Easter

 Wow!  What a fun, busy and beautiful day.  We started off our Easter morning with Easter baskets full of goodies.  We had breakfast, took some obligatory smile-for-momma-please pictures, and then headed to church for a beautiful celebration of Jesus' resurrection.  We then hosted Auntie Heidi & fam, as well as our friends/neighbors.  Our friends put together a super fun egg hunt for the kids in their backyard, and some of the eggs contained Bible verses/symbols to retell the story of Easter.  I really missed my parents today, as this is the 1st Easter (EVER?!) that I have not been with them, but my heart is full as I reflect upon the people we do have nearby.  I am grateful.  Very very grateful.

Easter Baskets!

These two.

 I'm kicking myself for not getting a family picture.  I did manage to get one of 1/2 of us...not the greatest shot ever, but better than nothing!

Cuties after church!

Craft while the egg hunt was being set up!

I didn't get too many great pictures of the egg hunt.  I did have fun helping the kids find their eggs though!

Ready to go!  (Cousin Charlotte was napping)

Opening their eggs & going through the Easter story.

This was my first time hosting a holiday without the help of my mom!  Heidi brought deviled eggs and an incredible trifle for dessert.  Our neighbor brought a veggie tray and fruit.  I managed to put together the rest of the meal, sticking to some tried & true dishes but trying a couple of new ones as well.  I made ham, cheesy potatoes, green beans with almonds and a lemon/butter drizzle, salad (recipe here...though I left out the carrots & used non-toasted walnuts), and rolls.  I also experimented with a new-to-me punch which turned out yummy (recipe here).  And I made these cute nests as a treat for the kids.  As if they needed more treats. (I used the pretty pastel Cadbury mini eggs as the nest-toppers.)  I didn't manage to get any pictures of the food or of anyone during meal time, but here are a few pictures of the table set up.

Kiddie table!

The centerpiece on the kids' table is the result of an activity that we did recently.  See my sister's blog here for an explanation.

 

My great-aunt's china works splendidly for Easter, and I love having special dishes to use!

Well, I am pretty much exhausted.  Although that probably has less to do with the day's events as it does with the fact that my sweet Norah girl woke up at 3 am and didn't. go. back. to. sleep. That is, until we were on our way to church.  That's the perfect time to go to sleep, after all!

Sleepy girl, heading into church.

Happy Easter!