Easter

Mon-Wed last week Dan was gone for a business trip and Tuesday night I got a funny pain in my back and low groin area. I finally got Esias to bed around 10pm (he hated going to sleep without his daddy) and I went to bed. Wednesday morning I woke up with a little more intense pain. By Wed. night I was definitely using Lamaze techniques but dealing with pain that ultimately will not result in a cute little baby is just no fun. Since I have had this before, I am fairly certain I've got a kidney stone on my hands, or rather, in my kidney. I am going on Day 7 and I am not a happy camper. The last one I had lasted two days...this little bugger is holding on. The pain is less intense than it was but now I'm just downright annoyed!

Ok, enough of that. We spent Easter with the parents riding bikes, eating, playing, doing a treasure hunt, and lots and lots of whiffle ball. We did some egg dying and then we started what will hopefully be an a tradition. We did a Resurrection Eggs activity. Easter is one of those holidays that is difficult to keep focus. Christmas is bad enough, why do we have to make Easter all about eggs and candy? I think I am going to start calling it Resurrection Sunday instead :) So anyway, I hid little items relating to the Resurrection story inside 12 plastic eggs. Each of the bigger kids got to pick three eggs and then open then in sequence as we read the story. They opened bread (Jesus said the bread was like his body, broken for us), coins (Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins), purple cloth (the robe Jesus wore), a string (scourge), thorns (crown of thorns), a cross (Jesus carried), nails (pierced his hands and feet), a sign that read "Here is the King of Jews," a sponge (that was offered to Christ on the cross), a spear (that pierced his side), a rock (that sealed the tomb) and the last egg was EMPTY! We read the Resurrection story out of the Jesus Storybook Bible which is my absolute fave. I hope we do this every year and let the kids sort of take over and do it for us. It was really nice and the kids liked it.

Easter morning at my parents' is always a flurry because all 12 of us are trying to get ready at the same time. We ended up getting to the church on time but Brynn reinjured her knee in the pew and had to be taken out of the service before it even started. Oh, such is the life of the Stanton girls! If it's not one thing...

Church was good and the kids behaved as well as can be expected after the excitement of the injury. We left there and went to Grandpa Lee's for a minute and then to Grandma Dort and Grandpa Lloyd's while my mom prepared the house (read: decluttered from all her house guests!) for forty something people who were coming for Easter dinner. The Stanton Easter was good as usual. Lots of whiffle ball, again. Lots of my cousins made it back which was great. The kids had a blast, the weather was awesome, and only a few sand burrs acrued on our socks.

Here are some pics.

Getting ready for Saturday's scavenger hunt.

Go Team!

One clue was in the horse barn.

To the spooky forest!

Easter Sunday pics-

Esias found cheese crackers and then didn't care a thing about eggs.

These last two of my precious little ones were just too cute not to post - Elly and Esias were clearly glad to be home.