In an effort to maintain honesty (see No More Perfect Moms), I would like to share that it was an imperfect Easter. Lovely, but imperfect. The night before, I was in the kitchen longer than I expected, and my hubby was trying hard to keep things running with the kiddos. We started to dye eggs while I was making dinner, and the kids asked after two eggs if they could be done...(What?? Who doesn't love to dye Easter eggs?) Our baby was feverish and sick, the kids were overtired, and there was a tornado that blew through our kitchen as I made things for Easter and also tried to mash cauliflower in an attempt to have a new, healthy side for dinner. Weeeellll, thankfully, the kids got a second wind with the Easter eggs, although many eggs ended up cracked and many fingers ended up stained. They didn't like the cauliflower (but Zach and I did!) and they were all a mess by bedtime. Zach fell asleep early, exhausted from the day, and I was left to fill and hide baskets myself.
Sunday morning came, and I was thinking that surely, the morning would be perfect. It was Resurrection Sunday, for goodness sake! But Sophia continued to be sick and needed someone to hold her the whole morning, Zach and I were arguing...(I know, silly, silly). And Ella didn't want to wear her Easter dress. We left the messy house in a hurry and in crabby moods, but thankfully, Zach and I apologized and connected on our way into church and during the service. Phew.
My heart was burdened for a friend who was struggling, there were points in the day when I didn't think I could stay awake, and we had to put Sophia in a tepid bath following Easter dinner (when her fever reached 104.6!) and put a call into the pediatrician. But you know what?? On the way home, I told Zach, it was a nice day. The children had a blast at Nana and Papa's, we got to go outside for the Easter egg hunt, and I loved spending time with my parents and my sister and her family. Micah and Sammy initiated "The Question Game" during dinner, having everyone come up with a question (i.e., "What's your favorite dessert?" and going around the table answering. Precious how they facilitated the discussion. And Ella insisted on only having purple and pink eggs in her basket. During the Easter egg hunt, she would notice an orange egg and walk right on by. Or, she would pick up an egg, look at it and realize it was green, and put it into her cousin's basket instead. We laughed so hard as we finally realized why she was giving her eggs away. So cute. So girly.
The day was messy at points, but it was lovely. We had celebratory worship at church, sweet time with family, delicious food, and [mostly] happy kids. But, most importantly, we knew that we were celebrating the freedom and joy of the truth that Jesus is ALIVE! And that carried us through our day with peace.
My heart was burdened for a friend who was struggling, there were points in the day when I didn't think I could stay awake, and we had to put Sophia in a tepid bath following Easter dinner (when her fever reached 104.6!) and put a call into the pediatrician. But you know what?? On the way home, I told Zach, it was a nice day. The children had a blast at Nana and Papa's, we got to go outside for the Easter egg hunt, and I loved spending time with my parents and my sister and her family. Micah and Sammy initiated "The Question Game" during dinner, having everyone come up with a question (i.e., "What's your favorite dessert?" and going around the table answering. Precious how they facilitated the discussion. And Ella insisted on only having purple and pink eggs in her basket. During the Easter egg hunt, she would notice an orange egg and walk right on by. Or, she would pick up an egg, look at it and realize it was green, and put it into her cousin's basket instead. We laughed so hard as we finally realized why she was giving her eggs away. So cute. So girly.
The day was messy at points, but it was lovely. We had celebratory worship at church, sweet time with family, delicious food, and [mostly] happy kids. But, most importantly, we knew that we were celebrating the freedom and joy of the truth that Jesus is ALIVE! And that carried us through our day with peace.
Death, where is your sting?
Grave, where is your victory?
He's ALIVE! He's ALIVE!
He is RISEN!
(a song we sang on Sunday)
Happy Easter!
What a beautiful family! LOVE the pics. Sounds like a PERFECT Easter after all! I find that I am usually crabby on special days. I want SO badly for the kids to look perfect, for them to LOVE the things planned, and to enjoy every second. Sometimes I have to take a break and calm down, just to make sure I dont get worked up about the non-important things! Hope S feels better! That is scary! :( and the kids look like they are loving Easter despite anything else.
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