Easter weekend 2015

Our Easter weekend kicked off last Thursday night with the annual Seder supper at church. The Seder celebrates Passover and is a rather long meal so I debated briefly if we should bring Jake or not. Last year we brought him but he was still pretty little and tame ;) This year he's definitely louder and more opinionated, but he steadily ate his way through a cup of puffs and apple slices until the main course, when he lost it and we left early. But "early" was at 8pm, past bedtime, so the supper was a success in my book; I wasn't sure we'd even make it to the main course. Its a goal of mine to at least attempt situations like this that require patience and learning to sit still in hopes that he will rise to meet our (age-appropriate) expectations. And even though he was mostly unaware of the meal and any of the significance, its still important to me that he participate because eventually he will come to understand why we honor traditions like the Seder supper, and his experiences will encourage questions about the events surrounding Passover/Easter.

{I should mention Deric and I gave up "excess sugar" (i.e. no sodas/sweet tea, desserts, or unnecessary sugar fixes) for Lent and it was our first time participating in Lent. It was a stretching experience but so good for me and obviously we were looking forward to Easter a little more than usual since we could break the sugar fast. But on Thursday while we were at church helping to get the Seder supper ready, Deric shoved his phone under my nose and I saw he had googled "when does Lent end?" and it actually ended on Thursday. So we got to eat our sugar earlier than expected, although I briefly considered holding out until Easter regardless...but I didn't. ;) Made the whole weekend a little more exciting.}

Moving on. Friday was relatively normal as it was Deric's day off. We went to Lowe's to buy supplies for corn hole sets Deric is making for a friend and relaxed for the rest of the day. On Saturday evening, Jake got to participate in his first official egg hunt at church and I surprised myself by getting a *touch* too excited/competitive/greedy, hurriedly pointing out each egg nearby so that he'd be able to get enough. I'm not sure if I was motivated by the desire for candy (because let's be honest, he's not getting any of it!) or if I wanted to make sure Jake got to enjoy finding eggs, but I realized I needed to chill out. Thankfully I was the only greedy one in the fam; Jake enjoyed picking up the eggs and taking all the time in the world to open each one before putting them into his basket. (Let's hope his leisurely, non-competitive self sticks around for future years' hunts.) I did do better on Sunday's egg hunt and let Jake go at his own pace which let me enjoy watching him discover the contents of each egg.

On Sunday morning, I was on the ball enough to finish prepping dishes for lunch *and* get one shot of Jake (smiling, no less!) in his Easter outfit lest I forgot later. (Standing on the couch because he's not allowed to usually, and I knew it'd bring a smile when nothing else does. His little pose was the cherry on top!)

Deric sang in the Easter choir and they sounded fantastic, bringing extra energy and depth to the service. We ate lunch that afternoon with quite a few friends while Jake and a little buddy of his belly laughed as they ran around on our friends' trampoline, falling down just to stand up and immediately fall over again. Hilarious, and now I'm thinking a trampoline could serve us well...

We all napped hard (until 5:30!) that afternoon and ended a great Easter with an hour playing at our favorite park, where I snuck in a selfie while Jake perma-smiled at the train chugging by.

I always enjoy Easter Sunday traditions, but they would be empty if not for the joy that Jesus' resurrection has given me. I can't fathom the punishment I should receive for my sin and I don't want to. I'm grateful that Jesus' life did not end on that cross and that he came back for us, bringing hope and the promise of eternal life with him.