Happy Easter!

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God is good in so many ways.  This is the first Easter that we've celebrated without Rob at home.  And though we all missed him, our days were so busy and full of grace that we found ourselves rejoicing and storing up memories to share "when Daddy gets home". 

I struggled this Easter to find ways to make our remembrance and celebration as meaningful to our family as our Christmas traditions.   In history we are studying the Ancients (4000BC to 500AD).  It just happened that we are currently studying the beginning of Christianity.  Learning about our faith at school is such a blessing. 

The weather here has been amazing.  As a result, we all participated in the Jeffersonville stations of the cross on Friday evening.  My favorite part of the evening was when S8 said, "Mom, I'm tired and hungry and my feet hurt.  That's only a little bit of what Jesus felt."  It was good to know that our journey wasn't just a long walk with no purpose.

This morning we woke to read the "empty tomb" stories from each gospel and make resurrection rolls.  I believe I've finally found a tradition that allows us to talk about Jesus' resurrection in a way that celebrates the event on a personal and family level.  Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the secular traditions and forget to focus on the reality of Resurrection Sunday. 

Planning a big meal without Rob home just didn't appeal to any of us.  Instead we drove to the Indianapolis Museum of Art and had a picnic on the beautiful grounds.  My sister, Sarah, and her family were able to join us.  Shrimp, pasta salad, grapes, strawberries, bananas and peanut butter and jelly was on the menu.  The grown ups shared a bottle of wine while the children enjoyed sparkling grape juice.  We rounded off the day with lots of tag, an egg hunt and Keith's chocolate chip cookies.  It was a blessing to be with family on such a beautiful day.

The greatest blessing of all is to be able to say, "Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!"