Eggstravaganza At Grandma and Grandpa's

We had a wonderful Easter lunch with Brian's Brother and parents complete with another egg hunt of course!

The children quickly emptied their baskets of all the wonderful goodies that Grandma had waiting on them because they were ready to hunt some eggs!

On your mark...

Get set...

GO!!!

They searched HIGH and LOW....

...but they had no idea that Grandpa had hidden one in his shirt pocket.

Savanna finally figured it out when he told them there was one egg that had FOLLOWED them all over the yard. She knew it had to be hidden somewhere in one of his pockets.

Girlfriend cracked herself up when she finally found it in his shirt pocket.

The kids thought a grand finale would be for the GROWN UPS to have a hunt of our very own. Here we are all lined up and ready!

We actually had a really good time racing around searching the bushes.

I am so thankful that we finally live close enough to family where we can share these most special moments and holidays with them.

Married to the Easter Bunny

Who knew I would one day find myself married to the Easter Bunny!?

My super sweet hubby climbed in that crazy bunny costume to surprise our nephew Tyson.

What a good Uncle!

The whole family gathered to see his expression

Everyone tried to convince Tyson that it was a "nice bunny"

Our kids snuggled in for a hug

They thought it was a riot that their Daddy would do this!

But there was no convincing Tyson to sit on this "Monster's" lap. He wanted no part of this at all!

Even Meme got her pictured made with the Easter Bunny

Best Easter Ever?

Hopefully, we would all acknowledge that the actual best Easter ever was the day the empty tomb was found because we know Jesus' death and resurrection provides abundant life here and eternal life in heaven.

BUT, our children can't help themselves when they declare this year's Easter the best Easter THEY have ever experienced.

That is because we have two new furry friends that have taken up residence here in the Calhoun household. I know that is a totally unspiritual reason for this to be the best Easter ever, but I'm just tryin' to keep it real, people.

The sweet brown fluff ball is Savanna's bunny named Cinnamon.

Micah named his white bunny with the gray eye patches, Bandit Fluffin'pants.

Remarkably, both children picked bunnies that mirror their own personalities.

Savanna's bunny is calm and sweet and will let you cuddle with her for hours. She gets a little nervous and shy and will hide in the back of the cage when you try to pick her up. She actually acts like the snuggly kitten we have never gotten to have due to Savanna and Brian's allergies.

Micah's bunny is full of energy and is constantly moving and getting into something.

Bandit acts more like a puppy dog. He jumps and climbs and even likes to nibble. He even literally jumps out of the cage, ready for an adventure, whenever you open the cage door.

These were not exactly 'planned' pets.

Mom was here visiting and we were out shopping when we saw a feed store advertising baby chicks. I foolishly wanted to stop just to see some sweet little yellow bitties. It seemed like such a fun family field trip to celebrate the onset of Spring. Well, their 'chicks' were hardly what I had imagined! They were nearly full grown chickens who had definitely outgrown their cute bitty stage.

But, sitting just a few feet away from the chicken coop was a pen filled with about 15 precious baby bunnies. Immediately the 'please, please, pleases' started. Then my mom chimed in and tried to sweeten the pot by offering to BUY the bunnies if I would just buy the cage. Sounds like a good offer huh? Well, don't let her fool YOU like she did ME. She knows how to make a deal...the bunnies were only $7.50 each and my bill for the cage and accessories was $85.00!

I called Brian and asked him if he thought it would be a good idea to get the children bunnies for Easter. There was dead silence for about half a minute and then he said,

"What do you want me to say?"

I don't know what I love more...

1. The fact that he was willing to be the "mean" parent who put his foot down and say 'NO BUNNIES!'

or

2. That he was willing to say 'YES' to two more pets, if that was what he thought I wanted

Now here's an interesting fact...we have one girl bunny, one boy bunny, and ONE CAGE!

Hmmmm....there might be some very exciting blog posts coming in a few weeks!

Funny Bunny!

Tyson only got to play with the bunnies for a short while since he thought it would be more fun to TOSS the bunnies than pet them!

His playtime with the bunnies immediately STOPPED since I was afraid history might indeed repeat itself and my WORST EASTER EVER might be replayed. You see, about 25 years ago, my brother and I were given two bunnies on Easter morning.

Sweet, right?

WRONG!

The bunny that we thought we SLEEPING was NOT!

Fill in the gaps people!

And what's worse is that we only figured it out after poking it with a stick through the holes in the cage for about 10 minutes in an effort to wake it up!
~

I am sure there will be MANY more bunny pics and stories to post soon.

Stay tuned for more furry cuteness if you can stand it!

Cousins Egg Hunt

We had our very own private Easter Egg hunt in Mom's front yard with Savanna, Micah, and my brother's little boy, Tyson.

I was so proud of the "big kids."

They were much more interested in helping Tyson than collecting eggs for themselves.

Savanna was so sweet to point out the eggs for Tyson.


And Micah cracked me up by throwing the eggs down right in front of Tyson so he could find them more easily.

Once Tyson figured out that there was candy treats inside each egg, this sort of slowed the hunting down a bit. He wanted to crack open each and every egg as he found it to see what treasure was inside.

After Tyson become tired of the egg hunt, it was a free for all for the big kids. The only problem was, they didn't have baskets. That certainly didn't stop Micah though!

Kutless and Casting Crowns

Our family LOVES Kutless and Casting Crowns. So when we found out they would be in concert TOGETHER, we just couldn't resist.

Turns out, the concert date was really close to Micah's birthday so it was a great way to celebrate after his family birthday dinner.

Okay, I have to tell a story here that I don't really have a picture to go with, but it is so precious and I don't want to forget it over time. See the little sweetie sitting on Savanna's lap. That is McKenzie. She is only 5 years old and that baby has a heart as big as she is. Like most Christian concerts, there was an emotional video shown about sponsoring children through World Vision. Well, McKenzie's family already sponsors a child, but she wanted to 'adopt' ANOTHER 'sister'. When her Mom told her 'no' ~ that child went into FULL MELTDOWN MODE! I mean like boo-hoo crying. Loud, hysterical crying! I know her mom was about to die of embarrassment, but it was one of the sweetest things you have ever seen! If only all of us adults had that kind of passion and heart break for the children of the world, what kind of place world would this be?

The concert was extra fun because we got to jam out with 20 of our closest friends.

This was really not a concert at all...it was WORSHIP!

I think there was only one song I didn't know all night, and yes, I am one of those obnoxious people who sings along with all the songs. Fortunately, all our friends do the same thing!

Benjamin and Jake seemed to have a great time worshipping the Lord together.

And I'm sure you know these three cuties sang their hearts out too!

"Sing until the whole world hears"

Micah's Birthday Dinner

Micah requested his favorite Mexican restaurant La Hacienda for his 8th birthday dinner. This boy loves spicy like it is nobody's business!

He was all smiles as he chose from the ADULT menu. Apparently, he thinks 8 years old is when you graduate from the children's menu. Hey ~ you're only 8 once! And yes, he did eat the WHOLE THING!
Micah tried to sneak up behind me and scare me on his way back from the bathroom. He was unsuccessful and said "I have NEVER been able to scare you, Mom!"

I corrected him and reminded him that I was plenty scared when he was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and he was dark, dark blue. And he scared me pretty good when he jumped off his Daddy's shoulder's when he was three and landed head first on the tile. He also did a pretty good job of scaring me when he nearly drowned in a pool a few years ago. And, most recently, I was good and scared when he disappeared from the ballpark into the woods to go 'fishing' with some friends.
~
I assurred him that he has 'scared' me plenty in his eight years. Thinking back over his short life I realize that since he is not a cat with nine lives, the Lord has been incredibly merciful to protect him through these VERY SCARY events. I am pretty sure the Lord sends us children just to enhance our prayer life!
No birthday dinner would be complete without the wait staff singing and embarrassing the birthday boy, right?

La Ha goes all out and even plants a sombrero on the birthday boy's head!
Hmmm.....wonder how many heads that thing has been on?
After the singing was over, I asked "What'd ya get, Bud?"
He said "A PANCAKE!"
~
One bite confirmed it was definitely not a pancake. But whatever it was, was covered in honey and sprinkles which made for a good finale to the dinner.


On our way out, Brian and Micah hammed it up with the Mariachi band and Savanna couldn't resist the over sized gumball machine. That child loves bubble gum ALMOST as much as her momma!

He Is Risen

Happy 8th Birthday Micah

Dear Micah~

I remember crying on Easter morning eight years ago, not knowing what in the world to wear! You see, I never dreamed I would still be pregnant at Easter since your due date was 2 weeks earlier. I remember sneaking into the back row of church and settling in trying to go unnoticed. That didn't last long since your Daddy started the worship service by saying

"Today we are here to celebrate Jesus coming out of the tomb...

Now we are all just waiting for Micah to come out of the womb!"

I remember three days later, when you finally made your appearance into the world. We had an Abraham/Isaac moment mere seconds after you were born. Due to complications at your birth, we didn't think you were ours to keep for long. That experience taught us early on that you truly are a precious gift here on loan from God. We believe with all of our hearts that there is a very special calling and purpose on your life. We pray daily that you will be a good steward and use the gifts that the Lord has generously given to you.
There are so many things that I love and appreciate about you!

~

You are definitely the funniest kid I have ever known. You make me laugh so much! I can not believe some of the jokes and witty things you come up with. I think the Lord sent you to us just so we would laugh more.

~

You have an incredible gift of music. You showed us from an early age what great rhythm you had. It has been a blessing to hear you sing in church for the Lord.

~

You have this unique ability to "read" people. I know that it is the gift of discernment to be able to look at people through those 'God goggles' and see past the exterior of a person. Your Daddy has this same gift, and with it comes a great deal of responsibility.

~

I love to hear you pray. You have such a loving, compassionate heart for others who are hurting or in need. It is so moving and convicting to hear you lift up others while also praising our Father.

~

You are definitely 100 percent boy! You love to fish, wrestle, play with swords and guns, work with tools, and play sports. I am so glad that you are as rough and tumble as they come!

~

You love to snuggle and have always given the best hugs! I love it when you say, "We haven't snuggled today, have we?" Even though you are rough and tumble, I pray you will never get too big or tough to hug your Momma!

~

I love that you LOVE LIFE! You definitely know how to live in the moment and will randomly declare a day "THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE!" It makes me stop and appreciate the moment for what it is worth. ~ even the simple things in life.

~

You are remarkably bright! This has been a so special considering your rough start at birth. Dede has always jokingly said, "If that slowed him down any, you better be glad it did." I am glad for you that things come so easy for you, but I want to caution you to always try YOUR best and compete against yourself, not others.

~

You have this unusual natural charisma. People are just drawn to you and want to be your friend. I remember even when you were 2 years old in preschool, your friends would all scream "MICAH'S HERE!" when you walked in the room. It has always amazed us at how quickly you are able to connect with people. I hope as you get older, when people are drawn to you, you will point them to Jesus!

~

When I look back and think over all the things that make you so special in my eyes, I praise the Lord for the way He made you and designed you. I could not have custom ordered a kid that would have been any more fun to raise. You are truly blessed with many gifts. Please always remember to give God the glory and to "walk HUMBLY with the Lord." Remember, if you do not humble yourself, the Lord will humble you ~ and I can guarantee that is a lot more painful. I look at you and hope and pray you will use your gifts and your life to honor Him. To whom much is given, much is required.

You have taught me so much in your short life. I look forward to all that this next year has in store for you and the lessons that it will provide for me as well. I love you HEAPS AND HEAPS!

Love,

Mom

~ baby Micah at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months~

You know you are raising a boy when...

You know you are raising a boy when you go into the bathroom and find Spiderman stratling your faucet. And just for the record, that is MY sink, not Micah's. I really have no idea why Spiderman is sitting there. I assume it is some sort of gift. Kind of like when I was a little girl and our cats would leave dead birds they had killed on our doorstep as a gift. Not exactly something you really wanted, nor do you really know what to do with it, but it is definitely the gesture that counts. And I must admit, I have left Spiderman perched like this for the last 4 days. I just can't bring myself to remove him. It makes me smile everytime I wash my hands.

~

I am very thankful for the joys of motherhood that come in raising a boy!

I just can't believe that my 'baby' is turning 8 years old tomorrow!

Happy Early Birthday Micah!

~

Gotta run...this is my last day to snuggle with a 7 year old!

April Fools Backfire

My silly Savanna thought she would pull a little April Fools prank on her brother by sticking his toothbrush in a glass of water in the freezer. When she told me that she had done this, I secretly wondered how long it would actually take him to realize it, being that his hygiene practices are that of a typical 7 year old boy.

Much to my surprise, he came barrelling in a minute ago laughing hysterically with his frozen toothbrushsicle. I was so excited thinking that he had come to the realization by brushing without any prompting from us. I asked him if he realized it when he went to brush his teeth. This was his response...

"No, Savanna gave me some hints and I figured out what she did. When I went to brush my teeth after breakfast and couldn't find my toothbrush, I just used Savanna's."

I think Savanna's April Fools joke backfired a little if you ask me!

Can't wait to see what the rest of the day holds for us!

I think I am also going to keep a close eye on my toothbrush for the rest of the day.

Snaggle Tooth

Micah came home from school screaming in excitement ready to show me how loose his front tooth was. He was jumping up and down as he wiggled it screaming "look Mom!" when the tooth fell right out in his hand!


If only I could have captured the look on his face when that happened!

It was PRICELESS!
Love those baby teeth ~ sniff, sniff!

I remember how his smile changed so much when those baby teeth first CAME IN and now he is losing them! I love that sweet SNAGGLE TOOTH grin and am trying to enjoy every moment of this wonderful journey through parenthood.