Easter Reflections

No, these are not the spiritual kind that I probably SHOULD be posting.  These are mostly the reflections of a mom.

1.  Wee One was the first child to rise on Easter morning, as he is every morning.  This time he woke to find a line-up of Easter baskets.  I handed him the littlest one that belonged to him.  Once he found the one egg with jelly beans, the child was in absolute heaven.  I have no doubt that he feels each and every breakfast should consist of jelly beans.  He made sure there were at least three or four jelly beans in his mouth at all times.  He only has the front teeth, so it was adorable to watch him chew them.  I took a ton of pictures and loved every second of watching him love every second of that candy bliss.  Once his own jelly beans were gone, he thought he should move on to the other baskets.  I decided to wake up the other kids.

2.  You know that whole debate about Nature v. Nurture?  Nature was very evident today.  THREE of my five kids refused to eat their chocolate Easter bunnies.  I have three kids who do not like chocolate!  That definitely would not have been the case if my blood were flowing through their veins.

3.  The only time Basia will wear a pretty, pastel pink dress without complaining loudly is when she gets to match her little sister.

5.  I got big compliments on how great my children looked when we walked into the church.  Moms in the know wondered out loud how on earth I am able to get them all ready and looking so good for church.  What they didn't know is the state of my house when we walked out the doors.  Oh, my gosh!  My sink was full of carrot peels from lunch prep.  There were Easter grass, chocolate bunny wrappers, and half plastic egg shells scattered all over my living room floor.  The counter of my bathroom has a variety of girly hair bows, a variety of little girl earring options, lotions, and potions hiding any possible view of the counter below.  The house was absolutely clean when we woke up.  A very few hours later, and it looked like a tornado had struck.  I guess this is also the place to add that we can no longer use our TV because a certain someone was stirring the toilet water with our DVR remote while I was painstakingly getting kids ready.

6.  Yes, Zade, you do have to still use the potty even if it's a holiday.  Sorry to ruin your fun.

7.  I remember this same thing striking me last year, but I felt it even more strongly this year.  The Easter music at church reminds me so, so much of my Easters as a child.  I can just feel the joy emanating out of my mom as she sang those same songs with such gusto.  She loved (and probably still loves) those songs and what they mean and there was no denying it to those of us standing with her.  I wish I were still standing with her on Easter mornings, but I truly do feel her with me even though I know she is worshiping 40 some miles away at her own church.  I got tears in my eyes remembering her singing those same songs, just feeling her love for Jesus and her love for us.

8.  Easter egg hunts are the bane of my picture taking existence.  It is impossible to get a good picture of kids running like crazy after treats.  I try every single year.  I stink!  Basia was happy to find some cash in some of her eggs this year.  The Easter bunny MAY have been trying to bribe the biggest boy into hunting for eggs, but he wasn't lured.  Basia reaped the rewards!

9.  I don't know if it was because it was a holiday or if it was because she was with us last Easter (she was sick, so I remember well!), but my heart hurt a little all day, missing Miss Personality, feeling like she should be part of all the fun.  I know without a doubt that she was having her own Easter fun with her mom, though, and that's a good thing.  I know without a doubt because I texted her mom for the very first time since I dropped Miss Personality off in February.  I wished them a happy Easter and let them know that my little ones bring up Miss Personality's name every time we pray.  I didn't know if she would respond, but it felt like the right time to make contact.  I got a picture text back of Miss Personality with Easter bunny ears on and Easter decor all around her.  I know she was having a good day, and that made my day even more special, too.

10.  My heart grew three sizes this Easter.  I don't know why, but I do know that I feel utterly blessed in a billion different ways.  The Holy Week services at our church were amazing and touched me like few services ever have, and I am a new woman.