Easter

After a stressful morning of church music duties for Nathan and a stressful morning of 'single-parenting' it in church for me, we enjoyed a nice Easter afternoon at home with a few friends.

Little Miss Source-Of-All-Stress was cute as could be in the same dress she wore last May for her birthday party -- altered back then to fit her, and let out to still fit her now.  Yay for a sweet little dress that pulls double duty!

Nathan has a habit of jiggling Nell around in photos to try to get her to smile.  What he may or may not realize is that this tactic results in off-center photos like this one:

Nathan did most of the day's photographer duties, since at 39 weeks pregnant I wasn't feeling like doing much crouching and bending.  In fact, I wasn't feeling like doing much of anything, but I managed to make rolls, green bean casserole, roasted asparagus, and a pound cake -- and was very grateful to the friends who brought the rest of the Easter dinner foods to share!

Before we ate, Nell and her little buddy Ian got to have an egg hunt, largely planned by Nell's godmother (and Ian's mum), Cara.  She did a lovely job including things the kids could enjoy, like stickers and even a little book for each of them once their Dads helped them piece together the Bible verses hidden in some of their eggs.

This girl has sure grown a lot since last Easter!

{And incidentally, it would appear that I have, too.}

I just LOVE the picture below, because as Nell is reaching for the egg on the bench, you can see that Ian's been caught red-handed in the background, trying to snatch one of Nell's eggs right out of her basket!  Hahaha!

Nell received some little gifts from her Grandma C. and Grandpa S., too. and has been quite entertained by her little wind-up walking duck ever since!  She brings it to me and declares, "Duck!  Walk!" and squeals with glee when I wind it up for her.

After the egg hunt, we sat down to a table nicely set by my dear husband, ate probably altogether too much good food, and celebrated the Resurrection, the end of Lent, and the end of a crazy season in Nathan's life as a church musician.

And my house still has fresh flowers in it, which makes me about as happy as a very pregnant woman can be expected to be, I think.