Easter Makes Me Homesick

When I was little we always spent Easter down on the Farm.  We would spend the afternoon with all of our cousins and relatives.  We would play basketball in the hayloft and push each other on the tire swing.  We would indulge in a huge pot luck style early dinner and then it would be nap time.  The kids would all tromp up the old wooden staircase and rush to lay down on old creaky box spring beds and nap so the Bunny would hop by and leave us treasures outside.  Easter was not only about celebrating the fact that He Has Risen, but it was also about family...faith and family. 

I think for that reason, I always get a little homesick on this holiday (of course, the fact that SHE just left makes the holiday hard too).  I miss my family.  I mourn the fact that my children won't grow up with similar memories.  They didn't spend Easter surrounded by extended family, or even friends that might as well be family.  We spent the holiday alone...a family of four, which should be plenty.  I should be reveling in the fact that we are creating our own little traditions instead of lamenting on Easters past, egg hunts that we no longer participate in and family style dinner invitations that don't come our way.  I should be happy that my kids are healthy, and we are having quality family time, but somehow there is a touch of sadness in what we miss while living so far away from family.

So, we made the best out of it, despite the fact that our A/C unit on our 1st floor stopped working mid-day on Saturday, despite the fact that it was 83 degrees and HUMID in our house all day long, despite the fact that it rained, and that Publix closed before I got French Bread to complete the meal that Stouffer's made for me.  My children didn't know the difference and they enjoyed themselves.

Thursday night, we dyed eggs with Daddy.

See that tooth on the bottom right.  Its days are numbered. 

I love this photo.  The egg somehow ended up in perfect focus.  This was Chloe's first egg dying adventure.  She caught on quickly.

As the sun set, we left our eggs to dry and took a dip in the pool before bedtime.

Church was a highlight of our Easter morning.  The girls looked so cute in the coordinating dresses.  Hubs tried his best to get everyone to look at him for the photo.  I had 10 pictures to choose from, everyone took turns looking odd, I chose to the post the one that I looked the least odd in. :)

After nap time it was time for our egg hunt.  We did it indoors this year.  It turns out that the bunny brought a lot of chocolate and well, that would just be messy outside.

Chloe finds an egg hidden under Elmo's arm.

Oh the expression!  Cam found an egg hidden in the chair.  Is it just me, or does she look about 8 years old in this photo?  She also slept over at a friend's house on Friday night.  She never cried, she never asked to come home, and she can't wait to do it again.  It's like she grew up overnight. 

My whole world and some baskets.

Oh dear, this is her "cheese" face.  

The bunny brought her bubbles and she was over the moon about them.

And here she is wishing that the A/C was working.  I feel ya, Chloe.

After exchanging a string of emails with a friend this morning about our holiday and the way we like to spend it.  I've decided that next year I will make a more concentrated effort to celebrate Easter the way that makes me happiest, to continue creating our own traditions, and that it's okay for my children's memories to differ from my own. 
I hope you had a wonderful Easter.
He has Risen Indeed.