Our Easter this year was lovely and very mellow. It's Emmy's very favorite holiday, so no matter what was stacked against us, the day was so special just because of what we were celebrating. This year was the first year the big girls really knew that Easter is a celebration of Jesus, which was so wonderful and intense all at the same time. Emmy got a little age-appropriate book at school discussing the Easter story, which brought forth some very important yet difficult conversations about how badly Jesus was treated. I admit I really wasn't ready for it. Hearing Sissy's intense empathy for Jesus' pain moved me deeply. But sharing with them the good news that love always wins was a beautiful parenting moment.
The weekend before Easter I built up the courage to take the kids to an Easter celebration at The Little's school. It wasn't until I parked that I committed to going, but I'm so glad we did. There really weren't all that many people that came, which made the crowd sparse and so much more manageable for me. There were several age-appropriate crafts and games and free BBQ lunch. The organizers even found a sweet teenager to take Emmy and Hannah through a "Jesus Experience" display that they both loved. The cherry on top of the sundae was a big Easter egg hunt, that all four of the kids got in on. I was like a chicken with my head off corraling them all, but each of them giddily ran around picking up eggs. It was such a highlight of the holiday celebration!
On Easter, I had three sick kiddos. Both of the twins had croup and Hannah had a nasty cough. So, church was off the table and we needed to back out of dinner at our friends' home. So, we stayed home and had multiple egg hunts, made a "He is Risen" sign for our front door, and devoured way too much sugar and the incredible to-go Easter dinner that our incredible friends blessed us with.
 |
| Juju coloring her egg! |
 |
| Our Emmy, always in charge. |
 |
| Helping Jamesy write a "J" on his egg. :) |
 |
| This was an overly ambitious photo. |
 |
| The big girls helped make our Easter bread from start to finish...We got a last-minute house showing just as we secured the dough for it's first rising. 15 minutes to wipe away the flour was sweat-inducing! |
 |
| Julia totally got into the egg hunt! |
 |
| James was very easily distracted. :-P |
 |
| James found his Easter basket! |
 |
Sis feeding Julia her chocolate Easter bunny...One bite for Juju, one bite for Hannah...
|
 |
| Even though we weren't able to go to church, Emmy still wanted to wear her new Easter dress, so we dressed up! |
 |
| I found that if I set the timer on the camera and then dance around like an idiot I actually get smiles from most of them and a smirk from Juj. |
 |
Emmy orchestrated another Easter egg hunt after quiet time.
|
 |
| Sweet Julia diligently found eggs.... |
 |
| ...And then James took them from her. |
 |
| Checking out their loot. |
 |
James going through Julia's Easter basket.
|
 |
| After we got home from picking up our incredible Easter dinner, Emmy and Hannah immediately set the table and started serving everyone their plates. I blinked back tears witnessing them take care of each other. |
