t, lee, and babies g: He is Risen!

(I know it's almost the 4th of July and I am just now writing about Easter, but, whatever. Better late than never is apparently my blog motto.)

Easter is by far my favorite holiday. I have been a Christian my entire life, which means I have heard the Easter story many times. Yet every year I am blown away reading/listening to it and hearing all that Jesus endured for me. I am so undeserving, but He gave all that He could give for me anyway.

My dad, Heather, and Sarah all came to Charlotte for the weekend and we celebrated Easter together. It was wonderful to be together, as always. We hadn't all been together since Thanksgiving, so we savored each moment of our time together.

Heather flew in to Charlotte on Thursday, Sarah drove down on Friday, and my dad flew in on Saturday morning. It was kind of funny that their arrivals were staggered but it ended up working out because it gave each person got some unshared Luca time.

We went to the Saturday evening Easter worship experience. This was the first year that we have ever done that- didn't go to the Easter service on Easter Sunday. It felt really strange, but I am glad we did it. Easter Sunday was spent eating, laughing, relaxing, and enjoying being together. In fact, that's pretty much what happened all weekend long.

Dance party with Auntie H!

Out to lunch after Sarah arrived!

After lunch we dropped the boys off and we headed to do a little shopping.

We ended up with a vacuum and some sandals for Luca. (Neither of which were on our list of things to get)

I mean....how can I not smooch his cheeks all day?

We laughed so incredibly hard this night- tears streaming down your face, good for the soul laughter.

Before/After church:

Before church we tried to take a few pictures, especially since Josh wasn't going to be around after. He had to volunteer and so he didn't get home until way later, after Luca was in bed.

This was the best shot we got, unfortunately.

Luca was not in the mood for a photo shoot after church. In fact, all he wanted to do was be in his daddy's arms. No one else could keep him happy. Well, daddy and this spatula.

It is our annual tradition to take family photos after we go to church on Easter. I had been telling Lee all day, reminding him so that he was prepared for when it came time. And he was a willing participant- first time that has ever happened.

I love our family of three. Love, love, love.

Lee and H have this inside joke with their shoes/socks/feet. They often text one another a random picture of their foot. So when it was their turn for a photo- this is what Lee did. Hilarious. (Also, note the spatula H is holding. That's how we were able to get some Goodin family photos with a smiling Luca.)

And this is when Luca was totally done. His spatula couldn't even do the trick. Only daddy cuddles.

Believe it or not- this was the best family photo we got (minus the 3 boys).

This was the runner up. You'd think it was our first time having an Easter photo shoot.

After about 30 minutes, Luca was ready to smile again! Thankfully, because his aunties really needed to get some pictures with him.

Easter Sunday:

First time filling an Easter basket. Felt surreal!

Growing up, Lee's parents hid his and his sister's Easter baskets, and he wanted to keep that tradition alive with Luca. It was fun searching, I can imagine it will be even more fun as Luca gets older.

Found it!

After he found his Easter basket from us, we searched for Easter presents from my parents and Lee's mom. I don't have any pictures of that hunt because I was recording it.