Easter 2016

Easter morning started off this year in a beautiful way. Two friends from my church were baptized as a symbol of their commitment to Christ. What better day to celebrate their new life in him than the day we rejoice in His victory over death! 

While my flesh was a bit overwhelmed at the idea of getting up and to the pool by 8 a.m. on that Sunday morning - a day I knew would be packed full with so many other places to be, I am so grateful that I pushed back the tiredness and distractions and went. As my pastor's wife said, "Ill take Easter baptisms over Easter baskets ANY day." Amen!

Dave and I knew that getting the whole family out the door so early on such a busy day was not a reality, so my hubby stayed home with the kids while I enjoyed the fellowship that morning. I didn't want to miss them opening their Easter baskets though, so I hid the treats in the basement. To my surprise though, everyone was still snoozing when I got back.

Hadley's

Caleb's

Reid's

Once the crew was stirring though, we made our way downstairs and looked at their surprises. Then Mommy made a fruit salad and cookie cake for later and we all got ready for church.

Reid has been in love with Caleb's water gun the past couple weeks, so I was happy to find that I had two new ones stored away in a stash of clearance items I'd purchased awhile back.  I added one to his basket, and he, of course, loved it!

This girl loves pretty shoes.

Wait! Chocolate? They gave me chocolate?!? Eat it now before they realize what they've done!

While I am not one to put much candy in my kids' baskets, this year I actually forgot all together about buying some. (Mommy fail!) Thankfully I remembered that I had one more package of frozen peanut butter eggs I bought after Easter last year. From the freezer to their piles of loot they went...shew that was a close one.

I tried to snap a good picture of everyone before we left for church, but my goofballs weren't cooperating. A tired mommy plus kids who wouldn't stand still for a couple seconds to let me take their picture made for a frustrating combo. Although my patience was a bit thin with them at the time and I was disappointed they wouldn't get the shot I wanted, in the end, I have to say that even in their silliness they took some pretty good pictures that are better representatives of their personalities than any posed photos could have been.

The day before had been a busy day for us - t-ball for Caleb, a trip to Urgent Care for Hadley, a birthday party, etc. We got to bed pretty late that evening as well, so no one was their best Easter morning. We did pretty well until we left the house, but at church Caleb and Reid neither one would cooperate to go into their classes and Reid fussed during the service. I wasn't feeling much better than they were and told Dave I just felt like staying home the rest of the day. But...we had places to go, people to see...so we kept moving...

After swinging by the house to grab the food, to Granny's we went. Hadley was so excited to see Miss Peyton as soon as we arrived. Peyton was excited too and came running to give me a big hug when she got out of the car. What a pick me up to get some lovin' from such a sweet girl with that beautiful smile!

Once we got inside, Granny went right to spoiling everyone. Hula hoops and trinket boxes for the girls....

...and Nerf/disc guns for the boys. (Oh and kites for everyone - surprise, surprise. She hasn't had a grandkid yet that hasn't ended up with kite for Easter.)

While the weather was a little cooler than we hoped, it was still warm enough for the kids to get out and play.

And all was going well...until Reid got a hold of Granny's garage vacuum. He got a little too close to Peyton as he was swinging it around and I didn't know if we'd ever get that poor girl's hair untangled. Beth and I teamworked for what seemed like forever while Leslie tried to talk to Peyton to keep her mind off her problems. When we finally pulled the last strands free, we all celebrated...and though he apologized, Reid wasn't allowed to touch that vacuum again.

We ended the day their with an egg hunt. Just to let you know how crazy things were that morning, Mommy had forgotten everyone's Easter baskets. I didn't feel too badly though because Leslie confessed that she had forgotten her kids' too. We just had to laugh at ourselves and grab a few plastic grocery bags out of Granny's stash. The kids didn't notice anyway.

Although I loved being with my family, my kids melted down one after another while we were at Granny's at I had a headache to boot. Being exhausted from lack of sleep and embarrassed by my kids crankiness in combination with the terrible headache I'd acquired, enough was enough. we loaded everyone up and headed straight home for naps instead of NaNa's like we'd planned. Easter was turning out to be pretty miserable I complained inwardly. 

After we all got some rest though, things turned around. The kids were in much better spirits. I, on the other hand, still felt pretty ill when Dave woke me up to see if I wanted to go to my mom's, and at first I told him to just go on without me. I was feeling so badly though, I ended up feeling nervous for him to leave me behind so I opted to get ready and at least ride along. I didn't feel like even eating any of the wonderful spread of food my relatives had prepared when we first arrived, but after a bit I had a little and started to feel much better. 

Caleb had been eager to get to NaNa's all day because a couple days prior, after she'd colored some Easter eggs with them, she had the kids plant a few jelly beans and they were anticipating what would come up. Caleb just kept talking and talking about it, wondering what would happen. Would it be plant that would grow jellybeans? - he wondered. As soon as we arrived, he jumped out and ran straight there. Her plastic egg trick didn't fool him though! Actually he was a bit disappointed. What? He knew NaNa had played a trick.

Reid was just happy to see that Aunt Courtney had brought Penny. Her new pup and his new favorite playmate.

All in all the evening turned out to be a nice one. Good food and a good time visiting with family as well as much better moods than earlier in the day. The pressure was off since it was the last stop of the full day too.

A few more treats from NaNa

While not everything went perfect, it is not in the details that we find our joy and sense of contentment anyway. I was convicted that Christ has offered us so much through His sacrifice, that even on an off day, I am too blessed to maintain a complaining heart. If we were completely satisfied here, we might not have the longing for our true home and forget that we are just sojourners, so even despite the frustrations of the day, I am grateful for it and what it represents. That evening, Dave wrapped up the day with a Bible story focused on just that - Christ and his sacrifice.