Easter 2011

This Easter was probably one of our best ever, thanks to the ideas we copied from other families.  It worked out to be a great balance of the fun traditions of Easter and the true meaning of Easter.

I'm serious when I give credit to other mothers who have shared their ideas.  They are fantastic and fun ideas and the two that we tried this year worked well for our family.  So now we have even more great traditions to pass down to our kids!

We dyed eggs and participated in Easter Egg Hunts during the week and several on Saturday.  The best one had to be where Mr & Mrs. showed up!

We worked hard all Saturday to prepare our home and food for our Easter Day.  I did not want Sunday to be stressful, so we worked our tails off making rolls, preparing food, decorating our home with flowers from our yard, wheat grass that a sweet neighbor grew for us and $3.50 worth of items from the store.  The rest we scrounged together.  The effort was worth it.  On Easter Morning we woke up to this:

Easter Morning Breakfast Rolls were a must.  And a hit.  Then off to church.

Back home for dinner with some of our Grandparents.  It would not have been as successful had they not been there.  After dinner we had an Easter Scavenger Hunt - this was one of the ideas someone else shared on their blog.  It was the best.  It was not centered on candy, but on Christ's life.  Spencer and I made up most of it, trying to open our children's understanding to some of what Christ experienced that last week of his life.

It was neat to see them run around the house, trying to figure out what the clues meant.  This is something that we'll definitely do again.  At the end of this post I'll share our scavenger hunt to give you an idea of what you may want to do with your family.  I don't know that the information we told our kids is totally accurate, but we tried!

As soon as we finished the scavenger hunt we headed for the kitchen for  dessert and this is the part that was the neatest for me.  Unbeknowst to me, Spencer had asked all the grandparents to share their favorite stories of Christ while we ate dessert.

The room was quiet as they spoke and I remember Hayden jumping in to interrupt one grandmother as she shared her favorite story.  He said "I know that one!" and then he proceeded to tell us what happened (when the woman who had so much faith was healed when she touched Christ's garment).  I was surprised by this because I did not know if he was really listening.

I also remember the feelings as my mom shared an experience that she had with two of my sisters when they flew down and picked her up after her 1 1/2 year mission to India.  They were in a shopping area of some kind when one of my sisters noticed a group of "untouchable" children.  I know I don't have all the facts that started this experience, but one of my sisters noticed them.  They were sharing a small cup of rice, perhaps 1/2 cup or maybe 2/3 of a cup of cooked rice, shared between about eight children.  They were poorly dressed, but patiently sat waiting until it was their turn to eat.  This sister then noticed one of the little boys was dressed in only a long shirt (no shorts).  He had nothing on underneath.  She quickly went in to a local store and she and my other sister purchased clothing for these children.  There were more details here that are touching to the soul, but I am missing them.  I just know that each time my sisters or mom talk about this experience, they get choked up with emotion.  These children were almost starving, yet no one would help them because they were an "untouchable," and in the cast society of India, "untouchable" litterally means that.

Afterwards a wealthy Indian man came up to my sisters and brother-in-law and asked why they had done what they did.  He then went on to thank them for helping those children.  He told them that he learned to serve by watching them and he told them that he would do more in the future for the "untouchables."

The feeling in the room was very special and later when I asked Sydney what parts of Easter were her favorite, she told me it was when all the grandparents shared their favorite stories.

I'm grateful to those who share their great ideas with me.  It made a difference to our family this Easter.