so that we can live.

I mentioned my parents and Gram coming into town last minute in my previous post, but it wasn't actually last minute. It was planned for weeks, but then sickness hit our family like a wrecking ball and the entire week leading up to their Saturday arrival, I questioned whether or not it would be good for my 94 (almost 95) year old grandmother to be around our ick. But, mom assured me on Friday that they would all be fine and luckily I woke up Saturday morning feeling much better.

It made my heart so happy to see them walk through our door that afternoon. We hadn't seen them since Christmas. It was also the first time my Gram has been to Birmingham, the first time all three have seen our new house, and the start of the glorious Easter weekend. Insert all the feels. We grilled out Saturday night. My mom and grandmother were sitting on the backporch watching John and dad pitch to Brooks, while Ann Bennett and Sybie played in the yard. It was a warm evening. The sun was still shining bright. I had the porch door open while I prepared dinner. I could hear giggles and my mom yelling, "Great hit, Brooks!" over the buzz of the vent hood fan. Then there were more giggles. As I stood at the kitchen sink, I gazed toward the window and could see the reflection of my beautiful grandmother in the french door glass.

I thought to myself, this is the life. This is what it's all about. This moment; right here, right now. My bursting heart was overcome by gratitude and love for my Savior. It is because of His sacrificial love, His death on the cross, and His resurrection, that I am able to experience and feel this moment so deeply.

He beat death so that we can LIVE.

When we sat down for dinner, I shared this revelation with my family and it moved me to tears. It moved everyone to tears. How great is our Father's love?! Thank you, Jesus, for this life.

It was the best weekend with my best people. One that I will never forget and cherish forever. My cup runneth over.

Happy Easter!

egg dying.

Egg dying this year was kind of thrown together last minute. After a week plagued with sickness (Brooks: pinkeye and ear infection, Ann Bennett: pinkeye, Me: viral infection, John: allergies), cancelled birthday/anniversary plans, and my parents and grandma coming into town last minute, I thought remembering to buy eggs deserved a pat on the back. Never mind that they were brown eggs…

Whoops.

Brooks and Ann Bennett couldn't tell a difference. They had fun turning brown eggs into brown eggs and that's all that matters! Easter egg dying for the win.

thirty one.

Yesterday, I turned 31. On Tuesday, Brooks got pinkeye so I kept him home with me on Wednesday. Shug kept Ann Bennett for me in the morning, so my little man and I went shopping. We stopped in Three Sheets, bought a couple of things from At Home, then went to Target. Because he was missing his class Easter party, I treated him to a pretzel. But really, he was the one treating me with his sweet company.

Later that evening, my three loves took me to Little Donkey for dinner. Goodness, I love them and am so thankful for them.

And chicken tacos. 

right of passage.

This is every toddler girl's right of passage, right?

 Busted!

double whammy.

Pinkeye and an ear infection. 

Double whammy. 

At least there are snuggles.

for the love of st. patrick's day.

FOR THE LOVE! All I wanted was one good picture of my two leprachauns. If this shoot is any indication of how their Easter portraits are going to go, I may need to call for back-up.

I clearly need to work on my bribery skills with Ann Bennett. This is the look that she gave me when I told her she could eat a donut if she smiled...

Not impressed.

But, my B-Man was a super trooper!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

new house glimpses: volume two.

pattern.

Do you notice a pattern here?

It's good to be Sybie.

sybie.

Meet Sybie. The newest member of the Bryant family.

We didn't plan for her, but hoped that one day (sooner for John, later for me) we would get a dog. On Sunday, we went to Bass Pro Shops for a family outing and wouldn't you know, Hickory Nut Kennels was out front with a kennel full of 10 week old British Labrador puppies?! I think we knew it was meant to be when they said they had one yellow female left. We went inside to do some shopping and some thinking. In my heart, I wasn't ready. We just moved into a new house, we don't have a fence up, we aren't fully settled…for me, it wasn't good timing. But, John asked, "when will it ever be a good time?" The minute we held her, we knew…she was ours and we were her forever family. 

Here are some random pictures of our ride home with our new baby, for memory's sake.

We love you, Sybie!