EASTER EGG EXCELLENCE

It's that time again where we all go crazy for Easter and the annual English Easter Egg Hunt! I have to admit that I started buying things for the hunt in January. (Crazy I know, but I enjoy it so much) We were lucky enough to have Jared and Erin come into town again for Easter this year so the entire family was there to celebrate. Although there were threats of rain, the weather held out and we were able to have the hunt go off without a hitch. We hid the golden egg again this year, which contained the grand prize of $5.00. Brendan found it! The kids all came into the house with grocery bags full of stuff, anything from cereal boxes, to pudding, to gummy carrots, toys and tons of candy.

We dyed Easter eggs later that afternoon at our home and Lydia came over to help decorate. We foiled some of the eggs and they were beautiful and vibrant in color.

Eater happened to fall on conference weekend this year so we were able to listen to the prophet and enjoy Easter candy at the same time. The Eater bunny did a fantastic job hiding the baskets this year, if he hadn't given Dan and I some clues, I don't think the kids would have ever found them. Madison's basket was hidden in her room in her closet and Jaxson's basket was hidden in the office in the filing cabinet. My favorite part of the morning was watching Reagan line up all her M&M's by color in a big long train. When she ran out, she took Madison's and Jaxson's too and began lining them up as well. She is a crack up! We enjoyed listening to conference, especially to President Uchtdorf talk entitled "You Are My Hands" The kids really picked up on this talk about serving others. He related a beautiful story about two brothers and their willingness to serve each other. The brothers owned a field and shared everything equally; however one of the brothers felt his other brother should have more because he had a bigger family to take care of, so he secretly added more of the harvest to his pile in the middle of the night. The other brother, felt his brother should have more because he didn't have a family to take care of him, so he secretly added more of the harvest to his pile during the same evening. The next morning both brothers were surprised that the piles looked even, so the the following night they repeated their actions, only to find the other brother doing the same thing. They both embraced and were overcome with the love and gratitude for one another.

I am so grateful for this Easter season and for the atoning sacrifice of our Savior. I love being able to have family home evening during this time of the year and centering it upon Christ. It has become a tradition to have the same lesson each year at Easter with 12 eggs that represent something from the Savior. Each egg holds something important leading up to Jesus Christ being crucified. Items such as a thorn, or red cloth, 3 dimes that represent the price the Savior was sold for. The last egg is always empty because it represents Christ being resurrected. It is a beautiful reminder of what our Savior did for each of us. We love ending the evening with a special treat - resurrection rolls (these delicious rolls contain crescent rolls, marshmallows and cinnamon sugar) YUMMY!