Easter Celebration

Easter did not come and go without significance for me this year.  I am sad to say that I believe it probably has in the past.  I was reflecting on the holidays that we as Christians celebrate, and it struck me in a new and refreshed way that Easter is the greatest of them all!  I love Christmas and all of the festivities that begin right after Thanksgiving and carry on throughout the whole month of December.  There is an excitement and anticipation that no one can deny surrounding Christmas.  I love celebrating birthdays and if you would have asked me before what my favorite holiday was, I would have told you without hesitation- Christmas.  But, this year it was really my prayer that Easter would resonate with my soul.  That it would not just come and go with the normalcy of any other weekend. 

We had a wonderful and meaningful Easter weekend.  Joey did not have class on Friday, and while I did not get the day off from work, I had some comp time to make up from events I have had lately, so only worked in the morning.  We spent the late afternoon and early evening at the Roush's.  They were babysitting their sweet niece, so we got to meet her and join them for dinner.  After that we came home to watch The Passion.  I have seen the movie a couple of times, but not very recently.  It really stirred up some emotion in me, and the awe of the sacrifice Christ made for me resonated strongly. 

Saturday was filled with some quality time for me and the hubs and we got to watch Tegan for the Roush's for the day.  Meg and Rich came over for dinner, and then Joey and I got our Easter eggs ready to hunt the next day.  We each bought a package of 12 eggs that we were going to fill with coupons and candy for each other to hunt on Easter.  I grew up with young siblings, so hunting eggs on Easter is a tradition that I don't plan to quit anytime soon.  Don't our eggs suit us perfectly?

Sunday morning we went to church and enjoyed a wonderful worship service.  I love to see everyone in their new Easter clothes squeezing into the full sanctuary.  The fresh Easter lilies lining the stage and the hymns that are so appropriate to celebrate a risen Savior fill me with excitement.  In Sunday School we studied in detail the death and Resurrection of our Lord.  I love the new things that jump off the page with meaning when we study scripture in a group with fellow believers.  It is such a cool thing when we are able to see a story we have studied for years with a new and refreshing wonder. 

Joey and I came home from church and hunted for the Easter eggs we had hidden around the house for each other.  It was pretty fun, and sometimes challenging to remember where we had hidden them when one of us needed a clue.  :)

Then, the Roush's came over and Meg and me cooked a big Easter lunch for us all.  Even the dogs got bones.  It was a meaningful and refreshing Easter weekend around here that made me thankful for many things, but especially for the holiday that reminds us to meditate and remember the price that was paid for our sins.  He is Risen and we are Free!  We sang, In Christ Alone, at church on Sunday.  It is one of my favorite hymns!  We sang it at our wedding as well.  The lyrics are a perfect way to worship our Risen Savior.

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless Babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From a life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Could ever pluck me from His hand

'Til He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I stand

Peter Cottontail Update

Well friends, our little Peter Cottontail bunny is no longer with us.  The next day we found him laying next to Harley in the yard again.  I shooed her into the house to make an assessment.  He was breathing, but this time, didn't look so good.  Poor guy got caught by our puppy again and didn't make it.  Within a few minutes he wasn't breathing anymore.  Joey scooped him up in a box and gave him a burial.  We are sad for the little guy, but happy he is at peace now.  No more trauma by a husky dog for him.

Our Visit from an Easter Bunny

This visit from the Easter Bunny came early and not with cute little eggs filled with candy.  Yesterday, right about the time I got home from work, I was on the phone with my mom, Joey was studying, and Harley was outside in the backyard.  Joey came out of the study and looked at Harley through the window.  He saw her playing with something, so he opened the door to get a better look.  She picked up the little fluffly thing she had been playing with and took off.  Joey yelled at me that she had an animal!  I screamed, told my mom I'd call her back, and joined the chase.  The animal in her mouth is making the most horrible sqeaking sound.  I thought I heard the squeaking from inside earlier, but in the distraction of getting home and being on the phone just wrote it off as a toy.  Harley is very fast and her favorite game is keep-away.  So, we are yelling all kind of things- "No!", "Sit!", "Bad Girl!", "Harley, Come!", "Wanna Treat?"... and she is just sprinting circles around the backyard.  Finally, we coordinated our efforts and got Harley cornered.  She didn't want to drop the new toy she'd found, but finally Joey pried her mouth open and this is what fell out...

OH MY GOSH, right?!  This sweet tiny little baby bunny was covered in slobber and so scared!  We shoved Harley inside the house and tried to figure out if the little guy was ok.  There was no blood and despite being shocked almost to death I'm sure, he was moving a little, so I was hopefull he would make it.

I wrapped him in a towel and left him alone in the shade on our porch to calm down.  We went and got on the internet to read about these little guys and it didn't look good for our little Peter Cotton Tail.  There were articles about how fragile life is for these little guys and about how they often don't make it through a traumatic experience because the stress overwhelms them, or that they can't make it on their own if they are too young to be separated from momma bunny.  But, we had no idea how old he was and hoped for the best!  After about an hour I could see he was moving around a bit and decided to take him back up on the hill in our back yard.  We looked around for a nest and didn't find one, but thought he must have come from under the fence up on top of the hill.  We checked on him periodically last night and he made it back under the fence, so I am hopefull he made it!  I felt so awful for this poor little guy.  I know Harley just thought he was a fun little toy.  I mean his squeak sounded exactly like the way her toys squeak!  But, this little Easter Bunny had no idea what he was in for when he ventured into our backyard.  I picture him making it back to his home and telling all his friends to steer clear of that backyard with the black and white furry beast.  

Joey was proud of his little hunter and I was horrified that our puppy could have been a murderer.  I realize now that she just thought little Peter Cotton Tail was a fun new toy and had no idea she was harming a live baby animal.  We are still hoping the Easter Bunny visits our house this weekend, but understand if he decides to stay away.  Happy Easter week! 

Go March for Babies!

It's that time of year again!  We have our Waco March for Babies walk coming up this weekend.  I have been super busy getting ready for it this week, but wanted to let you know I probably won't appear here again until next week.  I would appreciate your prayers for sanity, calm nerves, and a successful event.  This is my third year to run March for Babies and I can't believe how much I've learned and how much our event has grown.  I am fortunate to love my job (most of the time) and the organization I work for.  You know I enjoy putting on events, and my job allows me to do that for a great cause.  Helping ensure that all babies get a healthy start is what the March of Dimes is all about.  If you would like to donate to our team or join us, I have posted the link below.  Thanks for your support!

http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1500530

Go March for Babies!

Girl Weekend, Here I Come!

It's girl weekend, and I am headed out to enjoy some quality time with the girls!  I am picking Megan up in a little bit and we are driving to Shay's family lake house.  I've been there once before and it is serene.  I am looking forward to laying out, chatting, reading, and a memorable weekend with some girl friends.  Hope your weekend is filled with something great!  Happy Weekend!

A Spring Project

I have been happy to welcome this great spring weather we have been having lately.  I am happy to say goodbye to the cold winter and excited for all that spring brings... colorful flowers, outside projects, and the promise of summer on its way.  In the spirit of spring, I wanted a wreath to adorn our front door.  I have a Christmas wreath and a Fall wreath, but I have been searching for a Spring/Summer wreath.  I think a beautiful wreath can be such a welcoming statement.  It's a first impression to those walking through your door, and since we currently live in a duplex that looks just like all of the other duplexes down our street, I like the character it gives our front porch. 

I have had a difficult time finding one that I like, and if I do, it is way more than I would ever spend on a wreath.  So, I decided to make one.  I found a picture of one on a website for inspiration, but it costs $189.  Yeah right!

So for my project, I started with a grapevine wreath for $4.99 from Hobby Lobby.

 

Then, I picked out some greenery and a few different kinds of flowers.  It was fun to pick out exactly what I wanted on my wreath.  And to make things even better, all of the floral stems were 50% off.  Megan decided to come along and got all the fixings to make a wreath too!  I told her it would be a good reminder to miss us when they move to Dallas.  She and Rich will think of us when they walk into their house every day. :)

So when I got home I started cutting my greenery and floral stems.  I added sprigs all in the same direction so that it spiraled like the picture I had.  After I had it all arranged how I wanted it, I started hot-gluing it all in place.  Here's a close up of the greenery and flowers I used. 

Here's the final product on our door.  I am pretty happy with it.  And the best part of all... I only spent around $25 for my new spring wreath!

Lazy Saturday Mornings

I love Saturday mornings when we in town and don't have anywhere to rush off to. Over the last year or so these lazy Saturday mornings have come to look a certain way. I realized this morning that I love our Saturday morning routine and I better enjoy it while I can. I know that lazy Saturday mornings will not always be a realistic commodity when life gets busier and we have kids. But for now, here's what lazy Saturday mornings look like at the Hance house.

I am usually the first to rise around 8-8:30 a.m. The first thing I do is turn on the tea pot and Food Network. I love to watch Food Network on Saturday morning. All the good shows are on. Usually Harley wanders out of our room, I feed her breakfast, and then she joins me on the couch for some cuddle time while we watch cooking shows. After I have some caffeine in me, I make breakfast for Joey and I. Today I made Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread.


It's in the oven now and its aroma is filling up our house. I am getting excited to dig in! Usually by then Harley is ready to play. Joey is her favorite to play with, so she goes back into our room to wake him up. She puts her front paws up on the edge of the bed on his side and barks at him. It's pretty funny. Then, me and the hubs sit down and enjoy a late breakfast together. I love our lazy Saturdays and hope we will always make time for them in the future... even if they happen less often as our life changes.

Haircut

Sorry it's taken me a few days to get a picture of my new haircut posted. Here it is! I like it a lot. I am still learning to fix it, but it is a fun change. Perfect for this warm weather we have been having!

Time for a change

I have been itching for a new hairdo the last couple months. I am in bad need of haircut and have an appointment for tomorrow. I spent some time looking at pictures online today for inspiration. Here's the one I am taking to the salon tomorrow. Hope I leave there looking as cute as she does!




UPDATE: I got a call from the hair salon this morning telling me that my stylist is out sick today... so I had to reschedule for Saturday. :( Stay tuned.

Puppy Party

Here are some pictures from our puppy get-together on Harley's birthday! Matt and Ashlyn brought their dog, Snickers, and Meg brought over Tegan. Some of you may think we're crazy after this blog post, but we had fun celebrating Harley's 1st birthday. We love having parties, and come'on... how many times do you turn 1?

Harley got a turtle toy from us which she immediately began work on destroying.



Snickers brought her over a bone.... thanks Snicks!

Yes, I made a dog cake... :) The recipe is below.

I think it was a hit!

Tegan was the first one done. She was quick to take what the other dogs were taking too long to eat, so she got 2 pieces. :)

Snickers liked it too!

Of course we had cupcakes for the humans too.

Peanut Butter Delight Dog Cake

1 cup white or whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1 tub non-fat plain yogurt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a ring mold sprayed with a nonstick spray and bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely and frost with non-fat plain yogurt.