Easter 2015

Last weekend we had a lovely few days over Easter. Even though Simon and I both worked, we got to slip in some family time between shifts. When I got home from work on Saturday morning, Easter Bunny had been to visit and Jonty and Flynn were really excited to see the eggs all over the yard as we pulled in the driveway.

We ate lots over the weekend, starting with a great potluck dinner at the Websters on Thursday night. One of our favourite missionaries, Sister Adams (Katelyn) was visiting from the USA after finishing her mission last September and we were all very excited to catch up with her. She was at our house for Christmas breakfast 2013.

On Good Friday we had our traditional Easter breakfast with the missionaries, Elder Wilson and Elder Nicholson.

On Sunday I was asked to give a talk at church. I had completed it on Thursday and we were going to watch a movie on Saturday night while Simon was at work so I said to the kids I would just print out my talk and be right there.  When I went to print the talk, it was not there, It was like I had never written it. I spent an hour ranting over google and trying to retrieve word files from guest users on the Mac but then decided that I would just need to start again. By this time Hallie had shooed everyone to bed telling them that "Mum is really cross so don't go into the office". At 11.30 pm I finally finished my talk and then the printer decided it didn't want to work. It did in the end though and I went o bed very relieved.

On Sunday after church, my Dad came for a visit with my sister and her family but we spent so much time yakking out in the beautiful sun on the deck, noone took any photos. Dad left about 4 pm and then we had a nice sliver side roast for tea and a cheesecake for dessert, which was also to celebrate Emily's 18th birthday on the 30th of March. Simon was at work but was able to pop in for a bite to eat toward the end of the night. Looking at this pic, I know I really need to put something on the walls. :)

Easter time.

Our Easter weekend started on Good Friday with a yummy breakfast and what better way to start off Easter than with the missionaries coming over. We provided the physical nourishment and they the spiritual.



Plus I thought for Mum's last Easter at home for awhile, it would be nice to have a breakfast with the sister missionaries, (Sister Tauti and Sister Rooney) seeing as Mum was soon to be off to the biggest family history centre in the world. People, if you have any questions on how to find out about your ancestors, like way back into the forages of history -then my Mum (aka Sister Gibson) will be your man, er woman.

The table doesn't look like much here but that was before I put out waffles, fruit, bacon, toast, eggs, hash browns, juice, chocolate sauce…. and the list went on! I want to make it a tradition just like we did at Christmas, to have the missionaries over for breakfast as they bring such a wonderful loving feeling into people's homes when they visit. We often have them for tea, but breakfast is something different and more fun.

The kids love it too when the missionaries come over because they have so much fun with them and the missionaries love spending time playing with them. They have a wonderful ability to make each child feel super important and their favourite person in the whole world.

They even spent time doing the latest craze - loom bracelets with the kids.

After breakfast the missionaries did a little spiritual thought with us to do with Easter and Jesus Christ. it was very simple and very effective. They chose Hallie to stand with a clothes basket and one by one we put something heavy in it.

It got heavier and heavier but she was not allowed to put the basket down.

We all laughed when Simon put Flynn in the basket.

The missionaries explained that Jesus Christ took on the sins of the world (weight of the basket) on himself because of his love for us and for his desire to help carry some of our burdens and provide the knowledge that we too can be sorry for our own wrongdoings and help lighten someone's else load.

It was lovely having them come for breakfast and start off our Easter weekend thinking about the true meaning of Easter and not just all the yummy chocolates that were going to come...

The next morning, the kids woke up and discovered that Easter bunny had been to visit. They were so excited to go outside and see what he had left behind for them.

You wouldn't know it from this pic (as he was a little better by then) but Jonty had croup and ended up being bad enough that we went to the Deloraine Hospital and the doctor gave him some medicine as his airways were still quite blocked and his breathing still Darth Vadar raspy.

The next morning on Easter Sunday, Jonty was very tired still from the croup and I was still battling the flu and mourning that I didn't feel like chocolate and Flynn decided to get gastro so the three of us stayed home from church. Flynn ended up being sick until Wednesday so it was good to get him to rest.

That night the Wheelers were coming over for our family Easter dinner and the kids set up all the eggs to give out in a line in the lounge room.

We had a lovely roast lamb and enjoyed chatting around the table for our last big dinner with Mum before she was going to leave for her mission.

The kids then enjoyed handing out the eggs to each other and we also did the Easter story of Jesus using plastic eggs which told part of the story inside each egg, like a nail, purple cloth, coins, etc and the last egg was empty which represented the tomb being empty after Jesus was resurrected. The kids love doing this as we usually hide the plastic eggs and they love going on a little hunt. They get to read out part of the story in each egg and show us what was inside. Its a great way to tell the story as opposed to just reading it from the Bible.

At the end of the night, even Flynn woke up long enough to hold his egg.

A quiet Easter visit

On Wednesday after Flynn had his bloods done, we grabbed some Maccas and headed up to the cemetery to visit Noah and Aaron. After the King's first Christmas without Noah last year, I knew Easter was going to be their first Easter without Noah but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think, it would be the first Easter without Noah AND Aaron.

I told Jonty that whenever we visit Aaron, we need never feel guilty about eating Maccas because that was his favourite but I think Jonty (being only three of course) has interpreted that as we will now always get Maccas whenever we go to the cemetery.

We got Aaron and Noah a little bunny each and we tied brown and gold ribbon around Aaron's. We put the bunny in Jonty's happy meal box but Flynn kept crawling for it, hoping there were still some nuggets inside. I reckon Aaron would have had a good old chuckle telling Flynn to go for it.

It's nice and peaceful over in the children's section where we could sit on the grass and have a think and quiet chat to Noah.

Flynn was trying to be 'helpful' all the time, making sure Noah's eggs were staying put on his tree. I reckon Noah was laughing at me trying to tell Flynn off but remain reverent and respectful at the same time.

We stayed for about an hour, part of me not wanting to leave the quiet little spot, wishing that everything was all different and part of me knowing that once I did leave, the reality that everything is unimaginably painful and different for my beautiful friend Lisa, would settle once again in its familiar place in my heart. 

This road Lisa is on, none of us can ever imagine or begin to imagine what she is going through. And along the journey of trying to process her own grief every minute of everyday, is the different processes of grief, Jay and Harri and Kobe are going through. All this on top of the normal everyday routines of a single parent, which on its own would be hard enough. 

Even trying to begin to imagine, the pain of it, the pain Lisa is having as her constant companion, seeing that pain in her eyes, takes my breath away but what I also know, is that the love between Lisa and Aaron also takes my breath away. 

And what a beautiful thing that has been to behold, both before and after Jan 26th this year.

Speaking of things that have taken my breath away, on Thursday, Lisa gave me this voucher for a massage. Whenever I am trying to be serious, I always start talking by saying, "now seriously". So I said, "now seriously, I am cross, I don't need a massage.....". But Lisa just laughed and said, "now seriously, I wanted to say thankyou...."

Lisa is thanking people, thinking of others, doing things for people.... STILL.

Now seriously though, doesn't that take your breath away.

I'm still cross though. ;)