He is Risen!

 we were in town for easter, just us, so it was pretty laid back and simple. 

(we haven't been in texas for easter the past 3 years so that's kinda sad) 

but we had a wonderful day.

ivy woke us up when she walked into our room with her easter dress half pulled over her head, a sponge in her hand and a jelly bean in her mouth. 

"mom! eli got a sponge in his easter basket!"

"really? cool, sweetie. go put it back reeeallll quietly and i'll be there in just a minute."

(e loves to clean). 

i thought it was sweet she was so excited for him :)

not so sweet that she raided both baskets before the crack of dawn.

we made our favorite muffins with sprinkles 

opened baskets 

got dressed for church. 

(ivy couldn't have been more excited to wear her dress and flower headband. 

she is literally crazy about dresses.) 

celebrated easter and our risen Lord.

 home for naps and baking.

glazed sugar cookies and coconut pie. 

our super sweet neighbors invited us over for an early dinner. 

grilled lamb chops, mashed potatoes, asparagus, 

salad and homemade bread. so good. 

we sat outside and it was just so nice. 

her older kids hid eggs for mine and ivy was in.to. it. 

after she found them all, she re-hid them and hunted again by herself. 

eli found some too and ate probably 7 chocolate eggs. 

i do not know where he kept finding them. 

they have a few chickens, so when she first invited us over for dinner and an egg hunt, 

i thought they were going to hide chicken eggs..and i was kind of worried my kids would be disappointed and i would get embarrassed and aren't those really fragile?...but..it was just the plastic ones :)

she even had this big prize bag and everything. 

so, so sweet.

and that was nice and all, but the glory of Easter is really something entirely different.

i am so thankful for Jesus and the cross.

He is Risen!

By His wounds you have been healed. 

hope y'all had a happy easter!

happy easter!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to His great mercy, 

He has caused us to be born again to a living hope

 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading..."

1 Peter 1:3

easter garden party

we hosted a few friends for the easter holiday in our little garden behind our flat.

it was fun getting everything ready - really just a bunch of flowers, chocolate bars for place cards, some pretty napkins and a lot of desserts!

huge thanks to kevin for the yard work and lugging up the tables!

as is our favorite custom, we all contributed to the dinner

and it was delicious.

a very beautiful day.

no one could find plastic eggs (trust us, we tried) but jess came to the rescue and filled little bags with the goodies. we couldn't find easter baskets either so it was total improv all around.

just before bed, i remembered ivy's easter basket that i hid away in the closet. it was impossible to find regular baskets anywhere, so things had to get a little creative. it was tiny but i think she still loved it. favorite thing: the stickers! i knew it.

hope you all had a wonderful easter!

matthew 28:6

Easter

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell;
the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church
the communion of saints
the forgiveness of sins
the resurrection of the body
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

*************

With Kevin away in India, Ivy and I celebrated her first Easter with family in Beaumont. Ham, cheese potatoes, beautiful music, chocolate bunnies, mod podged eggs, peach cobbler and sunshine were enjoyed by all. It was a blessed occassion. Hopefully next year, we will get to teach Ivy the significance of this holiday. For now, she's pretty happy with the straw.