for love of easter

When I saw how far behind on my blog I was, I had a tiny freak-out moment.  And so I told myself that all I have to do is just one post a day (as if that will happen) and eventually, I'll catch up.  Anyone who wants to cheer me on, please do so with a comment.  I respond well to words :)

So here we go:  Day One. 

Easter is far and away my favorite holiday.  I love that it is in spring time and the world is waking up to hope.  I love the signs of new life.  I love Easter eggs, and hidden Easter baskets.  But more than anything, I love that it is a holiday to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  And I love that Easter has stayed pretty simple.  To that end, I am giving it the attention it deserves here on my blog, in spite of my tardiness in posting it.  

This Easter was my very favorite, ever.  It was all due to the fact that we were studying the life of Jesus Christ in Institute this semester.  Sister Whitesides gave us an outline for an eight-day walk with the Savior, via the scriptures and "Jesus, the Christ".  I gobbled it up!  And so did Lia and Nora.  

A few weeks before Easter, I came across something very like the pictures below on pinterest.  AND I WANTED IT.  Luckily for me, Jared, donning his green thumb, was a willing participant to make it happen. What an amazing reminder we had about the reason for our celebration.  I brought it inside the Friday before Easter, and the girls sat by it, gazing at it and running their hands and arms through the grass.  Later, I used it as the center piece for my Young Women lesson (which didn't go very well, so I hope they at least got the message that the tomb is empty, by staring at this work of art).  

This was the year I finally bit the bullet and made my very own, very safe, Easter egg dyes.  We used blueberries, turmeric, and beets.  The trouble with homemade dyes is that you can only make as many as you have available burners on your range, unless you want to go to the trouble of making them early and storing them.  So we stuck with three, and then mixed and matched them.  Bless my girls' sweet little hearts for going along with their mother and her very peculiar ways.  They didn't have any complaints, even when they had to leave the eggs in the dye for 45 minutes before carrying on.  And when all was said an done, the deviled eggs they became were delicious, and 100% free from artificial color. 

Nora drew the following three pictures to illustrate a song I like to sing at Easter time.  Maybe you know it? 

Here comes Peter Cottontail, 

hoppin' down the bunny trail.  

Hippity-hoppity, Easter's on its way.

Bringing every girl and boy

Baskets full of Easter joy,

Things to make your Easter bright and gay.

There'll be jelly beans for Tommy

Colored eggs for Sister Sue

There's an orchid for your Mommy

And an Easter bonnet, too.

Oh, here comes Peter Cottontail, 

Hoppin' down the bunny trail,

Hippity-hoppity, happy Easter day!

Nora couldn't handle not including a daddy in the song, so she added, "p.s and your daddy gets to hug you."

And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

And they remembered his words.