Easter Weekend

The Easter Bunny came to our house Saturday morning. (We like to do bunny stuff on Saturday and spiritual stuff on Sunday.) Nathan's basket was filled . . . with stuff he needed anyway, like clothes. (The Easter Bunny and Santa are friends on Facebook.) My basket was a little pathetic. Geeze, the Easter Bunny didn't even spring for grass this year.

But Vander's was the saddest. He only got one egg, and his mommy promptly stole it. (But he got it back in milk.)

Annalee had it pretty good. She got the game Chutes and Ladders, some candy, and some yard care gear she was absolutely in love with.

She also started to notice that the Bunny had left little plastic eggs all over the living room! She had great fun finding them and then sat down to see what was inside. When the Easter Bunny brought them they had candy in them, but Mommy and Daddy had confiscated nearly all the candy and replaced it with pennies, nickels, and dimes. What she doesn't know won't hurt her.

We played Chutes and Ladders for the first time, and she totally creamed us.

I love how a game takes only 5 minutes!

Annalee liked playing with us. (And beating us, presumably.)

I made her pose in the little pillowcase shirt I'd made for her last year and she punished me by making a weird face in the picture. -sigh-

We then went to the Baby Spring Fling, a sort of baby craft fair at a local high school. We participated in the world-wide Great Cloth Diaper Change. We were going for a world record!

Look at all those cloth diaper babies! (I had just finished changing Vander, but since I was taking the picture we weren't in it.)

We were going to stay for the egg hunt the Fling was hosting, but it was getting close to nap time and Annalee had a balloon so she was happy enough without more candy.

That afternoon Nathan spent several hours on the yard mowing, weed-eating, and edging. I love to watch my handsome man at work!

We had planned to walk to church Sunday morning because of the beeeeautiful weather, but alas, Mommy required a shower and we only had time to drive. Vander wore one of the three adorable bow ties I got for him at the Spring Fling.

As Nathan was getting him dressed, he said, "Honey, this tie is plaid." "Yes?" "And his shirt is striped." "He only has two shirts with collars! Besides, it's cute." "Oh, so we're going for the nerdy-cute look?"

Whatever. I think it's adorable.

Now everyone but Mommy is taking a nap. We will end the day with Easter Dinner at Grandma and Papa 'Beek's house.

Several times this weekend I've thought about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and what it means for me. I tried to explain it to Annalee this morning when she was hanging out with me while I fed Vander. I told her that Jesus died, but then he was resurrected, he lived again so that we could all live again. "Wasn't it nice of Jesus to help us?" "Jesus will help us die?" "No, He will help us live again after we die." Then I told her about her great-grandma and grandpa van der Beek, Papa 'Beek's parents. I told her that they were dead right now, but that someday we will get to see them again and we'll all be alive. I know she doesn't get it right now, but someday she will. Someday when she loses someone she loves she will be able to stave off despair and embrace peace because of the knowledge of the gift of the Resurrection. In high school I wrote an Easter hymn that tries to capture the joy I feel when I think of Christ's victory over the grave.

Upon an early Easter morn
the Lamb of God lay slain and shorn
within a tomb of stone,
within a tomb of humble stone
that made, as if, to be His throne
and end the blessed story.

But, glory to the Lamb of Light!
His coat grew back a mantle white.
And, oh! The joy that conquered death!
And, oh, the joy that conquered death
and took an Easter morning breath
to usher in His glory.