The Night before Easter

I'm really tired, again.  I know, I know...big surprise.  This has been a common occurrence lately, but I can't seem to help it.  Everything wears me out!


It's been a lovely day, though!  The Meharry's, Kenneth and the other Murrill's came over for lunch.  It doesn't seem like a huge group, but in our little home, it fills up fast.  It feels like a big family gathering when we are all seated around the table.  And to think we are going to add another in a few more months!


I made that one lasagna I had mentioned in an earlier post.  I fully intended on taking a picture to show you, but after pulling it out of the oven and it looking like a soupy mess, I decided I could do without photographic proof.  After some great suggestions from Mark and Kenneth..."If you shake a little bit of pancake batter on the top, it will be perfect",  I decided to sprinkle more cheese on top, stick it back in the oven, and hope for the best.  It definitely had a VERY soupy consistency when we ate it, but the flavor was hard to beat and I totally consider it a success.  I will definitely add it to my food repertoire, especially now that I have a better idea of how to assemble the layers. We also had a salad with Grandma Murrill's special dressing, Melissa made green bean casserole (extra yummy) and corn, and Nicole brought some amazing bread and juice.  A perfect meal.  For dessert I made a Chocolate Chip Pound Cake.  Here's the recipe if you are interested:

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix 
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1tsp vanilla
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients with a mixer until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Bake at 325 degrees 60 minutes in a bundt pan coated thoroughly with Pam Spray. 

It was super moist and went perfectly with ice cream (thanks for bringing some Nicole)!  I totally forgot to take a picture when I got it out of the oven.  It was rather pretty, but this is all I have to show for it:

Before we left for church today I tried to snap some pics of Monroe, but they did NOT turn out.  That's putting it lightly.  Mark thought that getting some at church might be a good idea.  That way we would have help and better landscaping.  Sadly, I didn't end up with my camera when we got there!  What a bummer.  Luckily, Melissa took some good ones of us as a family and is going to send them to me.  I'll post them soon.  Here are the two I as able to get at home...

 A very common picture pose these days.  I like to call it "Fleeing".  

Here's a lovely one with an old dirty door mat and Mark's new tire in the background.  

I know these are pretty amazing pictures.  I'm sure after this posting I'm going to have tons of emails requesting me to do a photography setting with your child:)  

Monroe is definitely in a stage where she does not enjoy being photographed.  I hate this phase.  I use to pull out my camera and her perma-grin would appear.  Now, I pull out my camera and she just disappears.  Hopefully this little phase passes quickly.

Poor girl didn't get but a 15 minute nap all day!  She was beyond irritable by the time everyone left.  She really has to have two pretty long naps to be "on her game."  I gave her a bath and hardly put clothes back on her before she was out.  That was around six and I think she is down for the count.  

She has a little rash on her back and tummy that I'm pretty worried about.  I have always had sensitive skin.  You just say the word rash and I've got it, but Monroe hasn't seemed to have any problems until now.  Hopefully, it just goes away on it's own.  I'm going to keep my eye on it and see how it does the next few days.  I tried googling it, but self diagnosing with help from the internet has never been a good idea for me.  People really try to freak you out online.  By the time I'm done looking, I always end up being scared that she is autistic or suffering from a rare genetic disorder.  It's a rash!  How did I get that from a rash?!!!  No more mommy message boards for me.  

Tomorrow is Easter and I can't help but be overwhelmed by the amazing sacrifice that Christ made for us on the cross so many years ago.  As I write this, I am listening to the Revelation Song by Kari Jobe.  It's one of my favorite songs of ALL time.  I could listen to it over and over and be touched every time, but it's especially pertinent to me tonight--the night before we celebrate our Risen Christ.  I know it's so easy to be caught up in the eggs, bunnies and chicks, but Easter is so much more.  I can't wait until Monroe is a little older and can more completely understand the gift that God gave to us.  The gift that is as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago.  Do I feel unworthy? Yes.  Am I thankful? Incredibly.  We are so lucky to serve such an amazing God.  A God that can look past our sin and ugliness and see beauty and potential.