Happy Easter

Easter was a bit different for us this year.   I didn't realize that it was Easter and scheduled our trip away to Gatlinburg and an indoor waterpark.  "No problem," thought I,  "I will just find a church for us to go to."  Not being in church on Easter is really unimaginable to me and the only time that I can remember not going was when Abby was 4 and had the chicken pox.   I decided that maybe a sunrise service would be nice and so I found one.   One that begin at 6:30 am on the top of a mountain that would require that we take a scenic tramlift to the top.   Did I mention the mountain was thirty minutes from where we were staying?   Everything seemed like a great idea until 4:45 this morning when we were supposed to get up to go.  Two of our children had coughed non-stop all night and they hadn't fallen asleep until 10:30 the night before.   We ended up staying in bed and missed not only the sunrise but the service as well.  I felt incredibly guilty about not going and even told God so but here is the neat thing about God, he loves us even when we don't get to church (not that I am saying that it doesn't matter if we go or not-that's a whole other discussion).   

We ended up gathering the girls up in the sunlight streaming through the window and taking turns reading the Easter story and asking questions and pondering what it felt like to be a bystander that first Easter so long ago.  I think the girls got just as much out of it as they would have had we been dressed in our Easter finest sitting in church or wrapped in our coats sitting on a mountain top.   They have all mentioned at various times today and tonight during there prayers that Jesus is risen.  Christ died on the Cross for each one of us, to take on our sins because He loved us that much and then He rose again.  My absolute favorite song to sing on Easter and I did sing it (albeit a little off key) says,

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Saviour

Waiting for the coming day, Jesus my Lord

Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o'er his foes

He arose the  victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign

He arose, He arose, Hallelujah Christ Arose!!!    

And that is what it is all about.  So no great shots of the girls in their Easter dresses.  Just a picture of the beautiful mountains we looked over as we contemplated what Christ has done for us.   

We didn't quite forget some traditions though and the girls got their baskets when they got back home tonight.  The girls don't believe in the Easter bunny.  We have never told them that there isn't one, we just never said much about him.  One day Abby and Maddie said, "We know you do the baskets" and that ended the need to hide and try to get things out before they wake up and in this case we were able to leave the baskets here and not take them with us.  They enjoyed them when they got home.   

Easter Baskets

New shiny Crocs from their baskets (in all their favorite colors)