Easter 2006.
Apr. 16th, 2006 11:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
navygreenI hope that everyone had a lovely Easter Sunday, whether you celebrate or share the holiday. We had a relaxing and nice Easter ourselves - another great memory for '06.
The "Easter Bunny" prepared baskets for the boys last night just before
Philip and I went to bed. Unlike last year, we filled the baskets with pretty much just candy this year (I was so good last year - what happened?!). We'd anticipated the boys waking up before us, so we'd hidden the baskets until later in the morning, along with all the filled eggs for hiding in the yard later on. I got up and showered, and then I woke Philip up. He showered and dressed himself and the boys while I finished getting ready for church. He and I also prepared a turkey breast and put that in the oven to roast while we were gone.
The boys were excited to find the goodies in their Easter baskets when we brought them out. I took some pictures, and then we loaded up in the car to get to church about twenty minutes before our usual time. I'm so glad we did, as the church was packed (the attendance estimate for our seven Easter Sunday services was right at 2000 people). There were crosses outside the front entrance, made from Christmas trees and covered with chicken wire, and we were supposed to bring a flower to tuck into the wire (decorating a symbol of both Jesus's birth and death with new life), and the boys added their flowers to one cross while Philip parked the car (the sky was so dark and the air so wet that he'd let us out in the drive-through loop). The boys and I went inside, and I caught the most adorable picture of Jack watching through the window in the Narthex, straining to find Daddy in the parking lot.
Again, I was so glad we'd arrived early. Even still, we found our four seats nearer to the back than we usually sit. There was no Sunday School today, so entire families were in the services together. Jack was boisterous, of course, but there were so many other children that it didn't really make a difference. He must've been told by Pastor David in the preschool chapel sessions how to respond, for every time the pastor said, "He is risen," Jack would answer, "He is risen, indeed!" And that was before the pastors asked the congregation to participate in that manner! Pastor David gave a children's message, and the boys went up to the stage quickly but ended up being the last ones to finally get seated (they kept walking around, looking for the best spots). When Pastor David was saying how long his grass had gotten, Jack piped in with, "You should pick it up and put it back to make it small again." The congregation laughed, and Philip and I exchanged knowing smiles.
Later in the service, while Pastor Glenn was giving the Easter message, Jack chose to speak up again. The congregation was very still, very quiet when Pastor Glenn said, "Do you have stones that you need help in rolling away?" And Jack shouted out, "No!" The congregation laughed for a while over that one, and I'm sure I blushed! I imagine Jack's telling the absolute truth, though - he's too young to have any real burdens in his life! :-) During communion, Pastor David blessed both A.J. and Jack, but after I took the bread and grape juice (I always skip the wine and opt for juice), Jack tried to go back to him, saying, "But I didn't get one." I explained to him that he wasn't old enough for communion yet,and he was fine with that. He loved singing "Create in Me," and he kept singing it even after we switched to a new song - silly kid. It's fun having him in church every once in a while, but I'm so thankful that he's usually in Sunday School, as I think his rowdier antics wouldn't be so amusing on a regular basis. ;-)
After church, we came home to the enticing aroma of perfectly roasted turkey. It looked like it could rain at any minute, so Philip headed out to hide eggs while I finished preparing our Sunday lunch. We had roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green peas and corn-on-the-cob. A.J. asked for sweet potatoes, but I'm a horrible mom and forgot to buy them at the store. :-( Heather joined us for lunch as well, having come over to share in the egg hunt festivities (she also brought large bags of goodies for the boys). The boys cleared the plates, and I did the dishes before we all headed outside for the hunt.
We've always done a very large egg hunt and Easter party, and this year I just didn't feel like all the preparation. I think some of it was unexplained laziness on my part, and the rest of it had to do with just wanting a nice, quiet hunt with just our family (which, of course, includes Heather). After all, Philip wasn't here for Easter last year, and it was nice just having him back for this holiday. The egg hunt was slow and relaxed, and throughout the 20-30 minutes or so, I just kept thinking how nice it was to be so low-key for once. The boys hunted alone for a few eggs, then they would pair up for a little bit, and then they'd hunt alone again. The grass was very long, and it hid the eggs very well (lawn mission accomplished!). There was one particular egg - a green one hidden in the our bedroom windowsill - that seemed so obvious to we adults, but the boys walked past it countless times. It got to the point where we were flabbergasted that they kept missing it, especially when they would walk within a foot of it. It was so funny! Heather even poised for a picture right in front of it, ready to capture the moment when one of them found it, and they STILL kept walking by it! Finally, Jack and A.J. spotted it at about the same time, but Jack walked away with it, and we all laughed. Later on, I learned that Philip actually captured video of the last bit just before the boys found that egg - neat!
The boys filled their Large Berry baskets many times, and Philip brought out the Large Boardwalk for them to empty into before heading out to hunt for more eggs. I think we hid 122 eggs altogether, but I might be off by one or two. As it was, when it was all said and done, all of the Easter candy from the hunts they've been to this year (four for Jack, three for A.J.) fills to overflowing a Medium Market basket - that's a LOT of candy! Heather sported her Easter Bunny ears for the day, and she took several pictures as well. It never did end up raining, but it stayed very gray and overcast all day, and there was also a slight greenish-yellow tinge to the outdoor light. 'Tis the season, I suppose...
We had pineapple, peaches and Easter candy for dessert later on. What could be better? And though our yard was lush and green and beautiful - not a single weed anywhere in sight in our grass (and yes, we do treat it every year) - it was quite long and shaggy, and Philip had planned all week to mow it as soon as the Easter egg hunt was finished. He did that this evening, and it looks fabulous now, as it always does after the very first mow of the year. We all played outside for a few hours while he was doing that, and the boys had a friend over as well. Since it never did rain, it ended up being a pretty perfect day. :-)
Boys discover goodies in their Easter baskets.
Jack opens a carrot to find candy inside.
A.J. - our very own Easter bunny!
(I swear - those top two front teeth are killing me! I miss his perfect little baby teeth!)
Jack - silly as always.
Jack puts his flower on the cross.
Jack watches for Daddy through the windows in the Narthex.
(Or a color version, if you prefer.)
Family picture at church.
A.J.'s basket spills a few eggs.
A.J. runs off after an egg.
(Heather says it looks like A.J. is just about to burst into song here: "The hills are aliiiiiiiiive, with the sound of muuuuuuuusiiiiiic!")
Boys look for eggs near the edge of the yard.
Easter Bunny Heather looks on.
Jack spots an egg!
The boys race to a new egg.
Jack reaches high for an egg.
Jack finds a blue egg.
Jack walks with his basketful of eggs.
(He's walking just on the 'line' that separates our yard from the neighbors - it's amazing how their yard is covered in weeds!)
Sharing eggs with each other.
(Jack found an egg with his name on it [leftover from preschool last year], and he decided to give it to A.J. instead. A.J. was all smiles for this reason.)
Family picture at home.
Me and E.B. (Easter Bunny).
(Look! I have no eyes!)
Video Clip: The Elusive Easter Egg (there's no sound - Philip was manning our old digital camera, while I had the new one)
The "Easter Bunny" prepared baskets for the boys last night just before
Philip and I went to bed. Unlike last year, we filled the baskets with pretty much just candy this year (I was so good last year - what happened?!). We'd anticipated the boys waking up before us, so we'd hidden the baskets until later in the morning, along with all the filled eggs for hiding in the yard later on. I got up and showered, and then I woke Philip up. He showered and dressed himself and the boys while I finished getting ready for church. He and I also prepared a turkey breast and put that in the oven to roast while we were gone.The boys were excited to find the goodies in their Easter baskets when we brought them out. I took some pictures, and then we loaded up in the car to get to church about twenty minutes before our usual time. I'm so glad we did, as the church was packed (the attendance estimate for our seven Easter Sunday services was right at 2000 people). There were crosses outside the front entrance, made from Christmas trees and covered with chicken wire, and we were supposed to bring a flower to tuck into the wire (decorating a symbol of both Jesus's birth and death with new life), and the boys added their flowers to one cross while Philip parked the car (the sky was so dark and the air so wet that he'd let us out in the drive-through loop). The boys and I went inside, and I caught the most adorable picture of Jack watching through the window in the Narthex, straining to find Daddy in the parking lot.
Again, I was so glad we'd arrived early. Even still, we found our four seats nearer to the back than we usually sit. There was no Sunday School today, so entire families were in the services together. Jack was boisterous, of course, but there were so many other children that it didn't really make a difference. He must've been told by Pastor David in the preschool chapel sessions how to respond, for every time the pastor said, "He is risen," Jack would answer, "He is risen, indeed!" And that was before the pastors asked the congregation to participate in that manner! Pastor David gave a children's message, and the boys went up to the stage quickly but ended up being the last ones to finally get seated (they kept walking around, looking for the best spots). When Pastor David was saying how long his grass had gotten, Jack piped in with, "You should pick it up and put it back to make it small again." The congregation laughed, and Philip and I exchanged knowing smiles.
Later in the service, while Pastor Glenn was giving the Easter message, Jack chose to speak up again. The congregation was very still, very quiet when Pastor Glenn said, "Do you have stones that you need help in rolling away?" And Jack shouted out, "No!" The congregation laughed for a while over that one, and I'm sure I blushed! I imagine Jack's telling the absolute truth, though - he's too young to have any real burdens in his life! :-) During communion, Pastor David blessed both A.J. and Jack, but after I took the bread and grape juice (I always skip the wine and opt for juice), Jack tried to go back to him, saying, "But I didn't get one." I explained to him that he wasn't old enough for communion yet,and he was fine with that. He loved singing "Create in Me," and he kept singing it even after we switched to a new song - silly kid. It's fun having him in church every once in a while, but I'm so thankful that he's usually in Sunday School, as I think his rowdier antics wouldn't be so amusing on a regular basis. ;-)
After church, we came home to the enticing aroma of perfectly roasted turkey. It looked like it could rain at any minute, so Philip headed out to hide eggs while I finished preparing our Sunday lunch. We had roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green peas and corn-on-the-cob. A.J. asked for sweet potatoes, but I'm a horrible mom and forgot to buy them at the store. :-(
Heather joined us for lunch as well, having come over to share in the egg hunt festivities (she also brought large bags of goodies for the boys). The boys cleared the plates, and I did the dishes before we all headed outside for the hunt.We've always done a very large egg hunt and Easter party, and this year I just didn't feel like all the preparation. I think some of it was unexplained laziness on my part, and the rest of it had to do with just wanting a nice, quiet hunt with just our family (which, of course, includes Heather). After all, Philip wasn't here for Easter last year, and it was nice just having him back for this holiday. The egg hunt was slow and relaxed, and throughout the 20-30 minutes or so, I just kept thinking how nice it was to be so low-key for once. The boys hunted alone for a few eggs, then they would pair up for a little bit, and then they'd hunt alone again. The grass was very long, and it hid the eggs very well (lawn mission accomplished!). There was one particular egg - a green one hidden in the our bedroom windowsill - that seemed so obvious to we adults, but the boys walked past it countless times. It got to the point where we were flabbergasted that they kept missing it, especially when they would walk within a foot of it. It was so funny! Heather even poised for a picture right in front of it, ready to capture the moment when one of them found it, and they STILL kept walking by it! Finally, Jack and A.J. spotted it at about the same time, but Jack walked away with it, and we all laughed. Later on, I learned that Philip actually captured video of the last bit just before the boys found that egg - neat!
The boys filled their Large Berry baskets many times, and Philip brought out the Large Boardwalk for them to empty into before heading out to hunt for more eggs. I think we hid 122 eggs altogether, but I might be off by one or two. As it was, when it was all said and done, all of the Easter candy from the hunts they've been to this year (four for Jack, three for A.J.) fills to overflowing a Medium Market basket - that's a LOT of candy! Heather sported her Easter Bunny ears for the day, and she took several pictures as well. It never did end up raining, but it stayed very gray and overcast all day, and there was also a slight greenish-yellow tinge to the outdoor light. 'Tis the season, I suppose...
We had pineapple, peaches and Easter candy for dessert later on. What could be better? And though our yard was lush and green and beautiful - not a single weed anywhere in sight in our grass (and yes, we do treat it every year) - it was quite long and shaggy, and Philip had planned all week to mow it as soon as the Easter egg hunt was finished. He did that this evening, and it looks fabulous now, as it always does after the very first mow of the year. We all played outside for a few hours while he was doing that, and the boys had a friend over as well. Since it never did rain, it ended up being a pretty perfect day. :-)
Boys discover goodies in their Easter baskets.
Jack opens a carrot to find candy inside.
A.J. - our very own Easter bunny!
(I swear - those top two front teeth are killing me! I miss his perfect little baby teeth!)
Jack - silly as always.
Jack puts his flower on the cross.
Jack watches for Daddy through the windows in the Narthex.
(Or a color version, if you prefer.)
Family picture at church.
A.J.'s basket spills a few eggs.
A.J. runs off after an egg.
(Heather says it looks like A.J. is just about to burst into song here: "The hills are aliiiiiiiiive, with the sound of muuuuuuuusiiiiiic!")
Boys look for eggs near the edge of the yard.
Easter Bunny Heather looks on.
Jack spots an egg!
The boys race to a new egg.
Jack reaches high for an egg.
Jack finds a blue egg.
Jack walks with his basketful of eggs.
(He's walking just on the 'line' that separates our yard from the neighbors - it's amazing how their yard is covered in weeds!)
Sharing eggs with each other.
(Jack found an egg with his name on it [leftover from preschool last year], and he decided to give it to A.J. instead. A.J. was all smiles for this reason.)
Family picture at home.
Me and E.B. (Easter Bunny).
(Look! I have no eyes!)
Video Clip: The Elusive Easter Egg (there's no sound - Philip was manning our old digital camera, while I had the new one)
