Easter!!

Easter is right around the corner, I don't know if I like it being so early this year, it is throwing my schedule all off. I was thinking about the meaning of Easter and what parts of the holiday I want to celebrate with my new family and what to leave out. You see growing up both Josh and I only celebrated the fun, Easter Bunny and eggs part of the holiday. We just sort of skipped past the religious aspect. I know that we want to raise Jackson and any future children a little bit differently. Because of our upbrining we are not very religious, and organized religion is a very touchy subject for us. But because of events in our adult life, spirituality is very important to us. A lot of people cannot understand the difference. Basically, we believe in God or a higher power, we believe that our lives are overseen by this higher power and that He has the ability to help or hinder us. We do not believe the Bible in its entirity. You will never hear us quoting scripture. That being said, we do believe that stories told in the Bible have great moral value and can really help people in their time of need. So, when we get to holidays like Easter we have to think about how we want to address it as our children grow. I think that we will share the story of Jesus being reborn and going to Heaven with our kids but we will approach it as. a. story. I think that religious holidays are a good opportunity to teach children about the different belief systems in the world and to teach them about the morals behind the scripture. We will explain that the Easter Bunny is a lot like Santa Claus, he helps us to celebrate this wonderful story and reminds us about the joys of giving and cherishing family.

So, we are preparing for Easter. The baskets are out of storage, the gifts and candy are ready for assembly. We have decorated eggs around the house. Later this week we will hard boil and color eggs. I will also make deviled eggs, but not too many because Mom is making her own and I am sure that Josh's Aunt Margaret will make some for their get together (Deviled eggs are her "thing" so I don't want to step on any toes!). So we are excited. If Easter plays out at all like Christmas and Halloween, then Jackson will love it. I don't think that we will do the Bunny Tracks (flour footprints on the floor) this year, Jack is a little young for that still but maybe next year. I think that we will hide the basket as well as some plastic eggs and do a quick little hunt before breakfast and off to Moms. I don't want to do anything too elaborate because I am sure that Mom has a lot planned and we don't want to burn the kid out by 10 am.

I am excited! I love holidays and coming up with new traditions. I love to pass my excitement on to my children and hopefully, my husband. He does not share the same affinity for special occasions as I do. He really looks at holidays like they are a chore. I think that is sad, while there is sometimes work involved, I think that it is nice to plan something special and out of the ordinary every once in a while. And I also think that it is a nice treat to try and make a holiday special for your family and friends. Before we know it life will have flown by and we will wish that we had more time, more opportunities to spend with our loved ones, we will wish that we did more to show how much we cared. I just try to take advantage of every chance to bring a little joy to my family, every day would be great but I think putting a little extra care into the holidays is the least that I can do.

So on that note... Happy Easter! Enjoy the day in whatever way you celebrate. Whether it be with bunnies and baskets or crosses and scriptures, Sunday is a great day to remember the people you love and how lucky we are to have the lives that we do.