Hippity Hoppity Easter's On It's Way...

Easter kind of snuck up on me this year. I wasn't really wasn't planning on us doing anything since Scott normally has to work, but surprisingly he had the day off.

We started our Easter celebration with Easter vigil on Saturday night. I really enjoy this mass, even though it tends to be long. There's something about sitting in total darkness and then coming into the light that really brings the message home.

The other perk of going to Easter vigil is that you can somewhat sleep in on Easter Sunday. I say somewhat because Aaron came piling in at 2:30 to let me know that the Easter bunny came. I politely told him to go back to bed. Jillian was next at 6:00 to tell me the same thing. I begged for another hour. It was granted.

The kiddos tore through their baskets and the discovered that eggs were hiding all around the house and in the front yard. They had a total blast looking for the eggs! Jillian even yelled (yes, yelled, not said) that it was the best Easter ever.

Now, I love chocolate bunnies as much as the next girl, but I really like to make sure that the kiddos receive the full message of Easter, so every year we make resurrection rolls for breakfast. It's the easiest no-fuss breakfast and it gives an interactive element to the story of Easter. All you need is some crescent rolls, marshmallows, cinnamon and sugar, and butter.

Here's what you do. Melt some butter and mix together some cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl. Unroll your dough and place on a cookie sheet. Grab your marshmallow (Jesus), dip it in the butter (oil), roll it in the cinnamon and sugar (spices) and then wrap your dough around the marshmallow (tomb). Bake according to the package and when they are done, the marshmallow is no longer in the dough (Jesus has risen). It's a great way to teach kids the story of Easter.

Since we already went to mass the night before, we were able to just hang out in the morning. Then I started on our yummy late lunch/early dinner. I made a super yummy ham with a Riesling and peach glaze, rosemary roasted potatoes, green beans and asparagus. Dessert was pumpkin pie (not very Easter, but it's Jill's favorite) with homemade whip cream.

I am not even kidding when I say that I watched my son put away some serious ham and potatoes and then 2 hours later asked what was for dinner.

We also Skyped with my parents, sister, niece and her boyfriend. I think that was the hardest I heard my kids laugh in a long time. My Dad was in rare form, too, which is alway awesome to see.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter as well and had a great time with family and friends. I know I am definitely thankful that this is the last big holiday for a while, not that I don't love making a huge feast and all.

Easter Weekend

We had a fantastic Easter weekend! We started on Saturday by coloring eggs, which the kids love to do. 

Yup, Momma was ballsy wearing a white shirt and dyeing eggs with four year old twins. Thankfully, no clothing was harmed in the dyeing process. 

I'm not totally sure what we are going to do with all of these eggs. I, personally, do not like hard boiled eggs and while Scott likes them, I do not see him eating a dozen of them. 

We also went to Easter Vigil, something we have not been to since Scott joined the Catholic Church 4 years ago. 

There is something about the Easter Vigil that is so moving and really drives home the message of Easter. The kids only lasted 10 minutes into mass, having the lights out will do that to you.

Since we went to mass on Saturday night, we were able to take our time on Sunday morning. Jill was up at 5:00 a.m., yes, 5:00 a.m., to let us know that the Easter Bunny had arrived. I'm promptly told her it was still bedtime and she asked if she could just check. I may or may not have told her if she got out of bed that the Easter Bunny would come back and take away her basket. I'm sure I will pay for that in years of therapy later, but it was 5:00 a.m. on a Sunday. When she has a child (or two) just like her she will understand and thank me. Yes, thank me. 

Jill went ahead and woke up Aaron around 6:30 and we were able to check out the baskets.

I love that Mr. Bunny took it easy on the candy this year. Graham crackers are cooler anyway. The kids seemed to agree. 

We also had an Easter egg hunt in the house. We couldn't really do it outside yet since you know the whole backyard is still a hot mess from the storm. The kids still had a blast though.

They also helped me make resurrection rolls, a tradition I started with them last year. 

The rolls are a great tool to help explain the story of the resurrection to the kids. They are also pretty freakin' delicious.

After hanging out for a while we headed over to Mimi and PawPaw's house and guess what, the Easter Bunny visited there too. 

After lunch we went to our favorite frozen yogurt place to have some dessert and on the way back to the car, I was able to snap this sweet photo:

I mean, really, how cute is this?! 

We had such a great Easter weekend and hope you did too!

Way back When-esday

Dateline: Easter 2009

It's been one year since Scott became a Catholic and I am so impressed with all that he has done in that year. He took all four of his degrees with the Knights of Columbus this year, which is completely unheard of. I cannot tell you how proud I am of him, and so glad to see that he is happy.

Play along with Cheryl at Twinfatuation.

Happ Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!
Yesterday was a full day for us! We went to T-Rex for lunch with my Dad and it was packed! But we did manage to get there before the bulk of the crowd did, so we lucked out. I also got to finally eat a burger (I gave up beef/red meat for Lent) and honestly.... I could easily go another 40 days without it. Here are some photos and video from the day...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Last night we went to the Easter Vigil mass because Scott was completing the R.C.I.A process and becoming a full member of the Catholic Church (thank you again Lani for babysitting!). I have never been to the Easter Vigil before, all I knew was that it was a long service. The first portion of it is in the dark and we all hold candles, then the Father Jean baptized 6 candidates and then confirmed and gave Holy Communion to 4 candidates. It was a beautiful service and I am so proud of Scott and could not be happier! I am very glad that he is apart of the same Church as myself and the kids! Here are some photos from the service...

Scott being confirmedScott and my DadMy Dad, Father Jean and Scott

This morning we did Easter baskets with the kids, I wish I had more photos to show you, but apparently my underwear decided to make an appearance in 90% of the photos...yay memories! But here are the G rated photos...

Today I'm making dinner for everyone and we're just going to relax I think. No big plans that I know of! Hope everyone has a very happy and very blessed Easter!