Easter and Wall Panels

What a gorgeous Easter we had this year!  God gave us sunny, sunny weather; so thankfully my gamble on buying Easter short outfits for my boys worked.

Our family started the day at our church service and heard the best gospel message I've ever heard presented.  Seriously.  Our pastor, Mike Fabarez, broke down John 3, the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night, and gave an amazing sermon.  Listen to it--you won't regret it!  You can hear it here.

Then we had a variety of family celebrations, starting with a brunch at our house.  I made eggs benedict for the first time--delicious.  The kids hunted for eggs, and we enjoyed the beautiful day. 

Micah hunting for eggs

Showing off his findings

Carter showing off his full basket

Getting down to business

We also were able to enjoy our new wall panels!  After two weeks of serious dust, they were done two days before Easter.  We spent ALL day Saturday wiping down cupboards, walls, shutters, windows, floors  . . . you name it.  I think the majority of the dust is gone.

I'll post a more thorough post about the panels soon, and I promise I'll get better pictures.  These were shot in a hurry on Easter. Here is a sneak peak. 

Happy Tuesday!

My little Bunny's Easter Egg Hunt

My oldest is in Kindergarten, and they had an Easter Egg hunt today . . .
They could only pick up the 7 eggs that had THEIR name, and they had to hop like a bunny as they went around searching.  It was a great hunt!

Beautiful Easter

Easter was wonderful.  We started the day at church, worshipping God and praising our risen Savior.  It was a great morning.
Afterward, I was able to host both sides of our families for brunch, and it was an absolute joy to see everyone together.  We had a Honey Baked ham, hashbrown egg casserole, baked French Toast casserole, fruit salad, croissant sandwiches, coffee cake, and caprese salad skewers (and then we had dessert!).  Though the weather was gloomy (it sprinkled for part of the day--and yes, I live in Southern California, and, no, this isn't normal.  Every party I've hosted this spring has gotten rained out), we made the best of it and still had a fabulous day! 

My cuties:

 Some Easter Decor:

These are real placemats that look like lettuce--aren't they cute?!

The kids spent most of the day jumping out their sugar.

 Spring garden:

 The Egg Hunt (116 eggs for about 8 kids)!

Eating the spoils of the egg hunt!

 Strawberry Trifle with Devon Custard.  I shared a similar recipe on my Friday Favorites.  View the original post here.  I used strawberries instead of raspberries in order to cut cost, sponge cake, Devon custard, whipped cream and mini chocolate chips.  Delish!

I pray your Easter was wonderful and blessed too!

He Is Risen Banner

I'm hosting my first official holiday gathering--Easter!  Both my mom and mother in law love to entertain, and we have large families on both sides, so I hope I do it justice!
I wanted to make a banner to share what we are celebrating that day, so it was an easy choice to pick the words, "He is Risen".
First I took cardstock and cut rectangles.  Small rectangles were made to break up the words and the large rectangles were made for each letter. 

I Tacky glued left over baby shower fabric to my cardstock--green with white polk a dots to the large rectangles and buttery yellow on the small rectangles.

I stapled each rectangle to some dollar ribbon I grabbed at Michael's.
Finally, I used acrylic, white paint and stencils to spell out "He is Risen."

It is hanging in our kitchen/nook, which will be the main hang out location of the day.
I pray you have a wonderful Easter celebrating the fact He is risen!

Easter Cross

Easter isn't the same as Christmas.  Though there is much celebration in Christ's resurrection and the hope of Heaven for those who repent and trust in Him, Good Friday is tightly associated with Easter.  There cannot be a resurrection without the painful, tortuous death that Christ faced for OUR sins.  It adds a little solemnity to the occasion, doesn't it?

This is why I don't want my kids merely popping jelly beans into their mouth and hugging their stuffed rabbit as we put on new clothes and head to church.  Don't get me wrong, we celebrate Easter and the gift Jesus has given to those in Him, but I want them to understand they are sinners who shed Christ's blood on the cross.  I want them to know their status so they will better understand their need for Christ's sacrifice someday.  I consider this when I start traditions and make decor for our home.   

Instead of dressing up eggs or rabbits, I made a cross for our entryway.  I interwove the idea of Good Friday with the cross and Easter with the words, "Jesus Lives."  I also mixed the painful silhouette of the cross with a bright, beautiful Easter color.  I believe it represents well the dark hours of Good Friday with the amazing, bright hope of Easter. 

I bought three pieces of styrofoam, some crafting paper and Mod Podge

I hot glued the styrofoam pieces into a cross.

I found a beautiful Easter blue paper for my Mod Podging

I tore random pieces of paper and mod podged them under and on top.  I finished by applying silver sticker letter that say, "Jesus Lives."

Here is the finished cross on our entryway table.

The words "Jesus Lives" are very subtle across the cross 

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