Easter 2008.

What a wonderful Easter we've had! The weather here in Georgia is about as perfect as it can get... I can hear birds chirping outside as I type :) We were up earlier than usual (even Gabriel) to scoot out the door to the sunrise service at church. I've never been to anything like it, and it was nice- We stood outside, sang some hymns, and heard a quick devotional from one of our elders. Then everyone piled into the fellowship hall for a yummy breakfast (well, except for the grits... sorry, I just can't acquire a taste for them...) The main service itself was fantastic: We have the most wonderful pastor -Mike Klaus- who never fails to stir my heart with his sermons. It's a rare Sunday if I'm not ready to bawl at some point, and this one was no exception! We're so blessed to be shepherded by a man with such a heart for God. I'm not sure if they'll post it, but the webmaster for our church is pretty good about updating the sermons on the website; If you're interested, I'd highly recommend going by our church's website later this week and having a listen to Mike's Easter Sunday sermon -> http://www.c4christian.com/

Yesterday we were also at the church for an Easter egg hunt! Gabriel was deprived a nap in order to attend, so he was pretty cranky at the start. However, once he was unleashed to look for eggs with all the other preschoolers, he very quickly cheered up. They hid all the eggs for his age group in a small, fenced-in playground (partly for safety, partly to give them something to do after they were done)... We're talking about 20 or so munchkins under the age of 4, though. So just about every one of them ran to an egg, looked at it, realized there were swings and toys and stuff to climb on, and completely forgot about the eggs. (It was a bummer because Ben "practiced" hunting for eggs with Gabriel for two hours that morning!) Afterwards, there was cake... As you can see, Gabriel just hates cake and won't go near it ;)

We hope everyone had as special an Easter celebration as we did. We're at the less-than-2-weeks countdown for Eli, so be on the lookout for a birth announcement (hopefully soon!)

"A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!'"
- John 20:26-28 (NIV)