Easter Report

We have had a fun week preparing for Easter. The girls dyed eggs and had fun hiding/finding them in the yard. Rachel loved hiding them and Erin Joy loved finding them so they were a perfect team. Rachel hid the eggs and Erin Joy followed right behind her and collected the eggs. Somehow we managed to lose one egg...glad we did it outside.

The Easter Bunny comes on Saturday at our house because he doesn't work on Sunday. It's too hard to get ready for church and I want to focus on the real meaning of Easter and not candy on Easter morning. Actually, they didn't have candy in their baskets this year because I accidentally ate it all before Easter. Rachel was thrilled with a bag of chips (her favorite snack) and Erin Joy was tickled pink with her bag of pink marshmallows (her favorite snack).

Rachel loves Webkinz stuffed animals. (Just a stuffed animal with a secret code that makes it more expensive than other stuffed animals.) She likes to register her pets online and choose names for her Webkinz. She received one as a gift for her birthday and has wanted more ever since. She has wanted a white kitty and has been saving her money for one. I found two white Webkinz kitties on clearance at KMart and bought them while she was at dance class. They were in my closet for a couple of weeks before Easter. One day, while playing hide-and-seek, she hid in my closet and found them. I thought about just giving them to her, but I told her they were a special surprise for later. The Easter Bunny brought them. I thought for sure she would figure out the true identity of the Easter Bunny...nope. She said, "Mommy, look what the Easter Bunny brought! What are you going to do with the Webkinz in your closet? You don't need them any more." I can't believe it!!! She still didn't figure it out! Oh, good! I love her sweet innocence...oh, please let her continue to be sweet and innocent forever...

Easter Sunday was very cold and rainy. There were even a few snowflakes mixed with the rain. I bought the girls' Easter dresses on clearance after Easter last year. Their dresses are sleeveless. I noticed the dresses in the stores are sleeveless too. I bet they sold sleeveless Easter dresses in Alaska too. Anyway, being the good mother that I am, I made them go outside to take pictures in their dresses. Our conversation went something like this:

"I'm getting all wet. It's cold. Please, can't we go inside?"

"Just smile quickly and pretend you're happy. Stop shivering and hold still."

I was amazed at how many people were in church. Easter and Christmas tend to bring people to church. I'm glad they come for these two holidays, but I think it is unfortunate they don't come every Sunday. I love the message of Easter and I'm so grateful for a Savior who came to earth to suffer for us and die for us. I know that because of His resurrection, He made it possible for all of us to be resurrected and return to His presence. I love Easter; however, I want Jesus to be a part of my daily life not just somebody I think about twice a year.

After church, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at a friend's house. There were six children (all adopted), three dogs, and three adults (all of us single parents). The adults were outnumbered, but the kids behaved themselves for the most part and had a lot of fun playing together while the adults chatted. It was fun to have an adult conversation while my kids were being entertained by something other than the TV.

We had another Easter egg hunt in my friend's front yard. My kids have had three Easter egg hunts this year. I didn't include the pictures of last weekend's FCC Easter egg hunt because I posted them earlier, but I did include a picture of the girls with the Easter Bunny at the FCC event.

Here is a little video of our Easter happenings set to some really old Easter music: