Easter Weekend was so lovely.
Jason and I had off of work that Friday and the following Monday.
That being said, we ended up chaperoning the high school prom on Friday night and it was so much fun. I loved seeing all of the dress styles that are in right now and the suits! Oh my stars, the suits are so much more eye catching than they used to be. I loved it.
Not to mention, I can now officially say I've been to the prom with my sweetheart.
The next morning, I headed to Mom and Dad's and we had a busy morning dying and then hunting eggs with Ann Hatten and Bennett--who was more of an observer than a participant but, the cutest observer you've ever seen.
Mary Claire and I were cracking up because Mom was quite disappointed that our egg dying kit didn't have the usual bright red/coral color and our pink was so faint that it looked white. Even though we were laughing about it, it's true--the eggs aren't nearly as pretty without the usual red!
Ann Hatten took it pretty seriously and did a good job. She loved dunking the eggs and mixing colors.
Getting some Annie girl sugars between egg hunting sessions.
We would hide them for Ann Hatten and then she would hide them for us. We went back and forth all afternoon and had such a good time!
Mom's azalea bushes were so gorgeous that we had to snap some pictures by them.
It was such a fun morning and I absolutely love experiencing all holidays with these little best friends of mine to make them even more special.
Sunday was Easter morning and it's my favorite Sunday.
It was a gorgeous day and I love spending it with family each year. Last year was so...isolating and it was nice to have a somewhat normal Easter Sunday. It was quite representative of the hope and promise we have in Christ through His death and resurrection--a hope for a renewed life and the fact that it's true when we say, the best has truly yet to come.
Look at my sweet little James in his Easter clothes! He is growing so fast and I can't believe he will be a big brother this year!
I love this sweet, handsome man of mine and am so, so thankful for him!
Someone...wasn't feeling like taking pictures...if you can't tell ha!
Mary Claire says she was saving space for her--I'll take it since we did, in fact, miss having her!
After church, we all went to Aaron & Blair's house to have lunch with all of our family and all of her family. I always love it when we can all get together. We hunted more eggs, enjoyed to beautiful weather, and had a delicious meal together.
It goes without saying that the kids favorite part is riding on the golf cart! They always love it.
Uncle Aaron & Aunt Blair have the coolest stuff!
I read this book in preparation of Easter and I wanted to share an excerpt from it:
“Gethsemane” by R. Kent Hughes
The Lord deliberately chose Gethsemane. John’s specific mention of it as a “garden” in John 18:1 suggests that the apostle has in mind a deliberate comparison with the original garden of Eden. The symbolism is this:
The first Adam began life in the garden.
Christ, the second Adam, came at the end of his life to a garden.
In Eden, Adam sinned.
In Gethsemane, the Savior overcame sin.
In Eden, Adam fell.
In Gethsemane, Jesus conquered.
In Eden, Adam hid himself.
In Gethsemane, our Lord boldly presented himself.
In Eden, the sword was drawn.
In Gethsemane, it was sheathed.
This symbolism is not accidental or incidental to Jesus’ death. It was an assurance for future generations of readers that Christ was in control.
The surroundings of Christ’s final hour clearly displayed his sovereign control. The intensity of his agony and his sovereign resolve to bear it, his control over his captors, his protection of his own, his grace to the wounded, all proved he is an omniscient, all-powerful God. Christ was in control when life was falling in, when things looked the worst.
How does this relate to us? Though Christ’s Gethsemane was infinitely beyond human experience, Gethsemanes are a part of believers’ lives.
Gethsemane was not a tragedy, and neither are our Gethsemanes. This does not do away with the wounds of affliction in this life, but it is encouraging to see that behind human tragedy stands the benevolent and wise purpose of The Lord of human history.
