Here comes Peter Cottontail....

This Easter was the first time I got to play Easter bunny, because last year Caleb didn't decide to make his appearance until the day after.

Since babies shouldn't really eat a bunch of candy, Caleb
received some summer toys and clothes to enjoy instead.

Checking things out!

Trying things out too!

"I can make a mess with this stuff!"

After a little family time Easter morning, we dressed Caleb up a bit fancier than normal and headed to our church, Grace Bible Fellowship.

Caleb, you are so handsome.

Carrying his Great-Great Grandma Gladys's coffee
pot around the front porch

"I like this thing."

Caleb with Mommy

After church, we headed to Granny's to celebrate with our family.

Caleb got a car Easter basket full of goodies.

It was a gorgeous day and Caleb couldn't wait to
go outside. He headed out of the house barefoot, enjoying
the afternoon with Hayden and Granddaddy Jeff.

Hayden and Caleb enjoyed the leaves too. Hayden
threw them in the air over Caleb's head; Caleb smiled
and squealed in response.

A stray cat Granny feeds had kittens under her bushes.
The kids enjoyed themselves trying to catch them.
Caleb, who had been admiring the cats from a distance for a
couple weeks, was excited to see one up close.

As with every holiday, we had to make an appearance and share in the fun at Grandma and Granddaddy Hockman's as well. The time was spent eating great food, relaxing, and hunting Easter eggs!

"Look, Mommy! I found a purple egg and the water spout."

Grandma helped point out some of the hidden eggs.

"I see it, Grandma, but I'm not sure I want to
stick my hand back there. You get it!"

How many did you find, Caleb?

Hurry, Caleb. You're missing all the eggs!

Everybody wanted to be in on the hunt. Run, Cole!

Afterward, Granddaddy gave Caleb a t-ball lesson.

Caleb may be a better golfer at this point,
but he's having a great time learning.

"Ok, I will just sit the ball here, and then I'll wack it."

Hit the ball out of Granddaddy's hand.

The day was gorgeous and the time with our family was nice, but the best part of the day was knowing the security we have in Christ as a result of His suffering and resurrection. Let's face it, we all mess up at times ("For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23), and since God is perfect and holy, He couldn't allow us into heaven with the filth of our sin. We were doomed because Romans 6:23 tells us that "the wages of sin is death." Luckily, because God loves us and wants none of us to suffer and live apart from Him, He allowed His only son to die to pay the ransom for our sins. ("For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." - John 3:16) Thinking of the sweet little guy in the picture above, I can't imagine giving up my son for people who are doing all kinds of evil, especially watching as he suffered such a horrible death. In Isaiah, it says Jesus suffered so terribly that he no longer looked human.

The amazing news for us is that Jesus didn't stay in the tomb. God raised Him from the dead, demonstrating His power over death. As a result, the second half of Romans 6:23 says "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. " Only the one who raises men from death could give us eternal life and the great part is that it's a gift. All we need to do is ask for it and live for Him. The bible says: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) This means we don't have to get everything right or clean up our act before we start following Christ; it means that even in our mess Jesus loved us so much that He died for us. I am more than thankful that today "...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). This is why we celebrate!

Unbelievably, we don't have to work to earn entrance into heaven nor can we. ("For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9) We can be assured of where we will spend eternity simply by giving our lives to Jesus. In Revelation 3:20 God says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to Him and dine with Him, and he with Me." Our family has joyfully welcomed Jesus into our lives and He has blessed us abundantly. Everything isn't always easy, but we can face tomorrow knowing that, because Jesus conquered death for us, we can be assured of where we will spend eternity.

While chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts are nice, all we need is Jesus.

Happy FIRST Birthday, Caleb!

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) Today I spent a wonderful day with my one-year-old on his first birthday. While this post is a bit picture heavy, I couldn't resist recording as much as I could about this special occasion.

This morning started out with a breakfast treat. Since I wanted to wait until his birthday party to give him cake, I gave him a WHOLE pancake to mangle instead.

After playing toys for awhile and taking a nap, Granddaddy Jeff picked us up and took us to the Apple Blossom Mall to see the Easter bunny! Unlike the smooth Santa experience, Caleb wasn't sure what he thought of this giant rabbit. He was kind of excited and a bit scared at the same time. He kept trying to climb my dad's shoulder to get away but would then turn around and smile at the bunny. Grandma and Granddaddy helped him get warmed-up.

After being quite perplexed by this overgrown hare, Caleb moved on to other things of interest at the mall. First of all, he went for a train ride with Grandma.

Then, he headed to the arcade for a game and took a ride on the merry-go-round in the food court. One of the most entertaining parts of the day for him though was discovering that the ceiling in the mall is made up of a ton of small square mirrors.

Next, I went in Toys R Us and Walmart to help my dad shop for the perfect birthday gift while Caleb napped in the car with my mom. When he woke up, the lady at Toys R Us gave him a Geoffrey balloon which he seemed way more excited about than anything else we'd done today. I only wish I'd had my camera handy to show you his reaction.

Anyway, we finally found the gift - a ball pit, complete with two tunnels and three tents. When Granddaddy took it out of the box and assembled it, Caleb was thrilled! He loves balls anyway so being able to sit in a pile of them and have one in each hand made his day.

Mommy also bought him a large ball which was a big hit. Here is a video that shows off his walking skills:

Afterward, Caleb opened an old fashioned television and a classic radio toy from Grandma, plus a lawn mower, swing, and gripper socks from Aunt Courtney.

One of my favorite gifts came from Aunt Amy - a miniature red wagon to pull his toys. Once it's assembled, I'll have to put up a good picture. Even disassembled though it made for a lot of fun; Caleb loved carrying the small wheels around in both hands. She also sent him a red umbrella to match his wagon. Doesn't this picture remind you of Mary Poppins?

My mom brought a special surprise. On my first birthday, my daddy bought me this little bike. Mom has a picture of me sitting on it on my birthday so we had to have a few of Caleb too.

A little later, Tatumn, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Greg showed up as well. Caleb loved hugging Tate!

My Grandma and Granddaddy Hockman stopped by as well but my camera had run out of battery power by then so no pictures to share unfortunately. Caleb was so tuckered out from his eventful day that he went to bed before our visitors even got out the door. Thanks to everyone who made the day special by visiting, calling, or sending birthday wishes via facebook or cards. I couldn't ask for a better first birthday for my little guy!

Party preparations

Having a cake for a birthday party is important, but there were other party preparations to take care of this week as well. First and foremost, the birthday boy needs to look his best of course, so after my cake baking lesson, Aunt Pat broke out her cape and scissors to give Caleb a trim. I'm so glad she is a lady with lots of talents! Grandma continued to entertain him with window cling stickers which helped keep him still for a few minutes.

Later that night, I went shopping for the party supplies, made up the goody bags, filled the pinata, and wrapped presents.

I can't wait until Saturday to celebrate with our family and friends!

If at first you don't succeed, bake another cake!

Some of you may be wondering how my cake decorating skills are progressing - or maybe you just want another chuckle. In any case, today's post is about my second attempt at making Caleb's wagon cake.

After looking at my pictures from the last trial run, my great-aunt Pat decided to come for a visit to give me a few pointers.

This morning she showed up with this "tackle box"
(as I call it) full of just about everything you would
ever need to decorate a cake.

She had every type of tip I could imagine.

Last time I attempted the cake, I decided the dimensions were best if I stacked two cakes on top of each other. Rather than trying to make one cake, cut it in the middle, and stack the two halves, I made two cakes in smaller pans last night to use for practicing. Then, I put the cakes in the freezer because my friend Jody commented that cakes don't crumble as much when you are working with them if they're frozen first. When Aunt Pat arrived, she helped cut off the dome shape from the top of the cakes. Then, we flipped one cake upside down on top of the other so I had the nice even shape of the pan to icing. Here's how it looked before the icing:

At that point, Aunt Pat showed me how to put on the tips and use the icing bag to decorate the cake. It was a lot simpler than I thought it would be, but having the right tools truly makes a difference.

Here she is modeling how to wrap the bag around
your hand while filling it with icing.

While it seemed like I should be squeezing the icing bag and
guiding it with both hands, she modeled how to hold the
bag with just one hand, explaining the design is dependent
on how much you squeeze.

After demonstrating how to go up and down, she also
taught me how to "star tip" around the bottom of the cake.

Aunt Pat also demonstrated how to use one of the tips to icing
cupcakes. This picture shows some of my practice attempts
with the different designs.

In the end though, we simply smoothed out the icing to see how it would look for the wagon cake. She brought me a knife that was great for spreading and smoothing it out. After the two cakes were covered with icing, they made the shape I was looking for this time. I think it turned out pretty good.

Put the wheels, graham cracker sides, and snack cake
handle on this one, and I think we'd have ourselves a wagon cake!

Overall, I learned quite a bit today and really enjoyed the quality time. We'll have to wait 'til next week to see how Caleb's real cake turns out...

On other note, while we were busy cleaning up the kitchen after our experimenting, my grandma Nora Ann stopped by to entertain Caleb. She brought these Easter window clings which were a big hit.

I was glad Caleb got some special quality time too. :)