Celebrating Easter

If I hurry up and get this posted, it'll be not quite a year since I've posted on this blog. I haven't been snoozing that whole time - the things I've been blogging have been over on our Turkish Travels blog. However, while we're back in the States, I'll start putting things back on this blog... I like having kind of a record of what our life is like, and I also like being able to share it with others.

So although we had only been back in the States for a few weeks and barely had our wits about us (and still don't for that matter), we had a joyous celebration of Easter! How beautiful to reflect upon the resurrection of Christ and what that means for us both in this life and for eternity!

My parents' neighborhood had a little petting zoo the Saturday before Easter. Elias LOVED the chicks, and still talks about them! He was less excited about the goats (that you can see in the pen behind us).

We colored eggs the day before Easter. Grandma had bought some no-spill coloring cups, and those worked great!

I had also bought some of the shrink-wrap egg decorators, which I remember using as a kid. However, rather than dipping them in boiling water, which is what I remember doing, the instructions said you could also shoot them with a hair dryer to make the plastic shrink. Elias loved that too!

Our beautiful eggs!

We had brought home from church an Easter craft for Elias to do, so he and Grandma did that the day before Easter. He liked the way he could "open" the door to the empty tomb!

Then on Sunday morning, there was a lot going on at church! First a sunrise service, followed by breakfast. Then the choir practiced its cantata that it would be performing in the later service. Then Sunday School, then the later service, then an Easter Egg hunt!! In the later service, the children performed a handbell song, which Elias thought was awesome!
Listen at the end of the video... Hear the excited "YAAAAAAAAAY!"? That's Elias. :)

My parents' church has this cross of daffodils planted on the hill behind it, and every year it blooms just in time for Easter!

Due to bad weather, the Easter Egg Hunt at church had to be moved inside, but Elias still had fun!

For Easter supper, we made Easter Egg Salad! You can't really tell from the pictures, but the egg dye got on the eggs themselves, so our salad was pretty psychedelic. Made it even more delicious!

Christ is Risen!