date with h

a few sundays ago, h and i had a date.  he helped me with the flower angel ministry that day and then we went to see the Miss Pattycake show at first baptist of opelika.

we have the resurrection eggs miss pattycake video {note: a WONDERFUL message, very theatrical video} and henry was excited about seeing her sing and perform in person.  it was fun!

and afterwards you could have your picture made with miss pattycake.  henry asked if we could please do this - and he wanted to wait in line.  i think he was just in awe that she was a real person.  we grabbed dinner at moe's {one of his faves} afterwards.  what an enjoyable afternoon and evening!  

eight, eight. eight is truly great.

april 17th we celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary.  and even though it is a cheesy rhyme ... yes, it IS truly great.

one of our anniversary traditions is watching our wedding video.  and this always brings laughter and tears.  some laughter ... we wrote on our vows to each others and the last line of my vow states "i pray the Lord will bless us always."  however, what i said is that "i pray the Lord will breast, bless, us always."  some tears ... the emotion of the day, every single bit of it, and those on the video that are no longer living on earth.

we tried snapping one shot after dinner and this was it. ha! our old camera {which is small and fits in my purse} gets stuck on the video setting more often than not and that is what happened that night.

one of the many things we have learned from everything that happened in october of 2010 is that no matter what hand we are dealt, God will lead us through it together.  together.  and having been through that portion of our lives and going forward, that makes the little things {which is what we disagree on anyway, not the big things} not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  so when things arise, and they will continue to, the REAL thought of their places in our lives is put in perspective.

here's to another year ... and more fond memories, hand in hand and side by side. 

here and there

our internet at home has been down for the last two weeks and was fixed today.  yee haw!  catch up time.

here are some pictures of h at school and on the tire swing - first time on a tire swing and he loved it.  he said "we need to build one of those at our house!"

 the boys enjoying lunch on the deck - thanksgrandmother for their cute table!

 and we enjoyed some time at the park / egg hunt with friends - noel, owen, henry and vivian.

 once a year {and hopefully more often but we do what we can!} our group of college girlfriends gets together for dinner.  we met a few weeks ago at springhouse.

 so, so enjoyed catching up with them and sharing funny stories from the college days of the past and swapped stories about our kiddos and lives in the present.  even though we don't all see each other than often, when we get together time has no meaning. 

 we missed the few that couldn't come ... until next time!

 and there are a few pics of our home, good old 2631.

 and the first few leaves of the sugar maple we planted that you saw pictures of previously ...

 what's not to love about plants?!  and you should see the hydrangeas now - all blooming.  to me, hydrangea seems to embody the South.

can you see her?  the mother bluebird that is.  two beautiful bluebirds built a nest inside the birdhouse.  we all enjoyed watching the mother and father build the nest, lay eggs, the eggs then hatch and the feeding of the baby birds.  every day for the last few months we have seen them fly to and fro ... how wonderful this has been.  and now the babies have flown away and they have made another nest somewhere.  we don't see them as often nowadays, but there is certainly something to be said for the many birds out here.  all gorgeous and unique!

keeper of the stairs

doggies are loving the ponderosa {although at the moment they are in dire need of a bath and have been starved for attention this week}!  and they still love to sleep.  and bricks, he likes to sleep at the break of our stairs.  cute.

holy week 2012

Easter weekend is an amazing time, isn't it?

we started a few Easter traditions at our house over the last few years.  but first, let me say a few sentences on Easter itself ... over the last hand full of years, this time of year has become much more meaningful and significant to the both of us.  it seems as though so much effort and importance is placed on Christmas {which IS meaningful and significant, don't get me wrong} - but where does Easter fall in the mix?  is it hidden in egg hunts, candy, baskets, and a bunny?  as life takes on different meaning as each day passes, so does the beauty of Easter.

a few holy week traditions around the vaughan house ... attending maundy thursday and good friday services.  both so moving.  on saturday, hunting for a few eggs and sharing a few Easter goodies in baskets.  {side note: our dogs scare the Easter bunny away, so henry and owen do not expect him to stop by and know that anything special they receive is from daddy and mommy ... neither of us are fans of the whole magical bunny.  but, we do not convey this to henry and owen so they don't spoil any bunny fun for their friends!}.  we have really loved sharing baskets and egg hunting on saturday so that on sunday, we can all just think about the day for what it is and not have egg hunting and baskets added to it.  saturday night we make "resurrection buns" {recipe} as another example of the love Christ has for us.

we all have moments when we are proud of our children ... and I'll share a quick one regarding h.  saturday before Easter we ran into the grocery store.  we came back out and I had put o in the car and was about to put h in the car.  a nice, older lady parked next to us and was approaching her car at the same time.  she said "hello!  do you know what tomorrow is?"  and henry excitedly replied, "Jesus arose!"  and the lady broke out into a huge smile and said "you are so right.  you have made my day - have a wonderful Easter."  tears, good tears.  typing this out tears are arising again.  i just thought to myself, he gets it, he really gets it.  wow.

here are a few pictures to share from that special weekend. 

baskets and egg hunting

another tradition is brunch at our house ... this is the third year we've enjoyed brunch with family and a few friends.  really love this ... a time to enjoy visiting with no timetable.

 a few bird's nests adorned our table ... and owen sure loved grabbing the little eggs and munching on them {m&m eggs}.

 a big table and a little table and the weather was incredible.  we were able to open up the porch door and eat and relax on the deck as well.

 a few thoughts to ponder at place settings - would not be complete without the above from ann voskamp.  again a wonderful, life changing book {1,000 gifts - link} - one to add to the library and certainly to life each day. 

 henry sharing a special moment with his grandmother.

most recent Edmondson {immediate} family picture.

grace. love. open hands.

planting roots

 a love to read

 funny faces to share

 an activity owen loves - building with bristle blocks. 

 let's go fly a kite ... henry loves flying the kite.

 owen loves to throw rocks and grab hand fulls of dirt

 {half pajama day - at least the shirt.  he really wanted to leave on his monkey shirt & it was a wednesday when he doesn't have school so why not?}

 we have two toomer's oaks we planted recently - have had them in pots for several years and were able to put them in the ground!

 and also planted a sweet housewarming gift of a sugar maple tree - planting it a few months ago.  and its first few leaves a few weeks ago.

digging in the dirt, planting trees, sowing a small garden.  digging in our hearts to learn about oneself, planting roots of wonder, curiosity, perseverance, and faith, and sowing seeds of thankfulness, laughter and love.

eucharisteo

much to post ... feeling behind, blog and otherwise {as usual!}, but i will get it done, at some point ... until then, wanted to share the above thought from Ann Voskamp.  this is the crux of her book, One Thousand Gifts, as well as the crux of life.  ordinary every. day. life. our ordinary transformed into God-breathed extraordinary.

"aren't the heights of our joy always dependent on our thanks?"

www.aholyexperience.com