Hi my friend, how are you? How's everyone doing? Are you all ready for Easter? What's your Easter tradition? Do you make Easter baskets, do you give anything to the kids? Happy Easter! May our Lord Jesus Christ resurrect in your hearts. Amen. Nara O.
Hello, sweet Nara. It is good to hear from you! We are all finally getting better. This cold was a big drain but we pushed forward and with the exception of Winnie's drippy nose, I think we are almost back to normal. We are ready for Easter. The kids have been looking forward to it for some time and we are all excited for our company on Sunday.
With the warm spell in Maryland our cherry tree bloomed nearly a month early. This morning was a beautiful sunny day, albeit very chilly. We opted to dress the kids in their Easter outfits and snap some photos while the cherry tree still had blooms on it. This might also cut down on the rush Easter morning when we are trying to get to church on time. I thought I'd share some of those pictures with your answer.
Amazingly enough they all have their eyes open for this one. |
I know many Christians who do not celebrate Easter, or what we think of as Resurrection Day, because of the pagan ties associated with it. However, since the holiday has long since been associated with Christianity and not with pagan worship we choose to use this time of year to focus on the sacrifice our God made for us and to use it as an opportunity to share that message with the world.
That being said, our church does not really do much special for the holiday. Growing up Easter was a super big deal in our family and I really missed that when we were young Christians and new to VBC. Allen and I looked for ways to make it a special time of year focused on Christ for our family. We tried to incorporate some traditions from our years growing up with Biblical teaching to make new traditions for our family.
I can not believe how grown up my handsome boys are getting. |
Sometime during the Easter weekend we make Resurrection rolls. This is a tradition passed on to us from some very special friends. It is just another fun, and tasty way, to share the story of the empty tomb.
To make this easy, kid friendly treat you simply need crescent rolls, large marshmallows, melted butter, cinnamon and sugar.
1. Give each child one triangle shaped section of crescent roll. This represents the tomb.
2. Each child takes one marshmallow which represents the body of Christ.
3. Dip the marshmallow in the butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. This represents the oils and
spices the body was anointed with upon burial.
4. Lay the marshmallow on the dough and carefully wrap it around the marshmallow.
5. Make sure all seams are pinched together well. (Otherwise the marshmallow will "ooze" out of the seams)
6. Bake according to package directions.
7. Cool.
8. Break open the tomb and the body of Christ is no longer there!!
9. Celebrate God's love!
They both look so gorgeous in this one. When I was KK's age I was holding her and she was this size! |
We also color eggs sometime during the weekend to eat with our breakfast on Easter morning. There is no real rhyme nor reason or Biblical message with eggs, it is just something fun we have done since Allen and I were kids.
We typically make a special breakfast to have before we go to church on Sunday. This year we plan on serving Monkey bread, Kielbasa, mimosas, peach salad, and hard boiled eggs.
Someone has to squint in every picture. I bet if it was a dark room, someone would still squint. |
It could be worse. |
Truly for using the timer, I think this was rather good. It could definitely be better but its much better than typical Wachter timer pictures. |
Emma's dress is gray and Nana's is the green in Carmella's dress. The sun actually makes them look like the same color here. |
Well, there had to be a few princess shots. |
To make this incredible dish start with a batch of my pizza dough.
1. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with non stick cooking spray and then sprinkle with cornmeal, as you would prepare a pan with crisco and flour for baking a cake.
2. Roll or stretch half the dough over the pan.
3. Mix 3 pounds ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, 3 eggs and some mint. Stir in 1 1/2 pounds cooked and crumbled Italian sausage (casings removed) and 1 1/2 pounds diced ham. Spread over dough.
4. Roll or stretch remaining dough to fit top of pan. Roll edges to seal, as with a pie crust. Use a fork to poke top crust. Mix 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon water. Brush over top crust.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Then at 350 until golden brown, 30-60 minutes more. Allow to cool on rack before cutting.
This can be cut and served after setting up for 15 minutes or so but it is also delicious served cold or at room temperature. Marinara on the side for dipping is a nice addition.
Because she is the most photogenic among us, after all. |
This tradition began long ago, when Allen and I were a young couple. Without any family in the picture we felt there was plenty of room to share our holiday table with others. Holidays were always big affairs in my family and not being included in their celebrations was, and is, very sad for me. I learned that taking the focus off of my own sadness and finding a way to reach out to others, is the best way to deal with a broken heart.
Back then, we knew many people in the military who could not go home for holidays and so our home became their home. Sometimes, we might just have one or two others. Sometimes, like this Easter, we will have 30 additional people joining us. Sometimes, I never know until we sit down to dinner who or how many people will be dining. We always plan and cook for a crowd, just in case. Now that the girls are older, they plan special decorations or entertainment for the event. We usually spend a week or more before the holiday preparing.
The other day someone asked me if I ever wonder why I do it all. And the truth is, sometimes I feel like just kicking back and doing nothing. Like right now. Coming out of two weekends away and two weeks of sickness. It would be a lot less work and definitely save a lot of money. However, when all is said and done, we receive an incredible blessing and I love having an opportunity for my kids to be reminded of the fact nothing in this life should ever be about them or me or us. This life is for glorifying our Savior, spreading the good news and sharing His love with those around us.
Wishing you a glorious day of remembering who it is all about!
Hugs,
Kat
Oh my gosh...I've been away so long that you've had another baby. I'm embarassed to admit it. I haven't been blogging for a long time.
ReplyDeleteYour family is beautiful as always. Your precious babies are growing into young men & women.
I love your blooming Cherry Blossom tree. Wish ours would wake up and show their fluffy blosssoms out here in the PNW. They're rather whimpy looking so far.
Enjoyed your Resurrection Day traditions. We have done some of those too. The egg cloring and egg hunt were favorites as my kids grew up. Now I give the kids baskets filled with candy and we help with our church egg hunt for the community.
It's fun to help with the egg hunt and have my kids and hub helping too.
Happy Resurrection Day to you all. I hope it's a beautiful, sunny day.
I LOVE the girls Easter dresses! So beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteWe do the same thing with guests for Easter (and Thanksgiving) though we don't normally have quite as many people as you do :) It's one of my favorite traditions though!
Hugs,
Julianne
I love their dresses! Oh my goodness, so pretty. :)
ReplyDeletehugs,
~bree
So fun! The dresses turned out beautifully, and you all looked wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI was going to comment on something in particular, but now I've forgotten what it was...oh well, anyway - love the pics!
ReplyDeleteGlad I am not the only one with that forgetful problem. :-) let me know if it comes back to you.
DeleteYou guys always make holidays fun. Ironic that we always do our Easter pictures in front of the cherry tree :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful family you are blessed with! I haven't "talked" with you in so long that I didn't even know you had another little one. What a joy to have such a big family! God only blessed us with two (although I wanted more) but I am so thankful for the two that I have. They are both in college now....so hard to believe.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless! Love,
Nan
Hi, Nan.
DeleteIt was a treat to "see" you. Yes, we have been blessed and it is an unthinkable joy. And, yes, they grow so very fast. Our oldest will be 21 this year. Seems like only yesterday she was our little preemie that we couldn't even get diapers to fit!
Blessings,
Kat
Looks like you had a wonderful Easter Celebration. Beautiful pictures! Coloring eggs and egg hunts are standing traditions in our family as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you find the time to blog - and include recipes! - with 8 children. But I sure do enjoy reading it. :)