Easter With Grown Kids and Grandbabies

Easter looks a little different these days—with our kids grown and celebrating in different places—but somehow, this holiday still holds us together.

This year Easter was pretty special. Because we got to have our grandbabies with us to celebrate.

We got to have our three college girls too.

How did this all work out?

Well, I’ve been wanting with all my heart to have those little girls come visit. There’s nothing like having kids all to yourself to get to really know them. I also wanted to give their parents a little break, and a chance to go visit Elle and Carson in Palo Alto. We’ve been talking about dates forever and finally situated a weekend that would work. It happened to be Easter weekend. But we would take what we could get.

In the meantime, our three younger girls all found ways to get home, too. So it was going to be a party. More on those logistics soon (because they were kind of nutty), but for today I’m just going to share what happened on Easter itself.

Because it was a good, and hectic, and full day I want to remember.

Morning Easter Traditions

The Easter Bunny came, and we did our usual string-leading-to-baskets tradition (I have a whole list of Easter Traditions if you want to check it out). Ada didn’t quite know what to think about all that string webbing it’s way through the house.

But Murphy started to get it a bit this year…

Lucy, our tradition girl, was a little hesitant feeling unsure as to whether she still “needed” that string she is so accustomed to or whether she had outgrown it. But in the end she decided to just embrace it along with Murphy.

Murphy was quite delighted to find what her string led her to:

Our Traditional Eggs Benedict Breakfast

Somehow through the years our Eggs Benedict Christmas breakfast tradition has become an Easter tradition as well.

But when Easter comes on the same day as General Conference it makes that tradition a bit tricky. Because you must have conference cinnamon rolls for conference too, if you’re a true “traditionalist,” which much to Dave’s sometimes chagrin, all his girls are. Oh he’s a good sport about it, but the kitchen did look like an explosion during conference.

But we sure did enjoy the fruits of our labors:

Juggling General Conference and Babies

Conference is very different when you have babies around. My young-mother-self would have known this from the beginning, but my older-mother-self was in for a rude awakening. I had trouble juggling it all and honestly I think I only heard two full talks, along with all the other snippets while wrangling with a toddler and baby. Oh my girls were such huge helps, but I really wanted them to listen to conference, so I did a boatload of juggling on the sidelines. Thank goodness all the conference sessions are recorded and I get to listen to them whenever I can for the next couple weeks.

I did love this Jesus puzzle we got for Easter that Grace and Claire put together lickety-split. (We’ll have to get a harder one next year.)

The idea was for the pieces to be in the Easter eggs for the hunt, but we didn’t even get around to a hunt after the string ordeal that morning.

Part of my wrangling the little girls during conference was trying to get some pictures of them in their new Easter dresses. Not a lot of luck but this one of Murphy is pretty darling.

This is all I got with Ada and her bow but it shows a bit of her sweetness.

A Simple Easter Devotional Together

After conference we got the little girls in bed for a minute, and we sat and finished a little devotional reading the scriptures that go with the last two days of our Holy Week cards.

I love that the girls shared some of their thoughts about Jesus. Claire shared this video she loves:

I love that she told us to watch Mary’s expressions. Makes me cry to think about even now.

Then Grace wanted to watch my favorite:

The spirit of Easter seeped into that room despite all the chaos and I felt it.

Thank you girls.

Gathering with Extended Family

After the cinnamon rolls and Eggs Benedict hoopla I had finished the final touches for the parts of our Easter dinner I was bringing to our extended family gathering and we were off.

Oh how I love to gather with these people I love so much. And so grateful for my sister and brother-in-law who host Easter every year in their home.

Watching Traditions Come Full Circle

I think it was Murphy’s first real Easter egg hunt, and she was there for it. Here she is listening intently to the instructions:

And then off to find eggs:

Each year I find myself so in awe that all those little kids of years gone by…

…are all grown up now. Or moved away and unable to gather together.

The youngest of them now mixed in with the great-grandkids:

There is something so incredible about watching Easter traditions come alive again through the next generation—even when not everyone can be in the same place.

Meanwhile the married kids were celebrating in San Francisco.

More about that to come.

As we drove home from the extended family gathering, we were tired as could be. But also so grateful for another Easter to celebrate the One who gives us all endless second chances.

And also so grateful we got to be with this next generation we adore:

Easter looks different these days with adult children and grandbabies—but in so many ways, it feels even richer.