Easter! Thoughts and flashback -

I love spring!  And Easter too.  There is such beauty and excitement in the rebirth of everything around us.  It really is the perfect symbolic season for the Resurrection.

This year I thought about how to make Easter more like Christmas in our traditions.  Last Christmas season we made an effort to really focus our thoughts on our Savior and for me, at least, it made all the difference.  I wanted Easter to be more like this.  Here is what we tried this year:

1.  Easter reading -- My friend Cara has written a series of short unpublished books for children about the week leading up to Christ's death and resurrection.  They are biblically researched and based.  She sent us the manuscript a few years ago, and most years we read a section each day.  This year, half the kids had spring break and our daily routine was off.  We ended up reading most of the sections on Easter Sunday, which worked out well because of #2.

2.  Jerusalem dinner -- I know friends and family who do this at Christmastime.  Our version consisted of a sit-down-on-the-floor meal, with finger foods similar to what would have been eaten at the time of Christ's ministry there.  We used a variety of dried fruit, nuts, crackers, and olives.  I finished our Easter reading and discussion while everyone was eating and THAT worked very well.

3.  Photos of Christ's ministry, death, and resurrection -- we used all the photos we could find in our Gospel Art Kit.  Put them on the wall, talked about them.  Kate especially needs a visual aid to learn.

4.  Sacred Gifts Exhibit (extended hours and closing date!) visit -- We have been lucky enough to visit this exhibit of works of the Savior by four different artists.  I have been a few times and can't get enough.  I took all available kids down once during Easter week and let them pick out a copy of their favorite print to keep in their rooms.

5.  Egg hunt on Saturday -- this works well for us.  It helps us to keep Sunday focused on the real reason for our Easter celebrations.  Luckily the Easter Bunny is accommodating and comes early to our house.  :)

6.  Reflection -- I listened to this talk in the car a few times.  It is such a beautiful talk on the atonement!  Poignant, thought-provoking.

And then of course, all the other fun parts of the week - egg dying and the hunt itself!  The kids always love the neighborhood Easter egg hunt (held in ours and three other neighboring backyards).  This year we had great weather for it and for our family egg hunt too.  We'll never forget hunting for eggs in a couple feet of snow though!