Easter Happenings

We had a great Easter!

Our celebrating started with the Second Friends Preschool Easter Egg Hunt. Here are some pictures...

Kylee insisted on wearing her Easter dress to school on the day of the hunt. She looked pretty cute and even let me curl her hair:

The kids made their own Easter "baskets" out of milk jugs. Kylee's was a cute bunny:

Each student had a 20 egg limit. While a generous limit, Kylee was still frustrated with me for cutting her off...she had a great time "hunting"!

Kylee with the other girls in her class:

Kylee and I after the hunt:

When everyone had collected their treasures, we headed back to school to open all the Easter eggs...

It was a fun morning.

We also celebrated Easter at home, where, despite yucky cold weather, the Easter Bunny found us:

This is Connor's new "I'm too cool to let you take my picture" face:

Connor is just getting into G.I. Joe figures. We brought up a box of Brandon's old figures and it has provided hours of entertainment. The Easter Bunny brought Connor his very first G.I. Joe of his own:

Kylee found some Easter goodies, too:

I asked the kids to pose together for an Easter picture. Aren't they precious?

We finished the holiday with dinner in Baldwin City, where Grandma Lori (er, the Easter Bunny) had orchestrated a fun indoor hunt for the kids. Connor read the instructions for their scavenger hunt while the others looked on...

Easter was an emotional holiday for me this year. As I sat in the Easter service at Church, I realized how much more deeply all the references to Resurrection and heaven affect me, because I know one of our children is there waiting for us. Caden has already gotten to experience heaven's splendor, and knowing that is overwhelming at times (in a good way, of course).

This is also (aside from the anniversary of his birth) the last major holiday in the "year of firsts" that grieving people must endure. It seems incredible to me that at Easter last year, we had no idea that anything was wrong with our youngest son. My, how things change in a year.

I was also emotional because I realize that this pregnancy, with our baby girl, is a sort of "resurrection" for our family. Brandon and I have both commented on how we don't know how we would be getting through our grief process with Caden if we didn't know that we had been given another chance with this precious little one...we are so grateful for God's blessings!