Easter & More

Spiritually, Easter is a very important time of year for us.  Mark and Leah try to carve out time during Lent for prayer, study and reflection (the success of this endeavor depends on hot coffee and when the kids wake-up in the morning).  We try to separate the meaning of the resurrection of Christ, the promise of eternal life, from bunnies, chocolate and eggs.  We try.  Sometimes we succeed, but often we fall short.  

Because our reality right now is two toddlers, a busy, active and at times overwhelming, church schedule for Mark, which means a lot of solo parenting time for Leah, combined with fun egg hunts, a bunny breakfast at the club and two birthday celebrations right in a row. 

We managed to share the Easter story with the kids to the best of their limited understanding.  Ben concluded, "God and Jesus work together.  But Jesus died, so I am going with God." Or his Easter morning observation that, "Today is about God, Jesus, rising from the dead, church and lots of bunnies."  Clara woke Easter morning to say, "Happy Easter!  He is Risen!."  

After naps on Sunday, we soaked in the glorious spring weather with a family hike.  Clara held her own on the trail - her new mantra is, "I'll do it all by myself." We returned home to find baskets of treats from the Spring Bunny and yes, we ate too much chocolate.

We will try every year to do better, to slow down a bit more, study and pray consistently throughout Lent, share our faith with Ben and Clara, not let the craziness of Mark's church calendar dictate the tempo of our home, hunt for the Spring Bunny, get dye stained fingers from making eggs and always be thankful, grateful for the hope and joy that is in our hearts.  We will try and for today, that seems good enough.  Happy Easter.