Easter 2011

First, before we get into this Easter thing, how are my little girls this big? It keeps hitting me when I see pictures of them together.

Well, as I start this blog, I'm a little bogged down by the whole subject of "we had an easter egg hunt" and "here are our girls in their dresses"...but I know that's part of the deal. I do enjoy looking back at the pictures from past years as I did just today, actually.

So, here we go with Easter 2011!

We started our Easter fun this year with a Passover Seder meal at The Upper Room church. It was amazing. VERY neat way to start our Easter weekend, and was a great experience for our kids, especially. Even Abby Kate enjoyed it and followed along with the different parts!

(This is a borrowed pic of what a passover seder plate looks like, by the way. I didn't actually take pics Friday night.) We all learned so much about Passover and the symbols that Jesus Himself was taking the very night before He was crucified. And, it really hit home that Jesus was truly our Passover Lamb, taking the place of what had been celebrated as God's Deliverance for years and years before.

Then, Saturday morning was spent decorating eggs together. I have to admit that I have conveniently "skipped" this ALWAYS. But, it really was so fun. And, the girls got very into the creative part of this.

We tried some new tricks, including melting shaved crayon wax on hot eggs. It was pretty cool!

And, then, of course the old school dyeing method was also a popular one with the girls. You can't go wrong with the classic method.

Then, we headed over to Grandad and Grankay's house for lunch and our big cousin egg hunt, which was quite successful for all!

The youngest hunter began the fun

...although he really just played with the dogs, while the rest of them went hunting for as many eggs as they could possibly fit in their baskets.

Then, we did some picture taking. :) Did I mention that Cassie is always so sweet to do this for the family?

Isn't my prego sister {and her family!} so cute?

The little man Brewer will be here on Wednesday, since he decided coming last week just didn't sound that great. I can't wait! (and neither can Cortni.)

Just being with family, eating, resting, chatting...it was all so great. And, gave us a relaxing day in preparation for Easter Sunday. Here are the girls before bed, setting out decorated eggs for the Easter Bunny and notes they wanted him to have.

This was NOT our idea. And, this officially means E.B. is totally out of control. (And, we took care of that today. More on that later...)

We woke up today and did the basket thing. Mark and I both had a hard time with it...but that's another story. The girls had fun collecting their trail of peeps and seeing what treasures awaited them in their baskets. And, we do love watching them enjoy the traditions. :)

Then it was off to church! Mark had the idea to take this picture outside showing our little symbol of Rwanda, representing our little one who we PRAY is in our Easter picture next year.This year, I was thinking of our baby all day, and wore my Rwanda necklace as a symbol that he/she was with us in heart this year!

Our time of worship this morning at church was absolutely amazing. Worship was beautiful and I sat with tears streaming down my face as we had communion and experienced the heaviness of the cross---and the triumph of the tomb---with Jesus. SUCH a powerful reminder of the glorious day of celebration this really is!

We then had the blessing of a restful quiet afternoon together, fishing at the pond and hunting eggs again and again...and again. :)

After naps and Easter candy, we had "the talk". We have always celebrated Easter with eggs and baskets and Easter bunny visits. But, we were just feeling more and more like it was time to let that go. We had quite a few questions this year from our two big girls, including if the Easter Bunny had a sleigh and if he hopped on two feet or four. Oh my, we just didn't feel like we needed to continue the story anymore. We also had really begun to think: How will our kids truly KNOW the unique power of the resurrection---of the stone rolling away and Jesus being victorious over death---if they also think that bunnies deliver baskets and have magical powers too? It was making my stomach sick to think that in their little minds, one power may not be bigger than the other.

So, it was SUCH a great talk with Kendyll and Carlie today. We talked about holiday traditions and legends and where the Easter Bunny came from (the goddess, Eastre, who brought spring always had a hare with her for good luck), and where Santa Claus came from (St. Nicholas' generosity)...and that we KNOW the only One with true miraculous power is God! They knew this, but it was so good to just get it out there in the open and see them understand. And, they were totally okay with it all! I feel much better now. It was really weighing heavy on my heart, and although we will always have gifts at Christmas, and egg hunts at Easter, I don't want there to be any doubt where the true Power comes from!

So, our Easter weekend was wonderful. We ended it with dinner with friends tonight, and we all talked about what a powerful day this was.

In fact, with each passing year, the power of the resurrection becomes more amazing to me. For obvious reasons, these last two years have been especially filled with a deeper gratitude for the HOPE we have through Jesus. Victorious LIFE that is for all people and that never ends--not even at the grave--because of Jesus.But, this year I have been struck again and again by God's great love in it all. I know that sounds obvious. But, He shared that with me in new ways this year. And, it's brought me to tears more than once.

In school, the girls learned How Deep the Father's Love and Just As I Am as our hymns this month, focusing on what a GIFT the cross is for us...what a gift salvation is, that covers us "just as we are". And, there was hardly a day that we sang that my voice didn't quiver. The love is SO deep. SO hard to truly comprehend.

And, to know that God longs for ALL people to know this love. How does He watch us go about our day, ignoring it? Feeling like we don't need it or being so distracted we don't even realize we're missing it? He gave up everything. He took our sin upon His son. It cost Him alot to free us. Yet, it takes a special holiday for us to stop and truly give thanks for it.

I have to say, I'm thankful for Easter where we stop and let it soak in a little deeper. But, I sure hope my Monday has just as much passion and gratitude for God's love as my Sunday did. :)

Happy Easter, everyone!