Easter Memories

Matthew 28:6

"He is not here; He has risen, just as He said."

Easter has become my favorite holiday as I have grown older. What a remarkable thing, God, the Creator of the universe, sending His Son to die for my sins. What amazing love! Easter brings renewed hope into the world: Jesus lives within my heart!

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Blueberry Barn was looking very fine when Easter Sunday dawned bright and cheery. Easter eggs dyed and painted from years past hug on blueberry brush, freshly cut from the woods around the barn. The small pink flowers that bloomed were a much needed reminder that spring wasn't too far off.

Several years ago I had made these little stuffed rabbits to hang in our windows for the Easter season and it was nice to put them up again (for last Easter we were away visiting my family and never got to decorate the barn!). And yes, if you look rather closely you will see that we still had our Christmas lights up - and still do as of this writing - *sigh* it's been busy around here. 

Christmas decorations will probably always be my favorite way to spruce up the barn, but there's something so special about flowers, pastels, and eggs that make my heart sing and long for Spring. 

Outside the barn however was another story...everything was still rather brown and ugly looking after the heavy snowfalls of winter. In Melissa's garden crocuses bloomed in the sleepy flowerbeds. 

How wonderful to see some color and some bright green poking through!

After the joyful church services held at sunrise, we gathered with our family and set about the preparations for the evening. Of course there must be a splendid meal and such a meal would not be complete without some saffron buns! I had labored late into the night the day before to have them ready and as fresh as possible - and my! - they turned out simply adorable shaped as bunny rabbits!

The table for dinner was set with potted hyacinths that smelled divine and filled the whole room with their fragrance. Nearby, Laura and Melissa's egg tree stood, hiding a family of chocolate bunnies underneath its green branches. Laura had been hard at work all week painting eggs, everything from chicks and corgis to dragons and penguins! 

Abigail was still far away at school in Montana, and oh how we missed her so much! Laura and Dad were able to call her via Skype and we had a grand time talking with her over the computer. Xochie wasn't as excited to see her, but she was civil, which is all you can really hope for from an evil parrot.

After dinner and catching up with Abigail, Quinn and I headed outside into the sunset to hide eggs for everyone to find. While they ran around searching (we're very good at hiding eggs), I cut branches of pussy-willow to dry to be enjoyed all spring. And Quinn, well...he and Dad shot at each other with a bow, resulting in a gash across the nose for Dad (don't worry, he was fine, but he heard "I told you so" multiple times from the ladies of the household). 

 

Greta loved the Easter egg hunt, but she wasn't very happy when we decided she also needed to be hidden away somewhere. A hollow log was the perfect spot in our minds - though she didn't stick around for too long after we had gotten a picture of her. 

As the sun dipped below the mountains far to the west, the sky lit up with a rainbow of colors. I took many photos of the sunset that night, for it changed and became different and more beautiful with each passing moment. I simply couldn't pick just one, so here are three:

Inside the house Melissa lit candles as we got all snug on the couches and ate the ears off our chocolate bunnies. As the sky grew dark and we went home to our beds, we pondered upon the miracle that had occurred on this day over 2,000 years ago. Because of His sacrifice we are no longer slaves, we are children of the most high God! Amen!