Sunday Snapshots: This Easter

In the city a good Easter egg hunt takes a good game plan and a lot of Easter bunnies.


After a scrumptious lunch, the dads headed to a nearby park laiden with baskets of eggs. Their plan? Scope out a good spot in the corner of the park with beautiful spring flowers and no broken glass bottles. Mission accomplished. It was a perfect spot for our afternoon of fun.


They may just have had as much fun hiding them as the little ones did finding them. While guarding the perimeters of their beautiful location full of its hidden treasures, the little ones played at Annette's eagerly awaiting the call from the Easter bunny that it was time to grab their shoes, baskets and smiles .
They walked in lines holding hands with friends and chatting together, when they rounded the corner and saw their dads in the distance they broke out in a run.
Tiptoeing through the daffodils and checking around every tree and rock they soon filled their baskets.







Levi decided that a bigger bucket was necessary for all his spoils.

My girl. What can say?
She is growing up...I saw her running around and searching with these sweet little ones that are nearly half her age now. I remember when she was that young. I thought it was yesterday, but I have a big sister, older friend, and little helper on my hands now.
Mackenzie and My Graceanna. How great are children's smiles. They are one the best things in life if you ask me...and even if you don't.
Another one of the sweet smiles.




After all those eggs were found it was time to sit and share their finds.



Oh, daffodils. My favorite flower since the beginning of time. Really, they are just one of my favorite things all around. My sweet daughter knows this. We have sweet stories we share. One I like to share with her is of when I was little and my mom would take me to pick the first daffodils of the spring. I have kept that tradition going for 30 some years....Gracie and I play a little game at night we call, "I Love You More Than Ice Cream Cones and Daffodils." They bring more joy than I can really explain. They are one of those special things about life that I savor....

Well, as our Easter egg hunt came to a close a beautiful 6-year-old girl with a joy-filled smile came bounding to me with an armful of daffodils. Daffodils she had just picked illegally from the park's precious patches of spring flowers. It wasn't one or two, but a whole bouquet. They were beautiful..."For you, Mama! Happy Easter!" I started to say, "Oh, no." But I stopped myself. I am such a stickler for the rules...as an adult, at least. But this. I didn't want to ruin the moment. It reminded me of another little girl in the park with her mom some 30 years ago... They were beautiful. And as I am typing this they are beside me in a mason jar (my preferred vase for daffodils). And I am proud of them...well, I guess, I am really proud of the girl who gave them to me.

Ice Cream Cones and Daffodils to my sweet thoughtful girl.