I let St. Patrick's Day fly by without so much as a pinch...no green, no fun...dang it! Am I just growing out of the "fun mom" stage? Or are my kids just too big to be bothered by things like that? I think both, but that's kinda sad I have to say. I love all the ideas to make holidays like that fun.
I will say though, we've stepped up our game over here in the Easter category.
Yes, I know, completely different level of a holiday, that's for sure. But I'm grateful for the way our family traditions surrounding Easter have evolved over the years....there are so many great resources out there to help! I love that these yellow laminated cards that I got in a "Family Home Evening" group years ago deck our wall every "Holy Week" and that we get to spend some serious time contemplating such sacred events leading to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ as we study the scriptures surrounding that last week of Christ's ministry.
Do you like that picture of Lucy being ambushed by the palms we used for Palm Sunday up there? Ha! That girl is into that stuff I tell you!
And here are our remnants of our FHE lesson on that good day.
And here are our remnants of our FHE lesson on that good day.
We watched this video to prepare us for what we'd be studying during scriptures this week (and another one that combined the whole week but I can't seem to find it right now!).
I love that the last few years we've been able to use two of my sisters' ideas (HERE) to take our morning devotionals up a notch learning more about Christ's miracles and teachings during the couple weeks leading up to Holy Week (so many great ideas in that document!).
I love that we could sit at the Easter Pageant a couple nights ago and that Lucy, snuggled up at my side, kept whispering little comments into my ear about the order of things she now knows so well as they were portrayed up on that stage. "Oh, this must be Monday" (when Jesus cleansed the temple), and "Now this is Thursday" (The Last Supper).
But my favorite comment was when she asked who the "actor" was who was portraying Jesus. (Our neighbors are Adam and Eve this year, and she knows a few of the other people in the pageant so she wondered about Jesus.) When I told her I didn't know, she said, "well whoever he is, he should be pretty proud of his self!"
Yes Lucy, you're right :) Something like that would sure help you prepare for Easter in so many ways!
I have nothing prepared for Easter baskets and I have a lot to do for my assignments for our extended family Easter dinner, but we sure have worked to study the events of Holy Week better this year than we did last. And better last year than the year before that. I love how it helps in the process of all of our ongoing individual conversions to Christ.
This year I think the of video clips of Christ's life on lds.org have been extra powerful for us for some reason. Although I really never feel like they can get Christ quite right (no one could), they still bring so much insight and thought as they bring different parts of the scriptures to life. There are a bunch of them HERE if you want to check them out.
"He is not here. He is risen."
I love the Easter clips the church has done many years. I love the "Prince of Peace" clips that really make me think, and love the other ones too. Find links to all of them HERE, but one of my favorites is below. Turn up the sound and try not to cry as you watch.
I'm also SO excited that General Conference for our church happens to fall the same weekend as Easter this year.
Starting tomorrow we get to listen in to so many wonderful words of wisdom. You can join us if you'd like...you can listen live or later recorded.
Click HERE for all the information.
We have a new prophet and will get two new apostles and I'm so ready for all that guidance and love to wash over me and my family.
Back to Easter though...we definitely don't have this holiday perfected by any means, and never will. There's just so much to learn!
I love coloring eggs and our Easter strings to lead to Easter baskets and Cadbury eggs, but I'm just so grateful for the tools above to help the miraculous reason for this holiday sink in.
Perhaps the most joyful phrase in the history of the world.
He changed the world and each one of us with it.
And I'm so very grateful for that!