Happy Easter!

Our week has been filled with Easter fun.  For the 12 days leading up to Easter, we had a couple of count-downs going on in addition to our Easter garden.  One of the count-downs had fun activities for each day, and the other was our Resurrection Eggs, which each contained a scripture and an item related to Easter.  The girls enjoy this type of activity immensely and each wanted to be the one to open the eggs each day to discover what was inside!

One of our activities was to color eggs.  Ezri and Alora were very excited about this, and set to work quite seriously.  

Baby sister, however, had different things in mind...

Why color them when you can just eat them?...

We went to Great Grandma's on Friday this past week, to help get things ready for the celebration on Sunday.  This year, the girls got to help her color and make deviled eggs.  They really enjoyed being a part of the process.

 Ezri was very helpful and stuck with it to the end, helping to mix and fill the eggs all on her own.

Friday night, the girls joined us in the Good Friday service, and did well having to sit still for so long.  They were each able to talk about some things they heard that we had talked about at home during the weeks before Easter as well as some new things they heard.  On Saturday, we met up with our friends the Sebrights in Burnips for a family fun day in honor of Easter.  There were egg hunts for all of the kids

Tierney got to go in a different area with younger kids.  When it was time, I set her down and encouraged her to get the eggs and put them into her bucket.  When she just stood there, I showed her what to do by putting one in.  She got very upset with me, took the egg back out and threw it on the ground.  We went round and round with this, me trying to put as many in as I could while she threw every last one out.  It wasn't until she realized that there was candy inside that she finally decided to participate.  Unfortunately, by then, most of the eggs had been grabbed by the other kids and she only got a few. 

The older girls had their turn and gathered up their eggs, sharing some with a cousin who only got one.  It was a lot of chaos and was quite overwhelming!

 In addition to the egg hunt, we had lunch and the kids played in some bounce houses too.  Though the sun was out, it was still quite chilly, so we called it quits after an hour and headed for home to play the rest of the day.  We got to visit with Aunt Becky for a while in the afternoon, which the girls really enjoyed.

 Sunday morning, we were up very early to be at church by 7:30 for band practice.  While I practiced, the girls helped our pastor's wife, Miss Carrie, with some last minute cleaning and other preparations.  They really enjoy helping out at church!

Each of the girls got a matching dress for their birthdays (Tierney got hers a bit early).  They also got sweaters, hats, socks, and bracelets from Grandma.  Add to that their new shoes and they were so stinking cute!

 They were so proud to match and got many compliments on their adorable dresses.  They enjoy dressing alike, so as long as I am able and they allow it, I am going to have fun with it

 Between church services, the girls got to participate in another egg hunt with their church friends.

 Tierney knew exactly what to do this time, and held her own as she gathered up the bright little treasures all by herself.

 Ezri and Alora disappeared into the sea of children, each gathering up their own treasures too.

 After church, we headed to Great Grandma's house for a family lunch and another egg hunt with cousins!

 Finally, back at home, the girls got to check out their Easter baskets and enjoy the treasures.

We got to visit with Aunt Becky again and Opa, who came to visit and play for a few hours (Oma had just gone to China for a visit with family).

What a full week, and yet so fulfilling!  We have been reminded again how truly blessed we are and how much we have that we do not deserve.  My heart overflows with love and gratitude for the sacrifices made on my behalf by a God who loves me so much.  Happy Easter!