Easter Weekend was such a good one.
We kicked off the weekend dying eggs with Mom & Dad and it was Ann Hatten's first time doing it.
Holidays have little more of spark to them with her around because we're seeing all the fun in everything that she's doing for the first time. Can you tell that I love Aunt Life?
Our family has always had the tradition of trying to make the prettiest egg and the ugliest egg.
When we were growing up, the ugly egg was the ultimate prize!
We hid eggs in the yard for AH and she was just precious hunting for them.
She was determined and wouldn't let anyone hold her basket for her LOL!
Getting some kisses from Mama
I love Easter Morning.
There's an understood, palpable joy that comes with Easter Morning and having the opportunity
to celebrate & remember that we have a Risen Savior.
I love The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Sally-Llyod Jones has such a way with words and she has taken The Bible and put it into understandable language for children and it. is. moving. and beautiful and actually one of my favorite ways to read stories from The Word. I am going to share three of her stories:
"The Sun Stopped Shining"
The Crucifixion, from Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19
"They walked up a hill outside the city. Jesus carried the cross on his back. Jesus had never done anything wrong. But they were going to kill him the way criminals were killed. They nailed Jesus to the cross. "Father, forgive them," Jesus gasped. "They don't understand what they're doing."
"You say yo've come to rescue us!" people shouted. "But you can't even rescue yourself!"
But they were wrong. Jesus could have rescued himself. A legion of angels would have flown to his side--if he'd called. "If you were really the Son of God, you could just climb down off that cross!" they said. And of course, they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, he could have just said a word and made it all stop. But Jesus stayed. You see, they didn't understand. It wasn't the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.
"Papa?" Jesus cried, frantically searching the sky. "Papa? Where are you? Don't leave me!" And for the first time--and the last--when he spoke, nothing happened.
Just a horrible, endless silence. God didn't answer. He turned away from his Boy.
Tears rolled down Jesus' face. The face of the One who would wipe away every tear from every eye.
Even though it was midday, a dreadful darkness covered the face of the world. The sun could not shine. The earth trembled and quaked. The great mountains shook. Rocks split in two. Until it seemed that the whole world would break. That creation itself would tear apart.
The full force of the storm of God's fierce anger at sin was coming down. On his own Son. Instead of his people. It was the only way God could destroy sin, and not destroy his children whose hearts were filled with sin.
Then Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, "It is finished!" And it was. He had done it. Jesus had rescued the whole world.
"Father!" Jesus cried. "I give you my life." And with a great sigh he let himself die.
Strange clouds and shadows filled the sky. Purple, orange, and black. Like a bruise.
Jesus' friends gently carried Jesus.
They laid Jesus in a new tomb carved out of rock.
How could Jesus die? What had gone wrong? What did it mean? They didn't know anything anymore. Except they did know their hearts were breaking.
"That's the end of Jesus," the Leaders said. But, just to be sure, they sent strong soldiers to guard the tomb. They hauled a huge stone in front of the door to the tomb. So that no one could get in. Or out."
"God's Wonderful Surprise"
The Resurrection from Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20
"Jesus' friends were sad. They would never see their best friend again. How could this happen? Wasn't Jesus the Rescuer? The King God had promised? It wasn't supposed to end like this.
Yes, but whoever said anything about the end?
Just before sunrise, on the third day, God sent an earthquake--and an angel from heaven. When the guards saw the angel, they fell down with fright. The angel rolled the huge stone away, sat on top of it, and waited.
At the first glimmer of dawn, Mary Magdalene and other women headed to the tomb to wash Jesus' body. The early morning sun slanted through the ancient olive trees, drops of dew glittering on leaves and grasses--little tears everywhere.
The friends walked quietly along along the hilly path, through the olive groves, until they reached the tomb. And immediately noticed something odd--it was wide open.
They peered through the opening into the dark tomb.
But wait.
Jesus' body was gone!
And something else: a shining man was there, with clothes made from lightning.
"Don't be scared," the angel said. But (they couldn't help it) they screamed anyway. The angel asked them, "What are you doing here? This is a tomb and tombs are for dead people."
The women couldn't speak.
"Jesus isn't dead anymore!" he said. "He's alive again!"
And their hearts kept. And then the angel laughed with such gladness that they felt, for a moment, as if they had woken from a nightmare.
The other women rushed home, but Mary stayed behind. How could it be true? Jesus was definitely dead--how could he be alive? Just then Mary heard someone else in the garden. Perhaps it's the gardener, she thought. He'll know where Jesus' body is. "I don't know where Jesus is!" Mary said urgently. "I can't find him."
But it was all right. Jesus knew where she was. And he had found her.
"Mary!"
Only one person said her name like that. She could hear her heart thumping. She turned around. She could just make out a figure. She shaded her eyes to see...and thought she was dreaming. But she wasn't dreaming. She was seeing.
"Jesus!"
Mary fell to the ground. Sudden tears filled her eyes and great sobs shook her whole body, and all she wanted in that moment was to cling to Jesus and never let him go. "You'll be able to hold on to me later, Mary" Jesus said gently, "and always be close to me. But now, go and tell the others that I'm alive!" Mary ran and ran, all the way to the city. The sun seemed to be dancing and gleaming and bounding across the sky, racing with her and shining brighter than she could ever remember in the clear, fresh air.
And it seemed to her that morning, as she ran, almost as if the whole world had been made anew, almost as if the whole world was singing for joy--the trees, tiny sounds in the grass, the birds...her heart.
Was God really making everything sad come untrue?
Was he making even death come untrue?
She couldn't wait to tell Jesus' friends. "They won't believe it!" she laughed.
"Going Home"
The Ascension from Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 14
"Jesus' friends were afraid. So they were hiding in an upstairs room with the door bolted shut. But that didn't stop Jesus. He just walked straight through the wall. "It's a ghost!" Thomas screamed and hid under the table.
But it wasn't a ghost.
This can't be, they were telling themselves. It's impossible. It's not happening.
But it was--right in front of them.
"I'm really here!" Jesus said.
And he really was.
Peter's heart leaped with joy and he fell into Jesus' arms, hugging and kissing him. The others followed. They felt their hearts would burst from the happiness.
The friends ate together and chatted happily. And every now and then, they'd just gaze at Jesus, and have to touch him to be sure they weren't dreaming.
Jesus had a real body but this body was better. It had come through death and couldn't get sick or be killed again. This body would live forever. Jesus had come back with a brand new body.
Not only were sad things coming untrue, the friends realized, they were becoming new again. Was God going to make everything new?
Jesus said, "I am the Savior and the Rescurer of the world." And they knew, because he couldn't stay dead, because Jesus had come alive again, that somehow everything would be all right.
A few days later, as they walked together, Jesus told his friends, "It's time for me to go home to my Father." They all looked worried. And then they remembered what Jesus had told them before he died. "There's a place for you. I'll get it ready," Jesus had said. "You know the way."
Thomas had panicked. "I don't know the way to get there!" "Yes, you do," Jesus had said. "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life." When at last they reached the top of the highest hill near Jerusalem, Jesus turned to them and said,
"Go everywhere and tell everyone the happy news!"
"Tell them I love them so much that I died for them.
It's the truth that overcomes the terrible lie. God loves his children.
Yes, he really does!"
Suddenly the whole sky was filled with a dazzling light.
"Now everyone can come home to God," Jesus said. "Death is not the end of you. You can live forever with your Father in heaven because I have rescued the whole world!"
And something amazing happened: Jesus rose up into the bright air, higher and higher. They shaded their eyes and watched him go, until a cloud hid Jesus so they couldn't see him anymore. They stood looking up into the sky like that for a long time.
Suddenly two shining men appeared, "What are you doing?"they asked. "Jesus has gone up to heaven. But one day he will com back. In the same way you saw him leave. From heaven. And from the sky."
Jesus' friends went back to Jerusalem with a strange gladness inside their hearts. And something Jesus said that stuck in their minds: "Even though you won't be able to see me anymore, I will never leave you. No! Not ever! I will be with you. Yes! Always and forever!"
This is it. This is what we celebrate, remember, believe in, and hope for!
I love how Sally-Llyod ends the Storybook Bible, she says:
"Because you see, the most wonderful things about this Story is -- it's your story, too!"
Amen and amen.
Holidays have little more of spark to them with her around because we're seeing all the fun in everything that she's doing for the first time. Can you tell that I love Aunt Life?
When we were growing up, the ugly egg was the ultimate prize!
She was determined and wouldn't let anyone hold her basket for her LOL!
I love Easter Morning.
There's an understood, palpable joy that comes with Easter Morning and having the opportunity
to celebrate & remember that we have a Risen Savior.
Sally-Llyod Jones has such a way with words and she has taken The Bible and put it into understandable language for children and it. is. moving. and beautiful and actually one of my favorite ways to read stories from The Word. I am going to share three of her stories:
"The Sun Stopped Shining"
The Crucifixion, from Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19
"They walked up a hill outside the city. Jesus carried the cross on his back. Jesus had never done anything wrong. But they were going to kill him the way criminals were killed. They nailed Jesus to the cross. "Father, forgive them," Jesus gasped. "They don't understand what they're doing."
"You say yo've come to rescue us!" people shouted. "But you can't even rescue yourself!"
But they were wrong. Jesus could have rescued himself. A legion of angels would have flown to his side--if he'd called. "If you were really the Son of God, you could just climb down off that cross!" they said. And of course, they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, he could have just said a word and made it all stop. But Jesus stayed. You see, they didn't understand. It wasn't the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.
"Papa?" Jesus cried, frantically searching the sky. "Papa? Where are you? Don't leave me!" And for the first time--and the last--when he spoke, nothing happened.
Just a horrible, endless silence. God didn't answer. He turned away from his Boy.
Tears rolled down Jesus' face. The face of the One who would wipe away every tear from every eye.
Even though it was midday, a dreadful darkness covered the face of the world. The sun could not shine. The earth trembled and quaked. The great mountains shook. Rocks split in two. Until it seemed that the whole world would break. That creation itself would tear apart.
The full force of the storm of God's fierce anger at sin was coming down. On his own Son. Instead of his people. It was the only way God could destroy sin, and not destroy his children whose hearts were filled with sin.
Then Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, "It is finished!" And it was. He had done it. Jesus had rescued the whole world.
"Father!" Jesus cried. "I give you my life." And with a great sigh he let himself die.
Strange clouds and shadows filled the sky. Purple, orange, and black. Like a bruise.
Jesus' friends gently carried Jesus.
They laid Jesus in a new tomb carved out of rock.
How could Jesus die? What had gone wrong? What did it mean? They didn't know anything anymore. Except they did know their hearts were breaking.
"That's the end of Jesus," the Leaders said. But, just to be sure, they sent strong soldiers to guard the tomb. They hauled a huge stone in front of the door to the tomb. So that no one could get in. Or out."
"God's Wonderful Surprise"
The Resurrection from Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20
"Jesus' friends were sad. They would never see their best friend again. How could this happen? Wasn't Jesus the Rescuer? The King God had promised? It wasn't supposed to end like this.
Yes, but whoever said anything about the end?
Just before sunrise, on the third day, God sent an earthquake--and an angel from heaven. When the guards saw the angel, they fell down with fright. The angel rolled the huge stone away, sat on top of it, and waited.
At the first glimmer of dawn, Mary Magdalene and other women headed to the tomb to wash Jesus' body. The early morning sun slanted through the ancient olive trees, drops of dew glittering on leaves and grasses--little tears everywhere.
The friends walked quietly along along the hilly path, through the olive groves, until they reached the tomb. And immediately noticed something odd--it was wide open.
They peered through the opening into the dark tomb.
But wait.
Jesus' body was gone!
And something else: a shining man was there, with clothes made from lightning.
"Don't be scared," the angel said. But (they couldn't help it) they screamed anyway. The angel asked them, "What are you doing here? This is a tomb and tombs are for dead people."
The women couldn't speak.
"Jesus isn't dead anymore!" he said. "He's alive again!"
And their hearts kept. And then the angel laughed with such gladness that they felt, for a moment, as if they had woken from a nightmare.
The other women rushed home, but Mary stayed behind. How could it be true? Jesus was definitely dead--how could he be alive? Just then Mary heard someone else in the garden. Perhaps it's the gardener, she thought. He'll know where Jesus' body is. "I don't know where Jesus is!" Mary said urgently. "I can't find him."
But it was all right. Jesus knew where she was. And he had found her.
"Mary!"
Only one person said her name like that. She could hear her heart thumping. She turned around. She could just make out a figure. She shaded her eyes to see...and thought she was dreaming. But she wasn't dreaming. She was seeing.
"Jesus!"
Mary fell to the ground. Sudden tears filled her eyes and great sobs shook her whole body, and all she wanted in that moment was to cling to Jesus and never let him go. "You'll be able to hold on to me later, Mary" Jesus said gently, "and always be close to me. But now, go and tell the others that I'm alive!" Mary ran and ran, all the way to the city. The sun seemed to be dancing and gleaming and bounding across the sky, racing with her and shining brighter than she could ever remember in the clear, fresh air.
And it seemed to her that morning, as she ran, almost as if the whole world had been made anew, almost as if the whole world was singing for joy--the trees, tiny sounds in the grass, the birds...her heart.
Was God really making everything sad come untrue?
Was he making even death come untrue?
She couldn't wait to tell Jesus' friends. "They won't believe it!" she laughed.
"Going Home"
The Ascension from Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 14
"Jesus' friends were afraid. So they were hiding in an upstairs room with the door bolted shut. But that didn't stop Jesus. He just walked straight through the wall. "It's a ghost!" Thomas screamed and hid under the table.
But it wasn't a ghost.
This can't be, they were telling themselves. It's impossible. It's not happening.
But it was--right in front of them.
"I'm really here!" Jesus said.
And he really was.
Peter's heart leaped with joy and he fell into Jesus' arms, hugging and kissing him. The others followed. They felt their hearts would burst from the happiness.
The friends ate together and chatted happily. And every now and then, they'd just gaze at Jesus, and have to touch him to be sure they weren't dreaming.
Jesus had a real body but this body was better. It had come through death and couldn't get sick or be killed again. This body would live forever. Jesus had come back with a brand new body.
Not only were sad things coming untrue, the friends realized, they were becoming new again. Was God going to make everything new?
Jesus said, "I am the Savior and the Rescurer of the world." And they knew, because he couldn't stay dead, because Jesus had come alive again, that somehow everything would be all right.
A few days later, as they walked together, Jesus told his friends, "It's time for me to go home to my Father." They all looked worried. And then they remembered what Jesus had told them before he died. "There's a place for you. I'll get it ready," Jesus had said. "You know the way."
Thomas had panicked. "I don't know the way to get there!" "Yes, you do," Jesus had said. "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life." When at last they reached the top of the highest hill near Jerusalem, Jesus turned to them and said,
"Go everywhere and tell everyone the happy news!"
"Tell them I love them so much that I died for them.
It's the truth that overcomes the terrible lie. God loves his children.
Yes, he really does!"
Suddenly the whole sky was filled with a dazzling light.
"Now everyone can come home to God," Jesus said. "Death is not the end of you. You can live forever with your Father in heaven because I have rescued the whole world!"
And something amazing happened: Jesus rose up into the bright air, higher and higher. They shaded their eyes and watched him go, until a cloud hid Jesus so they couldn't see him anymore. They stood looking up into the sky like that for a long time.
Suddenly two shining men appeared, "What are you doing?"they asked. "Jesus has gone up to heaven. But one day he will com back. In the same way you saw him leave. From heaven. And from the sky."
Jesus' friends went back to Jerusalem with a strange gladness inside their hearts. And something Jesus said that stuck in their minds: "Even though you won't be able to see me anymore, I will never leave you. No! Not ever! I will be with you. Yes! Always and forever!"
This is it. This is what we celebrate, remember, believe in, and hope for!
I love how Sally-Llyod ends the Storybook Bible, she says:
"Because you see, the most wonderful things about this Story is -- it's your story, too!"
Amen and amen.
Mimi (my Mom) made Ann Hatten's Easter dress.
She used her Great Grandmother's handmade handkerchief with sweet blue and pink tatting around it for the collar of the dress--a sweet, special, generational piece!
My current favorite dress that I own! It's so fun & unique--it's from Roolee--they have such awesome clothing--check it out here.
And I can't share a post about Easter without showing y'all these PRECIOUS pictures from Nicole (Mary Claire's sister-in-law) from their Easter Egg hunt! She is so talented and these are the cutest!
To serve as a double-whammy, we also celebrated Dad's Birthday a few days early!
Papa Steve, you are the easiest man to celebrate and our family is so blessed to have you--here's to another wonderful year!
We had the best meal and I cherish the times that we can all get together.
To end the weekend, we had (what's becoming) our annual girl's night to close out Easter Break.
This crew has been friends since we were in 4th grade (some even before that) and it's always a good time when we get together. There may have been a 90's music dance party involved.
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