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.
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Easter Baskets! |
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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!
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Cuties after church! |
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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!
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Ready to go! (Cousin Charlotte was napping) |
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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.
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Kiddie table! |
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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. |
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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!
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Sleepy girl, heading into church. |
Happy Easter!