easter weekend and then some
oh hey! how was your easter weekend? ours was packed with all kinds of amazingness and we are officially pooped. our church has a beautiful maundy thursday service and a "service of darkness" on good friday to lead up to the joyous occasion of resurrection sunday. it is a splendid way to spend holy week and focus your heart on the weightiness of the holiday. the jubilation of easter sunday is so much greater when you take proper time to feel the heaviness of the days leading up to "the big day". i so appreciate this special time of year. the extra time spent in prayer and remembrance with our church family AAAAAND the extra time spent with our families to rejoice together over Christ's resurrection. it is the best.
on saturday afternoon, we gathered at ben's folks' home to eat some amazing food together and participate in our annual easter egg decorating contest.
elinor really got into the festivities this year which made things way more fun and a million times more out of control and messy. we stripped her down to just a diaper and let her go for it. she dunked eggs and played with glitter glue and feathers and anything that she could get her hands on. by the end, her fingers were dyed a deep purple hue and she was a happy happy disaster. and so, we did what any good parents would do and let her run around the backyard in her birthday suit and get hosed off. she was over the moon with the whole thing.
once clean, it was time to get dried off so that she could enjoy a piece of carrot cake and dive into an easter basket filled with goodies. so, needless to say, it was a good day to be elinor.
it was an intense few hours of eating and activity and people and bustle and sugar so elinor crashed super hard on the ride home. and once home, her parents crashed hard too.
easter morning was all about taking it easy and savoring some time together as our little family. we did the egg thing and basket thing and all that fun stuff. we talked about jesus. we prayed together. ben and i sipped coffee while elinor nibbled on some of her goodies (raisins and cheddar bunnies are a perfectly acceptable breakfast) and then we got dressed up in our sunday best to head off to church.
p.s. how adorable are ben and elinor in that picture above? would you look at elinor's sweet easter dress and bright springtime moccs and perfect-delightful-amazing-darling smile? and what about my man? so handsome. they are the best.
after we celebrated at church, we made our way to southern rail for some brunch. ben ordered up a mimosa (i am thinking so that he could have a drink that matched his tie...) and i asked for a little dish of the pickled carrots to start because 1) they seemed like a festive choice for the holiday and 2) they are addictive and incredible and i want a platter of them.
i got a croque monsieur and ben got a fried green tomato and pimento cheese po' boy. both dishes were out of this world delish. i am a sucker for a thick piece of bread with any kind of meat/cheese/cream sauce...but ben's selection gave mine a run for its money. and this from a tomato hater. i was daring and stole a bite of ben's sandwich and i must say, i wasn't hating those fried green tomatoes...
we ate lots and lots of yumminess and then hopped in the car for a stop at my folks' place. they had a full egg hunt prepared, a bountiful basket of treats, and a precious little dress. so many wonderful things to spoil our little gal. and she was thrilled.
to bring it home, we went through the resurrection egg set so that elinor could open each one and we could talk about the easter story. what a meaningful tradition to begin with her. i look forward to her understanding the richness of this holiday more and more with each year.
and when you unintentionally coordinate, you gotta end the blog post with a selfie. well, i guess it is more of a "couplie" or "us-ie" but, you get the picture.
AND AND AND! this is so much more than an easter recap post. you are getting an extra helping of celebratory goodness today.
april 7 means one thing around here: the anniversary of bree + paul
a very happy TWO YEARS to you two lovebirds!
wahoo for love and marriage and anniversaries and growing families!