For God so loved the world...
Easter is such a special time for me. It isn't about the candy (although I do love me some cheap chocolate!) and it isn't about the Easter bunny and Easter egg hunts (although we did both those things and we LOVE it!) but for us, its about our Saviour and his atoning sacrifice. Just thinking about him taking upon the sins of the world, bridging the gap between me and my Father in heaven, and walking a mile in my shoes from the garden to the cross, my heart is still with emotion, gratitude and grace.
We watched a few videos with the kids about the Saviour's death and resurrection. They had heard it before and recognized many parts but still felt humbled by his act of love for all of God's children. That, is why we celebrate easter.
Taking these photos was a HUGE sacrifice for Carter. He really doesn't enjoy dressing up, button up shirts, bow ties or driving for 25 minutes to a location that I thought would be way more "green" than it was. When I asked him why he chose to cooperate after it all, he gave me a response that I wasn't really expecting. I thought he would say "Because I have to" or "because you forced me to do it and I had no choice" but instead he said "Because you asked me to do it and I love you". VERY quickly trying to pick up my melted heart on the ground in a puddle I reminded him that just like that, sometimes our Heavenly Father asks us to do things that we might find boring, useless or even annoying but we do it because we love him. He made the connection and it was a really tender moment. I love you Carter and I am so grateful you're willing to put on that button up and take an easter picture for your Mama. You're the best!
Bentley and Penny on the other hand are totally fine to dress up and snap a few, they even requested a photo on their own... how could I ever resist? They're so stinking cute!!
This adorable stud muffin lost his 3rd tooth on Thursday night and we all nearly jumped for joy when that wiggling thing finally came out!
On good Friday, we spent the afternoon and evening at my parents house for easter dinner. As per usual, Penny and her cousin Paisley were attached at the hip and so excited to see each other!
There was so many fun things planned for the kids. First crafts and colouring and then the very much anticipated easter egg hunt! They had clues and little bags and my parents made me laugh when we realized every egg not only had a mini chocolate in it but also a nickel! Haha, the kids felt rich!
Next was a special Easter picture from the Grandkids to my parents. I (and my mom too!) have been cracking our eggs weird like this for over a month. Since we can't bake with eggs because of Carter's allergies, we have been making so many scrambeled eggs for us and Penny just to save the egg shells. And let me tell you, it was worth it! First we filled them each up with paint...
Then, each grandkid got the chance to through a few eggs at the blank white canvas. Eventually, it turned into a little easter masterpiece.
Dinner was delish, as per usual and the company is always my favourite part. Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting such a beautiful and fun easter dinner. We truly appreciate and love it so much.
Leading up to Easter Sunday has been fun. So many crafts have been brought home, like this adorable one Penny made...
Oh man, so cute! I worked hard on a Easter jeopardy game for my Youth Class and it was great because Brian also got to use it the following week for his youth class! I got the game from a free printable online and then put it all together with these adorable handouts for all the kids in our sunday classes.
Sunday morning was an exciting one! Of course, the easter bunny came and left them a little surprise on the table.
And instead of our typical easter egg hunt, I put together an Easter scavenger hunt for the kids on Sunday morning. Watching them was SO fun! They LOVED it. They worked as a team and went from clue to clue! It was my favourite egg hunt yet!
And it eventually lead them to the garage to find their Easter surprise from Brian and I.
They were pretty happy! At each new clue they each found one new egg..we filled each egg with a candy egg yoke (mostly because I thought it was pretty clever and funny ha!)
And just before we headed out the door to church... Bentley got out his second top, super wiggly, tooth! We were extra relieved because on Monday they all had dentist appointments and Bentley was scheduled to have the top two teeth pulled because of Cavities. Thank goodness they came out on their own, just in the nick of time too!
Church was beautiful, the kids sang with their primary and it was just the right feel of reverence and cuteness overload. It was perfect. After church, we headed over to Brian's parents house for their Easter dinner and again, we were spoiled with fun activities for the kids.
Mom and Dad Reed talked about the resurrection and how when they put Jesus in the tomb they wrapped his body in white linens. She then brought each grandkid to the kitchen and the kids took one marshmallow (representing the saviour wrapped in the white linen) and had them roll it in the melted butter and then in the cinnamon sugar (representing the oil and herbs they used) and then the kids placed it inside of dough to form a bun (representing the tomb).
After it was cooked, the tomb was empty. There was a big space in the bun where the marshmallow was. I really wish I got a picture of it but I was busy visiting. It was a great object lesson for the kids and they were all shocked that the marshmallow (or Saviour) was gone. Mom Reed then explained the resurrection. It was super cute.
The kids also got to do an Easter Egg Hunt in their back yard too. So many egg hunts this year! They each had their own colour of egg and each had to find 8 small eggs and one big egg. So many smiles!
We finished off easter by eating way too much (how can you stop when its so incredibly delicious!?) and visiting with the family. It was nice to have Great Grandma Hawryluk there and so nice to be able to visit with all our siblings. Thank you Mom and Dad Reed for all your effort and time put into this special easter dinner, it was wonderful and we truly appreciate it! What an amazing easter weekend we have had. We really are so lucky.