Easter Rush

After church and Hadley's dedication, we rushed around like we do every major holiday to visit both sides of my family. This was the first time Dave's parents were here to tag along for all the craziness.

First, as usual, we went to Granny's house. Pretty much as soon as we'd arrived Dave and I realized we'd forgotten the diaper bag. I think the only other time this has happened was right after Caleb was born on our second trip to church. That time we had to stop and buy diapers; this time we were close enough to home that Dave could to run back to the house. During the half hour he was gone, Hadley needed to be changed of course. Someone had brought me some size two diapers as a present that day so I thought I would try those until he returned. In the diaper changing process though, Hadley decided to go to the bathroom again, messing up the dedication dress she was wearing as well as the bed spread in Granny's guest room. What a start to our visit! In nothing but an oversized diaper, Hadley ended up snacking on a little milk to calm down until Daddy returned.

Needless to say, in the midst of all that confusion, my plan to get lots of pictures of her and Caleb playing with their cousins wasn't working out as I'd hoped. Thankfully, my sister took my camera and grabbed a few shots of the kids outside. The big hit of the day was an old wagon of Ryan and Hayden's. Anabella, Daniel, Peyton, and Caleb piled in to be pulled around by my dad. Hayden tried to help too but realized it was harder pushing a wagon full of toddlers around than he thought.

 

 

  

The kids played outside pretty much the entire time we were there because it was a gorgeous day.

 

 

 

One of the biggest sources of fun for the little ones were bubble "leaf blowers" Granny bought them for Easter.

 

Since Hadley was too little for a bubble blower, she got a VTech pink bunny. She was also too little for the outside fun, so she stayed inside and snuggled.

 

This was the first time most of my family was getting to meet Hadley. Anabella was probably the most excited about her though. She treated Hadley like a little doll, trying to cover her up and love on her. She kept examining her, looking closely at Hadley's feet in what we think was an attempt to figure out if she was real.

Before we left, there was also time for a toddler version egg hunt. There was no need to fill the eggs with money like Granny used to do for us; Caleb, Daniel, and Anabella were happy just to find the empty plastic shells. After gathering all the eggs, no one compared who had the most. They just started throwing them back into the yard and hunting again. (I love this age!) And, when the egg hunting began to get a little dull, Hayden began demonstrating how to climb the trees in the backyard as the toddlers looked longingly - probably trying to figure out how they could get up there too.

 

 

We had one final stop after Granny's. For the first time I can remember, my Grandma Nora Ann did not host Easter. Instead, everyone came to my parents' to celebrate. 

My sister, who is great at picking out presents Mom loves, bought my mother some chickens for Easter. As you can imagine, this was one of the first points of interest for our boy after arriving.

My dad had another surprise for the kids this year - a moon bounce. Everyone wore themselves out! I even tried it out a little. (Later after I had some time to think about it, I realized jumping in a moon bounce was probably included in the no-exercise-for-six-weeks postpardum restrictions, especially since it had only been a little over a week since Hadley's birth. Oh well, I guess... )

 

There was an egg hunt of course too. This time there was money in the eggs but Caleb was too young to notice. He just enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. 

 

Before we left, the kids both got Easter baskets from Na Na and Pop to enjoy. (They'd already received their treats from Grandma and Grandpa McKinstry the day before.)

In all the hype of Easter baskets, egg hunts, wagon rides, bubble blowers, and moon bounces, we lose sight of why we reserve a special Sunday each spring to celebrate Easter - the resurrection of Christ and the hope we have because of it.  Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34 tell us that where our treasure is, our hearts will be also. While tradition is fun, Dave and I have begun considering how we can refocus our attention on the real treasure of the day - not the money in the eggs or the candy and treats found in an Easter basket, not the nice weather, not even the time spent with family even though all of those are wonderful things. We want to glorify the Lord everyday but especially on Easter - the day we remember how he's suffered for us, conquered sin and death, and now reigns with God in heaven waiting for those of us who put our trust in Him. We want our children to store this in their hearts and hold it not only as the most valuable part of Easter but as the only thing worth celebrating. So, while I started this post highlighting that this Easter followed the usual mad holiday rush and traditional happenings, it may be the last of that sort as we consider how to better celebrate Jesus' gift rather than putting Him as an afterthought of a busy day. I'm not sure how next year will look but am excited to move forward.