Dyeing Easter Eggs

Note to self: do not let Owen get too close to the blue dye...he will drink it. Oh, we are such good parents

It didn't seem to affect him : ) Happy Easter weekend everyone!

Easter Memories

Easter has always been a special time with family. I want to share with you a few of my favorite Easter memories.

My Aunt Lynda would hand paint these beautiful china eggs and give them to us each Easter as were growing up. 

They are such special treasures that I enjoy getting out each Easter. She is so talented.

Easter always makes me think of my Uncle Jerry (my Aunt Lynda's husband, my dad's brother). He went to heaven in April of 2009.  He was such a special person to me and my family. He was a big kidder, always had a story to tell, and always made me feel so important to him.

me with my Uncle Jerry

When I was little he would take me shopping on my birthday to buy a new dress. He came to every dance recital, beauty pageant and special event we had going on. He was also the one I was with when I killed my first deer. He and Aunt Lynda would always hide the Easter eggs each year at Grandmama's house. Grandmama would have an amazing spread of food that she and Aunt Lynda prepared that seemed effortless.

Easter at Grandmama's house with Pop

So those are a few special memories I hold dear to my heart of Easter. I look forward to making new memories with Owen and sharing with him some of the traditions I enjoyed. I hope that Easter lunch will look effortless to him and he has the joy of sharing these holidays with people that love him. 

Now...we have to get to dying Easter eggs : )

Christmas Tree Tradition

Last week we went and picked out Owen's first Christmas tree. Picking out the "perfect" Christmas tree has always been a tradition I looked forward to each year while growing up. We would go and look at all the trees, inspect them closely, and usually choose one that was much bigger than the space we had. The bigger the better! We may have had 8 foot ceilings, but by no means did we need a 7-8 ft tree! We would look at the bigger ones and say we could always trim some off : ) We always had a real tree...a Fraser Fir. They are beautiful trees and make your home smell like Christmas! We always have colored lights on the tree. Our trees were not perfect, the ornaments did not match and were not a certain color,but every ornament told a story. I have ornaments from my first Christmas, ballet ornaments from dancing, those that I would pick out when we went to see the Nutcracker Ballet, and other sentimental treasures such as the one my mom smocked when she was pregnant with my brother.

So this year, we took our own little family and picked out the perfect tree....and no, it is not a huge tree. It is perfect for our space. So much fun to begin sharing family traditions with Owen. Owen has his first ornaments (Noah's Ark and a baby rattle) on  the tree this year hanging next to those that bring back special memories to us. Our tree tells our story...our likes, our travels, our past, and now our future. I love Christmas and I love our Christmas tree!