Easter

The day finally arrived! We have prepared for Easter thoroughly! With all the egg hunts, candy and treats, I was getting a little anxious that the girls weren't getting the true message of Easter! Morgan put my mind at ease. The girls were anxious to see what their Mumsie and Poppa had given them. Morgan excitedly said something about more treats and I said something about that being what Easter was about (sarcastically) and she quickly said, "Oh no, Momma....Easter is about Jesus dying on the cross for us and his resurrection!" Cha-Ching! She gets it! Now we need to work on Merritt, the chocolate bunny queen!



After seeing what the Easter bunny brought, we dressed for church and headed out the door to a gloomy morning greeting us. We got to Sunday school before the rain but heading to the church service we all commented how it looked like night time! Sitting in the service one could feel the uneasiness. A tornado came through our town on Thursday night coming downtown near our church. The atmosphere was well-suited for a repeat performance and many of us were a little uncomfortable. I relaxed a little when I noticed Scott scanning the radar on his Blackberry. At least I knew we would know what was coming before it arrived! Before the sermon, our minister announced that the ushers confirmed the storm was moving more north of us. I think the congregation collectively exhaled at the same time! Whew, now I could concentrate on the meaning of the day, although I felt a little guilty about feeling unsafe in the place I should feel the safest!

The children's message was right on this morning giving an excellent analogy using an empty Easter egg and comparing it to the empty tomb!

After church we headed to lunch where we were joined by Scott's parents affectionately know as Mumsie and Poppa! We all had a great time being together!

After lunch we stopped by Ms. Jo's to wish her a Happy Easter! Uncle John had just left after eating lunch with her. He left behind the biggest most exciting girly Easter baskets you've ever seen! I told the girls that Uncle John did better than the Easter bunny! They replied, "he sure did!" I'll be sure and send a message to the Easter bunny to "hop" to it next year! Maybe he's experiencing the recession!

Egg Hunt, Round 8 ~ Rain Out!

When I woke Merritt up this morning she excitedly said, "Is this the day we have an egg hunt in our front and back yard?" "Uh-oh," I quickly thought, that means 9 egg hunts this year!

Thanks to rain, #9 didn't even have to be organized and #8 was moved in doors at the club while we ate lunch. The Easter Bunny just walked around and handed out eggs. My kind of hunt!

Feeling very full and very tired from all the family activities, Scott and I realize how blessed we are! He grew up all over the world away from his grandparents. I lived a great distance from mine and saw them a couple of times a year. How grateful we are that our children ate lunch today with both sets of grandparents before heading over to their great grandmother's house for more Easter treats! For priceless memories, I'll take this kind of tired any day!

Easter Egg Hunt, Rounds 4 & 5

Both girls had egg hunts at their schools Thursday morning. It was a wonderful way to spend the last day of school before Spring Break! Morgan's teacher is moments away from having her second child so we planned a surprise shower for her. After the children found their eggs, we surprised her with a bassinet full of presents. 80 first graders looked precious hopping down the trail into the local park down the street from their school!
I was able to "hop" on over to Merritt's school just in time to see them playing on their playground following their egg hunt. Scott was there to help Merritt find her eggs, although she needed no help! She was the first one to find all her eggs and then helped her classmates. To make both egg hunts more educational and last longer, both girls had to find eggs numbered (1-8 for Morgan and 1-12 for Merritt).

Our church egg hunt is Saturday and Merritt has been invited to a birthday party/egg hunt on Saturday which will make rounds 6 & 7. Easter Sunday our family will eat together at our country club which will also include an egg hunt, Round 8! Whew! I need to research the history of these egg hunts and how they got started! To quote a favorite comedian of ours, "Jesus is coming, Quick hide the eggs!" Theologian Morgan tells me that we hunt eggs because they are a symbol of life and Jesus brings us new life! Happy Easter, may you find your eggs and your new life!

Easter Egg Hunt, Round 2

Merritt's Sunday School class had an egg hunt today to celebrate Palm Sunday! She had a wonderful time hunting eggs with her Sunday School friends! Her sweet teachers gave her a special Easter basket! We ended our Palm Sunday celebrations by having brunch at East Ridge! It was a great family day!

Easter Egg Hunt, Round 1

Saturday was the first round of our annual Easter Egg Hunts. This one was held at Mumsie and Poppa's church. Great fun was had by all! As we walked out for Merritt's age group hunt, a brown bunny hopped by! It was thrilling for the children and adults who caught a glimpse of the real Easter Bunny! Merritt was thrilled to find the golden egg!

The Wisdom of a Three Year Old

Last night during dinner, I was telling the girls how much I loved Christmas. I love the decorations, the hymns we sing in church, the crisp nights looking at Christmas lights. Most importantly I love being with family and now that I have a family of my own, I love passing along Christmas and Advent traditions from my childhood. As I was thinking about all these things, I said to the girls, "wouldn't it be great if we could have Christmas everyday!" Merritt quickly responded, "But Momma, if we had Christmas everyday, we would never have Easter!" She was probably thinking about not wanting to miss out on the Easter bunny and the chocolate he brings, but my heart was hoping she was thinking deeper! She at least made me think deeper! You're right Merritt, we would miss out on Easter and oh how much we would be missing!