Easter, Simply Easter.

This year Easter was the simplest we’ve ever had. Partly because of finances, partly because we’re really trying to teach our children the true meaning of Easter.

No Easter Bunny, no new clothes, no baskets. What? Nothing?

I did want to repurpose my girls some dresses but ran out of time, I wouldn’t have minded giving them little gifts like I did last year, but I waited until there was no money in the checkbook to think about getting anything. The girls got stuffed lambs that I got on clearance last year. The boys chocolate Easter bunnies that we got at a community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. So were they deprived?

We spent the entire week celebrating Easter! Had a special Birthday Dinner & Passover Feast. Read scriptures daily about the last week of Christ’s life. And had a special dinner today.

It was simple but lovely. It’s simplicity reminded me of a trip my husband and I went on to Denmark around 7-8 years ago. (Wow, has it been that long?) My husbands Wonderful Uncle and Aunt live there and were kind enough to host us and take us to many of the different tourist sites there.

My favorite experience happened to be when we visited Frederiksborg Castle.

It was amazing. Here in America you go to museums, or tourist places and everything is roped off and guarded. There although I’m sure it’s heavily secured you feel as if your going back in time because you don’t see the guards, glass walls, or any of the security devices. You're there walking through history. You can read more about the castle HERE!

The most fascinating part for me was the Palace Chapel, and one small ajoining room.

Opulent, ornate, Baroque through and through. Truly a marvel to look at. But really spiritually empty compared to a little dark room off to the side of it. The little dark room is the Kings Prayer room and it contains 23 of the most beautiful pictures of Christ’s life you have ever laid eyes on. It’s like walking on sacred ground – these pictures are so touching. And the joy and peace you feel is wonderful. You forget the worldly materialism of the chapel as you focus on the Savior’s life.

The paintings were commissioned when the castle was restored after a fire. It took Carl Bloch 14 years to paint the 23 paintings and they transformed his life in so many ways. He is one of the greatest artist’s to ever interpret the life and death of Christ. To see more of his paintings go HERE.

My favorite painting, which I had never seen until that trip to Denmark, is called ‘Agony in the Garden’.

It’s humbling to know how much the Savior suffered in my behalf. Some day, after I’m out of debt, I love to purchase a large copy for my home.

I guess what I’m saying is that Easter can sometimes, like Christmas, get too ornate for it’s own good. You can focus on the ribbons, baskets, fancy dresses, colorful trappings much like the Chapel in the Frederiksborg Castle. But to get the true feelings of this marvelous holiday you have to simply go to the Scriptures, feast upon the words of Christ, feel his love, and remember with gratitude the greatest sacrifice ever made in your behalf.

I hope my kids got it, and if they didn’t I hope that they will at least remember all that we’ve done. They might not get it until they are grown and parents themselves. I didn’t get it as a child. Why does the Easter Bunny visit everyone else’s house but ours? I didn’t get it until years later. So I’ve really tried to do activities with my kids to help them remember what Easter is really about. Hopefully that will help.

I hope you all had a wonderful and peaceful Easter Sunday!

Simply Easter

Well it’s here… Easter. And as always I scrambled at the last minute to try and make it meaningful. Whether I am a success or not will depend on what my children remember 10 or 20 years down the road. This year wasn’t one of my better ones.

I love Easter, but have the hardest time finding anything in the stores that I can give to my kids that really help them understand what Easter is really about. We don’t have the Easter Bunny come – The Leprechauns take care of that fantasy realm giver. But if you do have the tradition of giving Easter Baskets then here are some great ideas for next year if you want to avoid the sugar/sick high your kids experienced this year. My kids didn’t get the sugar but I was very aware of all the kids at church that did.

http://kidsproducts.suite101.com/article.cfm/easter_basket_ideas_for_children

In the past we have had a family Easter week that includes a Passover meal, Scripture Stories of Jesus each day of the week, Easter cookies, a family Easter egg hunt as well as Easter Dinner. But with two family birthdays and St. Patrick’s Day this year our Christ-centered Easter wasn’t up to my usual brilliant standards.

Yesterday I went last-minute shopping for possible Easter egg hunt goodies that didn’t include sugar. Let me tell you – my creative juices were stymied and I ended up wanting to give up on the whole egg hunt idea. But I didn’t, it just was a lot smaller without the candy.

After church, we had Lea hide between 4 & 6 eggs per child. Each egg was marked with their names except for one each that was blank. The blank eggs contained different amounts of $. I know those are always my favorite. Those blank ones were up for grabs – but only one each. The other eggs contained scriptures to look up and as soon as they looked up the scriptures and we discussed it then we gave them the corresponding gift.

Boys:

Ephesians 6:11 = Little Knight Figures

(you know the whole armor of God kind of stuff.)

James 4:8 = Big Clattering magnets.

The kind that when you toss them they keep bouncing together. And they are big so they aren’t a temptation for Hope to put in her mouth.

Girls:

Deut. 14:1 = Little Princess’s Figures

(Because they are the children of a king)

· A personalized charm bracelet with some of the symbols of Easter on it.

Both:

· Moroni 10:3 = Scripture marking pencils

· Matthew 7:25 / Helaman 5:12 = Pop Rocks –

Comparing the tingling of the pop rocks to their testimony. That and I can never find Pop Rocks so when I do I get them for my kids.

Hope can't get enough of them and is trying to eat them by the handful.

I know it’s not much, but there are a few other things we did too. The boys each got a new white shirt, the girls did not however get new Easter dresses. I gave up after visiting no less than 5 stores and not being able to find anything cute enough that wasn’t sleeveless. Who are they kidding? It’s still freezing outside and all the Easter dresses have no sleeves. Last year I bought 4 dresses and had a friend take the extra material from the fourth dress and make sleeves to set in the other three. But when all was said and done it probably cost me the same as buying 6 complete dresses. They were adorable, but after a couple of wearings the material around the sleeves started to fray. This year they had to deal with the matching Target dresses I got last month.

Favorite Passover Movies: Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments
Veggie Tales ‘Moe and the Big Exit’

Favorite Easter Movies: Ben Hur (Maybe I just have a fascination with the young Charlton Heston). Note: We don’t watch both the Ten Commandments and Ben Hur in the same year. Every other year. Otherwise I might get mixed up and think Moses was in a Chariot race of something.
Veggie Tales ‘An Easter Carol’

This year was our year to enjoy Ben Hur.

So all in all it was a very simple Easter this year. I myself probably didn’t get what I should have out of it. But only because I was wallowing in the fact that I didn’t live up to my usual standard. But I think the kids still had fun. Can’t wait for some sleep myself. Whew, I have two whole weeks to plan for the next family birthday. I guess it serves me right for having so many kids –

No sleep and lots of reasons to Party!

Happy Easter!!!