Easter is such a fun holiday, and certainly the most important holiday for Christians. It's the cornerstone of our faith. But I've learned that explaining it to children is quite difficult. Christmas is easy enough - they get the whole birthday concept, know what babies are, etc. so celebrating Jesus' birthday makes sense.
But Easter? First of all, I don't fully understand the concept of Easter myself. I think if we're really honest, none of us would admit to fully getting it. The God of the universe, in human form, endured the cross, and by doing so, somehow took upon himself all of the sin in all of the world. Oh, and then he was raised from the dead three days later. Mind blowing. Really.
So anyway, back to parenting and explaining this to my sweet three and one year-old. This year, I tried adding Resurrection Eggs to the Easter festivities mix. If you're not familiar with them, they're basically 12 plastic eggs with an item in each one that tell the Easter story. So I pull them out earlier this week and the kids just start tearing through them, looking at the "treasure" inside each one, while I'm frantically trying to keep up and explain what each "treasure" means. All the while I'm so upset they aren't opening them in the correct order and they're putting the items back in the wrong color egg. I'm not sure what I expected but clearly I expected too much. The second time I pulled them out I'd ask Warner what each item meant and he'd say "umm ... Jesus?" I'm thinking we'll revisit the Resurrection Eggs again next year.
Warner has caught on to a few spiritual concepts along the way however, and it blesses my heart to watch his little mind process what he's being told. This week he told me "Jesus is my friend and he got a boo-boo from the bad guys but then he was alive and went up, up, up in the sky in the clouds to heaben (heaven) and wants I go there with him too". And then last week as we walked into church he heard the worship music and said "they're celebrating Jesus in there, Mommy".
The kids made binoculars (out of toilet paper rolls) during MOPS on Monday. When I picked him up he said "look, Mom! I made noculars at MOPS and I can look for butterflies in them, or if I look waaaay up high, I might see Gob (God)".
And then a few nights ago before bed and after we read the Easter story in the Children's Bible:
Warner: Mommy, I don't think I want go heaven.
Me: Oh, I know it's a little scary but heaven will be wonderful. You'll be with Jesus and God and everyone you love - Mommy, Daddy, Maren ..."
Warner: (after thinking about it) Maybe I go heaven when I get big like you and Daddy. I want go heaven.
So we've got a long way to go on teaching the kids deep, meaningful, life-changing spiritual principles. In the meantime, they
do understand eggs and candy, so we enjoyed both of those at Leslie and Bill's house in Lexington today.
We hunted eggs outside, between rain showers.
Warner got so many eggs he needed two baskets to hold them all. Maren took to the egg-hunting concept quite well too, so we'll be eating Easter candy until Halloween I imagine. Unless I take one for the team and help eat the candy, in which case it could last a week.
Maren would pull the candy out of an egg and if it needed to be unwrapped she'd find the nearest adult, hand them the candy, pat her chest to indicate herself, then point to her stomach. The adult would then unwrap the candy for her and she'd go on her merry way. No wonder she doesn't talk.
Egg decorating was a hit.
Leslie coordinated a scavenger hunt to plant flowers. The kids found the pots, soil, flowers, and watering cans.
Happy Easter!
And, separate pictures of the kids with each parent ... next time I'm going to ask someone at church to snap a picture of all four of us.
We had a great time at church. I felt so hopeful as we sang about Jesus being alive and bringing new life to those who trust Him. After church we had brunch at our house. As Warner says, we celebrated Jesus today. Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Easter is such a fun holiday, and certainly the most important holiday for Christians. It's the cornerstone of our faith. But I've learned that explaining it to children is quite difficult. Christmas is easy enough - they get the whole birthday concept, know what babies are, etc. so celebrating Jesus' birthday makes sense.
We hunted eggs outside, between rain showers.
Warner got so many eggs he needed two baskets to hold them all. Maren took to the egg-hunting concept quite well too, so we'll be eating Easter candy until Halloween I imagine. Unless I take one for the team and help eat the candy, in which case it could last a week.
Maren would pull the candy out of an egg and if it needed to be unwrapped she'd find the nearest adult, hand them the candy, pat her chest to indicate herself, then point to her stomach. The adult would then unwrap the candy for her and she'd go on her merry way. No wonder she doesn't talk.
Egg decorating was a hit.
Leslie coordinated a scavenger hunt to plant flowers. The kids found the pots, soil, flowers, and watering cans.
Happy Easter!
Kevin's mom got him pajamas (Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen) that he adores, so when he wears them he sleeps with the corresponding car. He also takes a car with him when we run errands or even go to school or church. I have a feeling this obsession will not slow any time soon, especially since Cars 2 comes out this summer. So if you ever have any questions about the world of Cars, Warner's your man.
Kevin splurged and bought me an iPad 2. This is something that I consider a major luxury, especially since I stay home with the kids and our budget is tight. I was against getting such a toy at first, and would have never bought it for myself ... but let me just say it is the coolest gadget ever.
The bad news is the kids love it about as much as I do. I've downloaded a few games for the kids and Warner now asks about three times a day to play with my "new pigger" (I know, strange pronunciation but it means computer). 
It was hard to get good pictures but this gives you an idea of what the kids looked like on stage. Warner was super shy and didn't seem very interested in performing, but he warmed up a little by the last song. It was definitely something I'll remember for a long time. Kevin and my mom also got to come, which made it even more special. 
About a week ago, our local movie theater hosted a Cars 2 event in their parking lot, complete with life-size replicas of Lightning McQueen, Finn (apparently a new character for Cars 2), and Mater. 
I told Warner about going to meet Lightning and Mater a few hours before we went, so he wouldn't be asking about it for days. He was so excited to go. He decided to wear his Cars t-shirt, jacket, and shoes for the occasion. Maren was all about it too.
Getting the kids to look at the camera was nearly impossible, since all they wanted to do was check out the cars. Especially Mater - he's Maren's favorite. The rest of the event was sort of a bust, because the other games and activities were geared toward older children. But it was free and just seeing the cars in person was enough for the kids. I can't wait to take Warner to see Cars 2 in the theater this summer. He's never seen a movie in the theater and I can't wait to experience it with him. 
Yesterday we went to the zoo with Elizabeth and her two boys. You know I've got spring fever when I'll take my kids to the zoo when they still need to wear jackets and hats. Actually by the time we left it was quite pleasant, so I shouldn't complain. The kids didn't care about the weather and were thrilled to be back at the zoo again. I can't wait to spend many more days there this year. 
I'm not sure why I even try to get pictures of both kids together. Clearly getting a good shot of just one at a time is challenge. But aren't the tulips in the background pretty? That's it for now. Stay tuned for (hopefully) more frequent and interesting posts in the near future.
