Wednesday-Sunday

Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Aunt Nina flew home from Texas and spent 5 days at home - 

Wednesday through Sunday.

...and, thankfully, those 5 days home would put an end to missing her for awhile.  Because, really, you don't always realize how much you miss someone until you're reunited. It's like your heart has a sigh of relief and it's filled with contentment. 

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On Wednesday, the kids and I met up with grandma and grandpa to surprise Aunt Nina by picking her up at the airport.  With a bouquet of balloons in hand and excitement in the air, we welcomed Aunt Nina home!

Makayla and Mason couldn't be happier!

After picking Aunt Nina up at the airport and having dinner with her, we decorated Easter Eggs...decorated them with shaving cream.  A super fun and super messy time...and resulted in beautiful eggs!

Thursday evening was spent at church observing Maundy Thursday.  Focusing on 2 important events - The Lord's Supper (communion) and the command to love and serve one another (foot washing) - it's always a very emotional service that truly honors what took place during the Last Supper.

After leaving church, we met up and attempted Game Night.  We played a few rounds of my favorite game - Telestrations.

Friday was spent in St. Louis.

We spent the day at the zoo and spent the night at Ballpark Village.

(*flashback from one year ago*
not much has changed...i'm wearing the exact same outfit minus the sweatshirt...ooooh, my!!)

Makayla said her favorite thing at the zoo was seeing the view and watching the zebras.

Seeing the view? She makes me laugh...I don't know where she comes up with some of these things.

Mason said his favorite thing at the zoo was the hippos.  He says - The hippos went up the water and down. They're shiny.

We spent our time at Ballpark Village basking in the sun, dancing, drinking cool beverages, watching the Cardinal's on the big screen, and dining out on the patio in front of a fireplace.
It was a very pleasant evening!

 Saturday, we started our day out with an Easter Egg Hunt, headed to a birthday party for a friend at the bowling alley, and then finished our evening at Great Grandma Allen's house for an Easter Dinner.

Our Easter Dinner at Great Grandma Allen's consisted of time spent with family that we don't get to see near enough, doula/midwife/vasectomy table talk that ended in the gutter, lots of laughter, and applause - applause for something BIG - Aunt Anne pulling Makayla's FIRST tooth!

For the past 2 weeks, I have had to look at Makayla wiggling this tooth.  I would get all hot, sweaty, itchy, and nauseated at the sight of it.
I would pray every night that she would lose this darn tooth (particularly at school where I didn't have to witness it) and we could move on in life...to the next loose tooth.

Well, sure enough, Aunt Anne pulled Makayla's tooth and Makayla felt like a whole new woman.

At the moment the tooth was pulled, Makayla sort of stood in shock with her mouth hanging open.  We all clapped and cheered for her...and as much as I was dreading the moment, I am so thankful that I got to witness the moment.  I almost had a tear drop.
When the shock wore off, Makayla got hot and shy, asked me to take her sweater off (because she was so hot), and buried her face in my shoulder because she said she was embarrassed.

Not long after, she was showing her gap off walking around like she was on the Red Carpet.  Her tongue has been twisting in and out of that hole since, and I think we've all seen the space from the missing tooth about a billion times now.

Saturday night into Sunday morning, the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy visited our house!
The kids were super excited on Sunday morning to see the baskets that the Easter Bunny left and Makayla had a little bit more excitement as she discovered 4 quarters that the Tooth Fairy left her!

Sunday was spent celebrating Easter and saying farewell to Aunt Nina.

Church, lunch with Aunt Nina before she headed off back to Texas, and dinner/egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Curry's.

When I asked Makayla was Easter means to her, this was her response: 

Jesus rose on Easter on the cross.  The bad guys killed him and he rose on Easter.  They put him inside of a tunnel and they put a big stone on the big hole.   The angels came down and got him and took him to heaven. 

Now...when I asked Mason what Easter meant to him, this was his response:
Easter Bunny.

When I asked him what Easter and Jesus mean to him, he answered:

Scary stuff.

Happy Easter!!

...counting my blessings...