Easter 2016

I saw this on Pinterest and really liked it!

The saying is true. Easter is all about Jesus and what he did for each one of us. I am so humbled and grateful for the sacrifice He made so I could live in freedom. God took on flesh (as Jesus) and came to this earth. He lived a perfect life and died a death He did not deserve. For everyone one of us. Because of His death we are no longer bound to “rules” but a “relationship” with Him. He offers forgiveness and grace, freely. And the best part of Easter - the reason for celebrating Easter - he rose from the grave! He did not stay dead. He sits in Heaven with God and intercedes on our behalf! And I love Him and thank Him for what He did…for me. 

And so even though Easter is about Jesus, and not a bunny - there are many ways to celebrate! Here is a recap of what our Easter looked liked….

Thursday, at church, we had a wonderful Maundy Thursday Service! It was a great time to reflect on the meaning of the week. And afterward, we headed to McDonalds to grab a quick dinner before going home. As we walked in, we realized they were having some kind of Easter Celebration…a bunny was there, free kids meals, face painting…etc. So after we ate our meal we let Jaxen get his face painted.

And just so you know (and for my memories) - this is the first time he ever had his face painted! I know… he is almost four… it should have been a right of passage a long time ago. However - he was never interested. Any time he had seen this before, he never really took notice or showed any interest.

And then he watched kid after kid get the Batman symbol painted on their face. Their entire face. And then he decided he wanted one too. It was actually past time (they were getting ready to clean up the stations); and it was already past his bedtime…but the sweet lady heard him asking me if he could get it done, and she stayed later just for him.

I was not a fan of him having it done and then going home and going to bed…but Nik convinced me it was okay. And I agreed to a small one on his cheek…not his entire face. He sat so still and was so proud of his batman!

When we got home, we started getting him ready for bed and he wanted to wear his Batman costume (from Halloween) but it is too small! So I talked him into wearing Spiderman to bed. He was okay with that :)

I even gave him a mirror to look at his face while in bed, and he totally fell asleep looking at himself!

It was pretty cute! And yes, in the middle of the night, he woke up with paint all over his face, crying that Batman was gone. I grabbed some wipes, cleaned his face and (thankfully, without much fit throwing or convincing) he went back to sleep. And I took the mirror away.

Other fun things from our Easter...

I finally got around to putting an “easter centerpiece” on our dining room table last Thursday.

And filled Jaxen’s easter basket with a few items:

new pajamas, a new shirt, paw patrol coloring book, 3 paw patrol puppies and candy in eggs!

I also bought some ‘fake’ eggs and stickers for him to decorate.

I was not feeling the dye this year - haha!

So on Friday, while Nik was working - I pulled out the decorating stuff.

He did pretty good with decorating the eggs.

He liked coloring and putting stickers on them - but really wanted my help with it all.

He did not enjoy doing it alone!

His favorite thing though…

is when I cut out some eggs and let him glue stuff to it.

He got really excited about that - and had a great time with it!

Sunday morning Nik left early to attend the annual Easter Breakfast, but Jaxen and I stayed home until right before service began. (Even though he was on medicine and no longer contagious, I didn’t want him around a lot of people at church). So he sat with me during church and I let him join the kids for the Children’s Sermon - which he loved!

After church we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed home where all three of us napped! Later that afternoon, we joined some friends and their family for an Easter dinner. We had a great time and Jaxen played hard. He was worn out and ready for bed!

We did not get a ‘family picture’ (I wish we would have) so I snapped a few shots before / after church of us. 

Jaxen and I - ready for church!

This boy is a stud! He looked so handsome in his new shirt and tie :)

Too bad these pics were taken inside, on the top of my washer…instead of outside with beautiful grass and flowers (North Country Easter Problems).

And a few family selfies after church...