Happy Easter 2010

It was a full weekend celebrating the resurrection of our LORD with the family! We did our traditional Saturday morning egg hunt, baskets, and brunch at Grampie & Grammie's.

Gone are the days of little bright-eyed and bushy tailed kids squirming to stay in their rooms until 7:00AM because they are SO eager for candy and gifts... now, we head down after teens & young adults (and Dad!) have awoken from their slumber... so it was closer to 10:30.

Also a little untraditional, Dad had an appliance call with Lando prior do being able to come down (they couldn't turn it down, I mean, it WAS, after all a whirlpool dryer, not heating! - Sheesh!).

We did not do money eggs this year. (Lando was disappointed and thought that in honor of Jesus having risen, he deserved a "cash prize" - we all got a good laugh out of that one!). Drew and I DID however, do an interpretive dance (I'll have to secure a photo or two from Elle).

Hunting

Finding Jade & Elle's clever hiding spots!

Deevs wasn't fooled!

Miss M

Must be a remnant $1 egg from LAST year!

Instead of money eggs, we got everyone a pair of TOM'S Shoes for their baskets!

Trying on TOMS.

Father/Son bonding on the Sport Court

Late in the afternoon most of the kids took off. Drew had band practice back up in LA, Deevs & Miss M went to exchange their TOMS for different sizes & styles, and Lando went to play volleyball with friends.

Mom, Dad, Grammie, Grampie, Elle, and Jade stayed at G&G's and watched "Sherlock Holmes" which was certainly enjoyable!

EASTER SUNDAY

We arrived at Angel's stadium by 7:45AM to serve at the 30th Anniversary Saddleback service.

We were "Section Hosts". Lando & Jade did one section... they did a GREAT job welcoming, greeting, and engaging their guests! And seemed to have a fun time doing it!

Deevs and Dad had a section. They were at the FAR end, alone and their section was small and slow to fill up which was discouraging at first, but revved up right before the service started.We had LOTS of prizes to give away. This was not as fulfilling as it may seem. People were not grateful recipients, but kind of (dare I say it?) - Greedy. They wanted more and more and more. If I could advise the planning team for next year, it would be no gifts unless everyone gets the same gifts in their bag... it was chaos!

We still had a GREAT time serving as a family! I PRAY a lot of people came to Christ as a result of the efforts of this special day to share with them God's love for them and all Christ did for them on the cross!

As soon as service started, we were allowed to go back to our seats for the rest of the service.

After the service was over, the Jonas brothers sang 3 songs. We were NOT that far away, but they looked so TINY on that HUGE field!

After the service, we were tired & hungry, but happy!We were going to maybe go OUT to brunch, but we ended up coming home & BBQing, watching TV, resting...
and experiencing a LARGE earthquake! It was not that big here, but just a short way into Mexico, it was pretty large at 7.2... but I guess it was pretty deep which - they are saying - made it not FEEL as strong. It lasted a really long time... it felt like it just kept going & going. Wow! That was some unexpected excitement for the afternoon!

All in all, it was a lovely Easter weekend. We are SO grateful to be able to celebrate that our Savior ROSE and is Risen (indeed!) with each other. I couldn't IMAGINE a more pleasurable way to spend 2 days.

Thank you God for such ABUNDANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Resurrection Day 09

HE IS RISEN.

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

When the kids were little, we went to the "Easter House" (Gram & Pop's house in Canyon Lake) Thursday, Friday, Saturday. We did the "bunny" and candy and baskets on Saturday. Then Sunday we did Church, Resurrection, and Family.

Once Canyon Lake was sold, we still spent friday night at Grampie & Grammie's and did eggs, candy, bunny, basket on Saturday.

But as the kids got older, a whole WEEKEND was not as appreciated... so we have just been going over Saturday early in the morning. This year we didn't even head over until 9:30.

And now, this might have been our last Saturday.

We might now just be doing Sundays from here on out.

And how do you motivate a 21 year old (in college and with a job), an 18 year old (with a car who is learning appliance repair), a 15 year old (with a driver's permit and an engraved "forever" ring), and a 13 year old (with eye liner and lip gloss) to hunt for eggs???

(Miss M in her gift: a new sun dress from Urban Outfitters)

PUT MONEYIN THEM!!!!!!!!

There were 21 color coded eggs for each kid... they each had $1 in them except one had $5.

And guess what?

Surprisingly, this year they were such devoted searchers, they found almost all of them!

(Jade found all of his!)

Grammie made a delectable brunch (she even made a lower calorie version of her amazingly fatty Egg & Cheese Strata... still pretty good!).

(Grammie opening birthday gifts.)

We hung out until the complaining got unbearable "Can we go home?" / "We have been here 5 hours" / "Is it almost time to leave?" / "What time are we going?" / "It has been 7 hours" etc. that we eventually left.

We went to Sunday morning "sunrise service" at 7AM (when the sun was already *ahem* long since risen!). Although it was beautiful and wonderful to be outside and the sun did eventually warm everything up, it was freezing

(At church at 7AM... brrrrr.)

and we were under-prepared since the website specifically said the service was in the Sanctuary (bummer).

(FREEZING Deevs!)

(We felt bad, some little girls and teenagers were in tiny little sun dresses!) Pastor Tom taught and Tim Davis sang. We had some "Agnus Dei", "Our God is an Awesome God", and "Jesus Paid it All".

We came home and had a breakfast of oatmeal with fruit (back on our low-cal "A" game as D puts it).

(A little breakfast silliness: "Can you touch your nose with your tongue?")

Now relaxing and have some computer time.

Maybe dog beach or movie or hike later?

HAPPY Easter.

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EASTER IS COMING BIBLE VERSES:

Col 1:20-22

In Christ "God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body."

3 days 'til Easter Bible Verse: HEBREWS 12:2 "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God's throne in heaven."

Good Friday Bible Verse -

Isaiah 53:5,6 -

"But He [Jesus] was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on HIM [Jesus] the guilt and sins of us all."

Day before Easter verses -

Matthew 27:63-65

"They told him, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: `After three days I will be raised from the dead.' So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we'll be worse off than we were at first."

EASTER!

Matthew 28:5,6 -
"Then the angel spoke to the women.
"Don't be afraid!" he said.
"I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He isn't here!
He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen."