Easter Sunday 2009

Good Morning. Now take me to see my treats from the Easter Bunny!

We may have gone a little overboard. I pick up toys here and there and save them in a box until a holiday. I did not realize how much we had accumulated.

Daddy and Rowe before church

The Easter Bunny visited Nana's and Pop's house too. Talk about overboard!!!

Living Pictures 2009

We were busy, busy during Easter weekend. Living Pictures was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. Lee did such a good job, and I was so proud of him. He played the role of Jesus, and every year he says he feels so unworthy to play such a humbling role. Due to the size of our church and time between scenes there are actually three men that play Jesus, but you think it is the same person throughout the program. He was nervous about saying his lines correctly, and it was awesome to see God speak through him. He is such a genuinely, humble person.

How beautiful are these pictures of Lee praying in the Garden during dress rehearsal. Lee did not even know he was taking pictures. Thank you Mr. John Lancaster for them. They are breathtaking!

Here are some of the pics that I took. Check out Lee's hair extensions.

(You can save money with Geiko!)

(Who needs their picture made with the Easter Bunny, when they can have it made with Jesus?)

Here is Lee with the four year old Sunday School class. The first grade class was even larger. It is such a blessing to have so many children in our church.

John the Baptist and Me

Rowe's First Easter Egg Hunt

Okay, where have I been? I just looked at my blog and realized I never posted anything about Easter this year. I guess I should have put it on my "blessed to do" list. Well, here goes the first of many long and late Easter blog posts.

The Sunday before Easter, Rowe went on his first Easter Egg Hunt with his best buddy Brayden. We had a great time, and Rowe loved seeing all the eggs (or balls as he called them.) Every time he saw an egg, he would point and say “ball, ball, ball.” He is obsessed. He and Brayden played a bean bag toss game, but Rowe decided it was a take the bean bag to the hole game. He decided throwing it was not nearly as effective as walking it up to the bunny. He found two eggs during the hunt, but of course we had to help him. He found a baseball egg and a football egg. When he was not looking, I dropped the candy out of them into Brayden’s Easter basket. I know, I know, I am so cruel! Don’t worry, I let him eat a cookie or two this weekend. He is not totally deprived of sweets.

Long Family Vacation

Thank you mom and dad for a wonderful vacation!

We went on a family vacation with my family last weekend in Gutenberg. We had a blast, but it just didn't last long enough. Mom did really well keeping up with us, and is recovering this week from all the fun. Rowe hung in there really well also. He is still sleeping late and taking long naps to catch up on the sleep he missed last weekend. We had a beautiful cabin with a breathtaking view from each balcony/bedroom. I have missed my brother and Jenny so much, so it was great to have them with us. We got home Sunday night a little after 11:00 p.m. and are still sleepy. We bought Rowe some educational, fun movies to watch on the way to and from our vacation. Since he hasn't really watched T.V. before, I expected him to love his movies. He paid no attention to it, but it did lull him to sleep a couple of times. Unfortunately, there was a huge truck show going on in Pigeon Forge, so we sat in traffic at least an hour anytime we went anywhere. I made good use of the dvd player and watched Twilight a million times!

Rowe ate his first dessert Sunday. We ordered him a chocolate chip cookie after his dinner on our way home with my parents. He loved it!!! Speaking of Rowe, he no longer only calls me dad or daddy. My newest name now is Celeste. Yes, you read correctly. The kid can barely say mama, but he can pronounce my name.

Erika and Tori, if you are wondering why I haven't called, it is because I have lost of my voice and am sick. If only I knew sign language then I could call you. The doctor thinks I have mono and I'll know Thursday morning when the test comes back. Pray Lee and I do not have mono!!! He is sick too.

Below is a picture of Rowe in his cute outfit that I ordered from Haley Wood at http://www.monkeybubbles.blogspot.com/. She does an excellent job.

Bye Bye Cranberry Crush

We traded in our Honda last week for a more suitable mommy mobile SUV. So I feel that a farewell letter to our Cranberry Crush is only befitting.

Cranberry Crush,

I know it has been hard taking separate roads at this time, but you were never willing to give me the space I needed when I needed it. You refused to budge. You were not even willing to grow in the areas I felt were best for us. All that junk in your trunk was just too much for me to handle. You were always so loud when you were on the road, and I need some silence in my life. You have to understand that it is not all your fault, I have to take some of the blame for replacing you so soon. I am sure you will find someone that will make you very happy, so just enjoy the ride.

Goodbye.

This is my dad and Rowe with our new car the day I bought it. Rowe likes it a lot!

Six Years Ago Today...

Six years ago today, I was sitting at a corner table in Rubens with my best friend, Moriah. We knew we only had a couple of months together before we would permanently go our separate ways. It was really hard for me to think about that at the time, but I knew we needed to have a girls' night out to talk about all things serious in our lives. We hadn't had much time to talk with our busy schedules. She was superinvolved with everything, and I was student teaching that semester. She was grinning the whole night, and I just didn't understand how she could be so happy about leaving so soon. She asked me all kinds of questions, mostly about my relationship with Lee. We had only been dating about five months, and Moriah loved him so much. She thought he was perfect for me and she loved seeing me so happy. She had never been all that excited about anyone else I had dated. I was always a little bit jealous of her. She was a magnet to anyone who was around her. She not only made me a better person from just being around her, but most everyone was changed in some way by knowing her. She's a free spirit that never settles down for long in one place. She also was more talented than anyone I had ever met. I love this girl and miss her terribly. Back to our dinner date.

She asked me if I was really serious about Lee and where I saw our future heading. I told her that we were very serious, and I intended to spend the rest of my life with him whether he knew it or not. She filled me in on some of her future plans, and it broke my heart knowing we wouldn't be roommates much longer. She convinced me to attend one last Lockheart meeting that night before school ended. I reluctantly agreed to go, so after dinner, I drove toward the W. Instead of taking a right, I nearly took a left and went home, but I didn't want to disappoint her. I sat in our social club meeting quite distracted as usual.

At the end of the meeting, Jenny, our president pulled out a beautiful white candle with a red ribbon around it, and told us that we were having a candlelight ceremony. This is a Lockheart tradition. When a Lockheart sister gets engaged, she secretly leaves a candle outside the president's door. The president leads a candlelight ceremony at the following meeting. She lights the candle and announces "friends" and passes the lit candle around the circle of sisters. Next she says "Pinned" and we pass it again. Then she says "Promised" and we pass it again. Finally, the much anticipated "Engaged" is announced. Then the person who got engaged blows the candle out, and everyone is so excited about the surprise engagement. It is really hard to keep your engagement a secret until the following meeting each week.

I was upset because there was going to be a candlelight ceremony with a white candle with red ribbon. I told my freshman roommate and another very close friend, Tori that if I ever get engaged that was the kind of candle I wanted. I grabbed Moriah's hand and joined the circle and began humming the Lockheart traditional song for this occasion. I was still a little upset, and then it hit me. What if Moriah is engaged and she did not tell me; I am going to be furious!!!! No wonder she was smiling so big and so much! "Engaged" is finally announced, and when the candle reached my hands, I passed it to Moriah. She just stopped, and looked at me, and handed right back to me. Then my very precious boyfriend walks into the room full of thirty girls in a circle with their mouths open in shock. He looks directly at me and closes in the space between us and grabs my hands. I am still in shock at this point. His smile was so bright and perfect. He never quit smiling the whole time. Did I mention, I love this guy. He began telling some of the sweetest things with his nervous and shaky voice. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small, velvet, black box and gradually descended onto his knee. He then asked me some of the most beautiful and memorable words I have ever heard, "Will you marry me?" The room was so quiet that I could hear my heart beating, and I think I could have even hear Lee's beating too. I of course said yes and hugged him so tight. There were nearly sixty tear filled eyes on us at this point, but I never even got misty eyed. I was too in shock!!!

Every time I walk into the Educational building at the W, I have to peek into that large meeting room where my life changed forever. It was such a sweet and innocent time in our lives. There were no stresses, no financial worries, my mom was healthy then, and we probably couldn't have told you what infertility meant at the time. I am so thankful that God gave me Lee to go through all the hard times and good times with. He was the one who got me through one of the worst weeks of my entire life only six months after we got married. We left Columbus as a four of us, Lee, myself, my dad, and my mom, but very uncertain if four would return. We were headed to New Orleans for mom's emergency brain surgeries after a large brain aneurysm ruptured. He was there with me as we traveled down the long road to find out what was wrong with me - why couldn't I stay pregnant??? He was there the first time I heard Rowe's heart beat. He is truly my best friend and soul mate.

Jenny our president, Tori my freshman roommate, and Moriah were all in on it. They were the only ones who knew he was going to propose. Of course, my mbbff Erika knew ahead of time. Erika lived in Pell City, AL at the time, so she couldn't be there for the ceremony. I hope no one ever tells me a secret that big and expects me to keep it quiet. I think I would just burst!!! We used my candle from the candlelight ceremony in our wedding as our unity candle.

It is amazing how God can make our lives so much more fulfilled than we ever thought He could. We think we want something so much and that it is best for us, and we look back on those moments and see just how wrong we were. God has given me so many blessings that were a complete surprise. I have learned to never settle in any area of my life. My life is not perfect, and I am far from perfect, but God is so good.

These were my lovely bridesmaids minus one. Jenny, our president is on the bottom left. Moriah (Maid of Honor) is on the bottom right. Erika (Matron of Honor) is the second one at the top. Tori is on the far right on the top row. Cokes were not allowed in the bridal room, so they decided to break the rules and take a picture of it. I do love this picture and these girls. I miss them so much!