Happy Easter...

I love Easter - I feel like it's the least stressful of the big holidays - and the most beautiful to discuss with our children. I love that my kids ask lots of questions about Jesus, His death, what that means for us and the great opportunity that it serves to remind us what this season of renewal is about. My favorite mass of the year is the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday evening - but it's hard to bring the kids since it starts after their bedtime. 

Instead we were up bright and early to get ready for 8am mass, but still made time for some basket inspections... Landry could have just held that egg all day long. 

Gigi and Pops...  Gigi ...    The Easter Bunny went a little overboard this year. I think "he" was glad that were back in Waco. 

Emmy's favorite treat was the gum. 

(Note to self: only buy children gum from now on.)

As I stare into their faces I wonder how He did it? 

How did God sacrifice his son for us? For ME? How??? What makes me so worthy of such love?? 

And the answer is nothing - the truth is we aren't worthy. None of us. 

And yet he still did it. He still sacrificed his ONLY son. 

And not only that - he KNEW what was to happen. He knew the pain and persecution and suffering that Jesus would endure just so we could all be washed. 

So that we could experience the same blessing of beautiful children to remind us of His grace.

Mass is always a bit sweeter at home - the familiarity of St. Mary's and the reminder of how and when my faith grew is comforting. 

We arrived home to the smell of spaghetti on the stove and took just a "few" more Easter pics... 

For everyone that has asked me "How do you take such great family pictures all the time"...

The answer:

1. Patience

2. Bribes

3. Professional photographer

This is just SIX of the 2280 Jeremy took for us on Sunday.

#reallifepeople

She was all smiles for him once she didn't have to cheese it up for the camera!

The kids did one more hunt while we started boiling the crawfish (yes we had spaghetti and crawfish for lunch - why? Is that weird?)

Radley let Emmy find the "easy ones"...

And he focused on the "tricky" spots but still managed to fill up that basket. 

 Landry felt that all she needed to do was sit there and be cute. 

I agree.

We really had the perfect Easter Sunday - just an easy day. 

Our yard became a race track...

A driver's education course...

And a "bank" ... 

No distractions - no "noise" - no other place to be. We pushed the kids on swings, stuffed ourselves with food, and filled our hearts with the presence of family - counting our blessings for this gift of life while praising Him for sacrificing His own.