We really make every effort to ensure that our children know the TRUE meaning of Easter. More than anything, we want our little ones to know that Easter is about our RISEN SAVIOR!
We worked our way through the book Benjamin’s Box while using the Resurrection Eggs as a hands-on way to teach our children the Easter story. Alex could retell pretty much the entire Easter story using the trinkets found in the eggs. Max does a pretty good job, as well. Jensyn points to the eggs and says, “Eggs! Jesus!” For a not-quite 2 year old, I’ll accept that! :)
We’re not opposed to a little Easter fun, but the Easter bunny visits us on Saturday. That reserves Easter Sunday for its TRUE meaning! So on Saturday morning, I got up at 6:45 AM to quickly set out/hide eggs and baskets for our kiddos. They each have 6 eggs in specific colors to find. Alex looks for green and yellow eggs, Max finds orange and blue, and Jensyn looks for pink and purple. They all understood what to do this year, and they were excited to find their eggs!
After they’ve checked out their eggs, they hunt for the Easter baskets…which were hidden in the dog cage this year. They got crayon wallets for keeping busy in church or the car, mini lego sets ($4.99 at Target) for the boys, hair pretties for Jensyn, and (clearanced) Mickey/Minnie shirts for all 3 kids. (They don’t know it yet, but we’re going to Disney World in the fall!)
Grandma & Papa came over that night with Easter baskets for the kids – Easter story books, bubbles, little bug domes, princess coloring pages and markers, and snacks. We didn’t get any pictures because it was a crazy house full of people with a few cousins around as well :)
Here are the kiddos on Easter morning. Oh, they all looked adorable…but it’s IMPOSSIBLE to get a picture with all 3 children looking and smiling at the same time.
Jensyn was very proud of her new dress, new hair pretty, and her curly hair. It’s naturally curly, but you have to work with it to get the curl to look good, and I usually don’t bother. (Honestly, I’m pretty proud of that dress and hair pretty too because it was the Gymboree deal of the century! If I hadn’t procrastinated on buying Easter clothes, I wouldn’t have gotten the discount, coupon code, and free shipping. See? There are benefits to procrasting, ha ha!)
After these pictures, though, she burst into tears and was a wreck for the next hour…who knows why! Then the boys started fighting, and by the time I had all three kids in the car to leave for church, the whole bunch was tearful and crabby. (Keith was already at church for praise team practice, so I was getting everyone ready on my own.) SO…in case you wondered, we don’t do picture-perfect all day long around here! :)
Cousins Kyle & Jessica were visiting for the weekend, and Grandma P wanted a few pictures of all her grandkids after church. (My boys started out the day all ironed & tucked in & proper looking…but they’re boys, and it wasn’t long before they were untucked with wrinkly shirts!)
It was our year to go to Grandma & Grandpa S’s house for Easter. They always scatter candy around the backyard for the grandkids to collect. This is the first time that Jensyn really understood what to do. Once she caught on, she grabbed quite a bit of candy!
Max & Alex did pretty well, too!
As the cousins get older, there’s a little more wrestling and silly behavior…
The group is growing and changing every year now,
with grandkids getting married and dating…
These were later, after Alyssa & Lawrence came.
(Justin, Danielle and Jesse, and Derek were not here this year…)
P.S. Keith wants to know at what age I will stop dressing my boys alike for holidays. I’m thinking maybe…oh…forever. 