Easter in Our House

In our house, we really believe that Easter is about celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and on Easter Sunday we attend church (as we do every week) to remember and worship Him.

We also believe in fun and traditions, so in our house we also do Easter baskets, and candy, and colored eggs. We just try to do most of that on Saturday so that we can divide the secular fun from the more spiritual implications of the holiday. Easter doesn't hold the same anticipation as Christmas, but the kiddos are still pretty excited to wake up Saturday morning and find their baskets, hidden by the Easter Bunny (otherwise known as Mommy and Daddy--no secrets on this holiday figure in our family).  We've hung them from the shower head, put them inside the clothes dryer, underneath piles of stuffed animals, or any other silly places we can think of.  The children each have their own basket and inside they get some plastic eggs filled with candy and one present. Half the fun is the search, but the presents and candy are pretty great, too.

This year Maggie got this little stuffed animal that is all white and came with a blue marker. She can draw on the stuffed animal and then wash it clean and do it all over again. "Marshmallow" is her name and she's a big hit with my artsy girl.

Holly got her own ball--one of those ones they sell in the big cages at the grocery store. She sees them every week doing errands with me, so I surprised her with one.  Gunnar got a set of Lego Duplo blocks that have Luigi and Guido from the movie Cars.  He already has a few other Cars sets, so this is lots of fun to add to the other characters.

Adah was given a choice this year to get a small Lego set or to contribute some of her own money and get a larger set. Lego has recently started a new line geared towards girls, and Adah wants to be a vet when she grows up, so the Heartland Vet set was perfect. I thought we ordered it on time, but unfortunately her gift didn't arrive in time for Easter. It arrived a few days later and she's loved it.

After our own basket hunt at home, there were a few local Easter Egg hunts to choose from on Saturday morning. And it was also sunny (a big bonus for springtime in the Northwest). We chose the hunt that didn't have an age limit that excluded Adah and set out as a family.

Here's everyone waiting to get the go-ahead:

 

Holly wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she caught on quickly enough to grab a few eggs. She got one plastic egg that is a shaker. I thought it was great--no candy! But all day long Holly kept bringing it up to me and crying and trying to get me to open it. After opening that first M&M-filled egg earlier in the day, she was sure that any shaking noise meant candy was inside. Poor girl.

 

Gunnar was happy with his loot:

 

Adah and Maggie were in the same age group (the whole park was divided into different sections so toddlers wouldn't be trampled by older kids) and helped each other grab about a half dozen eggs each. I had told them that they shouldn't expect too much since there were a lot of people there, and I was happy that the egg hunt didn't end in tears for any of children.

 

Afterwards we stayed on in the sunny playground for a bit. But, despite the sunshine, it was still COLD. It was a windy day, so we didn't stay too long.

 

Holly wouldn't put down her basket and go play anyway. But, whenever I pull out the camera she beams, "Cheese!" She then immediately says, "I see. I see." Geez, the kids growing up with digital cameras don't know how great they have it, eh?

 

We ended up dying eggs after church on Sunday. Gunnar only dropped, oh, pretty much all but one of his eggs. Sigh. He dyed them anyway. No choice.

 

 

 

The culmination of Easter weekend in our house is Christ-centered and egg-centered. Years ago we got a great lesson from some friends that we have used every year with our children to help go through the story of Christ's crucifixion and Resurrection. We have a carton with numbered plastic eggs. Inside each egg is a small object and we read a scripture as we open each egg. Inside we find, for example, a bit of bread to represent the Last Supper, a piece of scarlet cloth and thorn to represent the clothes put on Jesus as the Roman soldiers mocked Him, a nail, and eventually, an empty egg to represent the empty tomb.

I agree with the Twelve Apostles who said, "We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world. He rose from the grave to 'become the firstfruits of them that slept.' I know that Christ did live again and because of that, we all will live again. I am so grateful for the Resurrection and for Easter each year to remember and celebrate and honor the Lord. In our house, we are trying to follow Him.