Three of the five of us at home woke up on the WRONG side of the bed on Easter morning. It was grumpy city around here I tell you!

Which, I must say, did a number on the two who weren’t already in bad moods.

Which, of course, is not an ideal way to start Easter Sunday.

And I think it’s safe to say the grumpiness was exacerbated by the fact that everyone had to high-step over the web of strings zig zagging all over the house that the Easter Bunny had left, over and over again trying to get ready and out the door to 9:00 church.

But, with that introduction I’m happy to say that the rest of the day turned up after that.

I mean, we were only a little bit late for church, and the meetings were so good filled up with Jesus. We came home to let the girls follow their individual strings that led to their Easter baskets (normally we would have done our little Easter lesson first, but we weren’t about to keep stepping over those pesky strings for any longer! Ha! Really, we are endeared to our strings-leading-to-Easter-baskets tradition, ok, maybe not Dave but he’s a good sport.)

The girls were sweetly delighted with their meager Easter baskets.

And we were happy to have Josh here too:

We had a special little devotional and watched those videos I put on the last post. Talked about how that resurrection we celebrate changes our lives.

Then we made eggs Benedict (which has become our Easter tradition over the years along with Christmas morning):

And then we tried something impromptu:

Dave and I put different amounts of money in four different color Easter eggs (four because we cajoled Josh to join in this one…one egg had $2, one $5, one $10, one $20). Then we hid them in pretty tough places.

We had the girls and josh each randomly pick one paper correlated with the color of the eggs. For example, Lucy got purple, Grace got pink, etc.)

Then they went searching for the eggs. They could only find their own color. If they found someone else’s they had to slyly leave it there and let them find it themselves. You get whatever happens to be in the egg the color you chose.

It was kind of silly but kind of fun. I have a feeling we’ll be reworking and perfecting that one for years to come.

Then we headed to have an early Easter dinner with the cousins:

Sure love these people!

It was so strange how the kids lined up to hunt for Easter eggs has changed over the years. This year it was comprised almost half of great-grandkids, and all boys!

Time is flying so fast!

My girls:

The little boys may have run the egg hunt, but there are a lot of girls who hid those eggs:

Ok, well, Lucy plunked herself in both categories: a “hider” as well as a “finder” which worked out well for her:)

Love this family of mine as well as all those who couldn’t be there:

Love this little family of mine too, as well as those two married couples we adore celebrating one in Utah and one in NYC.

I’m so glad that like this Easter Sunday, we can go from grumpy and dark to glory and light all because of Him.

His is risen.

As my dad says, the three best words ever spoken.

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26 Comments

    1. Grace’s is from ASOS, Claire’s from Downeast Outfitters (a dress from Grace’s mission that she borrowed:), and Lucy’s from Old Navy last year. Thank you!

      1. I was wondering the same. He seems to have lost a lot of weight and suddenly looks so much older. Is he ok?

      2. He has been doing the keto diet for a while and yes, has lost quite a bit of weight. He loves it and feels so great but I was glad when he said he was ok to have the English muffins with his eggs Benedict on Easter! 🙂

  1. Yeah, I think the “kids” are getting a little too old for some of your “traditions”, like the string, the colored eggs… Maybe just have a nice family brunch, give them each an Easter basket… save the kiddie stuff for the younger cousins. I know it’s hard to let go, but it seems to be time…

    1. I think that your remark is overstepping a bit. Shawni and her family can make the call about what traditions they continue, which they drop, and which new ones they start.

      Signed, a well-adjusted 40-year-old whose parents hid her Easter basket every year into adulthood

      1. I think our comments came through at the same time, Em! Glad there is someone else out there who sees the magic in some family traditions:)
        xoxo

    2. I actually kind of agree with some traditions. But others the majority are not willing to let go of so we keep them. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know we are kind of suckers for traditions around here! Luckily we can all figure out how to do things that work in our own families, and if traditions don’t work for you, awesome!

  2. Shawni, avid reader never commented before, I admire how you gracefully ignore those who aren’t very kind in their comments😀. It is odd that they choose to read your wonderful blog, then criticize! Thanks for keeping it real, and being inclusive and wonderful.

    1. Karen, please point out to me what was unkind. I did not say that any of their traditions were silly. Just maybe not quite age appropriate. Nor did I infer that there should be no traditions at all or that “they don’t work for me.” I merely stated that maybe some of the traditions shown here should be modified (or eliminated) simply because the children have outgrown them.

      From the posts, it seems like possibly they were slightly annoyed by some of the activities and maybe going along because of Mom..?

      This is/was not criticism. It was my comment/suggestion to counteract some of the “bad moods” that were happening.

      1. Thank you Karen! Sometimes I do wonder why people take the time to critique things here, it must be tiresome, but to each his/her own. I am thankful for insights I receive, even the not so nice ones, but do think often they could be said in a different way to keep conversations going.

        Missy, I try to keep it real here, not everything always works out perfectly and I would hate to put that thought out into the world. I think you were maybe just trying to solve my “problems” for me. But rest assured that we love those traditions and that we do evaluate which ones we’d like to keep and which we have grown out of according to our own unique family.

  3. What a wonderful day! I personally love the idea of holding on to these traditions as our kids grow older. It helps kids remember the joy of these holidays. Along with the older kids come more in-depth discussions of the meanings of the holidays, beyond what they could sit still for as little ones. I think traditions tether families together. They usually involve some sacrifice of time or sleep, which shows love. It’s fun that families each have their unique traditions and as kids grow, they decide what they will keep and what they will change.

  4. Something that might be fun to add to your egg hunt that we do along with the colored eggs for each person is golden eggs that have bigger prizes or bills that are free for anyone to get! Makes it a little more exciting!

  5. I LOVE these traditions. I started following when My babies were little and I borrowed a lot of your traditions that have blessed our family. Keep holding strong to them. The kids will remember them and cherish them!

  6. When a bunch of boys are born in a row/classroom mostly boys there is a saying that there is going to be a war, 15 years down the line.

  7. I am really late to this post- but I am building home and I HAVE to know where you got your art/oxen yoke (I’m assuming that’s what it is?!) over your dining table. It is stunning! I haven’t visited your blog in a while and I’ve been sat here for a good hour catching up. Thanks for sharing your light and goodness with the world!

    1. My friend and I found that at an antique shop and I’m SO GLAD she talked me into getting it. It’s one of our favorite things. Keep your eye out at antique shops! And thank you for the kind words.
      xoxo

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