What a wonderful season! John and I have decided that Easter is our favorite Holiday of the year. We love everything about it and as the kids grow older, we especially love the way our kid's eyes and hearts light up each time we teach them more of Jesus' story.
Here were some of the highlights of this Easter season for us...
A good ole' fashioned egg hunt at church...
Happy boy :)
We even invited some of our neighbors this year for this fun time...
Can you tell they like this, just a little bit?
Rylee with her friend, still trying to figure all this crazy egg-business out :)
Cora's got it down, counting her eggs...
...and showing Rylee the ropes :)
What fun day!
4 - in - a - row :)
...Easter Morning...
Every year we love, love, LOVE being a part of Easter morning service at our church.
This year, John played saxophone, and the kids and I sang.
Then we were also honored to be a part of a "cardboard testimony" time.
The way this works, is a group of people each have a piece of cardboard.
On one side they write a circumstance that the enemy tried to use to steal their joy, and life right out from under their feet.
On the other side, each person shares a glimpse of how God redeemed their story and made it HIS.
One person goes up at a time and shows the first side and then flips it over to reveal the redeemed side!
This year we wrote...
One the first side: SON BORN DEAF IN 2007
And on the flip side: TALKS OUR EARS OFF IN 2012
Glory be to GOD!!! We will never stop telling HIS story!
After sharing tender moments with our church body in worship, in His Word and through testimony, we scooted off to Gramma and Gramps house for an Easter celebration...
Like any crazy, out of her mind mother would...I called for PICTURE TIME :)
right after the kids sat through worship practice, went to church, took a 2-hour car ride to Gramma's...
what better time to say, CHEESE!
What troopers :) Rylee's in her happy place with her thumb...tired, but happy :)
Can any mom's out there relate? I feel that way too after a long day!
Gramps helping Rylee find the hidden eggs :)
Being with my parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle again for holidays...SUCH a joy! Oh how we LOVE our times together and cherish the gift of being close to them again!!!
What gift...Here are the kids with their great-grandparents...We love our Babi and Deda!
My grandpa recently accepted the Lord, and this was his first Easter as a follower of Christ.
Nothing...absolutely nothing brings me greater joy!
Ryder brought our Resurrection Eggs, and told the story of Jesus' journey to the cross using the items inside each egg. Thank you Jesus for giving us a story to tell!
We even got to sing Happy Birthday to my grandma who celebrated her birthday two days after Easter this year! She truly is the most selfless woman I've ever met, always looking for ways to meet others' needs before her own. She leads our family with her spirit of gratitude for all of God's gifts, and endless, devoted care for us all. Even at 83, she has the most industrious, giving spirit, seeing every moment spent together as a priceless gift. It is an honor and a joy to be called her granddaughter.
We love you, Babi...and Happy Birthday!!!
It was a full Easter. One I'm thankful to have lived FULLY through. Not that packing out our calendar is what it means to fully live, but I'm thankful for the opportunities we took this year as a family to help our kids grasp a little more deeply...who is this King who was born, died and rose again?
Because if he is who He says He is...this changes everything.
It has for me...how about you?
Some of the Easter traditions we'll hold onto for years to come...
Hill of Calvary - you see it modeled so adorably by my boy in the photo above...it is best started 10 days before Easter and SUCH a fun project to make together as a reminder that the tomb was empty on Easter! We left it closed up until Easter and then opened it to remind us that "He is not here...He is Risen!" Amen.
Check out my Easter Pinterest page for more fun ideas for next year!
Thank you Jesus for giving us a reason to celebrate!
He is RISEN! He is RISEN indeed!
