Easter ~ 2014

Celebrating Easter is first, and foremost, about our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I have such a strong testimony of Christ and the resurrection.  I know that He was resurrected and that He lives.  I know that each one of us will be resurrected and that is such an incredible thing to look forward to.  I'm also grateful for this season to celebrate and remember Christ.

Of course it is hard to escape the commercial side of Easter, especially now that we have a child.  We didn't give it much priority in our life tho!  That Sunday we spent with family and had an Easter egg hunt.  But Ellie didn't get her Easter basket until May 24th.  Yes, May 24th!  It was ready and sitting on the table on time...we just never got to it!!! How pathetic am I?!  I guess it's good that we didn't make that part of Easter a big deal :)  So, the pictures of her going through her basket are from a month after.  I'll do better next year...
P.S. I loved Ellie's Easter dress from Grandma Nita!

Ellie ~ 1 Year Pictures

Unfortunately, Adri decided she would rather live in England than stay in Utah to be my personal family photographer!  But I still love her ;)  So, this year I had to improvise.  Bailey and I took Ellie's pictures on my phone and then Adri edited some of them.  They're not professional, but they did the job of capturing how adorable she is.  So just take a look...prepare for picture overload.  I can't get enough of this girl.

Ellie's 1st Birthday Party!

We just did a low key family party for Ellie's birthday.  It was fun to have everyone over to our house.  Grandma Nita, Grandpa Wayne, Derek, Henry, Harrison and Jordan were able to come and we had a great time!  We had sandwiches, chips and cookie salad to eat. Then we had cake and ice cream.  Ellie seemed to have fun opening presents!  She got loads of great stuff!  Lots of clothes, including and Easter dress from Grandma Nita, and some shoes and sandals.  Lots of books!!!  She loves books.  A few toys, including a bowling set that was more for Daddy than for her :)  He always talks about when his Great Grandma lived in the house and they came over they would always play with the bowling set...so when I saw it I couldn't pass it up!!!  She got a new swing from Grandma Beth and Grandpa Tom, who joined us on FaceTime for the cake action.  So grateful for modern technology.  After presents we had cake and let her get all messy.  She was actually quite dainty!  She barely dug into the cake, just licked the frosting off her fingers.  Silly girl.  I made sure she got a little messy ;)  She enjoyed it...after she grabbed the flame of the candle and cried for awhile.  Oops.  Bad Mom moment.  And...I got the before and after in pics...anyway!  It was such a fun evening with family.  Can't believe my baby girl is 1!!!  Happy Birthday, Ellie Beth!