Nothing beats Easter as seen through the eyes of one who is almost 4 – and that would be granddaughter Julia! She and her parents arrived on Friday (along with baby sister Lydia, 14 months) and she was ready for all that Easter means to a pre-schooler – mainly that she’d better be good so the Easter bunny would hide eggs and bring her a basket of candy! We had lots of quality family time over the weekend starting off with beer and pizza at Aunt Tammy and Uncle Steve’s on Friday night and ending Sunday evening with chips, Mexican layered bean dip and dessert.
Saturday morning I took Julia to the children’s activities at our church – joined by daughter Cindy and toddler Isabella plus Ralph and Lydia who joined us after Lydia’s nap – the little girls got to do lots of crafts and later participated in the traditional Easter egg hunt that was fortunately staged by ages! While Ralph and Cindy dealt with the under 2-year-olds, I assisted Julia in running with the masses of 3′s and 4′s – she quickly learned that not everyone was going to be polite and share but by time it was over her basket was full and that’s all that mattered to her!
Easter morning Julia was delighted to see that the E.B. had indeed arrived while she slept and left a basket of goodies along with a present – we then proceeded to play “hide the eggs” repeatedly and somehow the whole process never lost its fascination for her. Oh that we should all view the world through the eyes of one so young! Despite record low temps the girls wore their matching sailor dresses and stayed clean through child care while the adults were in church and we were able to get a good photo of the whole “fam damily” decked out in our Easter finery.
We had a full pew plus of 10 adults in church and were thrilled that the roof did NOT cave in with Tammy’s attendance (thanks Tammy for being there – I appreciate you very much). Her version of Easter Sunday can be found on her blog - and I have to admit I agree with many of her points about contemporary church. While she didn’t mention it, I know she shares in my disappointment in not singing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” – my very favorite Easter hymn despite the fact that it reminds me of my mother and always makes me cry. Usually when we sing it I’m standing next to Tammy and get the benefit of her hug.
For the last several years we have joined family friends at their home near Fair Grove – the food is always fabulous since it’s pot-luck and it’s always fun to see our “fringe family” which is the definition we have given to those who are related to us by about 3-4 degrees of separation. For me it was a treat to see my only nephew and his family – my sister would be so proud of him and of her 2 grandsons whom she never got to see. The kids got to romp and play outdoors flying kites and hunting for eggs while the males hovered around the television watching the Masters tournament. Family, good friends, plenty of good food – what more can one ask for in this life? A perfect weekend in my book.
Speaking of books, I finished “Give It Up” in which the author reounced one thing each month for a year – starting with alcohol in January and moving through shopping , elevators, newspapers, cell phones, eating out, television, taxis, coffee, cursing, chocolate and ending with multitasking in December. After a while I decided I wasn’t a big fan of her writing style and she got a bit short on substance and long on words so I skimmed the latter part of it. I decided I could easily give up a month’s worth of alcohol, elevators, eating out, television, taxis and cursing. However - while I’m not a huge shopper I love bargains, could do without the local paper but have to have the Wall Street Journal, cell phone = blackberry and I’m addicted to that, love coffee to get started in the morning, could do without chocolate if totally necessary but forgoing multitasking would be a true challenge. Overall the book got a B for subject matter, a D+ for writing and a big thanks to friend Suzanne for sharing it with me. Final analysis – don’t spend your hard-earned $ on it!
Yes, I did notice that we didn’t get to sing our favorite hymn on Sunday morning. However, you were pretty far away from me so we couldn’t have hugged!
Easter with Julia was a blast. She lamented to Uncle Steve late on Sunday that she was disappointed she didn’t get more candy. This from a child whose basket was filled over and over during the course of several days! She and Lydia looked so adorable on Easter morning with their matching dresses. Guess my having a younger sister was good for something! I’m kidding.
As always, lunch at Scott and Charlotte’s was delicious and relaxing. It’s always good to see my only first cousin and his family and I’m reminded of how I’d like to see them more often. Unfortunately, life gets busy and we all get caught up in the daily activities.
A good Easter filled with family and blessings.