Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Easter, Business as Usual, and 3 Full Submersions!



Easter is here and so is the sun! Praise God!! After a few weeks of cold and rainy weather, the sun is shining again and life is starting to spring up from the ground and trees. The earth has a clean start and smells fresh after a good rain. Spirits are lifted once again (did you know that there is a type of clinical depression that relates to weather? So yes, it's officially time to be happy!)

Easter is the important holiday for our family. We love Jesus and it's because of Easter that we (like the earth during this season) have a fresh start! It's the greatest love story ever told and we are the beloved. The best part of the story is that although Jesus died for us (this is greatest love story part... every romantic will tell you there is nothing more beautiful than sacrificial love... and every hero will tell you there is nothing more honorable than to give one's own life....) that's not the end of the story................... it's the beginning! He conquered death and is alive!

One of the sweetest things I heard this past week was when a classroom of 3-year-olds were asked, "What happened at Easter?", and a little girl (the shiest child in the room) spoke up with great enthusiasm saying, "God came alive!" You got it, sister!

Here are pictures of Easter this year. It started with a neighborhood egg hunt the weekend before (which we were late to... probably for the best so that our 14-month-old didn't get trampled on!)


Walking to the park!


The Easter Bunny came to say Hello!



Puppy love


Playground time!


Easter Day
My parents and brother, Ryan, came to church with us!



With Grandpa Young


Goodies for later...


Uncle Scotty and Daddy "hiding" the Easter eggs...



Real inconspicuious-like!


All of the eggs had one or two goldfish snacks in them...


Once Ethan figured that out, he had a belly full of fish!


Putting the empty eggs in his basket



Auntie JoJo helping the little guy out...


Spectators






Easter Basket Time!
Ethan got a stuffed Lamb because Jesus is the Lamb of God...
no more sacrifices needed!


He loves his lamb!



There he goes, little shepard boy!



Back to the rest of the basket...


Time for family pictures...









Uncle Chef Ryan feeding Ethan the best of Gerber!


A little Sesame ABC's before bedtime
Snuggles with Grandma Wager


This is the "Business as Usual" clip:
Ethan has been climbing in and out of the laundry basket


He brought his new friend with him



Our house is usually turned upside down these days...


and so is our kid!


Ethan peeking through Daddy's legs


Spring flowers for Creekside's referals




Snuggles on the couch:
Ethan didn't go to sleep until close to 10pm that night so he stayed up late and caught some snippits of the movie Mommy & Daddy were watching... Narnia. He thought every animal was an elephant as he would wave his arm in the air and say, "Brrrrrrrr!"


Baptism Day!
Our good friends Paul and Juli were baptized last weekend and all of us in our bible study came to watch as they made this great statement of faith!
Here we are getting ready to leave... Ethan is in an outfit I got for him in Ethiopia!



The Baptism took place at Beal's Point
Here is Jen & Emma and Gina


The Urke's



Mark and Ethan with Paul (pre-dunk!)


This is a picture that summarizes Ethan's time there.
I mainly just saw his back running away from us.
Open spaces = Running little boy




God's artwork (check out the snow capped mountains in the background)
I can't believe we live here!


We added sugar to the scene.
Daddy gave Ethan a brownie


Paul and Juli


Dan sang some worship songs :)


Emma was lookin' cute as always!


Time to fully submerge some Christ followers!


"I've got a hot dog in one hand and a hot wife in the other."
- Dan Rippl

Livin' the dream.



My beautiful boys!


This is how 2 Full Submersions became 3...
I guess Ethan couldn't wait to be baptised himself :)





Here come Paul and Juli....












Yeay! They did it! Together!!!


Okay, now everyone out of the lake!


Easter = New Life and New Beginnings

Looking back at all the events that took place this year, I can say that Easter lived up to it's message this year!





1 comment:

  1. Such great pics! I am glad someone takes so many, it hasn't been me! Love them all as usual!! :)

    ReplyDelete