pride and preciousness

-Having fun with Natalie this morning. She loves to wear her Aunt Weeza's glasses, so I gave her Pride and Prejudice for some light reading. It's never too early for Jane Austen.

-Someone stopping to let me turn out onto the road in front of them. I gave a grateful wave as I turned and she waved back.

-A young person I worked with years ago in Georgia requesting to be my friend on Facebook.

lions and monkeys and peacocks, oh my!

Today was another big day at Camp PapaNonnie. We went to see what Natalie calls the "aminals" at the zoo.

(Natalie practiced her best royal wave as we headed out.)

The girls ready to go in their all-terrain safari vehicle.

This lion came right up alongside the glass, and fearless Gianna tried to walk through the glass to give him a cuddle.

As you can see, we brought along our own little monkey.

The peacocks were amazing and I thought my sister would really appreciate these pics.

The girls loved the peacocks, too.

What a fun morning at the zoo, made complete by Nonnie giving them their very own safari hats.

Camp PapaNonnie

Between preparing sermons and services and Camp PapaNonnie (thus named because my nieces call my parents "Papa" and "Nonnie" and they're visiting all week), I am having entirely too much fun, y'all. Here are some of the latest events at Camp PapaNonnie:

Gardening

Some veggies were ready in the garden so the girls helped pick them. We cooked the potatoes for dinner and they loved them.

A Proper Tea Party

No, we haven't gone crazy celebrating a certain upcoming wedding. We just let the girls have a little fun with tea outside (shh...it was water!). They had a ball in their own way: Gigi pouring it all over herself and Natalie telling

her the proper way to drink it.

Library Time

We took them to the library for Toddler Time, where the theme was bugs (that's why they're dressed like a cute ladybug and bumblebee). They played, learned and had a great time looking at all the books. I love that they love books.

Weeza Time

This was Aunt Weeza's (that's me) time to herself, when the little darlings were asleep. Last night, I enjoyed a decadent little cup of coffee ice cream with one of those amazing Geneva cookies. This morning, I enjoyed an early rise, a glorious sunrise admired while sipping fresh coffee and a little run.

sharing recipes

-Drinking coffee with Natalie in the morning. In my family, we like to start the coffee addiction early. :) (Really, we just give her sweet milk with a teeny bit of coffee splashed in.) She loves her coffee, and sips it in her small cup just like I do from my larger cup.

-Making biscuits with my Grandmother. I've had her biscuits for as long as I can remember, but like all good recipes, it's not written down. So, I stood next to my Grandmother with my laptop and camera and wrote down everything she said about making her biscuits, even how to make a log out of the leftover biscuit pieces and slice and bake it to make crackers for cheese. I'm so happy to have this recipe written down! (My Dad makes some pretty amazing biscuits, too. We're a biscuit-munching bunch.)

-A great conversation with my awesome friend Rob. We were just talking to catch up, but realizing that we're both preaching on the same text Sunday, we decided to talk through our sermon ideas, too. I think we could both preach for weeks on the story of Thomas in John 20 now.

the best days are spent outside

What a wonderful Easter. Here are some pictures from our fun day: first, pictures of the girls Easter egg hunting in the backyard and then some pictures my sister took of the church picnic in the park. What amazing hospitality that church showed to me and my family.