This morning I tried to get Michael in his new outfit for Easter, but apparently, he liked it better on the hanger than on him (the shirt was not as soft as his other favorite shirts but it sure looked a lot more dressier---obviously he didn't get the memo about looks over comfort!) so I let him wear what was comfortable for him. There are some battles not that important---especially when Michael woke up with a cheerful, "Happy Easter! Jesus is alive!" Then we headed to church for the early 7:30am service. Yawn. I set my alarm for 5am because I was so afraid to oversleep! Plus, I knew Michael was looking forward to the pancake breakfast they served before the service at 6:30am (it was Michael's first taste of pancakes & he loved it!).
Okay, I don't know about your church, but our service was incredibly joyful and meaningful! The choirs and musicians made it so special and it was an amazing service for all of us! Hallelujah! He is risen, so why are we sweatin' the small stuff, right?!? I left church wishing we had church everyday!!!
When we got home, it was time for the Easter Boutique, our own little tradition since Krista was our only tiny child. Back then, I've always hid plastic eggs with paper money (so she could learn to count her money or make change to "purchase" things at the Easter Boutique) or math facts that she would have to answer in order to redeem them for product at the Easter Boutique (I know! Poor child!). I don't do Easter baskets. I never like what's in them and customizing one takes too much effort and is too easy. I want my children to work for their surprises! Besides, it's much more fun to "play store!"
Now that Krista is older, I've been putting in Scripture verse clues in the eggs. The clues have something to do with what they're going to be getting so it's fun to watch her try to figure out the clue. This year, we did it for Michael, too. We hid 24 eggs. Three of the green eggs had clues for Michael and of course, the clues for Krista were hidden in three blue eggs. Once the eggs were found (our children do not have good detective genes so they needed help from us otherwise they'd still be looking!) we all went upstairs to figure out the clues. Each clue had the Scripture reference and the version they needed to read the verse from.
Krista's clues were from these three passages: Ps 92:8 (CEV), Luke 12:48 (NLT), Daniel 12:3 (CEV)
Michael's clues were from these three passages: Heb 3:3 (NLT), Ps 119:103 (CEV), Genesis 22:17 (NLT)
Can you guess what they got at the Easter Boutique?!? This Easter was extra special because Krista wanted to help me make our special Easter dinner. Last night, we made a New York cheese cake together and it turned out super yummy! We made Michael some jello since he's not a cheesecake fan...yet! Krista made the perfect graham cracker crust. Thank God she didn't get my cooking genes! Today, we made stuffed chicken breast, mashed sweet potatoes and corn together. The home made rolls never came into fruition and we forgot the Caprice Salad because we made it earlier today and had some earlier! Preparing a meal with her is a lot more satisfying and enjoyable when I can do it with Krista.
This was such an amazing day (and weekend!). We're grateful because we can celebrate that He's alive!!!I love how the Amplified Bible puts I Peter 1:18-19... "18You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible things [such as] silver and gold,
19But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot."
