The Easter Blog (a little late) and an Awesome Small Group

Okay, this weekend is turning out to be "Blog Catch Up" weekend.  Which I love.  Oh, it has been a while since I have gotten to spend some quality time with the Ole Blog.  It looks like I am making up for lost time now.  Yay!  Eric and Caleb are away at Camp Rise and Sign this weekend and Granny is here keeping Seth and me company.  Seth is savoring having all of Granny's attention to himself, so I am getting a chance to get caught up on some family journaling.

Wow!  How did May get here so quickly? I didn't even realize that I never posted Easter pics.  How did that escape me?  And how has it been that we have been with our "new" small group for over five months now and I have yet to post pictures of these awesome faces?  Well, all of this oversight will be remedied in this one blog post. 

We really had a blessed Easter week.  Easter is definitely one of my favorite times of the year.  And it is getting so much cooler each year as the boys begin to understand more and more about the Cross and Jesus' sacrifice for them.  I know they are still young, but it amazes me just how much they are able to grasp.  Each year their questions get deeper and I pray a longing to truly know their Savior will grow stronger. 

We started the week off by attending a Passover Seder at Harpeth.  It was the first time we had ever celebrated Passover, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Our church made it very family friendly, and the boys really enjoyed participating.  Our small group did it together and we learned so much, especially the reasons why specific foods were served and about their symbolism, which ultimately points to Christ.  I love how our God is a God of order and how He thought out every single detail of everything He created. 

On Thursday, Seth's class took a field trip to Mrs. Cindy's sister's beautiful farm and what a fun time that was!  We got to go on a hayride and get up close and personal with the horses.  Seth fed a horse for the first time and liked how it tickled his hand when the horse ate from it.  It was muddy and sunny and made for a really great day!  There was picnicing, egg hunting and lots of bubble blowing.  Plus Mrs. Cindy painted the kiddos faces, which was the start of  "Cheetah Seth".  We rode out to the farm with Seth's buddy, John, and his sweet Momma, Martha, so from start to finish, Seth was on cloud nine!

On Good Friday, we got to experience one of my favorite traditions...the Resurrection Trail.  This year our small group and the Davises joined us for an interactive journey through the events of Jesus' last earthly days that ended with the empty tomb.  The boys always look forward to this!  And especially love sharing it with their buddies.  It such a wonderful hands on experience for them and there are always many questions and much discussion on the way home.  I love it!

 

We don't usually do Easter baskets for the boys, but they do wake up on Easter morning to some sort of celebration surprise.  This year we decided to do a Resurrection scavenger hunt for the boys.  After the boys went to bed, we hid clues all over the house.  When they woke up on Easter morning, outside of their bedroom door, they found celebration signs and the first clue to the hunt.  Once awake (which of course, was bright and early), it only took about .2 seconds for Caleb to fly into our room ready to get the hunt started.  It took Seth a little longer to get into the festive spirit, but we were not surprised. That is just their personalities.  Caleb is always ready to go and it takes Seth a bit longer to warm up to the idea...unless of course, it is his idea. He decided pretty quickly, though, that he was up for the fun, even though he was prematurely awakened. We began the hunt by having Caleb read the Resurrection story from his bible and then they were off in pursuit of clues.  With each clue, they alternated answering questions about the Jesus' death and resurrection, before they got to open their little Mario treat that went along with it.  It was a lot of fun and they both really got into it.  The game ended with the story being completed and the boys discovering their prize, one of their favorite movies, The Dawn Treader, with the final clue. 

After a special cinnamon roll breakfast, it was off to church.  The Celebration service started with the K-5th graders singing a worship song in front of the congregation.  Since Eric and I teach the K/1st graders, it was such a treat to see Caleb and the rest of our kiddos up there singing for the Lord. 

In the afternoon, we headed over to the Bowdens for our small group Resurrection Celebration.  It was a great time of fellowship with our wonderful group.  We had been a part of a small group for nearly two years and in the fall, it became apparent that it was busting at the seams and God prompted our group to branch.  Our family felt led to branch off to support the Bowden family, who are dear friends and were starting their own group.  Immediately, God sent families to the group...mostly families who were not only new to Harpeth, but new to Tennessee.  It is such a special group of prayer warriors and God seekers and we know that God has brought us together for this season for His purpose.  And we are grateful.  As always, we have found ourselves in a group of BOYS.  Thirteen boys to be exact.  And one girl.  Poor thing, but she really holds her own.

Our celebration started with an egg hunt, that included Resurrection eggs, so the kiddos were able to sit down afterward and recount the story together.  Then there was a lot of relaxing, corn hole, football throwing, chit chatting, playing and good food!  Lots of good food!

So, it was a busy, but very blessed week, shared with friends and family, and friends who are family.  I love Easter and I love my Savior and I love celebrating the hope that the Cross and the Empty tomb represent.  Praise Him!!