Easter Prep

Thanks to all of the wonderful women who stopped by in my last post. EC recommended a book that I'm definitely adding to my reading list. Motherhood should so be a sisterhood in which we share joys and struggles, not compete against one another for "mother-of-the-year" as Mrs. R said. Questioning ourselves and whether what we're doing measures up against other moms will only leave us feeling guilty. And guilt doesn't lead to any good places.

Don't forget-- Amazon gift card giveaway closes in less than a week. Winner announced a week from today!

We're in full-on Easter mode here. Yesterday I took Cate to see the Easter bunny. I wasn't about to pay $15 for one picture, so you're getting one that's a little off-center from my camera. I think it's just as good as what I would've paid money for. The bald head in the picture is not Brennan, but Cate's Bitty Baby (whom she's taken more of an interest in lately). Brennan stayed in the stroller. While he's definitely better, I don't want to expose him to anything unnecessary, which I figured I'd be doing if he sat on the lap of the Easter Bunny. I think I made the right decision given the number of runny-nosed, coughing kids that proceeded us in line.

Cate's been hiding the same 6 eggs around the house and having Eric and I go on egg hunts. She likes to tell us where they are: "Mommy, there's one in Brennan's Bumbo seat." I feel like this is the first holiday she's starting to "get." She kind of understood Christmas, but since I was in the hospital from 12/22-12/26 having Brennan, it wasn't a typical Christmas. We really haven't had a typical Easter either. Her first Easter, she wasn't even 2 months old and could have cared less. Her second Easter, she was recovering from a nasty stomach bug that left her dehydrated and caused her to end up in the hospital for a night on IV fluids. Last year she loved her basket, but didn't really "get it."

We've been trying to talk to her about the true meaning of Easter too. That the Easter Bunny and the goodness he brings helps us to celebrate was Easter is all about-- that Jesus died and then came back to life. A little over her head, but we want her to understand it's not all about egg hunts and candy.

Our church is helping people remember the true meaning too. This week they've offered a Holy Week Experience, where you can walk through all of the events from Palm Sunday to the Crucifixion. Sometimes as Christians, we become numb to the idea that Jesus died for us. It's something we gloss over once we're sure of our salvation. Yet it should be something to which we cling. Our salvation wouldn't exist if God had chosen to take away Jesus' pain and purpose, if He had decided that his Son didn't need to bear all of the world's sin on a cross. We'd be pretty lost.

So on this Good Friday, we're going to dye some eggs with friends, talk a little more about the Easter story, and try to stay dry (it's been raining all week, I'm not even kidding...a little more Noah-ish around these parts than it is spring/Easter/almost May flowers). Tomorrow will be more of the same and then after church on Sunday, we'll be heading to dinner with family.

And I'm curious to those of you reading who care to respond-- do you celebrate Easter? How?

~Melody :-)

PS...Brennan turns 4 months old tomorrow! Where has the time gone? He will be getting a box of rice cereal in his basket in lieu of candy. :-)