His Only Son

John 3:16
It's probably the most recognized Bible verse. I'm sure I first memorized it in 1st grade as a Spark in AWANA. I've been able to rattle it off for a really long time now, just like most people. But do we actually listen to what the message is in that verse?

For me, John 3:16 took on a whole new meaning when I became a mother. I remember sitting in church one Sunday morning, not long after I had Livy, wiping tears from my eyes because I actually understood that verse for the first time in my life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God gave his ONLY son... that's the part that gets me. His only son. Gave his son to be mocked, whipped, beaten, spit upon, tortured, and crucified for us. Sinners. We sinners that take our salvation for granted. We sinners that forget to give thanks for our oh so many blessings. We sinners that sometimes fall asleep at night without having uttered one word to God that day. We sinners that try to justify our sins so we can do what we want. How does that make God feel?

Thinking about all of that makes His love so overwhelmingly real to me... that He loves us that much.

Would I give up my only child? My sweet precious Olivia? No way! I'm tearing up now just thinking about it. I'd like to think that I'd have the faith of Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, but who am I kidding...

I'm so thankful
...that my God loves me and that His mercy endures forever!
...that He is willing to forgive my selfish heart!
...that Jesus did not stay in that grave!
...that He's coming again some day!
...and that I am a whosoever!

It's easy to reflect on this during the Easter season, but I pray that I'll never lose sight of His love for me.

What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The one who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day, that will be!

The Easter Egg Hunter

In our garage, there's a pair of camouflage waders hanging on the wall. Its a tight fit trying to squeeze the truck in the garage, so I actually use the waders to gauge how far I need to pull up... When I see the waders move, I know I can stop. Great system, right? :)

Tonight as we were pulling in, Livy noticed the waders for the first time and asked what they were. I told her that those were daddy's waders. She asked what waders were so I told her that daddy wears them when he goes hunting. Her eyes got really big and she said,
"Ohhh! When daddy goes huntin for Easter eggs?"

I tried not to laugh and just said, "Yep, absolutely! When daddy hunts Easter eggs." Oh, that girl!

Not Too Happy...

Lately, Livy has transitioned herself out of having a nap time. And although I miss those couple of hours I used to have to myself, I will say she usually holds up pretty well! But with us going to the Easter party at Story Time and the circus yesterday, by the time church was over last night she was super a wee bit cranky. So when Drew was putting her in the car seat last night, he asked her if she was grouchy and this was her reply,
"Yep. I'm just not too happy anymore!"
Haha! You gotta love the honesty! Thankfully, she was asleep before we ever got home.

It would be nice if the story ended there... but it doesn't.

She stayed asleep until about midnight when she crawled in the bed with us. She was constantly moving and whining, and then the scratching started. She was scratching her back, her belly, her legs, then she even started scratching me! I finally said, "What are you doing???" And she looks at me with huge eyes and says,
"I'm trying to get the sneeze out of me!"
I don't know if she was sleep talking or if she was just delirious, but either way, it was really funny!

All dressed up for the Easter party at Story Time. Too bad she has to wear a turtle neck under her cute SPRING dress!

Sidewalk Chalk

The weather is FINALLY warming back up a little bit, so we got to enjoy some time outside this morning! We were going to mow a little bit to get the yard looking nice for Easter, but the mower is on the fritz again... at least until Drew has time to fix it.

So instead, Livy jumped on the trampoline and swang for a little while. Then we played with the chalk. She requested a daddy and mommy monkey to go along with the monkey she was playing with.

The sun was a little bright...

I introduce you to the Monkey Family! *Notice she had to hold the daddy's hand too! lol

 

Livy learned how to play hopscotch today... She's not quite ready for hopping on one foot, so "in and out" it is!

Spring Break

Last week we were on Spring Break... ok, ok, so our whole life is basically Spring Break (just perks of being a stay at home mom!) But we did pretend we were actually on Spring Break! On Monday, we made plans with Julie and the kids to go to the Little Rock Zoo. Livy and I were going to ride with them and then get in the car with my mom after the Zoo since we were spending a couple of days with her afterwards. Well, that didn't exactly pan out. Walker and Tatum lost their car keys that morning right before we were supposed to leave town. Micah had the spare, but he was out of town. And since all 3 car seats were too bulky to fit in the back of my truck, we had to leave without them! :(

Before I begin the rest of the story, let me just add that according to my weather app, it was supposed to be around 70 degrees that week, so I packed only shorts and t-shirts. Thankfully I stuck a couple of jackets in the truck last minute because when we got to Little Rock, the temp had dropped 20 degrees and was freezing!

We met up with Gran and Aunt Lori and enjoyed lunch at All Aboard. None of us had ever been before, so we were amazed! The train chugged along around the restaurant, by a track near the ceiling, and would magically drop your food off at your table. It was awesome!

 

Then we went on to the zoo... still freezing, by the way. We had a blast, took lots of pictures, and had lots of laughs. I think Livy is the only kid who would rather spend the entire time at the zoo looking for the animal tracks in the concrete. Then she insisted upon counting each paw print. She also had a few followers with her... she has enough imagination for a whole village! Let's see, I believe I remember a little baby tiger (with cute pajamas and a bow), a little baby hippo, and 2 crocodiles tagged along behind her. She would look behind her and say,
"Come on kids!"

She said she was "tiiiiired"

Here she is counting the paw prints again. I'm pretty sure that was her favorite part!

 

After spending the night in White Hall, we headed out Tuesday for Lake DeGray. We had a picnic lunch down at the swimming hole... still freezing, by the way. We played on the playgrounds and hiked a trail. Livy said,
"This yooks yike a jungle!"

Then it was time to check into the lodge. I had made great plans to participate in some of the activities that Lake DeGray had to offer. But long story short, the sunset cruise, animal safari on the golf course, and horseback riding were all booked up! :(
That night we ate at the Lodge Restaurant. Sometimes when we're out and about, Livy likes to point at people and ask me who they are. I always tell her it's not nice to point. So that night at the restaurant, Gran pointed to the ketchup bottle and asked Livy what that was. Livy looked at me and said,
"Gran not apposed to point! It not nice!"
We all had a good laugh! She tattled on her Gran!

Throwing rocks in the water with Gran

This was our hike through the jungle

She was so pooped, she actually fell asleep on Gran's back!

 

We spend Wednesday shopping in Hot Springs and ate lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. We had a great time with lots of pictures to prove it!

She loved feeding the ducks

The Circus Came to Town

Yesterday, the circus was in town! I'm not sure if I had ever been to a circus before or not?! It seems like I have some very vague memories of being at a circus, but that could just be from a movie or something... who knows? Anyway, as far as I remember it was my first circus too, so we met up with some friends and had a blast!

When we first got there, Livy spotted the train and the pony rides. Of course she wanted to ride them both... and really, how often is the circus in town? So we bought tickets, and she loved it!

  

 

We were able to squeeze in the circus and all its festivities just in time to make it to Puggles! Success!

Jesus Makes Everything Better

A few days ago, Livy and I were able to meet up with Drew for lunch at Cancun. She was sitting beside her daddy in the booth, and poor Drew kept getting some stressful texts/emails on his phone pertaining to work. It's funny how even a 2 year old can pick up on these things... after another work email, Drew let out a frustrating sigh. Livy immediately looked at him, rubbed his arm and said,
"Aww, Daddy, Jesus will make you better!"
It was the sweetest thing. I'm pretty sure I even teared up a little (no surprise there)! I hope Livy will always remember those words of wisdom!

This picture isn't actually from this lunch date... it's from one of our family date nights. But it's still pretty cute, if I do say so myself!