God Is Good All the Time!

We had a holiday packed weekend. Thursday night we had our Maundy Thursday service at church. Joe picked up the girls and met me at work so we could eat before the service. As soon as I got off work we all loaded up in the van and headed to KFC for a quick dinner before church. After the service some friends wanted us to go out to eat with them but we had already eaten and I was very tired so we headed home. As we are almost approaching our house Josie informs us that she left her papers that she was drawing on at my work. MY WORK! JOE'S CAR! Yes, so we had to drive all the back to town to get Joe's car. I guess I should be thankful it is only a 15 minute drive. Oh well for being tired, right.

Friday we had our Good Friday service. I cried throughout the entire service. After church we went to dinner with our friends and we had a spilling evening at Ruby Tuesdays. Spilling, is that a new term, no, that is what the four children did through the entire meal. The first child broke his strofoam cup with the straw and spilled his apple juice all over the table. Probably five minutes after cleaning that up, Josie knocked over her lidded cup which spilled on her, her chair, and the table. I had to change her clothes she got so wet. Then probably about fifteen minutes later Josie was sitting in Joe's lap when she swung her arms and knocked over Joe's tea which spilled all over the table. If Tim had not immediately jumped up he would have also been covered in tea. Aww, the joys of children :)

Saturday morning Joe headed off to work and the girls and I started our day around 7:00 a.m. I was a nice mommy and got up and made eggs and toast. The morning seemed to go downhill from there. The girls tore up a picture book my mom had made for me, tore up another book, spilled finger nail polish on the floor as I was painting our toenails to match our Easter dresses, and then Lol decided that the new bed she got needed a good beating. Not sure where she found the tool she decided to use but the bed got a good couple whacks before I was able to get it away from her. In the midst of everything the girls did talk to both MeMaw and Grammy that morning and Josie invited both of them to come to our church Easter Egg Hunt with us, which I thought was so sweet of her. But all of this excitement made us thirty minutes late for egg hunt. We got there and the girls had a great time and we all calmed down a little bit. Chris, Crystal, Nana, Elias & Annaleigh were there as well as Amy, Caitlin, Sara, Clarabeth, Aunt Elisa, and Other Mama. Thank goodness for Other Mama, it is so nice to have help when Joe is not around.

The Girls Dying Eggs:


Josie showing off her finished product:


Jolie playing some of the games:


Look at all the eggs she found:


Jolie Playing:


Clara Beth and Caitlyn with the "Easter Bunnies":


Collins Family anxiously waiting for the Hunt to begin:



After the egg hunt we headed home for naps. MeMaw and Paw-paw had offered to take the girls to the Easter egg hunt at their church which was from 2-4 and so I told the girls they had to take naps in order to be able to go. Josie finally fell alseep and slept for maybe 45 minutes but Jolie was not buying it and I always give up hope when Joe comes home in the middle of me trying to get them to lay down. As soon as Josie got up I called MeMaw and shortly thereafter they came and got the girls and took them to their church. Joe and I then got busy. We rearranged Josie's room and set up Lol's new bed in there. (We still have to get the mattress though.) Then we started cleaning and I started cooking for our new family tradition of Easter Eve dinner. I cooked a ham, greenbean casserole, broccoli casserole, carrots, mashed potatoes, Stove Top cornbread stuffing, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, rolls, and banana pudding. As I was finishing up cooking MeMaw and Paw-Paw brought back the girls and our dinner guests arrived, Mary Kelley, Tim, Jesse & Catie. We ate until we were all stuffed and then we played outside. The girls just love the trampoline and play house and it is so nice to have both of these for when friends come over. After playing outside we headed inside to dye Easter eggs. Josie had been looking forward to doing that all weekend.

Sunday morning the girls woke up to see that the Easter Bunny had come. He brought Josie a Dora fishing pole and Jolie a princess fishing pole, and he also brought them jump ropes, books, sticker books, bubble bath, and lots of candy. After eating a sufficient amount of candy I made blueberry muffins and we ate breakfast before getting ready for church. The girls were absolutely beautiful in their dresses. The service was beautiful as was the music and before the service started the three of us put flowers in the cross.

After church we headed to Other Mama's house for lunch where we had another spilling time. Yes, it must have been a theme this weekend. Joe didn't get there from work until after we had already eaten. So once he got there he fixed his plate and then got up to fix his drink. When he sat down he knocked over his drink spilling it all over the table. After he finished eating, I started cleaning up the food and putting it away. Well I was trying to put the lid on a big veggie tray and it slipped out of my hands and veggies went everywhere. After cleaning up another mess, we took the girls outside to blow bubbles and for a ride on the golf cart while Other Mama hid Easter eggs in the yard. While riding on the golf cart we thought we would stop and say hi to Aunt Elisa and Uncle Tim. While we were sitting there talking Jolie kept pointing to Maw's old room. I told her she was not in there any more but that I would take her to see the room. So Josie, Lol and I walked over to the room. We walked in and Josie asked, "Where is she?". I said she has gone to heaven to be with Jesus. Then Josie asked "Well who bought her a new bed?" It was so funny. Maw had a hospital bed and so when she passed Aunt Elisa took that out and redid the room into a guest room. So in Josie's mind I guess Aunt Elisa had redone the room for Maw. Lol kept wanting to look in room, and I thought it was so sweet. After visiting we headed back to Other Mama's to find Easter eggs. A little after that we loaded up and headed to Nanny and Pap-paw's for Easter dinner. Dinner was great and after dinner Kevin and Amy hid eggs for the kids to find. It was so funny to watch because Lol still has to be led and shown where the eggs are where Josie goes into super hunting mode. We spent the rest of the time at Nanny's just watching the girls and Tanner playing and talking. That night it did not take long for the girls to pass out.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend. It definitely had its ups and downs, but hey that is life. I'm just so grateful to have a God who thinks I'm important enough to die for and who thinks I'm deserving enough to have the wonderful husband that I have in Joe, the amazing children he has blessed me with, as well as our church, family and friends. God is Good All the Time!