Easter seemed like a blur this year. We have been so busy that we were not ready. But ready or not, Holy Week came.

We went to the Maundy Thursday service at church, which I love! We meet with a local African American church (Mount Level Missionary Baptist Church) at Blacknall and celebrate the last supper and the entering into a new covenant. It feels so good, so right to invite other believers who you do not normally worship with to join in that celebration.  It makes the "church" feel tighter, more cohesive. I love it. They brought their gospel choir, which I have been looking forward to since last year, and they brought down the house. It was awesome!

We thought we were going to Virginia this weekend, so we didn't make it to the Tennenbrae (Good Friday) service on Friday night, but we heard that it was AMAZING. I am sad to have missed it, and it is on our list of commitments for next year.

Saturday, as Miles' blog commemorates, we took Halleigh to a Easter party.  It was really fun, all except the Easter Bunny part where she freaked out in shear terror.  Saturday night was awful... Halleigh would NOT go to sleep. Crying, snotty, sweating, shaking, standing up in her bed screaming until we went and got her. It was HORRIBLE. The only thing different was that she had been scared by the Easter Bunny that day.  We think that she was having nightmares about the Easter Bunny. It may be a few years until we take her to see another mascoty character, which unfortunately means you too, Rameses. I don't think Miles would be able to handle Halleigh crying at the sight of his beloved Rameses.  (Note: Saturday night was not all bad, as the nightmare drama was unfolding, Evan, Kelly, Dave and Elizabeth we all over  playing Settlers of Catan, and that part of the night was fun.)

Sunday I got up VERY early and went with my friend Mary to the sunrise service that we also do with Mount Level, at their church. It was early, but worth it. I wish I could start everyday focused on Christ’s triumph! The sunrise service was followed by breakfast, and it was fun to chat with people from Mount Level and get to know them a little.

When I got home we got Halleigh all decked out in her Easter attire and took her to our normal church service. After that we rushed home to pick up our contributions to the Weinard's Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt. After the trial run the day before Halleigh really did get into looking and pick up eggs. She was even putting them in her basket without needing to open them and inspect the contents.

At 4:00pm we had to leave that party, run home and change, drop Halleigh off at Miles' parents’ house and rush to Raleigh to see Carolina cream Arkansas. It was an uneventful game, never really a question as to the outcome, but as all Carolina games are, it was GREAT to be there and really fun!

So there is our weekend in review. busy busy busy

I really like this time of year as well.  Fresh and clean, it feels like a new start... a new start and the garden is first and foremost on our list. We have got to get tomato cages early this year, we waited too long last year and couldn't find any and it made tomato farming incredibly difficult.

Here is a massive collage of Easter day. Enjoy!  (The reason she has two dresses is that the first is her nice Easter dress that we didn't want to get destroyed when we played outside at the Easter hunt, so we had to change. There will be more pictures of her in her Easter dress in the next couple days.)

p.s. If you click on the pictures a window will open up and you can see the pictures bigger and better, especially the first collage at the top.

FINALLY! I am so glad that it snowed, actually it is still snowing and it is even sticking a little. Check out the "blizzard of 08" ha ha ha  I love it!

                              Here is the snow collecting on the dead leaves.   

              This makes me think of Christmas, all over again... snow covered holly!

            This picture could have been taken in Montana... it looks so wintery and cold!

                            Grass and snow... two totally different seasons colliding.    

                  Again snow covered lawn. I love it, it looks so fresh and clean!         

                                              The first snowball!

                                                     Our snowman!

                                                So cute! He's so little!

                     Halleigh, Miles and the snowman... he's not going to last long inside!

   Luckily he found his spot outside on the steps... hopefully he will be there tomorrow.

It hasn't even started to snow yet, but because there is a 60% chance of precipitation and 31 degrees out (read: frozen rain/ snow/ ice) they have already called a two-hour delay for 233 school districts, businesses, day-cares, pre-schools and churches. 

I don't know if I will ever get used to this... it makes me laugh everytime. 

YOU BIG BABIES, IT'S JUST A LITTLE SNOW! ha ha ha

I like to tell people that the high school that I student taught at in Bozeman, MT had NEVER, in it's over 100 year history, called off for a snow day.  While I student taught we were blanketed in 3+ feet of snow... still no snow day.  Man, I am far from home!

Most of our reader will be getting one of these, but for those of you who either I don't know your address, or I don't know you... here is our Christmas Card.  This is a picture of the outside of it.  To read the letter click continue reading. Merry Christmas!

About the pictures (from top left going clockwise): Halleigh at Bear Lake, UT (August 2007), Travis Family Christmas picture (December 2007), Halleigh at the Durham, NC Christmas Parade (December 2007), Miles and Halleigh at the Outerbanks, NC (June 2007), Brooklynne and Halleigh at Bodie Island Lighthouse (June 2007), Travis family at Halleigh's 1st birthday party (September 2007).

All of those who know me well know of my obsession with Laura Bush (I hope this doesn't send secret service to my door).

I think she is great. She is the picture of hospitality, kindness, and femininity.  Hillary Clinton was the first, first lady to have an office in the West Wing, and when it came time for Laura to take over, she filled it with children's books. She was a librarian by trade with a heart for children and she has reached out to children throughout her husband's time in office. She brought gentility and a soft side that had been lacking in the White house during the two previous terms. She brought back the meaning of first lady. No matter how much I disagree with her husband, he did a great job picking a wife. She has been faithful, respectful and supportive of him during some of the toughest times, especially during his presidency.

Anyway, another thing that I really like about Laura is that she likes dogs. The Bush's have two dogs, Barney and Mrs. Beazley.  They are both little black Scottie dogs... SUPER CUTE! So every Christmas they have a Christmas video as something fun to highlight the first dogs and to showcase the holiday decorations at the White House. (I know, I know great use of tax dollars... but it really is cute!) This year the video is entitled, Barney Cam VI: Holiday in the National Parks. click here to watch. Enjoy! (It takes a little while to load, but it is worth the wait!) 

As the video shows, the White House's theme this year is the National Parks, they decorated with handpainted ornaments depicting the different National Parks, for pictures of the ornaments, click here