Happy Easter

Three little kids woke up very excited about their Easter baskets! Austin set his alarm for 6:30 but they waited until 7 am to wake us up. It felt like Christmas- the fever in the air...

They each got a bunch of eggs filled with candy, a big box of candy, and a fun toy. I have to admit we went a little light on Easter this year but they didn't seem to feel gypped at all. 

They were perfectly content with what they got, so that worked out well. After they opened up candy and toys, Jared cooked up some holiday breakfast for all of us. He really loves the whole traditional hash browns, bacon and eggs type of breakfast. So on holidays and special occasions you can usually find him in the kitchen cooking.

After breakfast and candy-eating, we colored eggs. It was a great activity to keep them busy since we were waiting for our church's semi-annual conference to begin on TV at 10 am. I have to say, I did miss having a church service to attend on Easter Sunday, but watching conference is always a great spiritual lift and always makes me feel charged up and fortified for the next 6 months. 

 The kids loved choosing the colors for their eggs and adding stickers and other decorations. 

After the first session of conference, my sister Lori came over and joined us for dinner.

We had roast with carrots, peas, potatoes, salad, and rolls. It was pretty tasty! Again, Jared did a great job cooking. I had an easy day off- all I did was set out the rolls to rise and make the salad. I could get used to this!

For dessert we ate some delicious and beautifully decorated cookies by Lori. (Seriously- look at this picture. Isn't that pink basket cookie amazing?!) She makes the best sugar cookies with a hint of almond and the frosting is to DIE FOR! I ask her for the recipe and she always does that thing - you know how some people do- they make it sound all easy and tell you they "don't really use a recipe" etc etc. I hate that! I want it written down exactly... down to the 1/8 of a teaspoon! All I know is it has lots of butter!

Anyway, it turned out to be a nice, relaxed day together. We usually have a big dinner with all my siblings, parents, etc. but since some were out of town and some had out-of-town guests, we opted to do it next weekend. The kids kept asking "When are we going to do the egg hunt with our cousins?" and "When are we going to Nana and Papa's house?" It made me feel good that they love these traditions and want to be a part of them.

It was a good opportunity to remind our children why we celebrate Easter. We talked about the symbolism of the tomb and opening easter eggs... how Spring brings rebirth... and how all of us can be resurrected like Jesus. Ashley often asks why Jesus hung on the cross and why did the bad people do that to Him? It's so sweet to see how her young mind is trying to understand these principles. I try to explain that Jesus had to do that so that we could live with Him and our Father in Heaven again one day. I hope that she, Austin, and Olivia felt the spirit of Easter. I hope that we are teaching them more about our beliefs so that their own faith will grow. Hope you all had a nice Easter.