Easter is a big deal for us.
Jesus' death and resurrection mean that we are forgiven and we can be right with God, and I feel like that deserves to be celebrated! For the past several years, we have celebrated by hosting an Easter brunch for Chris' and my families. I love doing all of the Easter stuff: cute coordinated outfits for the family, fun Easter baskets full of goodies, delicious food for our brunch, and lovely place settings and decorations.
We were planning to do all of that again this year, when I came to my senses.
This year, it's just too much.
This year, I can't take all of the prep work and stress. So we cancelled Easter. Instead, we went with my mom to her church, which used to be our church right after we graduated from college and moved back here. It was a wonderful homecoming of sorts, and we loved seeing all of our dear friends. Even better was that my sister Emily and her boys came, too!
Then we all headed to the Garden for brunch and sunshine and flowers.
Then home for late naps, an attempt at eating dinner, and over to our neighbors' house for an Easter egg hunt and dessert.
It was supposed to be a really low-key day, but somehow it ended up being packed so full that the kids still haven't even gotten their Easter baskets!
I was up until midnight last night, but I managed to finish the kids' Easter outfits. Chris, Caleb, and Eli all had matching bow ties, and Eli and Caleb had matching vests. Eli also had some little seersucker shoes that you can barely see in this picture. We girls all had matching flowers for our hair. The kids were so excited about their new outfits; I even heard Daisy declare that she looked like "an Easter princess".
Not the best picture (you can see that Lily was wielding the camera remote), but it's our whole family together. You can even see the girls' matching pink jellies!
Chris took this picture of all of the cousins together at the Garden. I have no idea what's wrong with Ryan's face; I think he was just being an uncooperative teenager and making goofy faces.
We enjoyed brunch in the sunshine, and the weather was just perfect!
Jace rocked his sunglasses.
And Caleb felt pretty handsome in his Easter garb.
Lily's favorite game was "balancing" on this "really high" ledge. She seemed to think it was pretty daring and risky, which was cute.
Daisy loved running on the paths through the flowers.
And Lily just loved the flowers. She dragged Grandma everywhere, stopping to point out the flowers and smell as many of them as possible. At one point, she stooped down and grabbed an armful of daffodils. I'm pretty sure she was trying to hug them.
Chris and Daisy smelled the hyacinth,
And Lily followed suit.
Three of my goofy bears. I couldn't get them to sit still long enough to put Eli in this picture, too.
Yes, I am lumpy and have bags under my eyes.
Yes, Chris is distracted because he is attempting to restrain Lily.
Yes, Caleb is brandishing a stick in front of his face, like a weapon.
Yes, Lily is screaming and trying to run away.
But this is a pretty fair illustration of what our family is like most days!
After (much too short) naps and (barely eaten) dinner, we headed across the street. The kids were thrilled to have one more Easter egg hunt.
Today, Daisy didn't complain about having to pick up the eggs. Today, she ran off and gleefully gathered as many as she could!
Lily is getting the hang of this egg-gathering!
Plus, she had her good friend Mary to help her.
Lily always has this look when Mary holds her, and to the untrained eye it would look like she is not enjoying the contact. But really, Lily seeks Mary out at every opportunity and eagerly climbs into her arms. It's really sweet.
Mary's niece is our friend Jen, and we so enjoy watching Jen's kids and our kids grow up together. The latest news is that Dan and Jen are keeping up with us, and expecting their fourth child in October!
Here's a funny picture of Lily and Andrew at Easter last year:
And this year:
Isn't it funny the difference a year makes!
And just for kicks, here are some old Easter posts:
2011 (a very quiet Easter, since Daisy was due right around then)
What a fun walk down Memory Lane! And now, I should go to bed. Chris is giving me the day "off work" tomorrow; he's taking a vacation day and handling all childcare duties so that I can have a day to rest and de-stress. What a good husband I have!
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