easter 2015

Another wonderful Easter season is in the books.  This year we decorated eggs like we normally do, and we also did a resurrection garden for the first time.  The kids loved this (don't be fooled by their faces in the pictures - they just don't like posing for pictures these days!), and I'm thinking it will become a yearly tradition for us.  I was afraid the grass wouldn't grow on it since I don't exactly have a green thumb, but the grass actually grew so well that we had to cut it because it was taller than the crosses!  We loved looking every morning to see how much it had grown overnight.

We kept the garden in the center of the kitchen table, and it sparked some great conversations during meal times.  I just love seeing little glimpses into the hearts of these kiddos and being there with them as they are learning, and processing, and growing.  Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm teaching them well - the enemy sure has a way of filling my heart with self-doubt.  But God is so faithful, and the kids will say things that let us know that they really are getting it.  Their childlike faith is such a beautiful and precious gift.  I really do treasure these moments with them.

easter 2014

Easter has become one of my favorite holidays, especially now that we have kids.  We have settled on a few traditions that we are enjoying and that help to make the season more meaningful for us.  We painted eggs like we do every year - the kids always really love doing this together.  We also decorated some to make a little space village using this adorable kit that I found at Target.  The kids really loved this one and we had a lot of fun with it.

We made Resurrection Cookies the night before Easter.  This was our first year making these, but we will definitely be doing this again.  It was a really great visual for the kids as we made them together and we really talked through both the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.  We also read "Benjamin's Box" and did Resurrection Eggs again this year.  The kids looked forward to this every night, and this was also such a special time for us and we had some great conversations together.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful Easter Day.  The weather was gorgeous - perfect for celebrating His Resurrection!

an easter party

{can we discuss for a moment how she has grown out of her toddler-ness overnight? look at how tall and skinny she is!  no more baby chunkiness!  it seriously hurts when i think about how quickly they are growing up on me.}

{after i snapped this picture, she said "no more cheese, mommy!"}

We have already begun our Easter festivities around here and are having lots of fun. Caleb asks every morning if it's Easter yet, and every day I tell him, "No, not yet, but soon." Then we look at his calendar and talk about how many days we have left. It's so fun to see how excited he is, which of course gets Makayla excited as well because she has to do whatever big brother is doing!

Last weekend we went to an Easter party at a nearby park. It is hosted every year by an incredible organization that our family has become incredibly grateful for. (You can see pictures from the party last year here.) We had so much fun and could not have asked for a more beautiful day! It certainly felt like spring that day, as opposed to today where I think we hit a high of 39 degrees. 

We are home this week enjoying Caleb's two-week Spring Break from school.  We have been doing lots of coloring and crafting, playing dress-up, building tunnels, and potty-training Miss Lady.  Fun times!

belated easter

how about a really, really, really late easter recap full of lots of pictures and few words?

the weekend before we went to a really fun easter party. there were so many different things to do and the kiddos really had a great time.

and then on easter sunday, we celebrated at my parent's house after church that morning with lots of food (because nothing says 'it's a holiday' like stuffing yourself full of yummy food), and an easter egg hunt.