Easter, 2013.

I love Easter.  There are so many sweet memories of Easter from my childhood.  Getting all dressed up in my new clothes.  Getting to finally wear white again!  Going to church with Mama.  Singing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today!" Lunch and egg hunts with Mama.  Easter baskets.  Yummy sweets.  Now that we have children of our own, we are creating new traditions and memories with them.  This Easter was quite special for us because my sister and her family came to Hattiesburg for the weekend!  What a treat!  

Easter holiday began early for us this year because the children were out of school Friday and Monday.    Thursday, Carter had his spring musical and Tilly had an Easter hunt at school.  

Noelle and her family arrived Thursday afternoon.  For supper we enjoyed a spread of crawfish!  So yum!  Noelle's girls had never had them before, and they loved them as much as we do!  I'm pretty sure Scott, my brother in law, was still eating crawfish when we all went to bed, ha!  And, Carter lost another tooth!  Don't worry, even with all the switched up sleeping arrangements, the tooth fairy managed to find his pillow and leave him a little treat.  In fact, David and Scott got up early that morning to turkey hunt, and David moved him into our room.  Carter still mostly asleep protested, "I don't want to move!  There's something under my pillow!" Ha!

While the boys were gone, we made Resurrections Rolls.  We did this as a family last year, and I loved that my children remembered doing it.  

You can find the recipe and instructions here.  

A picture of the biggest cousins, minus McKinley.  

And you know we had to take the Hollands to our favorite catfish restaurant.  

Saturday, we spent the day at this fancy place for our annual staff and deacon Easter fellowship.  The children fished and played and hunted Easter eggs.  

I heart this picture so much.  Summer is such a sweet big sister.  Story has a love/mostly hate relationship with dogs.  I think she wants to love them, but she's just terrified.  It doesn't help, I guess, that we have a 110 lb hunk of love in our backyard.  Story loves Hundley, but only from afar.  Summer took her over to this little thing, and as you can see Story was having none of it.  Later, she did summon what was probably every ounce of courage she could muster to pet the little thing.  

My sister and McKinley!  

You're never too old for some Easter love!  My mom sent me these pretty things for Easter.  Love!

I'm pretty sure she would've taken this baby for a ride, had it not been firmly docked on the bank.  

I love this handsome boy.  He was slinging that rod and reel like a pro!

Sunday morning during Sunday School, we made this decorative cross with our class.  

My sister's family after church.  We are so thankful that they came to spend the Easter weekend with us!  It was so very special to have them here with us.  

My three beauties.  Thank you, Papa and Gigi, for our pretty dresses.  

The fab four.  I love how Summer is looking over the tops of her glasses.  Carter looks like such a stud with his hands in his pockets.  I love how Story is looking up at her big brother with such sweet adoration.  And Tilly, she's smiling oh so big!  So thankful for these little lives.  

And this is just because I am all for keeping it real, sometimes.   

Happy Easter!  He is alive!