Easter

Since it's been my goal to get the "Easter" blog post up before the weekend, I'm going to have to hash this out in warp speed. My big girl gets off the bus in 30 minutes, and my little girl wakes up from her nap in 15. And I really want to go get my Diet Dr. Pepper out of the fridge from lunch.

So...let's get down to business.

Aubrey found some clip-on earrings, which you will see in all the following Easter pictures.

She said the jewelry really completed her outfit.

She's 6 going 16, obviously. 

And this one, oh my goodness, she's something else too...

These two are so vastly different.

One's Type A, Miss Perfectionist, BOSSY.
The other one is a free spirit, Miss Fearless, LOVE-BUG.
I'm totally obsessed with them both.

And as different as they might be...they are absolutely perfect for each-other.

After church and the drive to grandparents -- the girls had a fun surprise awaiting.

My aunt brought her bunny (named Clover, how stinkin' cute is that?!) over for the day.

It just doesn't get much better when there's a real-life bunny on Easter...

After lots of bunny love (and pics), it was time for the highly anticipated Egg Hunt!

Thank the good Lord above that this child found the Golden Egg. 

She had talked non-stop for two days about how a boy from her class found the school's Golden Egg, and how utterly devastated she was that she didn't find it. 

She doesn't handle disappointment well. 

Victory, on the other hand...

"Ooooh, $5! Just think of all the clip-on earrings I can buy!"

It was a good, good day.

My Easter Chicks

My sister called me one morning a couple of weeks ago and mentioned, "I need to get stamps to mail my Easter cards so they make it in time." Easter cards!! Oops. Totally forgot.
"Hey GIRLS...wanna try on your Easter dresses? I'll take your picture and send them to grandparents!"
I may have also mentioned that if they cooperated I'd let them watch Frozen.
That movie has power, y'all.
Dangerous power.

Okay, okay girls...you can show some personality!

Okay, tone it down.
Mina...

By the way, I dropped the ball on Easter dresses for the girls too. 

These were ones they already had in their closets.

But it turned out fine -- I think I'll forget to buy Easter dresses next year too.

The girls were thrilled to pick out what they wanted to wear. 

Gosh, I love this girl...

Sweet, little Mina. She is so petite. I want to eat her up.

"Dis my favwit dwess, Mama! I WUV it!"

Easter Eggs

This year I used the oven to make hard boiled eggs. 

(Put eggs in a muffin tin, bake at 325 for 30 mins. Put eggs immediately in cold water for 10 minutes.) 

I broke two during the process because I have a gift for finding ways to mess up the simplest things. 

I bought a speckled egg kit from the Dollar Tree. It was another fun (and messy) way to color eggs. 

Egg Hunt

Speaking of eggs, we had a little egg hunt in the backyard. 

This sure made me miss our Annual Laws Egg Hunt with our Oklahoma friends. :(

Easter Day

This is our second year of doing Resurrection Eggs on Easter morning. 

I plan on doing it until my kids are grown adults, and then I'll do it with my grandchildren. 

It's so easy and such a neat illustration of the resurrection for little ones.

Oh, I just have to include this random photo from our Easter lunch...it's my favorite. :)

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter!

The Cleveland Botanical Gardens

I was going to add this little segment to my ridiculously photo-overloaded Easter post coming soon, but I decided to post these today in honor of Earth Day.

The girls didn't have school on Good Friday, so I decided to take them to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. I had wanted to take them earlier in the week to snap some pictures of them in their Easter dresses. Luckily I didn't get around to it -- seeing as it wasn't quite the idyllic Springtime backdrop I had envisioned...

Poor, poor Cleveland.

To make up for the lack of outdoor scenery, Polly the Bee was buzzing around to provide some sort of photo op for moms with their cameras.

Mina was in love, and Aubrey suddenly turned into that big kid who looks awkward posing with a costumed character. 

And, um, since I used the Chick-fil-a cow dressed up as Santa over Christmas, I'm chalking this one up as our trip to see the Easter Bunny. (Mom of the Year, folks.)

Moving on.

So the outdoor area of the Botanical Gardens was downright pitiful, but the indoor elements were a bit more colorful. Aubrey even whipped out her camera.

Sidenote: Aubrey's outfit. She insisted on this floral cardigan ("Mom! It's perfect for the botanical gardens! I'll look like a fresh Spring bouquet!"). I had been cleaning out clothes that were too small in her closet when she spotted it. Oh well, I must admit I like her appreciation for themed apparel. :)

Mina couldn't stop saying, "Whoa, Mama! Woooook!"

The girls spotted a stage filled with insect / bird / animal props.
Aubrey was basking in her full-winged glory of a captivated audience.
(It's truly a shame that she inherited my "singing" voice.)

And then little Mina came out just flapping her wings and smiling at everyone. 

Next we were off to find our way through a ladybug labyrinth...

And the girls' favorite part -- the glasshouse filled with all sorts of plants and insects.

Despite the look of these pictures, the whole place was PACKED.

I was worn-out and stressed-out after 90 minutes, but the girls were loving every second.

So I guess it was a small price to pay.

Especially since I skipped out on the Easter Bunny this year. ;)

Flesh

Easter is just around the corner, and it always gets me.
I will cry this Sunday in church.
The overwhelming magnitude of its significance will flood my heart, which will then result in mascara cascading down my cheeks.
I'll look like a mess by the time it's all over.
And that's okay.
We're all a mess anyway.
I'd say Easter is the one day we might as well embrace it.
Amen?

I mean, have you ever really meditated on the fact that God came to down to us through the incarnation of a man?
Ever actually let that sink in?
Or at least imagined, "What if...?"
That He physically walked this Earth.
Breathed our air.
Burped after a meal.
Got splinters working as a carpenter in His dad's wood shop.
Hugged His friends.
Went to the bathroom.
Laughed.
Cried.
Loved.
Became one of US.
It's absolutely mind-blowing when you take the time to even attempt to process it.

A dear friend of mine shared on Facebook that this book was free for download one day on Amazon.
So, I figured I'd download it. (Why not, right?)
And it turned out that this book put into words some of the very things I had been wrestling with since reading the Bible in its entirety a few years ago.

One of the main takeaways from that year for me was the realization that Jesus and what He taught is scarcely seen in professed "Christians" today. More specifically, it is RARELY seen in ME.

I feel like God has been telling me to be more INTENTIONAL.
Intentional with my family, with my friends, and with people God puts into my life unexpectedly.
To not be in such a hurry, but to see people through His eyes.
Not with judgment, but with compassion.
Really get to know what's going on.
Know their struggles.
Strengths.
Situations.
Set-backs.
And then serve them right where they are.
However that looks.
Each person / relationship will be different.

I'll be honest, there are days / months / years when I do a super crappy job of being intentional.

We had a neighbor in Oklahoma who was a retired, never-been-married woman with not many (if any) friends or family around. She lived all alone, and I went and visited her one time.
We lived there for four years.
I was home every single day.
She was home every single day.
I never invited her over.
Not once.

In this book, Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth, the author highlights the God incarnate life of Jesus on Earth. The God-Man literally walking our streets. How He interacted with people. He was SO intentional -- particularly with "big sinner" people. The way He treated them is so vastly different from how most "Christians" treat them today.

There were several quotes from this book that I feel like said exactly what I've been thinking...

Jesus was teaching that godliness is not about trying to hide our humanness and appear more like God. That always comes off smelling like inauthenticity and reeks of hypocrisy -- and neither God nor the observing world buys it. Worse, it doesn't work anyway.

People are not pagans to be converted, projects to be preached at, or demographics to be reprogrammed. Humans should never be generalized, categorized, dismissed, judged, or underestimated. Every person is a story, rich with history, experiences, creative potential, strengths and weaknesses, clarity and blindness.

You must learn to respect people's lostness; you must become a deep listener and learn to dignify people's spiritual journeys. And when you hear what has happened to them or not happened to them regarding spiritual matters, you must identity with them or put yourself in their shoes so that maybe someday you can help them see Jesus ans separate from those bad experiences. You've got to help them see the real face of God.

Jesus transcended all the dilemmas, arguments, trite judgments, and religious expectations simply by not picking a side. He neither condoned nor condemned, and yet people felt accepted by Him...and they felt conviction.

People of every sexual orientation miss God's design for marriage. In fact, they miss His design for just about everything. It's called sin -- missing God's mark. But for some reason, God looks past that and still shows up at our parties, our ceremonies, and our dinner tables. He wants to talk. He did way back then. I believe He still wants to talk today. Jesus shows us that there's never a change of mind unless there's a change of heart, and there will never be a change of heart without a conversation between trusted friends.

We have to remember that how we treat people influences what they may believe about God, and if you look like you've got an agenda other than loving, listening, or blessing, your God will look like a conquistador instead of a compassionate King.

If any of this resonated with you, I highly recommend you read this book.
It's written in a down-to-earth / conversational way.
It will encourage and demonstrate how to live more than just skin deep life.

Easter Happenings / Ramblings

After a long Spring Break, Aubrey was more than ready to hop back to school.
Probably because I told her the class was going to be having an Easter Egg Hunt!
Can you tell "somebunny" was super excited about it?!

I noticed as we walked into the church that none of the other kids had their baskets.

Evidently the flyer sent home before Spring Break said Monday was egg drop-off day and Wednesday was the actual egg hunt. Poor Aubrey -- all decked out in her bunny dress, basket in hand just ready for a good old time. Luckily she handled the news well, "That's okay, Mom! This means I get to wear my outfit again!"

And wear that outfit again, she did!

Here she is -- two days later -- just as excited as before! 

(Have I mentioned before how much I love this girl?!)

I'm going to be honest, I kinda struggle with Easter.

I get a little squeamish when I feel like Jesus gets trampled over by a bunny.

So, I try to find ways to include Him in secular events.

Maybe it's totally lame or maybe even on the fringe of being sacrilegious, but well...here's what Aubrey and I came up with this year...

Just two days later, it was time for the Laws Annual Egg Hunt!
My sweet honey-bunny and my little chick-a-dee grabbed their baskets and were ready to go!

It was, as always, SO MUCH FUN!
And I love that Jennifer incorporated framed scripture verses throughout.

The girls were all smiles and giggles! 

(Except when I had to get Mina out of the bounce house when there were bigger kids wanting to bounce!)

So, one unexpected event took place this year: Aubrey took one look at the Easter Bunny and announced, "That's just a person wearing a costume, Mom!" When I pulled her to the side and asked her why she said that, she said, "Mom, I have eyes -- I can SEE that it's just a person wearing a costume." What do you say to that? So. Well. I guess that does it for the Easter Bunny. She still humored me and let me take her picture.

There was no way Miss Mina was going to sit in that bunny's lap. It scared her half to death, and honestly, I didn't feel it would be wise to force the sweet girl to do it.

When it came to the actual hunt, I was curious to see how our littlest chick would do.
She was downright precious with her basket propped on her shoulder like a purse (she LOVES purses). She spotted a pink egg and opened it immediately to see what was inside.

Aubrey found tons of eggs, all the while keeping a running inventory with each stride. 

When she saw that Mina only had one egg, she voluntarily gave some of hers to little sis.

It was so sweet, and Mina was pumped to discover new treasures inside! 

I don't know why the girls have a confused look on their face in the picture, but Daddy sure looks handsome. :)

Little Sidenote: Right as the whistle blew for the kids to take off and find eggs, a little boy fell hard and just laid there crying. While his parents were trying to encourage him to get up, Daniel dashed off and collected tons of eggs for him. It melted my heart. He's the best.

Last year while I was helping Jennifer set up for the egg hunt, we spotted a ladybug. Jennifer said, "Next year, you'll have your new little one here! I just know it!" (Read more about it: last year's egg hunt and this story is featured on Chickabug.) It was so, so special being there as a family of FOUR.

Later in the weekend, Aubrey and I set up a little Easter cupcake decorating "shop" while Mina napped.
I'm really trying to make an effort to do some Aubrey-focused activities during those rare moments it's just the two of us. I let her have full reign when it came to decorating, and she had an absolute blast.

Aubrey asked me to take a video of her and her "Cupcake Shop" -- I must say this a super random video. 

*And just so you know, we moved Mina over to the table after filming. ;) 

By the way, did you see that post-nap cowlick?! Love it!

Each night starting twelve days before Easter Sunday, we did our Resurrection Eggs as a family.

I'm hoping this goes smoother as the girls get a little older, because most nights it ended up being a fight over who got to open the carton and color-coded egg. Talk about DRAMA.

On Good Friday, Daniel took Aubrey to our church for a self-guided walk-thru of the defining moments of the crucifixion. At the end, there was an opportunity to nail one of your sins to the cross. Daniel said Aubrey nailed, "Yelling at Mina." Too bad this got nailed on the 10th day of the Resurrection Eggs. ;)

Easter morning we made resurrection rolls. 

I think we might make this family tradition...it was so nice to be gathered around the table, reading the Word, and making the story of Easter more hands-on for the girls. 

Phew...it was definitely a full week leading up to Easter!

I am thankful for all the moments that created opportunities to talk about the amazing, miraculous love of Christ. What an incredible God we serve!