EASTER!

I feel a bit like a broken record after every holiday.  I remember, as a new Mom, feeling a whole different kind of excitement and joy around our first holiday celebrations with Joshua.  All of a sudden, creating traditions and special holiday memories with him took on a whole new meaning.  And that anticipation hasn't lessened as the years have passed and the size of our family has grown.  With each holiday that comes along, I feel even more excited than the last.

We all have been looking so forward to a trip to Lewistown to celebrate Easter with Nana and Pap.  With basketball this winter, our weekend trips that usually fall about once a month haven't been happening as much.  So you can imagine Joshua's excitement when he found out that we were headed to Lewistown to stay for TWO nights!  Our last trip was only for one overnight, and it clearly wasn't enough time for Josh and Lauren to enjoy their cousins and family in Lewistown.

These five had a blast together.  There were squeals and giggles and big smiles from the little girls.  I can't say enough how it warms my heart to watch them all having fun together.  Joshua and Brooke seem to have an extra special bond, playing and giggling together the most of the bunch.  Lauren can always be found following closely behind the big kids, wanting so desperately to keep up.  If only her little three year old self could move just a touch faster.  For the most part she hung in with Josh and Brooke and had a blast playing with them.

The kids spent Saturday taking a walk through the fields with Nana and Pap and Daddy, looking for deer antlers that had been lost.  Joshua was so proud of the three point (half rack) they found.  Lauren came in declaring, "Mommy, we found BONES!"

After some lunch and some time outside enjoying the closest thing we've had to spring like temperatures, the kids were thrilled to hunt for some Easter eggs that Nana had prepared for them.  They scurried about the front yard snatching up anything they could find.  Even Mara got in on the fun and found a few eggs.  She was very methodical about putting them into her basket, but seemed quite proud of what she managed to scoop up.  Pap and Pappy Ray watched from the deck above.

We rounded out our Saturday with a delicious Easter feast that my Mom prepared, complete with everything that you can think of.  There's something about eating a holiday meal at home that makes it taste better than anything.  I can only hope that my kids will one day feel the same way about holiday meals at our home.  We always get giggling about something....mostly Libby and I....and I swear the laughter makes the food taste even better.  The kids gobbled up their ham and were quickly back on their way to playing.  I can officially report that my diet was shot over the weekend- between Mom's delicious cooking on Saturday night and then eating the leftovers on Sunday for lunch, and perhaps a few (or twelve...or thirty six) bites of chocolate from the Easter baskets.  I have been doing so well- am down 28 pounds since the beginning of the year, with a goal of losing 12 more before we leave for our Disney trip mid-May.

Knowing that we had all blown our diets we decided we would seek a little redemption with a walk around the neighborhood.  This served several purposes.  First of all, Mara still needs to be stroller trained before our Disney trip.  She did great with the stroller and seemed to enjoy riding around.  My prayer is that she loves it equally as much for the four days she is going to be riding around the parks in Orlando.  Secondly, the kids had eaten WAY too much sugar from the egg hunt, and they jogged the two miles that we walked.  This helped dramatically with getting them to sleep that night.  The Easter Bunny still had so much work to do to get some special treats ready for the kids, so a reasonable bedtime was necessary.

The kids awoke on Easter morning to a basket of surprises that thrilled them all.  Each of them got a new movie and some peanut safe treats.  Joshua got a new water bottle to use during soccer season and the girls each got a new friend to cuddle with and some new books to read.  Mara's basket had some goodies that we can tuck away until it is time for us to leave for our trip to Dallas in a few weeks- to try and keep her occupied on a plane full of people who aren't interested in listening to a screaming baby for three hours.  Mara was funny with her basket.  She loved her books, but was thrilled even more with the grass in the basket.  And the peeps.....she might be mine after all, because she adores peeps!

We headed to church with my parents and the kids did pretty well.  I always love returning to Maitland and seeing how our family has grown over the past few years.  The kids loved seeing Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Butch, Jeannine and Pappy Fred and Freda, Stephanie, Stacie and Anna.  I believe our family time in church lasted for all of 15 minutes before Mara started to undress herself and parade down the aisle of the church.  We quickly removed her before she was naked and screaming, and I took her to the nursery.  Lauren quickly followed, as did Brooke, Anna and Hayden.  And so, the Richard girls spent some time visiting in the nursery.  We may not have heard the Easter sermon, but we did have a nice chat together.  I always love seeing the kids playing together.

We returned home to Mom and Dad's for a yummy lunch and some pictures before the Easter clothes were traded for play clothes.  None of the kids were happy that we were getting ready to pack up to head home, but they did oblige me for a few pictures.  I don't think they have any idea how I will treasure these photos, but having some good pictures of the kids and even one with me in it really made my Easter.

Before we knew it, our van was pointed in the direction of Turbotville, packed to the hilt with all of the stuff we lug along with us, and three very tired kids.  It was a great weekend!

We ended the night watching the final episode of The Bible, but given the fact that I wasn't able to participate in some of the things that really have become special to me about Easter- namely, our church's Maundy Thursday service, the prayer vigil and the Easter sermon- we had a really special time reflecting on everything that this weekend means to us as Christians.  We have always allowed our children to enjoy the secular parts of religious holidays while still making sure that they understood the true meaning behind why we celebrate.  And it warms my heart so much to see Joshua starting to take an interest in leaning about the real meaning of Easter.  He had been watching The Bible with us throughout the series, loving to see the stories that he knows coming to life on TV.  Although we struggled with the fact that the series itself was very graphically violent, we also didn't want to discourage his interest in learning.  So we decided that we would allow him to watch the final episode which dealt with Jesus' crucifixion, death and resurrection.  We had a long talk before the show about how awful people were to Jesus, and how much He loved us to go through that to pay the price for the bad things that we do, and how becuase of Jesus' suffering, we will be able to be with Him in Heaven one day.  I told Joshua that if he was uncomfortable with anything he saw or if he didn't want to watch, he could just tell us, and we would turn it.  But he watched with great interest.  And when I asked him about it later, he said he wasn't scared or upset.  When I asked him why not, he said very innocently, "Because He's Jesus, Mommy.  We don't ever have to be scared or upset because He is Jesus."  And that was my Easter sermon.

I hope that your Easter was blessed.