Rebekah's Writings: Easter as a Family of Five

For the kids and I, the Easter holiday really started on Friday, Good Friday, since they didn't have school that day. They had been up for awhile before me watching cartoons. When I came into the living room, I asked them what day it was. And they both excitedly yelled...Earth Day! Argh. That is so NOT what I meant. (Thank you children's TV for focusing on what could not possibly be more important than the death of our Lord and Savior.) So I sat them down and explained how important it is to be good stewards of what God has given us, i.e. the earth and all that is on it but that God gave us those things for our use. I asked them to name some of the things God put on this earth for our use and Hannah exclaimed, "The bushes!"

After the kids returned from going up and down the street picking up trash (which was totally Josh's idea and was really sweet), I sat them down and read the story of the crucifixion of Jesus from the Bible. We talked about Jesus and that he died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and how much he loves us all. Next we took turns praying and thanking Jesus for dying on the cross for us. Then we decided to make a picnic lunch and go to our favorite park.

Unfortunately for us, the main part of the park was closed due to high water. Bummer. I also discovered that it cost $5 to enjoy the park since it's a state park. I had $3.50 in quarters. So we pulled into the part of the park that was open and enjoyed it for free! I also let the dog off the leash so she could do her business on the grass right next to the sign that said, "Leashes Required." (It did not specify that it was required to be on the dog.) It was sunny, but cold and windy so our picnic didn't last long.

Saturday was a different story. It was so nice and sunny with no wind. We made it to the egg hunt as they were counting down 30 seconds to start. I took Josh and Bethany and Hannah went with her cousin as Shad was still trying to find a parking spot. Josh was pretty apprehensive, so when they said go he just walked while all the kids in front of us ran like maniacs and scooped up the eggs. Needless to say, he brought home 4 eggs. When we got home the neighbor kids were just getting ready to have another egg hunt. The oldest boy on the street had a bag full of eggs that he hid for all the other kids. I thought it was pretty sweet. Next we headed off to my parents' house for my family's Easter celebration. And when we got there, yet another egg hunt. Three in one day, not too shabby, unless you're the parents that had to deal with all those stinkin' plastic eggs! Let's just say I re stuffed them while the kids weren't looking and they hunted for them, again, at Grandma's house the next day. The best part was the kids emptied all the eggs and someone else took the plastic eggs home with them. All we have to deal with is the ridiculous amounts of candy. Did I mention I really like the red, yellow and black jelly beans?

I didn't get a ton of pictures since I forgot the camera at every event and we rushed out the door for Easter service at church. So these pictures were taken when we got home from my mother-in-law's house on Easter day. Note that Hannah and Bethany wore matching outfits and I topped them off by wearing purple also. When we got to church we discovered that Shad and his brother must have called each other that morning to coordinate outfits. Too cute! And Josh, well, we were just lucky he chose what he did and didn't make a stink about wearing a nice outfit, instead of the usual jeans with shirt sporting some sort of super hero or Star Wars character.