I wanted to share a little bit about our Easter weekend. My thoughts about the holiday are here. All the pictures, however, are following: Feverish Madeline spent the morning curled up in fetal position on my lap. As a mom, that makes my heart soar. I didn't want to breathe too hard for fear that she'd realize she was SITTING STILL FOR MORE THAN THREE SECONDS. I sat on the floor wearily and dreamily, kissing her moppy head. Moms don't think twice about being in the fevery, runny-nose, festering, germ-epicenter of the house; being the mom-arms that make everything okay, that makes your heart so full it could burst.
After breakfast we opened her Easter basket, which was full of her three favorite things: 1. Books. 2. Flower seeds for planting. 3. M&Ms.
Aaaand, she also got a new bed! For FREE! (Thanks to Craigslist and my blessed husband who was willing to drive across Huntsville in a church van at 10:00 last night.) We'll switch her bed back into a crib and put the twin in her room sometime this week. That is, if we can tear it away from this character.
For now, it's set up in the living room. She's mostly jazzed about the purple sheets.
We also painted nails.
And watered our Easter grass. What, I haven't told you about Easter grass!?!? It is the ONLY thing I've ever been able to grow. Ever. Probably because no one cares if it dies right after Easter. Low-pressure.
You must, must, must try this, okay? Easter grass is really just wheat grass. You buy a bunch of wheat berries from a health food store like Earth Fare or Whole Foods. Now, I mentioned that as of Tuesday, I was woefully unprepared for any kind of Easter activity. So, if you are like me and realize merely DAYS before Easter that you haven't planted your wheat berries for your daughter - which is one of the only Easter traditions in place at this point so it's kind of important, and that grass doesn't just magically appear; you have to, um, GROW IT - no fear! You just plop the berries in a bowl of warm water overnight...
...Throw a ton of the little guys in a basket, or cup, or pot, or seven, depending on how much your child loves dirt...
Cover 'em with a thin layer of dirt...
- Get excited.
And keep them moist by turning your kids loose with a spray bottle twice a day. (Or, alternatively, you could leave them outside during some typical Alabama severe weather, wake up at 3am and lay there debating whether or not it's worthwhile to get your fat, pregnant self out of bed to go rescue the little guys from the torrential downpour for the sake of your daughter. Decide that no, it's not. Then wake up again an hour later and lay there feeling guilty for a while. Turns out, they will survive. Which is why even people like me can grow Easter grass.)
And if you procrastinate in such a way, they'll still look like this by Easter morning! Not too shabby!
Now, if you plant them, like, 4 days sooner, your grass will be full and thick and lush and perfect for nestling eggs and treats and springy surprises down in there. It's pretty magical - to have a basket full of real "Easter grass." Not to mention beautiful. Maybe next year...
And because traditions make family life special, I found this easy, edible, meaningful Easter tradition to start with the kids next year. (KIDS! Do you like how I just slid that in there?) I like it because it has nothing to do with eggs or bunnies - and everything to do with an empty tomb. As my wise, kindred-spirit friend Jamie noted earlier this week,
"The broken body of Messiah has nothing in common with a chocolate egg, which is sweet on the tongue but brings death to partakers. No, the body - the unleavened bread, the spotless Lamb - is a bitter sacrifice, difficult to chew and painful to swallow, but the life and healing it brings are sweet like nothing else. Like nothing else."
She's great. Back to the tradition.
It's simple enough for little ones to grasp, and still magical for older kids. How cute are these guys!?! (Originally posted here, by my friend Katie, whose blog is fun and you should read it.)
They're called Resurrection Rolls.
You fill crescent rolls with marshmallows and, once baked, the marshmallows melt away leaving a hollow center - an "empty tomb!"
Recipe:
- 1 package Cresent rolls
- melted butter
- large marshmallows
- cinnamon
- sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Give each kiddo a triangle of cresent rolls. The cresent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
Give each kiddo a marshmallow. This represents Jesus and His purity.
Have them dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
Dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar. This represents the spices used to annoint the body of Jesus.
Wrap the coated marshmallow tightly in the cresent roll (not like a typical cresent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside) This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The oven represents the tomb (pretend like it was 3 days and nights!)
When the rolls have cooled slightly, the kids can open their rolls (cloths) and discover that Jesus is no longer there; HE IS RISEN, and he is Lord.
Fact: I will not wait until next Easter to try these. Yum. You had me at butter and cinnamon.
Is that sufficient rambling for today? Sick kid, free mattress, Easter grass, and Resurrection rolls? Yes. I think that'll do. Happy Easter, all!
Wait no! I have more rambling! What it's not like I'm holding you hostage - you can LEAVE if you want to. Do you sometimes wonder what people who work at a church DO??? Like, during the week? Well if you are in youth minstry, you probaby spend your time writing point values on hundreds of plastic eggs with Sharpies. And stuffing them with coupons for free Frostys. Then you might spend an afternoon cooking oatmeal and rice and beans and noodles and spinach in mass quantities - none of which are for eating. Then you pour all that food (plus whatever expired yogurt and condiments are in your fridge) into giant buckets full of easter eggs. Then you put the buckets (plus a bunch of other eggs) out in a giant field. Then you station youth leaders around with hoses, and pool noodles, and water balloons. Then you wait for it to get really dark, give your teams of teenagers flashlights, and tell them that whoever gets the most points wins.
Warning: You will have to wash all those nasty Easter eggs in your bathtub at midnight. You'll have to wash them 4 times because the oil will not come off easily. And buying new eggs is out of the question because that costs money, of which there is none.
And then you will stay up late watching a movie with your husband, because you have to stuff goodie bags for the little kids egg hunt in the morning. You will also have to pray that an unsuspecting child doesn't find an egg with expired mashed potatoes and salsa in it.
Warning #2: Your kid might get wet.
Okay, now I'm done.