Easter...I want a redo.

The Easter Egg Hunt Happend

It was Camden's first real hunt. He had no clue what was happening. It didn't take him long to figure it out. Every day since he has asked to go on a hunt.

Maya was thrilled to find out that even though she is technically a big kid now, she still got to participate.

Eggs Were Dyed. 

I don't have any pictures of this, oh, so fabulous tradition due to the fact that I was in a super bad mood, and didn't really participate other than setting it all up, oohing and ahhing, and then cleaning it all up.

Easter Outfits Were Purchased

Camden's tie didn't really match but he likes to wear a tie and his pants were high watered but I didn't realize it until we were taking these pictures.

We took them literally right before we jumped in the car to go to church. There was no one around to take pictures...except for Maya. She did a pretty good job.

She cut off my feet on that one and this next one didn't turn out so hot but she did get my cute shoes.

Dinner Was Made. 

It did involve pork, just not a ham.

Peeps Were In Abundance.

(even though I hate them)

According to the pictures, it seems like we hit all the high notes of Easter, but that was far from the truth.

Usually I start a few weeks before Easter preparing my family for this most important holiday. I have special Family Night lessons on what Easter means. I teach them about the symbols of Easter. We read from the scriptures of Christ's life and focus on the events leading up to his crucifixion. We talk about what happened in the Garden of Gethsemene and how he atoned for our sins. Then on Easter Sunday we read about His resurrection and what that means.

It brings a neat spirit into our home and prepares us for that special Sunday.

Well this year I blew it. I have a million excuses...we were out of town for part of the month, our house has been under construction which means every free and not free moment we have been working on it, Aric has had some exceptionally stressful weeks with work, I took on a new tutoring student, I've been training for my half-marathon,...yadda, yadda, yadda.

I blew it. I knew it and I felt it. 

The kids were fighting over candy. They were being demanding and ungrateful. I was making last minute shopping trips to get food for Easter dinner, the right gifts for the kids and the right accessories for Sunday outfits. We were all at each other's throats. The guilt was making me even more grumpy. 


Then after prayer and pondering I realized Easter is just one Sunday that the Christian world stops to officially recognize this holy event. But I don't need Easter to make me focus and honor my Savior. I can do it every day. Christ atoned for my laziness and he loves me inspite of my weaknesses. This is what I needed to teach my children. So on Saturday night I called off Easter...I told them that we had lost focus and there would be no Easter baskets and candy until we got back on track. We talked about what we could do on Sunday to put our thoughts back on Christ and how each of us needs to do our part to keep our home a "Christ Centered" home. I even took back almost all of the gifts. We kept it simple.

Easter morning Maya and I went to choir practice (yes I said choir, and no I don't sing...but that's another post for another day). I felt the sweet spirit of Easter. The one that I had been missing. I was so grateful to sing praises in gratitude for a loving Heavenly Father who sent His son to suffer, die and then be resurrected for me and all mankind. I was able to feel His love for me and express my love to Him.

We spent the morning together listening to hymns and watching Music and the Spoken Word, we then spent the afternoon worshiping together at church. In the evening we had a relatively quiet dinner,(that Camden refused to eat), then we spent some time talking about what Easter should be and how we are going to "redo" Easter. I don't need a holiday in April to talk about Christ's atonement, His resurrection or His love for us. It is something that as a family we need to focus on every day of every month.

So for tomorrow's family night we will be discussing what Christ's atonement means to each of us and having a family testimony meeting. 

Thank heaven for do overs. In fact next year I have decided to start a new tradition, the Easter Bunny doesn't come until after Easter Sunday and he only brings Christ centered gifts. No more toys and just a tiny bit of candy. I get that this may seem drastic and it isn't for everyone, but it definitely is something worth trying for me and my peeps.