Fun Times.........

Easter Sunday was really nice. Jophie and I are no longer able to attend church but, we still celebrate all the holidays here with one another. I do miss going as well as the fellowship we used to have with our church family and friends. I am however very thankful to be able to make such precious memories with Jophie not to mention The Payne Gang who always manages to include us in whatever the current holiday or event is even if they have to bring it right to our front door. ;)

The weather outside was gorgeous and the temperature was perfect for an Easter Egg Hunt! :0) I had only gotten about 2 hours of sleep so I knew I was going to have to lie back down and get a few more hours or else I was gonna be one big grouch when the P. Gang arrived! I got Jophie all hooked up to his meds and started his pump. I don't like using his pump for feeds because it tends to make him sick but, on days we have no help it becomes necessary if I'm going to function. I've worked out a very slow rate that he tolerates with the help of some benadryl and zofran so it's doable in a pinch. ;)

After I got Jophie all settled I hit the sack setting the alarm for 3 hours. Yay! I do love my sleep and let me tell you round here sleep is a luxery! ;) I did finally manage to drag my butt outta bed later that afternoon however, just because I'm "up and moving" doesn't necessarily mean I can function just yet! haha...I staggered around looking about half tipsy for a good hour before I could even focus enough to see what needed done! LOL

The first thing on the agenda was a bath for Jophie and can I just say that the little toad sure needed one! LOL... Jophie may be cute but he sure can turn into one big ole stinky pot very quikcly. I was just getting ready to wash his hair when Tammy called to let me know they were coming which turned out to be just long enough for me to toss Jophies dirty sheets in the laundry and walk back into the living room and there they were in the driveway! Talk about quick and what perfect timing as I was needing help with his hair and his trach change. Tammy and I finished up Jophie while Danny hid the eggs. The girlies were bouncin about like jiffy pop with excitement. I do love seeing kids enjoying themselves and let me tell you the Payne kids sure do enjoy life!

It's quite refreshing to see! ;0)

After some tag team baby bear wrestling we finally managed to get Jophie sorted with all his machines and such and out the door we went! You should have seen us trying to contain the twins just long enough for us to get Jophie situated in the perfect spot so that he could see all the fun but also making sure he was close enough to be a part of all the fun as well......

We set the girlies loose and off they ran like a shot from a gun!! hahaha

Jophie waiting patiently for the girlies to find him some eggs while Tammy stands watch at his side.

The Payne children (There are 4 here with us and 4 in heaven) have grown up around Jophie and have stood toe to toe with the sadness of death. They have accepted these things just as they accept Jophie for what he is and granted, they may not always fully understand the "whys" of death nor the "whys" of Jophies illness they DO in fact accept it.

All of the experiences over the years have made these precious children very compassionate, well rounded and understanding at very tender ages. They are not afraid of disabilities nor are they fearful of asking questions even if they are tough questions. We continue to answer these questions honestly because the more knowledge we can give them, the better they will be able to understand and process it all. The relationship the Payne children have with Jophie has definitely allowed them to face life head on accepting everyone for who they are never judging and always loving unconditionally. Jophie and the Payne children are so blessed to be a part of one anothers lives.

The girlies still on the hunt for Egg treasures......


Jophie was enjoying the sun on his face and hearing the squeals of delight coming from two of his favorite little girlies then suddenly his first treasure!

Thank you Laynie! ;0)

And another! Thank you Lexie! Sorry Lexie was to quick to catch on film! ;0)

How adorable are those eggs??? The pastors wife found them! They actually come as Noahs ark and have all the little animals! The little birds had the most adorable teeny feet on the bottom and were even cuter when you could see those toesies pokin' outta the grass during the egg hunt....I love em and so does Jophie.

Roooooaaarrr! Jophie really likes this lion. I honestly couldn't get over how stinkin cute they all were!

The time actually flew by and Jophie was able to stay out longer than we even imagined he would. I think we hit the 1 hour and 30 minute mark! Holy cow! Even more so when we realized it was a smidge after 5 especially considering he hadn't eaten yet! Yikes! Good thing we thought to give him all his meds at 3 before we went out eh? ;0)

Jophie was starting to show signs of tiring and getting that "OK I need outta this chair NOW" look so off we ran back inside. We were hoisting him from the chair to his bed when we happened to glance over to what seemed quite suspicious of a sleeping boy......

Hmmmmm......Could it really be a sleeping boy?? Could he really have fallen asleep even while we were hoisting and jostling him about?? Let's Just see!

YEP! Totally and this was even after we moved him from the wheelchair to the bed and had him lowered!

Still snoooooozin' after we lowered him completely and removed the sling. Jophie wasn't bout to give up his bucket of Easter goodies even in his sleep! hehe :0)

Out of 31 eggs all were found but one lone escapeeee monkey egg from the Noahs ark Collection and from the look of our yard me thinks that monkey thought he'd just returned to his jungle home! haha...... Danny and I searched the yard over many times and I even went out the next day to no avail. The twins gave up and decided swinging on Jophies swing while eating chocolate was definitely more fun than searching for a lost egg. I can't say I blame em there! LOL

All in all we had a wonderful Easter Day. I had roasted Ham in the oven all toasty and warm just waiting to be eaten! Deviled eggs were chillin' in the fridge and The Paynes brought Jophie and I some Hash Brown Casserole straight from our Meals 4 Wheels cookbook! What a great compliment to my ham sandwich and deviled eggs! Thanks Tammy! You always make sure we have something yummy on the holidays! :0)

Gotta scoot! I pray your Easter was just as enjoyable!

Trina and Jophie