23.4.14

Easter

So this year I prayed for a "different" Resurrection Day experience, something more "real."  And don't even ask me what that means because I have no idea.  I just know that I spent two weeks without internet and then last Friday my cell phone died.  Yes.  Died.  I was too busy over the weekend to even think about getting it fixed.  Although I DID think about it and wondered who might be texting me about the Easter weekend festivities at church and what calls I was missing and who needed something.  I felt pretty disconnected.  But, at the same time, I'd never felt more connected!  Easter was, in fact, different for me this year.  I'm not going to attempt to explain it.  Because I think it's just something in my heart that was between me and the Lord Jesus.  I truly enjoyed every bit of my weekend, even waking up early and getting everyone up and ready to be at church at 7:00 for the "Son rise" service.

We dressed up.  Although that has nothing to do with Easter.  But we did.  And since we were out so early, I didn't take time until after Son rise and after breakfast and after Sunday School and after church to get a picture.  We were nice and wrinkly by that time.

Ellie actually wasn't feeling well over the weekend.  She was a trooper, as usual, but she just wasn't herself.

This girl loves her Abbie!  I just love these little hands!

One of my favorite parts of the day was teaching my Sunday School class.  I'm currently teaching the pre-k and kindergarten class.  We read about Jesus' death, burial and resurrection in the Bible and then made Resurrection Rolls to reinforce the truth that Jesus is alive.  While the Resurrection Rolls were baking, we used the Resurrection Eggs to review and retell the Bible story.  I don't know who loved it more, the kids or I!  Easter is, hands down, my favorite day to teach Sunday School.  I absolutely love teaching the resurrection story to children.  And this day was no exception.  It is probably my most memorable.  

We pray twice each week during Sunday School and sometimes three times.  Sunday was a three time prayer day.  The last prayer came as we were getting ready to leave.  I asked the children to put their Bibles and their treats on the table and fold their hands so we could pray.  I always pray.  I've asked them before to pray, but no one does.  And I hadn't asked in a very long time.  I didn't ask on Sunday either.  But one of the boys told me he wanted to pray.  And this is a child that I never, ever would've expected to ask to pray aloud in class.  But he did.  And it was the sweetest, most heart felt, most honest prayer ever.  The kind of prayer that brings you to your knees and tears to your eyes.  Oh, it was just the sweetest thing ever!  And then Hannah Kate prayed.  And it was just so hard for me to keep it together!  Especially when she said, "Thank you, Jesus, for dying for my sins."

After church we ate lunch and then I hid eggs in the back yard for the kids to find.

And not that it has anything to do with Easter either, but we did find a few eggs the day before, too. 

Hannah Kate was so excited to see Brooklyn.  These girls haven't been together in several months, and they were inseparable.  After we found some eggs, Brooklyn invited Hannah Kate over to dye some eggs and play for awhile.

I wasn't too sure how this girl would do, especially since she didn't feel well.  She also wasn't too crazy about the "tall" grass that tickled her toes and got her shoes wet because it was still wet with morning dew.  At first she was more interested in opening the eggs.

But once she realized they were empty, she did manage to put a few eggs in her basket.

In case you're wondering, I got my cell phone fixed on Monday.  It's a long story, but AT&T "accidentally" deactivated my SIM card.  Crazy!  And I also took Ellie to the doctor on Monday.  She has an ear infection, but it's not too bad.  The big kids are on spring break this week.  That hasn't quite gone as planned either, but I'm learning to be thankful when things don't turn out the way I'd planned!