He Is Risen!!

I couldn't be happier that Luke doesn't have any idea what or who an Easter bunny is.  I also couldn't be happier that Luke knew that not only was Easter coming, but he knew that what we were celebrating was Jesus' resurrection.  Nothing could be better!  He loves to talk about Jesus!

Quick story...The kids and I were driving around town one day recently and Luke said, "Can we talk about Jesus?"  This is very normal and exciting and I quickly said, "Absolutely!  What do you want to talk about?"  He wanted to talk about how sad it was that Jesus had to die on the cross.  He is always quick to add that he died for us because he loves us.  Ohhh...I melt when he gets so excited about Jesus loving him!  Luke also informed me, "Christ died on the cross for us too."  I told him, "Christ is Jesus.  They are the same person."  He said, "I know what Jesus' middle name is!"  I kind of chuckled and asked what Jesus' middle name is.  He said, "Christ!"  He was so serious!  I said, "Yep!  You are absolutely right!  His name is Jesus Christ!"  We all got a good laugh out of that one!  You just never know what kids are going to come up with!

Anyway, I am thankful that my kids know what Easter is all about. 

We all know that Easter isn't about bunnies, baskets and candy, however, we still like to have some fun.  I thoroughly enjoy making baskets for my kiddos!

And they thoroughly enjoy receiving them!  (:

Since we were all dressed nice, I demanded some pictures!  I love how they turned out!

We decided to stay home for Easter this year.  The previous two years we have gone to our friend's house and had a great time.  This year, however, we all just really wanted to be at home.  (I think it might have had something to do with just getting back from Ireland.)  Thankfully our friends, Heather and Andrew came over for a delicious cookout and some card games.  We had such a great day!  I was so happy to be at home with my family and some very dear friends!

What would Easter be without a good, old fashion Easter egg hunt?  Ben and Abby have, apparently, outgrown the hunt, but I knew Luke would love it.  And he did!  Kids make some things so much more fun!

We had such a fun day!  I am so thankful for my family, my friends and most of all that Jesus didn't just die on the cross for me, but that he rose again for me!

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:20

Easter 2012

What better reason to celebrate than the resurrection of Jesus? (Well, besides his birth, anyway.) What a day that must have been! To go to the tomb and find that the stone had rolled away and the body of Jesus was no longer inside! I can only imagine! I am so thankful that, not only did Jesus die for me, but that he rose again! AMAZING!! That is every reason to celebrate!!

I always love figuring out what fun things to make for holidays. I got on Pinterest and found a few musts. Peep Pops and Strawberry Carrots. I love Peeps! I love strawberries! How could you go wrong dipping them both in chocolate? :)

My Peeps are chillin'! (:

This is my favorite way to use up extra melted chocolate! YUM!!

Of course, we couldn't pass up coloring Easter eggs!

Yes, I know that Easter has nothing to do with bunnies, chocolate and eggs. I made sure that we talked a lot about the real meaning of Easter. I wanted to make sure that in all of the fun that Luke knew what we were really celebrating. He will very quickly tell you while raising his hands up in the air, "Jesus came back to life!"

I had so much fun finding things and putting Easter baskets together for the kiddos this year.

Ben is all about Coke right now and I was able to find some things I knew he would love. A new Coke t-shirt, Coke glasses, glass bottles of Coke and Coke puzzle. He was very pleased!

Abby has been talking about wanting the Adele cd for a long time, plus, it's just so easy to find little things for her here and there. Her basket didn't have a theme, but she was happy with her peace sign necklace, Little Miss Sunshine mug, headbands

Several weeks ago Luke and I saw that Aldi had a huge supply of cars from Cars 2. I had bought him a few, but there were certain ones that he still really wanted. I was so happy that I was able to find the ones that he wanted. So was he! He ended up with a whole Cars themed basket with bubble bath and washcloths, easy reader books and the coveted cars. He was one happy boy!

Here is the finished product of my fun, Easter Pinterest treats.

They were as delicious as they were cute!

We were invited to our friend's house for Easter dinner and for the kids to have an egg hunt.

Luke thought the egg hunt was great! There were only two other little girls that participated and, although their bags were much fuller than his, he kept telling everyone, "I'm winning!" It was so cute to watch him get so excited about finding each egg.

He also loved discovering what was inside the eggs! Everything from chocolates and jellybeans to foam stickers and coins. He was one happy boy!

I was very happy to see my big kiddos playing games with the rest of the kids. So often Ben wants to hang out with me and Jon or just hang out in the background. That wasn't the case this time.

The day was enjoyed by all!

Thank you, Lord, for sending your son for us!

Luke 24:1-8
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.

Easter (Our Day in Pictures)

Easter Egg Hunt

Last weekend we went to Luke's first Easter egg hunt. I know...bad parents! We just haven't done it. Thankfully he's only [almost] three, so he hasn't missed out too much. This egg hunt was at the Y, so we thought we would check it out. I hadn't heard about it anywhere other than from a flyer that got put in Luke's bag one day when he was in the child care there, so I thought it might not be too huge. It wasn't huge. It was nice. There were only about 8-10 kiddos in the 2-4 age range.
Luke sat and listened very intently to the instructions.
He looks so little sitting on this bench!
Ready to go find some eggs!
"I found one!"
This is one of my favorite pictures! Luke was excited about all of the eggs in his bag!
Abby was happy to help Luke look through his eggs and see what was inside.
Luke was thrilled when he discovered chocolate inside! He LOVES chocolate!
Luke loved the Easter egg hunt!

Jon and I were so happy that the the child care director, that put the Easter egg hunt together, made sure to tell all of the kids that Easter isn't all about eggs and bunnies. She told them that it is about Jesus rising from the dead! I know that the YMCA was founded on Christian principles, but it doesn't seem like they remember that anymore! It's not often you hear the truth of what Easter really is anywhere. We were very pleased!

Easter Weekend

Before you start this, you might want to grab a drink, maybe even a snack. It's going to take a while to get to the end. This is what happens when we have a busy weekend with lots of fun things going on. Be prepared for picture overload! Sorry! Sit back, relax, enjoy!

We started our weekend with Resurrection Rolls. I didn't take any pictures, but they were fun and delicious! We will absolutely be making them again next year! (You can check out the link I found them on so that you can make them too!)

We couldn't let the egg coloring get away from us...Silly boys...
Ready to begin...
You're never too old to color Easter eggs!
The finished product.
I was bad and didn't have my camera with me later in the day. Jon's parents came down, we went to dinner and then went to the hotel they were staying at and went swimming. When we came home we put our Empty Tomb Cookies together. We have never made these either, but I loved that in the making of them, there were bible verses to go along with each of the ingredients and we were able to talk about Jesus and His crucifixion and resurrection. (Again, you will have to click on the link to get all of the details.) Such a great way to help the kids remember why we celebrate this great holiday!Jon did the bible reading for us.
Ben and Abby beat the pecans. (Jesus was beaten.)
Abby smelled the vinegar, but definitely didn't want to taste it! (Jesus was given vinegar to drink when He was thirsty on the cross.)
Jon is forming the "rocky tombs".
The oven had to be sealed shut for the night.
In the morning you can open the oven and take the cookies out...
I'm not sure what happened, but ours didn't turn out so great. They tasted good, just didn't look quite right. I would definitely try them again though. I love that you could tell the real Easter story through making them!

The goods!

Getting ready for church.
Luke is ready to go! How cute is he?! :)
Me and my baby girl!
My sweet family :)
Grandma & Grandpa and the kiddos.My sweet kiddos :)

The biggest help when trying to fix dinner: someone entertaining the little guy! Thank you, Jeanie!
Crazy boy!

After dinner Ben put on a concert.
He had a captive audience!
Ready to hunt for Easter eggs!
"I can't find any of mine!"
He finally found one! His were hidden good!
We took a time-out during the hunt. :)
HA HA!! She was searching hard! (I'm quite sure she wouldn't be thrilled about this picture! What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?!)
Ben's eggs
Luke's eggs
Abby's eggs
My sweet baby girl :)
What a goofy girl!
All I wanted was a cute picture of these two. Is that too much to ask for?
That's better...
Apparently getting a picture of all three together IS too much to ask for...
We had a great Easter weekend!