The Meaning of Easter

Easter is a holiday I have always loved.  When I was young Easter was all about the Easter Bunny, Easter egg hunts and chocolate.  While I did know the a little about the Easter Story it really was more about the eggs and candy for me.  Then in my 20s I became a Christian.  Easter took on a whole new level of meaning for me.  I attended Maundy Thursday services, took part in Good Friday prayer vigils and helped Junior High Students plan and lead the sunrise service.

Then I had kids of my own.  Kids who have attended church since birth (Bryan was literally 4 days old when I took him to church...in the middle of flu season...to the horror of some other moms) and know very well the story of Easter.  However, Easter with my kids is still very much about the Easter Bunny, egg hunts and chocolate.  I LOVE giving my kids the same things I loved so much about Easter.

Each year we color eggs and I inevitably get stressed out by the chaos that ensues.  Sometime, I swear I will not color eggs the next year...but I can't NOT do it.  One year life was extra crazy and we just simply ran out of time to spend hours coloring eggs...so I did it myself.  Every year I fill a ton of plastic eggs and hide them for the kids.  When I was little 'the bunny' hid real eggs but I won't make that many eggs that THREE kids have a chance to find a fair number of eggs plus I won't risk forgetting a real egg.  That happened once or twice when I was little and it was NOT pleasant.  And every year I end up getting more stuff than would ever fit in a basket.  Often we use Easter to get the kids outside stuff that seems pointless to get for Christmas or their winter birthdays.  This year I think the bunny will be bringing the big boys MP3 players.

Last year was the first Easter without my mom and I found it hard to get excited about filling and hiding the eggs.  Typically we did this at our house and then after church we'd go over to her house where she'd had filled a TON of eggs for all of her 9 grandkids to find.  Easter egg hunts were totally my moms thing.  It was hard to do without her.  But she wouldn't have been happy if 'her boys' had gone even one Easter without the tradition of searching out the money or candy filled eggs.

My mom with the boys at an outdoor egg hunt

Timmy coloring eggs

Finding eggs at home Easter morning

Johnny coloring eggs

a special something in a Easter basket

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