Happy Easter!!

I love Easter.  I love the certainty of Hope, the Promise fulfilled, the Plan carried out. 

The crucifixion is over;

 the resurrection is REAL!!

   

I love the more temporal things of Easter, too... 

winter (at least around here)  is over...

dressing up for our Easter picture...

and, oh yes! Easter egg hunts-- the kind where the eggs are actually hard to find, which is how we choose to torture our kids every year.  

It's possible that Dwayne and I get more fun out of hiding the eggs and watching the kids find them than the kids get from the hunt and winning the candy, but as you can see, there are smiles all around.

Easter

Easter is the best time of year!  

Spring arrives.  

Nature wakens from somber winter sleep.

And the Son warms my heart with the knowledge, "He is risen!  Risen, indeed!"

I love Easter.

This was Marian's first year of being "too old" to join the candy hunt at church
so she did the big sister thing and helped Reagan find all the really good stuff.

Ellie (aka Hey-Mom-Take-My -Picture Girl) would not stop to pose.
She actually said to me, "Not now, Mom!  I'm too busy!"

What's this?  The Blue Shirt Brigade?  And Drew, looking far too much like a young man!

 Adding to the joy of Easter this year (in a strictly materialistic way)  was a lovely shopping trip with Marian whereupon we each bought a new dress.  We've done this... well, never!  So it was a real treat!

 Happy Easter!  I pray that you, too, know the joy of our risen Savior!

Happy Resurrection Day!

We had a wonderful Easter!  Church, friends, eggs, fun.

                              I love hiding eggs for my kids to find!                                                                  Reagan really got into it, as you can see!  It looks as if he slid into home for this one!  

  My friend Amy came up with a wonderful way to celebrate Easter this year!  I need to remember it for next year.  Instead of Easter baskets, she prepared New Life Baskets for her kids.  What a wonderful way to keep the focus on our risen Savior!  Check it out!  I'm so thankful to have such creative friends!

Resurrection Gardens, Part 2

The kids did a great job and I wanted to share!

Marian's Garden, "He Arose"

Andrew's Garden, "He Lives"

Ellie's Garden, "Light"

Little reminders of Jesus' resurrection every time we step out on the porch...

Easter

(Oh, me.  Have I really let nearly 3 weeks pass since Easter?  Time surely flies.)

Easter was beautiful!  We enjoyed the annual candy hunt, err, rather candy gathering, at church.  

 Dwayne tried to persuade Reagan to just pick up the "good stuff", but Rig would have none of it!

After church we had some dear friends over for dinner and a small candy hunt of our own (as if we didn't get enough sugar at church!).

Ms. Melissa & Ellie

Look who found the gold egg!

Easter cake by the kids & me-- yum!

All told, it was a wonderful day to celebrate Christ's resurrection!  Happy Easter, everyone!

Resurrection Gardens

The kids planted Resurrection Gardens this week.  I got the idea from another homeschooler's blog:  just a little replica of that garden far away in Jerusalem, a reminder of that tomb- site of unspeakable miracle.

We bought seedlings from a local garden center, then went for a long nature walk to find rocks to be the tombs in their gardens.  (In the course of the day, they dug for worms, captured a toad, and brought home some tadpoles.  Not a bad science day!)

We intend to paint the rocks to look a bit more like tombs.  Hopefully we'll get that done this weekend and I'll post another picture.  I have a feeling this is a project that will be back by popular demand. :)