As a mother I’m always pondering.
Things like how in the world I can buy new socks for my girls and by the end of the week not one of them will have a matching pair emerge with it from the wash. I wonder how in the world every kitchen cabinet handle can be sticky even after I just wipe them down. I mean, we really do wash our hands around here. I ponder how sweet my children are as they sleep even if they do have sticky hands.
Today I’m pondering how lucky I am to have these ladies in my life:
Along with this guy:
(I’m so mad I only got action shots of my Dad.)
And I’m pondering how lucky I am that I got to spend this last weekend with them.
We presented all together at a Power of Moms retreat at my parent’s house in Park City and had so much fun being together and meeting over 100 powerful mothers who attended.
I am thinking about all the thoughts and inspiration I have running through my head from what I learned and how to capture them in writing so I can always remember them. I’m pondering how very powerful Motherhood can be if we are deliberate about how we go about it. And I’m pondering about how to tackle the hundreds of pictures I took too.
Until I get to that though, I’m pondering how to make this Easter Week really meaningful.
So, I’m going over the great ideas in the comments for this post last year. There are some gems in there and I’m trying to figure out what new things to incorporate into our family Easter traditions to make my children understand more deeply the importance of this week.
Add any extra ideas you have…I’d love to hear them!
I just read your last year's Easter post. We do the string idea on Christmas (string attached to their stocking and they have to follow it for their main gift).
In an attempt to combine traditions from my husband's and my own growing up years (his family didn't have the Easter bunny/baskets while mine did), I create a treasure hunt each year instead. Each clue has something to do with the real message of Easter — for example, one clue might say, "When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He bled from every pore. What do you do when you're bleeding?" Then the next clue would be by the band-aids, etc. I leave typical Easter treats at each location along with the next clue. I try to come up with something a little bigger at the very end (like a new DVD or whatever) along with an empty egg symbolizing the empty tomb. So my kids still get the stuff they might find in an Easter basket without the bunny. Anyway, it works for us!
check out http://literacyandlifelonglearning.blogspot.com for great ideas all week long
Shawni, this week is probably our favorite week of the year. Our Easter celebration has evolved over the past 4 or 5 years but our kids really look forward to it. We talk each night for the week before Easter about what Christ did that day of his last week. Last night we discussed the triumphal entry. One night during this week we do a passover-type dinner. We move out our diningroom table and eat on the floor. We have grape juice, flat bread, olives, and other things Jesus and his discliples might have eaten. It is always a very quiet and spiritual night as we think about the Last Supper. We also draw names within our family and do secret pals. Our boys look forward to this and it really promotes love and good feelings this week. We try to learn a hymn about Christ (I Stand All Amazed, or another sacrament or Easter hymn). We hang a huge piece of butcher paper where we can write things we admire about each other (there is a bowl of jelly bellies nearby and after you have written something nice you can take a jelly belly). All of these ideas and tons more that we use have come from "A Christ Centered Easter" by Janet Hales (I think this is the author's name). We hang pictures in chronological order down the hall each night as we talk about what would have happened to Christ each of those last days of his life. There is a great idea in the book about a family dinner where each person opens a plastic easter egg to find something that has to do with the crucifixion or resurrection with a scripture to go with it. You put them at each place and take turns opening and reading. I could go on but none of these are my ideas….all copied. I'm sure you will find some awesome ways to teach your kids how important this time really is. You are an amazing mom!
Shawni (and everyone), check out the post I just put up on my blog – all those ideas I was talking to you about for Easter are in my latest post – looslifamily.blogspot.com.
Last week WAS wonderful, wasn't it? I really enjoyed the Traditions breakout session you hosted. I am crazy about traditions but am always trying to refine them to make sure many/most of them truly have meaning.
Thanks for sharing your blog. It's fantastic. You are a light to many.
Thanks for the pics! I have very few of this treasured event!
I was so grateful to have met you all and to be able to attend such a powerful retreat. I have always looked up to your family and I love how you also remind me of my family. Thank you to everyone who presented and planned for this retreat. 🙂 Happy Easter! (here's our favorite tradition): http://www.food.com/recipe/empty-tomb-crescent-rolls-293915
So fun to have you at the Retreat, Shawni!
It was so fun to meet you! I enjoyed your presentations and learned so much from you! Thank you for sharing your love of motherhood….it's inspiring.
I personally think you should try out our tradition of rolling your easter eggs down a hill…it's a good time! haha….sounds crazy I know…but everyone around here does it! It's fun!! lol
Last year for the first time we made Easter Morning Breakfast Rolls. Empty calories for sure, but I love the fact that they come out of the oven "empty," reminding me and my family of Christ's tomb.
You can see a picture at – http://www.thelittlestclark.blogspot.com
I also love what my cousin does each year for Easter. She and her family sit down and watch the video made by the LDS church where President Hinckley and the apostles bear their testimonies of Christ.
Powerful.
It's a long movie, but parts of it could be adapted for younger children.
I love the ideas I've read here.
Shawni, it was so great to meet you and your family at the retreat! I smiled when I saw the pic of you and the Eyre women, "hey, I took that picture!"
I was so rejuvenated and encouraged by the messages you and everyone else at the retreat shared. Thank you for your wisdom. I'm enjoying your Mother's Secrets book and absolutely ADORE the picture of Lucy bawling her eyes out. Classic!
Sorting through all the pictures from the retreat is high on my Important Next Actions list. I plan to post them to a Snapfish group room so that everyone can access them and share theirs as well. I'll send Charity & April the link when I have it set up so they can share it with everyone else.
Have a happy Easter week!
I've been wondering about what to do about Easter to make it not so commercialized and centered around candy and meaningless presents. So I came over to your site knowing you probably have something to inspire me…you never fail me!
Shawni,
I am glad I found your blog again! It was so nice to meet you at the POM's retreat. I am sorry we didn't get more time to talk and sorry I didn't make it to your traditions breakout session! I would love your notes or blogpost of something like that, because I am brainless about family traditions! If you ever want to get together and talk about mothering children with disabilities, let me know. I would love to talk with you more. It was wonderful meeting your family. What beautiful sisters. I envy your closeness!
I posted about this year's meaningful Easter week on my blog: http://www.jonlund.com here (we did a few new things this year):
http://www.jonlund.com/blog/Lunds/Jens_Blog/Entries/2011/4/19_Our_Special_Easter_Week.html
A summary of all of my Easter week posts are linked to here:
http://www.jonlund.com/blog/Lunds/Favorites.html
Sorry, that last post cut off the link to my post (it was too long, I guess).
Go to: http://www.jonlund.com Look at the entry for April 19, 2011 called "Special Easter Week" (you can find it in "Archives" at the bottom of "Jen's blog" if you search for this later).
A summary of all of my Easter week posts are linked to here:
http://www.jonlund.com/blog/Lunds/Favorites.html
I hope this can be helpful to someone.