Easter Week

We celebrate Easter in a big way in our family! It is important to me that my kids get a strong understanding of what we are really celebrating at Easter and who the focus of this day should be, so we take the whole week to build up for the blessed Easter day.

We start a week before Easter on Palm Sunday. The cousins come over and we reenact the Savior's triumphal entry into Jerusalem by acting it out.

The apostles come to take the donkey because the Lord has need of it.

Riding into Jerusalem. We lay our "cloaks" on the ground under him, and wave palm fronds, and shout "Hosanna!" Then we sing a Hosanna primary song.

It is east to do, but the kids love it!

Then for the rest of the week, every night, we get together for a few minutes and read in the New Testament about some of the things that Christ did during his last week. We find pictures of the events of his last week and tape them up in the family room as the week progresses. We learn a new Easter hymn, and practice it all week.

There are a few books that I rely on for ideas and to get a breakdown of just what Christ did on his last week: A Christ-Centered Easter by Janet and Joe Hales and God So Loved the World by Eric Huntsman. I have been using the first one for years and it is wonderful because it is filled with recipes, activity ideas and stories, as well as a side-by-side chronological comparisons of the last week of Christ's life in the 4 gospels. I just got the second book this year and it is a lot more scholarly with more in-depth look into the last week of Christ's life, Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Thursday night we always have a special evening - a passover dinner, like the one Christ ate at the Last Supper. We discuss what Christ did that night of all nights when he feasted with his apostles in the upper room, washed their feet, and administered the first sacrament to them and them went to the garden of Gethsemane where he performed much of the work of the miraculous atonement and suffered for our sins before he was betrayed and drug off by Roman soldiers.

But then we have our own little version of a Jewish Passover Seder ceremony and discuss each food and action and how each is Symbolic of Jesus Christ.

We have been doing this for several years now and I learn more, it seems, each year, and the kids understand and participate more each year. It is really wonderful!

If you are interested, I have done a detailed post about much of the symbolism and what we do here.

Another part of out Easter week that my kids love are the making of the Easter Story cookies that we make together on Saturday night, but don't eat until Easter morning. There are scriptures to read and discuss with each ingredient. Another easy and meaningful activity. Click here for the recipe.

But I think for me, my very favorite part of our Easter Week is what we do very, very early Easter morning.

I wake the kids up while it is still dark, and we wrap ourselves in blankets, go out into the backyard, climb up on top of the play structure, and huddle together as we read from then gospels of that blessed Easter morning and the empty tomb, and then sing "He is Risen" and other Easter hymns as the sun rises.

It is perfect!

(My kids only complained the first time we did it. Now they look forward to it.)

Then we come inside and enjoy our Easter Story Cookies, and a yummy breakfast of a breakfast casserole (recipes here) and sticky pull-apart bake (recipe here) that have been baking while were were outside. A feast for a joyous celebration of what had happened that glorious morning!

The rest of our Easter Sunday is pretty typical - church, Easter baskets, egg dying, an egg hunt, and a yummy Easter dinner of course, but I will save all that for another post.

But the things that we do in the week preceding and the morning of Easter Sunday really lay a foundation, I believe for all of those other things.

I love doing it and my children enjoy all of our Easter traditions. Most of the activities we do are very easy to put together, and even those things that take more work are really worth it! You must know that we don't do all of it every year, and some nights we may miss our little readings because life gets crazy, but we do our best. What we do get in always points us toward our Savior, and the importance of this most sacred and wonderful Easter holiday.

And it is way less work, and I think, more important in some ways, than Christmas is.

Without Easter there would be no Christmas, you know.

Tiny Tot Egg Hunt

Luke had really been excited about the upcoming Easter party at his tiny tots...

He was especially excited about meeting the Easter Bunny himself! That was all he could talk about! We were running late getting there and he was really stressing out that we would miss E. Bunny since he was scheduled to appear first. In fact, when we were driving there he told me to watch all the oncoming cars for some big white ears driving past because if we see some, we will know we are too late and the Easter Bunny has already left. Luke was anxious!

Well, we didn't see any large white ears driving by, and we got there just in time to see E. Bunny himself taking the last few pictures getting ready to leave.

Perfect.

Only when Luke took one look at this adorable fluffy happy creature he completely freaked out and would not get within 10 feet of him! He just stood there with his head down and no amount of coaxing was going to get him closer.

He said E. Bunny was scary. Now, I have seen a few freaky scary Easter Bunnies in my day, but this guy wasn't one of them.

This is the same kid who just two days before was brave enough to ride Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the Haunted Mansion twice each. Now he was afraid of a furry bunny. Go figure.

But Luke wasn't the only one. The big Bunny had my friend Portia's kids crying hysterically and hiding behind her. So funny.

So Luke decided to go play at the playground instead.

While there he was given a small envelope by a little girl in his class. In the envelope there was a note and on the note was a sun, a boy and a girl holding hands, two lovely hearts, and the name Sidney. Oh my.

I asked Luke what the hearts and the kids holding hands meant and Luke said, "Don't worry Mom, we are just friends."

I have a feeling I'll be hearing that line again many more times for the next 15 years.

Then it was craft time and Luke tacked a huge pile of Easter grass and glue to make his colorful picture. Check out the tongue action. That is a family trait.

While the kids were inside playing and crafting, the moms were busy "hiding" the thousands of Easter eggs. Well, "scattering" is a better term, since the egg hunt took place on an enclosed baseball diamond. There was no hiding to be done. The egg hunt was more like an egg race!

And they're off! Luke was the first one out of the gate and strategically ran out into the middle of the field past all of his competitors before starting to gather eggs while the rest of the group all stopped at the very first eggs they got to to start gathering.

So while the others piled up and fought over eggs, the field was wide open for Luke.

Brilliant kid.

I think with 5 older brothers that child has learned a thing or two about strategy when it comes to getting his fair share.

(Little girls are so cute! sigh.)

Luke definitely got more eggs than anyone. When his bag was overflowing it was time to stop.

After the hunt we had a nice spring lunch and the kids dug into their eggs.

We love tiny tots and we love Easter, and we love egg hunts!

(But maybe we are still not so crazy about the Easter Bunny.)

Leapin' Lizards

When you have boys, you have lizard catchers.

This little guy that Luke captured was rather cute.

Did I just say that? Can I really be succumbing to the draw of reptiles?

I think I have been around boys too long!

Rock Star!

A little shile back Luke got hold of a black marker and had a little too much fun with it.

At first I just thought it was on his face, then I saw it on his arms, and then he revealed stripes all up and down his long legs.

I asked him why and he said it was because he was a "Rock Star!" And it was the way that he said it that was so funny - like he really was a "Rock Star!" I thought he looked more like a zebra.

After a few baths and a few days, Luke was no longer a rock star, or a zebra, or whatever he was, but he'll always be my little boy.

And that's why we call him Nate the Great!

My sweet boy Nathan, or Nate, as he prefers, just turned 14. Fourteen!!! Fourteen, as in he is old enough to do all the cool stuff like dances and EFY, fourteen!!! As in getting ordained as a Teacher fourteen! As in working on his Eagle project fourteen! As in going to High School and seminary in the fall, fourteen!

Is he excited? Oh ya. He may not look excited - gotta keep up that Mr. Cool vibe, you know. But I can tell by the way his mouth turns up just a tad in the corners when I ask him, and the way he lifts his eyebrows... just...so. That kid is STOKED to be 14!

I am stoked for him. 14 was such an awesome year for Alex and I know Nathan is going to have just as great and as transforming a year! Can't wait to sit back and watch that happen!

But the truth is, that transformation has already begun. Lately, I have really seen Nathan come into his own, and I love what I am seeing.

Those middle school years are tough. I know. I used to teach middle school. It is truly the Twilight Zone of life. Kids that age are stuck somewhere between being kids and being adults, and many suffer from low self esteem. Nathan was no exception. He struggled with this which broke my heart. I just wanted so bad for him to see himself as the great kid we all saw.

I am happy to report that as he finishes up his last year in Middle School I think he has come through it well. He knows he is smart and talented and capable, and that others, not just mom and dad, like him and think he is a pretty cool kid.

And he is.

Nate is a talented kid. He is a good singer and an excellent actor! I'm not just saying that. He is awesome. (See previous post about Fiddler.) Ever since he was a little tiny guy he loved to dress up and pretend. He would really get into it - get lost in his character like no kid I ever saw. He always had on a hat of some kind or another. (He is still a hat wearer. Not baseball caps, but hats of all kinds.) And he always seemed to know all the lines to all his favorite movies. He could recite a whole movie to me on a long car ride. (That is why we decided to get a portable DVD player for the car.) I always knew he was meant to for the stage, and this year he realized that about himself, and I think that had a lot to do with this transformation I have seen in him of late.

Nathan is also a musician. He has been taking piano and learning the saxophone for a long time. that is nothing new. But I think he is finally getting to the point with both that he can really preform and play some cool stuff - songs people recognize. More importantly, songs his peers recognize and appreciate. His piano teacher really gets boys and does a good job of picking music for them that they enjoy playing, and Nathan is really enjoying playing and performing. In fact, as school he was voted as an 8th grade favorite for "Most likely to be an iTunes top artist." That is cool! (Oh yeah, and I must remind him, girls dig musicians.) After years and years of practicing, it is so nice to get to that point. I hope he never stops.

Nathan is not just gifted on stage, but in the kitchen. His real talents can only be appreciated with your mouth. Nate is a great cook. A GREAT cook! Seriously, folks, his crepes are every bit as good as anything we ever had in France! He made some for me for breakfast conference weekend. Total heaven! And he bakes amazing French bread - soft inside, crusty outside, and oh, so pretty! Those are his specialities, but he can cook anything. He especially like to make French and Italian food. Actually, we ALL like him to make it. He sees that, how much good homemade food makes people happy, and I think that is helping his come to his own as well.

And Nathan is also an athlete, and becoming more so every day. He got his black belt in taekwando a few months ago, no small accomplishment, and I think it has really shown him what he is capable of. He worked really hard, still does, and is proud of what he has done. have done it myself, I know exactly what it takes and am really proud of him for it.

Now he is busy with another sport that he is really getting good at - water polo. He and his brothers are swimming and doing water polo almost every day, and Nate is proving to be pretty good. His coach at the High School is excited to have him coming in next year. I think he is going to do some great things in water polo and swimming in the years ahead. And he really likes it, and as a swimmer, I am really happy about that!

Nate has been collecting trading pins since he was just a little kid and has amassed quite a collection! He collects all kind of pins, but especially loves collecting Disney and Hard Rock Cafe pins. The whole family gets into it to help Nate collect and trade.

Nate is a smart kid too. He particularly love history and geography and is a walking, talking history book. He is always spewing out facts I sure didn't know. "Hey, Mom, did you know..." followed by some truly interesting tidbit or story. I am really looking forward to having him in my seminary class next year! When he was little and I was the primary choirister he would always raise his hand first, always, and would get so upset that I would not call on him every time. This time as I teach seminary, I'm sure his hand will be shooting up all year long. Next year we will be studying the Old Testament. I know he is going to LOVE that - a LOT of interesting stories there. I know he will be teaching me a few things!

I love this kid. I love the sweet little guy he always was and the good man I see that he is becoming. (And although coming from mother it doesn't have a lot of credence,) I think Nate is cool! I hope he realizes that too.

Then again, once he gets into High School, the trick might be to rein him in and make sure he doesn't start thinking he is TOO cool.

I love you, Nate the Great!