Wow...it is hard to believe all that has gone on in the last seven days! It is actually rather unbelievable. Last weekend was Easter...we were really busy and had lots of fun things to do. And since Easter, life has not slowed down one little bit. But it has been a WONDERFUL week full of soooo many good things.
Let's back up to last Sunday. Ahhh. Easter Sunday. An amazing day. We started off the morning with Easter baskets for the dorm and the kids, had and Easter egg hunt with Alaina and Caleb, and then went to church. The Easter egg hunt with Alaina and Caleb was fun. Alaina was really into it, of course, and was doing quite well looking all around the house. Caleb was not interested in finding any eggs. He spent most of the time opening the eggs already in his basket and then snatching things out of Alaina's when she wasn't looking. His favorite were the Peeps. Okay. Peeps. I know these things are really popular. I've always known what they were but never had one. So I was putting together the kids baskets and separated the one package we had (Jason's mom got us some to bring to Malaysia with us...what a shelf life!) There were five in the pack...two for Alaina, two for Caleb, and then there was one. So, I figured why not try it. They are popular so they must be good, right? WRONG. Gross, gross, gross. That was one of the most disgusting things I ever put in my mouth. Fortunately, my kids thought they were great. Caleb liked them so much he stole Alaina's. She was not pleased. Anyway, so we had the baskets and the hunt and the kiddos loved it.
Easter baskets for the dorm kids
Then there was church. The service itself wasn't anything spectacular. Really, there was very little mention of Easter. And, I always get sad on days like Easter that I attend such a casual Church. When I think of Easter I think of beautiful new dresses, suits with bright colored ties, a fun springy formal event. Jeans and t-shirts don't quite cut it. Anyway, we are at the church we are at for other reasons. At least our family dressed up. Anyway, back to the service. Nothing major, but it was special none-the-less. I have been realizing more and more that I really miss out when I spend Church services thinking of what is being done wrong, judging peoples motives, etc. God has really shown me that even if others around me are not in true worship it does not mean that I can't be. He has shown me that He will meet me, regardless of anyone or anything else. And that is just what He did Easter morning. We were singing a song (I can't remember the name) and the true meaning of Easter hit me in a deep way. The song was about how God's glory will reign forever and His kingdom will have no end. And I realized...Easter is a wonderfully special day to celebrate that Christ rose. And the reason this matters is because it is God's conquering death. And death is a result of sin. And sin is what is wrong with the world. It is what causes all the hurt, the pain, the worry, the sickness, anything that is not the perfection God intended for the earth. So if God conquered death by raising Christ then God has conquered sin. Conquered...past tense. Sin does not rule and sin will not rule. He has conquered it. And so God met me that morning and assured me that all the sin and the pain WILL disappear. He will reign and His kingdom will last forever. I cried. It was so special.
Easter afternoon I got to take my little girl to Disney on Ice (I had no idea it was Easter when I bought the tickets...I would have gone the day before.) I really, really wanted to take Alaina and was so happy it worked out. He had a blast and she got to see all her "friends" "dancing on ice."
Then on Monday...the wonderful day that Levi entered our lives. I wrote all about that in the post below so you can read all about that there.
Wednesday we came home from the hospital. We arrived home around lunch time and so we were met with swarms of people. Jason took a picture of me walking in the house and then took pictures of the people coming to visit. We went back and looked at the times and counted the people and TWENTY EIGHT people came through our house in ELEVEN minutes! Ahh the fun and craziness of living in community!
We were off for the rest of Wednesday and Thursday and so we had some nice family time. It was good to spend time with the kids and let us all figure out what being a family of five looks like. We even went out on Thursday...we went to McDonald's for lunch and ran a few errands. It was fun. Oh, and I took Levi to Alaina's class for show and tell (Thursday is her day.) It was fun for the kids to get to see the baby.
Jason had to go back to work on Friday so I got to spend a lot of time with the kiddos. It was really good. Alaina and Caleb have both surprised us in their reactions to Levi. I really thought Alaina would be the doting mother...always wanting to hold him, to help out, etc. And I thought Caleb would be completely oblivious to all of this. But, as it turns out, Alaina really isn't all that interested in Levi and Caleb ADORES him. He always wants to be around, always wants to "pet" him, wants to hug and kiss him. I tell you, it is just the sweetest thing EVER. I can't wait to see my two boys grow up together!
Yesterday (Saturday) was C-R-A-Z-Y. It was the day of the Junior Senior Banquet which, other than graduation, is the biggest event of the year here. Jason spend a lot of the day driving students around. Alaina and I got to go our for a few hours and run some errands. It was good to spend some alone time with her. I had a bunch of things to buy...a belt for Jason, a necklace for me, a new bath insert for Levi (we cannot, for the life of us, find our old one). I also wanted to pick up an outfit for Alaina. We had tried it on when we shopped for an Easter dress but I didn't have enough cash on me that day. So we got it yesterday. And then I found the sweetest little purse to go with it. She looked darling at church this morning!
So last night was the banquet. It was a lot of fun...I love seeing all the students dressed up and having a great time. Levi did pretty well but we were all definitely ready to go home at the end of the evening!
Levi...I cannot express in words what I feel for this kid. He is just the most wonderful thing ever. I just want to drink in every last bit of him. He is sweet and wonderful and I cannot get enough holding his small little body and looking into his gorgeous blue eyes. I melt...every time. I love my kids. I love my life. I am soooooo blessed.
Okay, I could write so much more but Levi wants to go to sleep and Caleb probably doesn't want to, but needs to. But before I go, here are a few new layouts. Some of them I did before I had Levi and just never posted, and the last two I did since we got back (Gina came out with a new kit and I really wanted to play with it!)
Oh, and you can check out pictures of Levi's first week in the photo album!
Those are beautiful pictures of Levi's first week- I'm impressed that you made it to the JSB with a one-week old baby! Good for you!
Posted by: Erika | April 24, 2006 at 04:32 AM
Quite the week you've had Janet, lol!! Your Easter looked fabulous - those baskets are beautiful. I am so with you on the Peeps - they are utterly foul (although they do fool you into a false sense of security by looking so dang cute!). Levi is a total doll, but then we already knew you guys made beautiful babies!
Posted by: Kellie | April 25, 2006 at 06:02 PM