Spring Arrives with Easter week

      One unique feature of our 171 year old house is the laundry shoot that connects the top floor, the kitchen, and the basement.   We invented a game this winter, where an old viking helmet gets tied to some string, and lowered up and down.  Secret messages are passed between floors, peanut butter sandwiches are smuggled out of the kitchen,  and most recently this week, plastic Easter eggs filled with a few pieces of candy are sent to the starving child on the upper floor.  It is one of the quirkier games the children play.

Sylvia load up the helmet with loot from the kitchen.

Ephraim posing with his most recent haul.

          Yard work.   That would sum up last week and this week.  Raking all the dead sticks and branches that fell in the winter storms, along with the leftover leaves, is a multi day task.  We cleaned the front last week, and cleared out the backyard this week.  10 bags of yard waste later, our yard looked great.  We saved a few sticks for campfires.  The first S'mores run of the season was a success!

Ephraim liked his burnt and crispy.

    Right before Ephraim ate this burnt marshmallow, he had been holding up his stick like a royal scepter with the flaming marshmallow on it.  He announced  "This is my epic Staff-of Marshmallows!  It shoots burning marshmallows into bad guys eyes."  Yes, never a dull moment with that guy around.

Sylvia and the fixings.

Sean and his famous "dragon breath" keeping the ash flaming to the end.

 Sean got the grill going, and proved he has not lost his touch with perfectly done brats.

    Saturday night, I dyed eggs with the kids, while Sean baked hot cross buns for Easter breakfast. A good holiday really begins with lots of kitchen activity.
 
    Easter morning, we had homemade hot-cross-buns and hot chocolate. Delicious!  Then we went off to church.  We heard a couple of wonderful speakers.  One sister spoke on the basic truths of the gospel found in the Intercessory Prayer .   It was really beautiful.  That isn't a set of scripture verses I think of often, because they don't contain a story that I can tell to the kids. But, they do contain the basic doctrine of a loving Heavenly Father wanting us to be glorified with him. The words are powerful and full of love.  The second speaker was Brother Reyes.  He always has the best insights.  He talked about Christ as our eternal advocate, and how He will always be there to advocate a path for us to find greater happiness than our earthly choices may limit us to.  Good talks, good music, good people.

    Then home, to a delicious dinner and Easter egg hunt.  We let Ephraim out the door first...
 

Sylvia followed a minute later, and snatched eggs up like a pro.  After 12 years, she should have this down by now.

While the kids emptied their plastic egg loot into a baggie, the Eater Bunny happened to show up inside and put a few things in the kids' baskets on the table.

Sylvia had the most fun with the chocolate whoppers that you can paint your lips with.

I have also always loved them. Here we are with our blue chocolate-whopper lipstick...

 Ephraim had the most fun with the egg full of "slime".  The kids have never played with slime before, so it was even more exciting than the chocolate candy.

 Ephraim kept doing a funny dance with a slime beard while he watched himself in a mirror.  It was really entertaining.

    The afternoon was warm. Ephraim threw on a swimsuit and played in the sprinkler.   He drew with sidewalk chalk.   I sat on the front porch with Sean, and we talked about all the wonderful things we've experienced living in Wisconsin. There have been so many great opportunities for our family.  I had such a feeling of gratitude and contentment. We have been blessed with a good life.

   The evening ended with making some "pumpkin pasties" (as mentioned in the Harry Potter books) and watching "Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets." We have a family goal to watch a HP movie each Sunday night this spring until we see them all.

      I love my family.  We have fun together.  I love that, through Christ, we can be a family... FOREVER!   -That's what Easter is all about.