Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Happy Easter - 2014

It was such a beautiful Easter this year...so happy Spring finally decided to arrive!
The sunrise was amazing...Jesus has risen!

I worry every year on Easter how I will ever get up, have the family ready, and out the door in time for church...but every year...we make it!  And even with just a few extra moments to snap a couple pics of the kids in their Easter finery...and to clean spit up off the front of my dress!


But, there's always the fun and chaos of finding the hidden eggs and baskets filled with treats left by the Easter Bunny before the sun comes up!
There's never an egg too high or too low...
Abby found one in her highchair!

After all the eggs are collected, the kids can't wait to see what's inside!  Even after church, and days later...there are still some eggs to be found!  This year, I had to limit Alex and Emily to finding five eggs at a time, in order to give Elizabeth a chance too!

Emily and Elizabeth went to the front of the 'tomb' during service to see that Jesus was gone...and he had risen!
After church, the {big} kids hid the eggs for the preschoolers and then helped look for them in the courtyard.  It was so sweet to watch Emily help Elizabeth find eggs...even though Elizabeth was pretty quick to fill her sack on her own!

I love our church...inside and out!  We have grown here since Alex and Emily were babies and have had many church family members pray and watch over us through the years!  I also love the big doors and fencing along the entrance...and our Easter wouldn't be complete without our traditional family pictures on the steps!  {The kids love it...or not!}

{Abby's first Easter!  She is such a good baby...she sat quietly all through the service and 'danced' during the hymns!  She looked so cute in the same dress Emily wore as a baby!}

It was a beautiful day!  We've eaten too much candy and chocolate, enjoyed the sunshine, rested...and cherished another Easter together with family!

{And just as the afternoon was starting to wind down...when all the eggs seemed to have been found...there was still one to be found...the Jackpot egg!  And Alex decided to comb over the living room one more time...to his favor...}

We were able to get together at Grandma and Grandpa's house with cousins too enjoying great food and company!  It had been such a long time since we've been able to sit out on the deck and watch the kids run and play!  It used to be a Sunday tradition...but the kids had to go and grow up and get busy...so we enjoy it any chance we can!
cousins
{twins} - Aunt Janet and Elizabeth

Daddy and Abby
Playing tag - "You're it!"
Kendall and Abby
Shelbie, Janet, mommy and Elizabeth
It was a special day with family and we look forward to the next time!

And, of course...we colored eggs for the Easter Bunny, and for ourselves!  Always a fun...and messy tradition!  And this year we made Resurrection rolls!  They were so good...and fun to make!

Happy Easter!  

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Easter Traditions

I know Easter was like yesterday...yet it was really two weeks ago already! 
The decorations have been taken down...the colored eggs have been eaten...and the Easter baskets filled with candy-filled plastic eggs have been put away, and candy mostly consumed! 

Every year, the kids look forward to our annual traditions such as coloring eggs, waking up to find their baskets filled with treats, searching for eggs hidden around the house, heading to church, and returning home to hopefully find any hidden eggs that were overlooked from the early morning hunt!  This year was no different...

coloring eggs is so captivating!
having fun!
...concentrating...
Mr. Mustachio!
the finished pretties...Ellie had a fun time decorating her own eggs this year too!
 
Easter morning is almost as exciting as Christmas morning!  The kids get so excited to find their baskets in the morning and are ready for the hunt!
a little help from Daddy
All the kids had Skittles as a special treat in their baskets...Elizabeth never put hers down while finding eggs!  They are her favorite treat!
"I found one!"
...searching high and low...
happy with their loot!
Emily counting her find
the kids were so busy looking for eggs...they hardly even noticed the leftovers from the Easter Bunny!
Alex found the Bunny tail stuck in the front door...he must've been in a hurry!
...he also found the Jackpot egg...
...what a great find! 
{he has recently used some of this money for new earphones for his iPod he's been wanting for awhile...}
 
After the crazy, mad dash to find eggs...we somehow always find time to be ready for church on time...with even a few spare minutes for pictures!
Emily had a dressed picked out from American Girl that she got for her birthday...and it made me smile that when we happened to see an almost identical dress Elizabeth's size from Old Navy, she insisted we get it so she and Ellie could match!  So sweet!
sw{eE}t sisters
Daddy's girls
Mommy and her {3} girls
ready for church!
 
We even started a new tradition this year...we made our first ham to enjoy for Easter lunch...
...and we were so thankful we could share our meal with Great-Grandma Martha, Grandma and Grandpa!
Ellie and Grandma
Alex and Emily enjoying their Easter treats before lunch
Ellie loved sitting with Grandma Martha!
time to eat! 
mac 'n {Cheese!}
 
It was another memorable Easter holiday full of favorite traditions...and a special year to begin new ones!
 
...getting a family picture on the church steps has been a tradition we've been able to keep for the last few years as well...and we can't wait to add one more precious girl to the steps next year!