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.