One weekend.

Having just finished the Easter weekend, I can't help but be introspective about it.  It's humbling to remember that He did it for me.  That kind of love is just unfathomable.

I've been thinking a lot about what that Friday must have been like.  I know it didn't feel like a "Good Friday" to those that loved and followed Jesus back then.  What sorrow they must have felt. What defeat.

That Saturday could not have been any better.  Even though the "worst" was over, they were still reeling from the tragedy of the day before.  They didn't know that Sunday was coming.  But it did!

That weekend continues to play out in our daily lives.  Maybe you've just endured a Friday.  The sky is black and you feel hopeless.  Or maybe you're in the midst of a Saturday.  Reality is sinking in and you're desperate for good news.  Rest assured, Sunday is coming.

"Sorrow may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

We do all the baskets and eggs and chocolate bunnies and pretty dresses, but our girls know why we celebrate Easter (in the most age appropriate way of course).  As a child I used to wonder why we didn't get a bunch of gifts on Easter, like we did on Christmas.  They were both "Jesus" holidays, so why does one get more attention and hoopla than the other?

As an adult, I've realized that Easter IS the biggest gift.  There's no way we could top it.  We need to just accept it, and be grateful.  How can you compete with grace?

In college as an RA, I had a student that had a plaque over her dorm room door.  It read:

"Good morning! This is God.  

Don't worry, I've already taken care of today.  

Please don't go messing it up by trying to do things yourself."

I imagine that God would add to that by saying, "By the way....I've got tomorrow covered too."

It's a good reminder for each of us. Don't worry.  But I still do.

I was worried about the girls getting into the charter school we wanted.  The week before the lottery I called to find out the exact date we would hear anything and they informed me that there were absolutely no openings in third grade.  That meant Reagan would be wait-listed regardless of the lottery.

We discussed a bunch of different scenarios if Skylar got in and Reagan did not: homeschooling, two different schools next year, taking her out mid-year if there was an opening, etc. etc. etc.  Then we prayed.

The day of the lottery we got a phone call from the school administrator.  She said "Just calling to let you know that we have a spot for Skylar in the Fall!" I started screaming and jumping up and down (in true girl fashion).  Then she went on to say, "And we've decided to make room for Reagan and increase the class size by one so that she can come here too." That's when I lost it.  Tears of joy.

God knew.  He had already taken care of it.

Why do we worry?

I know, I know...we're human.  We try but we fail again and again.  But that's ok.  God knows that too.

 Today, I'm just thankful for grace and the promise of Sunday.

Easter Weekend!! aka...a really long post with lots of pictures

Wow! What a weekend! Sadly it went too fast, but we are so grateful that it was filled with fun and family!

Saturday was our city's annual Eggstravaganza!! Last year the girls were freezing in their pretty little dresses so this year they wore long pants and sweatshirts (and of course it was warm so they started shedding layers almost immediately).  And of course we forgot our egg baskets AGAIN so they had to use their bike helmets.  They didn't seem to mind.  They had one thing on their minds....candy!

They are divided by age group which works out well for a mom-tographer like myself.  I was able to get pictures of each girl separately.  It's a bit of mayhem for about 34 seconds.  They drop the rope and the kids run onto the field, gathering as many eggs as they can.

Here's Skylar with the "fours"

Reagan with the "sixes"

And Bailey in the "two and under" area 

On the way home we stopped at the creek and the girls played for a few minutes building a "dam." 

We colored eggs at night and the girls had so much fun! We even let Bailey drop (literally drop) her eggs into the dye cups.  

(check out that sassy look! she cracks me up!)

Easter morning arrived and the girls found their baskets on the table.  

In the afternoon we headed down to my parents house for lunch and another Easter egg hunt.

Reagan picking oranges off the tree.

Bailey REALLY wanted to go swimming in the neighbors pool.

Bailey waiting *ever so patiently* for lunch

Enjoying some sweet tea!

READY for the egg hunt!!

Mostly they all just ran in opposite directions (that's my niece Sydney with Bailey).

After they all opened their eggs, we busted out the bubbles and let them run off some of that sugar.

What most of my pictures look like from that day....the back of the girls!

All in all, we had a wonderful weekend celebrating the hope we have in Christ. Yes, we ate chocolate bunnies, and wore pretty dresses, but we also made sure that we told the girls about why we even celebrate Easter.  They know that the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive! 

It also seemed very appropriate that on "that day" over 2000 years ago, the Bible says "the earth trembled and the stone was rolled away" and we too had our own "earth trembling" moment with a 6.9 quake on Easter afternoon.  

I hope your Easter was blessed as well!