As with so many things in my life, I'm still trying to figure out how to celebrate Easter. I woke up in a panic during the night Thursday night. I realized I had not even thought about Easter baskets. I am not a celebratory person by nature, so these things are not intuitive to me at all. I am barely keeping up with maintenance work, so piling on extra seems, well, dumb. I'm trying to get over this, but it isn't easy. When I returned from our Holy Saturday Service to the unholy pile of dishes we left from dinner I was questioning my priorities. A friend commented to me this morning that everyday is a party at our house. I answered that it is, and every night is like cleaning up after a party. Somewhere in this I need to find the middle of the road.
Some of the weekend highlights so far have been new Easter outfits. Rounding up nine new outfits in our shopping wasteland is not an easy task, but everyone looked great this morning. We would have looked better at 10:00, but maybe next year. I meant to get their Easter baskets out and set them by their beds so they would have them to wake up to. It was a bit anticlimactic for me to go haul them out after church while everyone waited for me. I need to write that one down so I don't forget on my way out the door at 6:00 am to go sing in the cemetery. Now this may sound a bit odd, but it was truly awesome. Of course this year we are having some AMAZING weather for Easter weekend. I know that snow is not that unusual for this time of year, so next year I need to keep my expectations in check. Getting up early and joining a crowd of merry folks to sing about new life and the conquering of death among those who have already won was glorious. Watching the sun rise on the whole occasion really made my heart sing. What a way to start the season. That is on the must do list, and I must drag all my children with me. My quirky friend Joe inaugurated the first annual Easter Apocalypse party last night. He wanted all ages and genders, and races, and all those other people to get together and kick it Christian style. He still doesn't quite get that some of us do actually need some sleep at night, so I stayed home with the little people and cleaned the dinner disaster. The kids that stayed until the cops showed up had the best time. I think Joe may have in fact accomplished his goal. For my part next year I will do my best to organize breakfast for the faithful partiers and psalm singers before we all head off to church. Oh yes, and I really need to remember to color eggs with my younger kids. I have given in to the plastic eggs are good enough theory, but that is sort of like sporting the fake pre-decorated tree at Christmas. (No offense to anyone, but I like the real deal.)
This afternoon we will gather at the Quall's home. This has become our Easter tradition. Looking back over the years I have many fond memories of this event. Dr. Leithart grilling burgers, Tage grabbing the electric fence, Asher hiding eggs for the kids, loading the trampoline to capacity with teens, romances begun, sunburns a plenty, older kids hiding eggs for younger kids, the number of children growing and growing and growing. I hope we are still doing this when all of us moms give in and sport our white hair, and our daughters are slaving away at feeding the crowd while we hold the grand babies and laugh at all the noise. This is the family God has given me, and it is crazy wild. I wouldn't want it any other way. He is risen!
I'm thankful for...
Young people
Wiggly children at church to keep me from being too serious
Wonderful prayers from godly men
Singing
Coffee, just keep it coming
New clothes
Jelly Belly's and Reece's peanut butter eggs
The smell of coffee cake baking in the oven
Phone calls from Nes early in the morning wondering where I am
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