a constant state of wonder, or perhaps even worry....and it drives me nuts!  

I just don't understand it.  These are people with whom you've exchanged numbers.  There is (hopefully) a degree of- dare I say- friendship.  Why on earth would you NOT want them to know that you received their message?

Telegram, Sir!

Thank you.  But do not tell anyone that I received this, please.

????????????????

Oh, no.  I heard a text. I mustn't read it...

I've asked some people about this topic recently, and they said that they don't want the other person to expect an immediate response.   But this is a conversation we're talking about here; not the speed of light.  I don't think the earth will stop spinning if we take a little while to write back.

But then a lesson hit me like a ton of bricks.  How many people in the world have just READ scripture but haven't been DELIVERED?!  The truth is, many people assume that because they "do" - or don't do- certain things that they get a one way ticket to an eternity with Jesus. And that's just not the case.

You have to be delivered.  Born again.  A price was paid for you.  Just OPEN - or in the case of your iphone...READ- His gift!  

Now, how many of you are going to go turn on those read receipts?!

I Told You So

During our last family car ride:

Me: "Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.  And on that farm he had a-"

Emerson: "Daddy!"

Me: "E-I-E-I-O, with a-"

Emerson: "No no, here!!!"

We had been through all the animals on the farm at that point, so Emerson looked around the car for an idea, saw Ryan in the driver's seat, and decided to incorporate him into the song.  HAHA!  She knows that Daddy means business.

Easter is one of my favorite times of the year.  You get to break out the white pants and colorful clothing again, stores are filled with themed candy (I'll use that excuse any day), and holiday themed kids' clothes are displayed in every ad on my computer.

BUY ME!

So let's dive right into all things Spring.

In addition to the beautiful weather it's a special time for my family to celebrate the Birthdays of three awesome people: my Mom, Dad, and grandmother.

They chose Ruby Tuesday's for the Birthday lunch, but what we didn't realize is that this particular one was under a major renovation.

Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a guy zooming by our window every five minutes in a Genie.

"Haul 'em in, boys.  Are these bricks, or croutons?"

Nonetheless, we still enjoyed a most hilarious lunch.  The waitress made the mistake of asking my grandparents if they wanted an appetizer.  Fifteen minutes later after discussing the portion size, consistency, and price of each dish, they decided on cheese fries. But just before our waitress walked away to put in the order my grandmother second guessed herself.

"Wait, cheese fries aren't french fries, are they???"

And in other news, I want to order a corn dog, but just so we're clear...that's not a hot dog, right?!

Our family outings are that of an "I Love Lucy" episode.

Spring is also a time to welcome new babies!  Jaime is due in just a few weeks, and she is one of three friends right now who has decided to wait until the baby is born to find out the gender.

Kudos to them!  I can't wait to open a pack of Starbursts I just bought; much less wait nine months to find out whether my child is a boy or girl.  That takes a special kind of patience that I do not possess.  But I can hardly wait to meet these little ones!

A few weeks ago Emerson and I had been running errands for about two hours.  She was at her limit with patience, and I knew her carriage was about to turn into a pumpkin.  Quickly.

So I did what any normal parent would do.  I spotted a plastic bag of Easter eggs and gave her the package....but she wasn't satisfied until we opened it.

Now I've always thought it was silly to see people eating out of a package in the grocery store before paying.  It's just not something you do.  But since all the checkout lanes were completely full, this was my effort to keep her quiet- and keep all those around us at peace.

So, one by one she opened all 48 eggs at the counter.

I don't know what it is, but her obsession with eggs is at an all-time high.

For a few nights, she wouldn't even sleep unless the basket was in her bed.

Eggs-cellent dreams

So when we came home on Good Friday, I thought it was only appropriate to hide eggs around my parents' house and have our own little hunt.

It was a hit!

Wait until she grows up and realizes that looking for things isn't all it's cracked up to be...literally.  I hunt every day for my keys, phone, wallet, you name it.  And there is no "prize egg" in my house, unless you count the $20 bill I found in last year's winter coat.  

Easter Sunday was extra sweet.  Emerson opened every piece of chocolate in those eggs and handed them out.  

#SharingisCaring

It's always wonderful to celebrate with packed pews for Easter.  People all over the world flock to church that day.  Although, we need to be spiritually fed EVERY Sunday.  I'll just leave this right here.

The scripture, message, and music are just as important the other 51 weeks of the year!

After church came one of the year's highlights: an Easter egg hunt and get together at the Coleman home.

First up, Emerson met Bentley, a teacup Yorkie that is to-die-for cute.  I could see a look of sincere interest in Ryan's eyes as Aunt Jenny gave her sales pitch on why these dogs are a must have.

I saw the wheels spinning in Ryan's head as she was talking until he asked the usual deal-breaker question: "How much does it cost?"

Well, that dream stopped in its tracks.  Maybe one day.

Our next activity was egg dyeing!  Here is a friendly spelling reminder:

Emerson loved it!  She also hates getting her hands dirty, so fortunately her outfit remained in tact.

Then it was time to find the eggs!  

And soon enough Poppy Peter Cottontail himself hopped on over!  Despite the humidity and scattered showers, it was a perfect day.

This has become one of my favorite traditions.  Here is a look back at the past three Easters...

2016

2015

2014

Like Christmas, Easter can be overly commercialized.  It's easy to forget that in spite of all the fun, candy, and parties, we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus who died an excruciating death for US.  I recently came across an article detailing a scientific explanation of what Jesus endured while on the cross.  If you've never read it, you HAVE TO.  You have to understand the magnitude of the agony He suffered and didn't deserve: How Jesus Died For You.

God sent His Son in place of you, your neighbor, that annoying coworker, the homeless man on the corner, the politicians, the old and the young...  We are all sinners just the same.  

I would have LOVED to see the look on the guards' faces when they saw that the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and Jesus's clothes were neatly folded in the corner.  It's the greatest "I Told You So" in history. 

Sure, Jesus could have stopped those who were beating Him, cursing His name, and mocking Him.  But He knew it was part of a plan, and He was waiting to do it the right way.

It is so easy to say that we're followers of Jesus and claim to be Christians.  I could also claim to be a mathematician.

"You mean Common Core isn't about apples?!"

But as a body of Christ sometimes we need to DO more and say less.  The way we live, the things we do and don't do are all indicators of the heart.  So just like the scars of Jesus were proof that He was King, let your actions and life be your way of saying "I told you so" regarding your faith.