Easter in Tennessee

So here are some pics from our weekend trip back to TN....keep scrolling down because there are a lot to look at. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Easter to the Jones'!! And the Johnson's and the Fern(singular because Martin, Sarah's husband, was unable to come). We really enjoyed spending time with our family and getting to hang out. It was a beautiful weekend. I'm really thankful that we are close enough to TN that we can make short trips home for the weekends. God is so good to us.








Here is a picture of Caryss in her Easter dress. Cute as always! She had fun trying to blow bubbles.

Here is a pic of Caryss removing the shell of the Easter eggs she dyed. Mainly I think she enjoyed making a mess. She is starting to talk a lot more now and is doing a great job learning how to share with little brother.









What a great picture of Gavin and Uncle Aaron!!! Two of the cutest boys I know(can't forget Colton)! Gavin seems like such a good baby. It seems like he only cried when he was sleepy or hungry. I had the privelege of rocking him to sleep once.......one of my favorite things to do with babies.

Here are some up close pics of the tulips at my mom and dad's house. They were so bright! I had a lot of fun taking pictures of them. Too bad they only bloom once a year. I was inspired to go back home and start planting my own flowers!! Hopefully I will follow through with that.

At my parents house the dogwood trees were in full bloom!! And they were beautiful!! Spring is a very refreshing time of year.

Here is my nephew Colton. He was not a big fan of the bunny ears, but prefers to be outside playing in the yard. Unfortunately he was having suffering from allergies this Easter and was not feeling as good as usual. We weren't able to travel to middle TN to see the rest of the Hasty family this Easter, but were thankful to get to be with Aaron's family.

Heading home for Easter

I am excited because I'm off tomorrow and Monday for Easter, and I am going to see my family. Aaron will be catching up with me sometime Saturday. He has to stay here in VA and study because his school does not take Easter weekend into consideration when scheduling tests!! He has 3 BIG tests next week....starting on Monday. I finally got some of our pictures ordered and printed! The first time I try and order digital prints online and the machine breaks down at Walgreens! And thanks to thier poor customer service and forgetfulness to call me back twice, I was able to get my pictures for half off the original price. A great deal :). But it did take almost two weeks to get them. Tonight I put them all in an album so now they are ready to travel to TN with me. I'm really excited about seeing my neice and nephews!!

I've included a picture of Aaron(just kidding, it didn't download).....this was one of his "winning" performances at his school's "VCOM Idol" kinda like "American Idol". Of course Aaron loves to sing karaoke so he was one of the first to sign up. And the best part was that there were CASH PRIZES!!! I told him he better sing his heart out and bring home some bacon. And he did!! He won second place, which was $50. WOOOhooooooooooo! Of course he had to bring me down front and sing a song to me, not to be romantic, just to entertain of course. It was a lot of fun.

The other pics are of my sunsets in our big field next door. It's one of my favorite parts of living here. God was so sweet to work that out......He knows I LOVE sunsets!

Hope you all have a great Easter celebration this weekend and that God draws us near to Him in a powerful way.

Look at this beautiful rainbow!!

hello everyone, just wanted to share with you the wonderful blessing I received this morning on my way to work! I just happened to grab the digital camera because I thought I might find something good to take a picture of today. Then as I pulled out onto the road I was filled with JOY and AWE and WONDER at the beautiful sight of this rainbow. The sun was shining still, but it was beginning to rain. I LOVED IT!! It was such a great way to start a Monday morning and be reminded of God's faithful promises to us. The weather has been much warmer lately, which is great, unless you are in med school and you have to study instead of going out to play :(. But Aaron will have a week off at the first of May. He has a long list of things he wants to do around the house. If anyone wants to come visit, that would be a good week (April 28-May 6th).
So I got my hair cut tonight at the mall.....people just really don't listen well!! Of course the girl cut it a bit shorter than I wanted, and it looks a little choppy right now in the back. But, the good thing is that hair grows, and mine grows pretty fast, so as I would tell my kids at school........
"There are some things that we can control and there are others we cannot."..... and this would be one of those we cannot :).
Oh, and Aaron and I had a good quiet time together Saturday morning just talking about our quiet times and God really opened my eyes to a lot of legalistic thinking I get pulled down by, mainly feeling like I need to spend a certain amount of time reading his word and really digging deep and honestly......I've just felt like it was more of a burden than a joy and sweet fellowship with God. So, this week, I'm just trying to read a few verses each morning and set my mind on God throughout the day, not just during my "quiet time". I would feel guilty about not having "good" quiet times every day, just because I feel like God deserves our best and deserves our best efforts. But God revealed to me in a new way that I can never give him what he deserves. He is too worthy. too wonderful. too amazing. and He doesn't even desire my "good" quiet times. He desires for me to delight myself in Him, to "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him" daily (Micah 6:8) and the bible also says that the Lord doesn't desire sacrifice, but mercy. "His yoke is easy, and His burden is light." So, it was refreshing and uplifting to see these truths in a new light and be able to apply them to my walk. I hope this encourages you too. Have a good week!