Easter 2014

We had a busy but fantastic Easter weekend! 

 I got to sing on the Worship Team for Easter and we sang a total of 8 services. We were tired but, we had such a fabulous group of talented musicians and it was so fun. It was a totally successful weekend for our church also because we had nearly 8,000 people in attendance and 117 baptisms! 

 It was an amazing weekend to be a part of. 

 I love worshipping with these sweet women of Jesus.

 

I made sure to dye some eggs one night with these silly kids.
 

And we had an egg-celent lunch one day at school.


Because of all the church singing, the easter bunny came to our house on Saturday. 

 Oh, the easter bunny. 

 I am just not a huge fan of you. 

 We have been really focusing so much this year on understanding the resurrection. Thanks to these incredible set of Resurrection Eggs.... 

  For days and days leading up to Easter we talked in detail about Christ's death, burial and resurrection.
 The kids hunted for an egg each morning and Kinley asked detailed questions that I wanted to take serious time to answer correctly. She can tell you what every single one of those little trinkets mean in relation to what Jesus did for us on the cross.

 So, I just truly cannot try to infiltrate that learning about the unseen and intangible with the easter bunny.
 I struggled this year.
 I mean, you really have no meaning at all.
 I can get into decorating with an egg because of the empty tomb and all that but, I just can't seem to be excited to celebrate you at all.
 I want the fun and the surprise in the morning, and the giving.
 But, I really cannot even bring myself to admit that you exist to my children.
 It just seems wrong.
 But alas, I let you come anyway and just breezed right past the issue of your existence as the kids ransacked through their baskets and ate tons of candy.
 

One of our favorite traditions is to find the empty egg, which represents the empty tomb, in the easter basket.
 They search through the basket and think finding that empty egg is such a prize.
 

Then we had a fun family breakfast! Thanks 99 cent store and my printer for all the Easter décor!
 I will be visiting you again for future holidays.


After Saturday night church we had Easter dinner at the Harrisons and ate this fabulous Bunny cake that Gram and Kinley made earlier in the day.

 Sunday, after church, we all met over at Aunt Jan's for our traditional easter brunch. Kinley and Ty hunted way too many eggs.
We can't wait for the babies to get bigger and hunt with us!

But we did get a few great-grandkid pics with Rilee and Taylor. My favorite thing was when Matt called in to Skype with us.
We are missing him so much while he is in Switzerland. He was so much fun to talk to because he had just come back from spending Easter weekend in the Holy Land!
 I mean, who can say they have ever done that?
He just hopped on a plane and went to Jerusalem and walked where Jesus walked on Easter weekend.
 Amazing.
 He saw the wailing wall, and where Jesus fed the 5,000, and where Jesus was born and even got baptized in the Jordan river!
 Amazing.

We were all so excited he called and just crowded around the phone to listen to him talk.
 
And we made sure he made the group picture too.
 I love Ty looking at Momma Gay holding the phone trying to see uncle Matt-Matt.
 
It was such a fun day celebrating the resurrection with family.

Happy Easter!