HaPpY EaStEr 2011!!

Hudson enjoyed his Easter "treats" this morning! Bee and Dee sent him a sweet little card and the adorable little Bee (beside Hudson's Easter basket) and look what Nana sent him...

Nana (Brad's mom) sent this great package filled with some adorable clothes, books, DVD's and the stuffed bunny...THANKS Nana! ;)

Hudson refused to wear his white Ked's to church... he kept saying "No mommy, boots...No mommy, boots"(it was more of a tantrum than the cute voice you may be hearing in your head..haha!!).  What can I say..my kid's got southern ROOTS! ;)

Outside our church...we loved spending a little extra time this morning visiting with our good friends and letting the kids play!  It was a beautiful Easter Sunday! :)

Lovin' Easter Sunday!

Our sweet friends, Amanda and Joe invited several of us over for Easter dinner this evening!  The food was delicious, fellowship with friends was fabulous, weather was perfect and the kiddos couldn't have been better! ;)

Being silly sitting in the Bumbo! ;)

All the kids were loving the Spring/Summer weather (high of 87!).

I hope you and your family had a VERY Happy Easter! 

We are so thankful for the resurrection of Jesus Christ that secured ETERNAL life!  We have faith and trust in the word of God because Jesus CAME and DID what HE said HE would DO!

NO guilt in life, NO fear in death!

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has RISEN, just as HE SAID... ~Matthew 28:5,6

EaStEr Brunch and Egg HuNt! ;)

This Saturday (April 23) we hosted several of our friends for an Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt...we had the BEST time! :)

We did the egg hunt across the street at the soccer fields which worked out perfectly.  Hudson is waiting patiently (something we are always working on;) for his friends to catch up...

Loving the egg hunt... the kids loved eating the candy and treats!  Hudson surprisingly has a "strong" sweet-tooth, so I put yogurt covered raisins in some of the eggs...he was thrilled showing everyone his "nandy"! hahaha! We'll see how long it lasts until he realizes it's NOT chocolate! ;)

Hudson and his buddy Jack (I have more of these 2 on facebook...they're a little "territorial" of their candy..haha! ;).

Jack, Hudson and Maddie...and look what we finally got a picture of...

A picture of ALL the kiddos (minus 3 adorable babies that were with their momma's)!!  If you only knew how long this took... once we had one child sitting another was running off!  Thankfully our good friend, Matthew had a real talent with corralling the kiddos! ;)

Enjoying all the candy!

Hudson wasn't really in the picture-taking mood...he was focused on the egg hunt! ;)

Brad was showing all the boys how to roll down a hill... I love Brad's "child-like" spirit! ;)

Finally...a family picture! ;) We're having a wonderful Easter weekend! 

I'm so unbelieveably thankful for this holiday more than ANY other!  Thankful for my savior that conquored death by death!

But Jesus was pierced for our transgressions, HE was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon HIM, and by HIS wounds we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5

Celebrating the # 28!! ;)

Yep! That's right...I turned 28 years old yesterday (April 19)!  It was a great day celebrating...Brad is always so thoughtful with making my birthday a very special day!  It's crazy to think that we've been celebrating our birthdays together since we were 18 years old!  I'm a few months older but Brad will catch up when August rolls around! ;)

I LOVE this antique"ish" bird cage/picture display my parents gave me and I could not stop eating the delicious "edible" arrangement Brad's mom sent me! YUMMY! ;)

Hudson loves getting into the excitement of birthdays...here he is helping daddy put the candle in my Tiramisu (the BEST b-day "cake"!;). 

Loving the lit candle...

Helping mommy blow it out...

Hudson was very proud of the card he gave me! ;)

Brad's Aunt Teresa and Uncle Michael are so thoughtful (as is his ENTIRE family)...they are all so good at remembering b-days!  Seriously, it HAS to be a God-given gift when people remember EVERY family member's b-day (in-laws included! ;).  Teresa/Michael gave me this adorable door mat and some personalized stationary (get ready for some hand-written letters! ;).  And...I was surprised with an adorable voice message of our neice, Mallory (5) and nephew, Jackson (4) singing me HAPPY BIRTHDAY...I saved it!! ;) 

{the remaining pictures were taken AFTER Hudson went to bed!}

I had to take a picture of the card my precious friend, Katie mailed me!  She wrote.. celebrating 10 years of friendship and hoping for 40 more to come!  Seriously made me choke up...I never had a sister but I have the most incredible bond with my girlfriends! I've known Katie for as long as I've known BRAD (first day of college) and we've been best friends ever since! ;)

And...you won't believe what my sweet hubby surprised me with... 

The second band I had been talking about {possibly} getting for our 5 year ANNIVERSARY coming in MAY!  That little "sneaky"...I was blown away with surprise!! ;)  Brad and I both love surprises but I think he was having a difficult time waiting until May!?  You'll have to stay tuned for some upcoming "sneak peeks" of what we're doing for our 5 year wedding anniversary... we are both THRILLED to say the least!!! :)

To complete the fun b-day...Brad made me dinner: BACON wrapped scallops (Jessamie!;), asparagus, scalloped potatoes and parmesan/creamed spinach... delicious!!! (I have the most amazing husband!;)

Thank you EVERYone for your very kind and thoughtful B-day wishes!!  I don't know about ya'll but Facebook makes me feel like a CELEBRITY on my birthday!! haha!! ;)

Wedding Bliss! ;)

I love this picture of my parents walking with Hudson in SSI... he is definitely Bee's boy.  Hudson would not settle down until Bee came back to walk beside him and hold his hand...it was extremely funny and adorable! ;)

So unbelieveably thankful for these amazing girls!  I truly love everything about them! ;)  We were at Laura (in the middle) and Ryan's rehearsal dinner in Reedsville, Georgia...seriously GOOD FOOD!  I'll be talking about that sweet tea and SALAD DRESSING for awhile! ;)

I guess we weren't full enough from the rehearsal dinner...so we decided to visit WAFFLE HOUSE at 12:30AM!! I don't think I've done the Waffle House "thing" since I was in college...but we had a BLAST! ;)

Laura was such a beautiful BRIDE...and I LOVED her yellow shoes!! :) This wedding was incredible...I wish I had taken more pictures but the dancing got the best of me! ;) 

The Brown's (Hudson included) had such a FUN time at Laura and Ryan's wedding! :)

 I was sad to see the weekend/vacation come to an end!  I love my friends here in C'ville but there is NO DOUBT that I miss the SOUTH... the deep south! ;)  A fun fact... Brad and I did some calculating on our way home yesterday.  Any guesses on the amount of miles we traveled by car in the past 5 days... 1,677 MILES!  Yep, but it was worth it! ;)

FAMILY FUN at the BEACH!

Bee and Dee were able to join us in St. Simons on Thursday.  Hudson was thrilled to see them! 

I'm in a wedding this weekend for one my very best friends (Laura Lee)...my parents love Laura and are looking forward to her big day!  Which also made it convenient to join us in SSI! ;)

Having fun with Dee!

Hudson just can't get enough of the OCEAN! ;)

Daddy loves Hudson's adventurous "spirit"...like father like son! ;)

I absolutely LOVE this picture! :)  Such a wonderful and memorable family vacation...I'm always sad to see it come to an end.  

No worries...we have many more fun pictures coming to the blog!  I can't wait to post pictures from Laura Lee's VERY southern wedding! ;) Stay tuned...  

Fun in the SUN (Day 2)

Yesterday (Thursday) we had a BLAST in the WARM SUNshine!  Something we haven't had in VA since late September! ;)  Hudson is fearless in the water...he loved running as far into the ocean as mommy/daddy would let him! :)

Gettin' some serious AIR! ;)

Basking in the SUNshine!

My little "stud"! ;)

We built a nice little sand castle but my hands were too sandy to use the camera. ;)

LOVIN' the BEACH! :)

A 10+ HOUR road trip and one VERY HAPPY little BOY! ;)

Yesterday (Wednesday) we set out from Virginia, to North Carolina, South Carolina and FINALLY to Georgia...arriving in ST. SIMONS! ;) It was a long car ride but we are so thankful for how well Hudson did...we promised LOTS of WATER and he would NOT let us forget it! ;) We quickly unpacked our things at the condo and headed straight for the beach... (even if it was 7pm...we are parents of our WORD and had to take our little man!;)

Here Hudson is running... just to see his excitement was well worth EVERY minute of the 10 1/2 hour road trip!

Walking in the sand...Hudson loved squeezing his little toes to feel the texture. ;)

Waiting for the waves...

A VERY happy little boy...we love watching the JOY on his face! ;) 

LOTS more pictures to come so STAY tuned! ;)

Just because.... :)

I feel like I'm rarely in pictures with Hudson...one, because I'm the one normally taking the pictures and two, because Hudson rarely slows down long enough to snap a photo! ;)

I seriously can't believe what a "big boy" he's becoming!  I know parents are always saying "how fast they grow up"...but now that I'm a mom myself I totally get that!  I can't believe Hudson will be 2 in a little over a month (May 26)!!  We are loving EVERY moment of making HIS childhood memories! ;)