The joy of Easter

If you can stereotype Resurrection Sunday - this one fit the bill. After a weekend of drizzly gloom, the sun broke open, blue skies shone through, there was a warm breeze, and you could almost feel creation take a big breath and say, "He has risen, He has risen indeed!"

Jared and I spent Easter with my parents this year, and our "other family" the Squires! We devoured the traditional ham (with Jared's mom's CLASSIC ham sauce. I'm so spoiled I can't eat ham without it, now), and all the fixings of my childhood. Growing up, every single Easter was spent at Gram's. The memories are still sharp in my  head, and I hope they never go away. Walking to the Lutheran church, singing the same hymns every year, and still singing them in my head around Easter time, today. (Christ Arose, Low in the Grave He Lay, Christ the Lord is Risen Today....) Deviled eggs, Gram's dinner rolls, hammies for supper, and her old plates with the brown and yellow flowers. To me, that's Easter. But... it's been a few years now, and though that will always "be Easter" to me, these new traditions bring joy too.

For example... we got to relieve our childhood by going on a scavenger hunt! And we're not talking any old hunt. This was the real deal. Riddles, clues frozen in ice, intense games of ping pong to "win" a clue, (which, we later found out was just taped under the table if we had looked a little bit harder). Apparantly we weren't too good at decoding that one! We finally found our basket outside! Not to mention the 50+ reece's eggs that were hidden around the house. (And in classic "my mom" fashion, she had written EVERY location down for her own peace of mind.)The rest day was filled with simple, relaxing conversations...

More reliving of our childhood....

And then there's my husband. Who wondered if he could push on a hard boiled egg and it would crack. Of COURSE it couldn't crack like a regular egg! It's solid! This research project was quickly followed with "Hoooneeeeyyy!!!" You can guess how poor humpty turned out.

But, nonetheless, Alison and I powered through with 11 eggs, determined to fight the urge of taking them out early and to wait. It was hard. I now understand why, when I was little, my eggs were spotted, blotchy, and rather un-appealing. (To the adult eye, that is. Obviously they were the prettiest things I had ever seen.) We did it!

I'm a fan of the classic, bright colors. Because in my mind, I figure, why wreck a good thing? (This is a fabrication that I've knowingly made myself believe. As much as I have this insane desire to make the most beautiful, classy, adult looking eggs.... really... I can only imagine what I would do to them if I tried to be Martha Stewart. Al and I barely got out alive this way. We stirred them so much they were all scratched and ugly looking, so we had to redo them). There. That's the real truth. I'm really not good at this. :)

The rest of the day was filled with chocolate, more chocolate, and hey! Chocolate! No,  it's true. I went to bed with a pretty upset stomach... 

But that "sugar crash" did someting! We decided as we watched the sun go down, that we all wanted to relax and watch a movie. So we cozied up downstairs ( as true family would do) and watched "The Tourist." Notice the prime location the dog got? Yah, that didn't last long. But she was determined! Climbed over everyone just to weezle her way back on the couch. 6 on a couch + dog. Cozy.

Yes, we did the typical Easter festivities, and yes, it was fun. But I am so thankful that I know the real meaning of the day, and don't let that go unnoticed. It's a beautiful thing to keep that same joy and breath that creation had... every day. Taking a breath, and being thankful that He has Risen for ME, He has risen for ME, INDEED.

Hope you had a blessed Easter! Filled with whatever traditions bring you joy, and the thankfullness in your heart that "He is not here, He has RISEN!"