Jesus Is Risen!

     Easter is always a very special holiday for our family.  We enjoyed special celebrations at church, home, and with neighbors this year.

     The girls were in a small play at church that depicted the resurrection story.  Anneka played Mary Magdalene and Ella was an angel.  They both did a great job remembering their lines.  We had lost our lines and I thought, "oh well, Yulia will have them" (she's the person who wrote the play)... but she called me at 9:30 the night before, to tell me she'd lost her lines, too!  Thankfully everyone remembered enough to reconstruct them.  =)

     We enjoyed our annual Easter lunch with our church family.  I love how everyone brings something to contribute and we all sit together.  

Sweet Babushkas

     At home, we enjoyed our annual tradition of dyeing eggs together as a family.  Ike dived to the floor when Leif snapped the picture.  He's not into photos so much these days.  =)

 

We also had an egg hunt.  Each kid gets their own area to find eggs.

 Such joy!

 Leif hid Anneka's eggs in extra-tricky places.

     As a family, we have a tradition of hiding 12 "resurrection eggs" together with other eggs that hold candy.  We open them in order and inside are symbols that tell the story of Jesus.  Our kids love this tradition and we decided to share it with neighbors, too.  The kids all got into it and had a lot of fun.  

     Last night in our small group, we studied the final words of Jesus before He ascended into heaven.  We are reminded of the precious gift of the Holy Spirit that He's given us.  May we live out of His strength and not our own.  May we be filled with increasing wonder and joy of all that Jesus has done for us!