I can't believe today is already the last day of March, can you? Time just flies by way too fast. However, I'm thankful that the Good Lord has blessed me to see another month go by. There have been a few trials this month, but overall it has been a really good month. We are so blessed! I truly enjoyed Easter this year with Raylan. It was so much fun watching him hunt Easter Eggs and participate in all of the Easter festivities.  Let's catch up on some of my favorite blog posts from this month.

This one is my favorite. I absolutely love it. I gave him some Easter grass and he had so much fun with it. It was a mess to clean up but he had so much fun throwing it everywhere. Just look at that smile.





This one is also a favorite of mine. I snapped this photo while he was in the moment of finding his eggs. I love the brightness of this photo and I love how I captured the moment of him on his search to find eggs.

*You can't always get a toddler to look at you so most of the time you have to capture them in the moment of doing something. These always make the best photos!

You also don't have to spend a great deal of money to make photos look great. Invest in a Camera or Smart Phone and use a photo editing software. I use Photoshop Elements 13 which is my favorite, but if I'm in a hurry and just need simple edits I use  PicMonkey which is a free online version to edit your photos. For $4.99 a month you can upgrade to the full version of PicMonkey which gives you a few more options to work with, however, the free version offers a lot. If I'm using my smart phone, I like to use the app Camera + to edit my photos and I also use Instagram to edit. For Instagram, I love playing with the highlights and brightness to really make my photos pop.

So If you're like me and on a budget, taking holiday photos at home is your best option. Just be creative. Try to shoot photos outside but if that's  not possible then find a good background and add a few details around your child like the Easter Eggs and basket and start snapping away. There is no reason to pay such a high price when you can make your photos look great at home.

Easter is this coming Sunday and I am so excited! I'm excited to dress Raylan up and watch him hunt eggs, but most of all I'm excited to worship the Lord. We all include the Easter Bunny, baskets and eggs in with Easter, but that's not what it's really about. Easter is about the sacrifice that Jesus paid for our sins. This is what Easter means to me...



Easter is the most important day of the year for me! I get so emotional just thinking about how much God truly loves his children. It really is hard to even fathom the love that God has for us.

God knew that our sins were terrible. We are humans and we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23-26). He knew that there was a price that had to be paid for our sins. On what we call Good Friday, he sent his only begotten son to shed his blood and die for our sins. He didn't have to do it, but he did it because he loved us. (John 3:16) If we all got what we deserved, it would have been us dying but Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. He did it because he loved us and didn't want to see us die in our sins. Jesus was nailed to a cross. While he was on the cross, he was mocked, beaten and had a crown of thorns placed on his head. Jesus died on the cross so that we could have life.  However, he didn't stay dead Praise God! On that third and glorious day he rose! This is the day we call Easter Sunday! (1 Corinthians 15) Jesus rose victorious over death, hell and the grave.  He rose and went to prepare a beautiful mansion in heaven for us, so that we can live life eternally when this life on earth is over (John 14:3) . Oh how wonderful that will be! There will be no more sickness, death, pain, sadness and certainly no more sin. All will be peace and happiness forever more. We will be reunited with our loved ones who have gone on before us.  Isn't it amazing Just how much God loved us? He wanted us to live forever and not die out to our awful sins.

This is what the true meaning of Easter is! Even though it's nice to take your children to see the Easter Bunny and hunt Easter Eggs, don't forget to teach them the true meaning of Easter. Let your children have fun on Easter just as children should, but don't forget to incorporate the real reason we celebrate such a wonderful day into all of the festivities.

Moms are always busy, but never allow yourself to get too busy to create memories with your little one. For time goes by way too fast! Welcome to the new series of In the Kitchen with Toddlers. This is a series that will show you some easy ideas of things to make with your toddler that will be fun for them and quick for you.


I love to bake especially around the holidays. While baking, I always try to include my son Raylan. We both enjoy being in the kitchen and making many wonderful memories together. Easter is this coming Sunday, the most important holiday of the year! Easter is not about the Easter Bunny and Eggs, but about the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So while in the kitchen this week, Raylan and I decided to make Cross Cupcakes.


I could have chosen any Easter themed dessert to make with Raylan this week, but I wanted to teach him about the true meaning of Easter while baking.

Ingredients you will need...


Pretzel Sticks
Chocolate Cake Mix
Light Brown Sugar
Vanilla Frosting in Can
Milk Chocolate Dipping Chocolate

* Normally I would use my favorite go to homemade Buttercream Frosting, but since I was baking with Raylan I opted for the quick and easy frosting.

5) This is by far my favorite photo from this week. After my dad got home from the hospital, he couldn't wait any longer to give Raylan his Easter Basket from him. This photo is just so precious of the two of them.

Don't forget to link-up below. Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed weekend!

I want to my congratulate my sweet friend Tif @ Bright on A Budget on her two year blogging anniversary today. I seriously can't believe that she has been blogging for two years. Happy Blogging Anniversary Tif! Tif and I have been friends for a very long time. We are from the same hometown and we graduated high school together. Tif inspired me to start blogging and I am so glad that she did. I have met so many wonderful friends and have had some great opportunities because of her. So please join in with me to help celebrate her blogging anniversary.

 To help celebrate the anniversary of Bright on a Budget, I have teamed up with Tif and several other wonderful ladies to give you a chance to win a Kate Spade handbag and a $25 Target Gift Card. I can't think of a better way to celebrate, can you?



This awesome giveaway is brought to you by:



a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Son Raylan is getting to the age where I can start including him more in my favorite place, the kitchen. It just so happens that he likes being in the kitchen just as much as I do. We have so much fun and make so many memories while creating some tasty food and drinks. It's a great learning experience for him as well as for me too. Moms are always busy, but never allow yourself to get too busy to create memories with your little one. For time goes by way too fast! I'm starting a new series that will show you some easy ideas of things to make with your toddler that will be fun for them and quick for you.


I love celebrating every holiday with my two year old son Raylan. So for every holiday, I like to create a festive food or drink for him to enjoy. Since it's the week of St. Patrick's Day, I opted for letting him help make his very own Shamrock Shake.


Ingredients you will need are the following:


2 cups of Vanilla Ice Cream ( I had Neapolitan but used only the vanilla)
1/3 cup of Milk
1/4 tsp of peppermint or mint extract
8 drops of green food coloring ( I still could have used more)

Whipped Topping (Preferably in can. It makes it so much easier)
Green Sugar Crystals

Blend or Mix with Mixer 1st 4 ingredients. I have misplaced my blender, so Raylan and I had to use the KitchenAid. It still turned out well though.


He loves to watch the mixer spin around. I do believe baking is one of his favorite things to do!

Once you are finished blending up your shake, top with whipped topping and green sprinkles. It makes for a splendid treat that any toddler will enjoy. It definitely caught Raylan's attention and made his taste buds happy.






Raylan was pleased with this delicious Shamrock Shake. We had so much fun making it and even more fun drinking it. It's a great way to help your child celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

*Caitlin is taking a break from blogging right now to get some much needed rest. Please continue to pray for her and visit her blog. 



 and I just love these tulips. I think they make a beautiful table display.


more decor to come next week!

3) Raylan and I have made the most of this beautiful weather. We have been outside everyday and he has worn me out. He would stay outside all day if I would let him. He just loves this lawn mower that blows bubbles that my dad got him for his birthday party.

4) Did you catch this Bright Spring Look that I posted this week? I love this color combo! This is my new hairstyle. You can really see the colors in the light. I love it! Don't forget to checkout Tif's Weekend Style For Spring.

Well that's it for me. Have a joyful and blessed weekend. Please continue to pray for the healing of my dad. With God all things are possible!