Embrace the Circus: Easter Joy

Sleepers, awake!

Christ is now risen;

Empty the tomb; risen the sun!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Easter morning dawned clear and bright. The Son had risen and the world looked just the way we thought it should -- shiny and crisp and colorful. Although our girls normally wake in shifts (Madeline first, Kathleen about an hour later), on Easter morning they woke at the same time. We hadn't spoken to them about the treats that'd be awaiting them downstairs until we were headed down, but that was apparently plenty of time to work up some excitement.

The girls found their baskets on the toy bench. They each received a bit of candy (there'd be more than enough of that over the course of the day) and they shared a new copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible.

After they'd examined their baskets we told them that there were eggs hidden around the living room. Kathleen raced off to find them (she'd actually spotted a few as she'd come through the living room to see her basket), but Madeline couldn't see the point in that. After all, there were four tiny chocolate eggs in her basket. Why collect plastic eggs when you could eat chocolate at seven o'clock in the morning? She'd hold up the tiny piece of foil-wrapped chocolate to Mama or Daddy and exclaim, "Treat! Help, please!" Eventually she was distracted from the chocolate and convinced to join in the egg hunt, too. She's a surprisingly accomplished hunter!

After hunting eggs, we sat and talked about the first Easter morning. Our girls haven't yet associated the Easter candy and treats with the Easter bunny -- we are thankful that when asked about what we celebrate at Easter, Kathleen announces proudly, "Jesus rosed from the dead!" And Kathleen practiced responding to our "He is risen!" with "He is risen, indeed!" (Despite our success with it at home, she had no interest in the response by the time we got to church.)

We started what I think will become a new Easter morning tradition -- baking "Resurrection Rolls." We started with some refrigerated crescent rolls, which represented Jesus' shroud.

Next, we took marshmallows, which represented Jesus. We "prepared" Jesus for burial by dipping the marshmallows in butter and cinnamon sugar. (You know, in case there wasn't enough sugar on Easter.) Daddy read the scriptures to us as we worked.

We then wrapped the marshmallows in the crescent rolls and baked them. They turned into nice, puffy little rolls. And -- even better -- the marshmallow disappeared, just like Jesus! Along with our normal Sunday morning fruit smoothies, they made for a lovely (if sugary!) Easter breakfast.

After breakfast we headed to church for Easter services, which were beautiful. We spent time in the sunshine after church, visiting with friends and rejoicing in the resurrection day and the gorgeous weather. Then we scurried home to finish preparations for Easter dinner.

That afternoon we filled our little house with family and friends to celebrate. All told, there were 21 of us! Nan and Grandpa, aunties and uncles, cousins, and friends from church and school. We feasted and then the children (all girls, actually!) hunted for eggs in the backyard. It was hilarious to see them racing around the lawn...

Apparently the early morning practice paid off for Madeline, because as the egg hunt started she raced out, cutting off our three-year-old friend Audrey to grab her first egg. (Sorry, Audrey!) Of course, after that she reverted to her normal candy-seeking (rather than egg-seeking) behavior, pleading with adults to help her open her egg!

Girls on the hunt!

We lingered in the backyard after the egg hunt, watching the children play in the playhouse. (Where, I later discovered, Kathleen was surreptitiously eating egg after egg of candy! By the time I went in to confiscate her loot, there was none left. Whoops!)