Catching Up: Easter

Conor got to teach his first Family Home Evening lesson two weeks before Easter. He had been given a photocopy of the tomb and Jesus in Primary, which he colored and I helped him cut out. Then he proudly told the story and did such a cute job. Aiden was out of town the week after that for Spring Break with his dad, so that's why we did our Easter lesson so early.

While Aiden was gone, Conor and I made up some care packages for Lyndsay and Dylan. Just some plastic eggs with candy and a little money inside. Nothing too much, but it's so fun to get packages from home.

And they looked so pretty!

On Good Friday, Conor and I read from the scriptures the account of the atonement and crucifixion. Then we set our tomb up (and Conor volunteered his paper Jesus) and sealed it shut, as we do every year.

On Easter morning when the kids come downstairs, the stone has been rolled back from the tomb, and Jesus lives! Corny, but I love it, and I suspect the boys do also, because they never let me forget.

Now, Aiden had arrived back home on Saturday night, but he was sick, sick, sick! When I got him home he had a temperature of 102.1, and he'd been sick since Tuesday. Poor kid. So, he didn't get to come to church with us on Easter Sunday which was a major bummer. (For him too, actually, because he had some really nice new clothes he was excited to wear.)

But the Bunny did come, and the boys got to search for their baskets.

Boy, this basket sure looks abundant! It's that stupid Easter grass I keep putting in there, that fills the whole thing up. Why do I keep doing that? He got a little candy, and then some goodies like a puzzle and a jumprope.

Aiden actually had a trickier time finding his basket this year. (Silly Rabbit.) He got some of his favorite candies, but also some body wash, face wash, and hair gel.

My sleepy boy and my sick boy. Aiden always comes home from his dad's with some new wound. It's such a treat.

Here's handsome Conor in his Easter clothes.

(I actually took this picture today, on our way to a baptism, but it's both boys in their Easter clothes, so we're just pretending.)

After church, Conor and I went to the Perkins' home for an unbelievably delicious Easter dinner. It is wonderful to have friends who can cook and are willing to share! It was sad to not have Aiden there, but he rested at home.

Easter is a glorious holiday. I cannot read the account of the Savior's sufferings and resurrection without tears. Each year I love Him more, and feel more indebted to Him for doing for me what I could not do for myself. The message that He lives is what I most want my children to have sealed in their hearts. All the fluff of Easter is just that. I love the chocolate as much as anyone, and I love the family traditions, but I never forget that the opportunity to celebrate was made possible because of His infinite and intimate sacrifice. It is real. His love is real. And He lives!