Easter 2012

We had a fun Easter this year, mostly because every year Irey gets older, things get more fun and exciting!
I got to go help at Irey's preschool when they had the Easter Party. It's so fun for me to see her in that environment. It's leaves me with such mixed emotions to see how big, smart, and independent she is becoming. I helped Irey and the class with their different projects and then the kids got to do the Easter egg hunt.  It gave me a good laugh to see 14 four year old running around the yard looking for eggs. They would run past 5 eggs to get the certain color they wanted or where just clueless all together. Kids are so fun, they make everything better!

On Saturday we went to Gma Meme's house to celebrate Easter with all the Blackwell clan. Brittanie and her family were able to come and join in the celebration. Irey and Reese (if she could talk, I am sure would say so) LOVE when their cousin Evey is able to come visit! The girls got to do a Easter egg hunt there. Irey had double the fun finding eggs for her AND Reese. She loves every opportunity to be the helpful big sister.

That same weekend Brittanie and Mike announced that they are expecting TWINS in September. We are going to have another girl and our first boy cousin! Things are about so crazy around here and Brittanie will literally have her hands full with 3 kids 18 months and younger but we feel so BLESSED to get these special little ones in our lives!  

After the egg hunt we opened a package from Gma Carma who made the girls some pretty red dresses for Easter. Then the girls got to go see their baskets from Gma Meme. The woman doesn't know how to do simple but I don't blame her, it's too fun to spoil the kids!

The next day on Easter Sunday we were lucky enough to have a visit from the Easter Bunny! This Bunny was very nice to the girls this year and gave them each an outfit, swimsuit, a toy, and of course a basket full of candy. The Easter bunny also has the extra lbs. to show how good that candy was ;-)

Irelyn's Basket

 Reese's Basket

 I love how Irey always sits with her legs crossed. 4 going on 16, heaven help me!

 The girls of course loved the Easter baskets and Irey tried on everything and made Reese try on her things too. She was very good to say things like, "OH, Reese it's darling." or "Aren't you just the cutest little sister, yes you are, yes you are!" Talking in that voice that adults use to talk to babies. It kills me how much she picks up on that we as adults do and scares me how well she can match it!

Off to church in the Easter dresses that Gma Meme gave them!

I tried really hard to explain to Irey why we really celebrate Easter. I teach primary with Brandon so during sacrament I pulled out my binder with all the pictures and showed them to Irey and explained to her, as best I could to a 4 year old, that Christ died and he did it for us, so we can be a family forever, but he lived again and because he lived again we can too and our bodies will be kissed all better and we will be perfect. I was so touched that she understood what I was saying because she said to me, "oh, I get it! (she says that phrase a lot and I just love it) Like when grandma Hansen died she went to heaven and her owies are all better now and she is beautiful!" I got all chocked up. I love to spoil my kids on holidays but it's so important to me for them to know WHY we really celebrate that day. My relationship with my Savior is special to me and I wanted Irey to build her own relationship and understanding. I am she grateful that she is grasping this much. She is a smart kid.

 

Later that day we went to my sister, Jamie's house, to have dinner with my family and another Easter egg hunt. Unfortunately for my kids they both started getting really sick at that point so the excitement of Easter was starting to wear off. But the other kids were really great about helping Irey find all hers and Reese's eggs so she didn't feel like she was missing out on anything.

 

I just can't say it enough, I am so grateful for the families we have and how close we live to all of them. I know how blessed I am to be able to share every special day with the people I love most.

Some might not think that a blog is an appropriate place for this, but that's not my opinion. I wouldn't be very true to myself if people didn't know how much I love my Savior and Heavenly Father. I look at those two beautiful, sweet, and bright spirits that my Heavenly Father has trusted me with and I am reminded how glad I am that there are things like forgiveness so that someone who is as flawed and helpless as I am can find peace in knowing that I have these people that I love most forever. I know that I have been made to endure hard things because of the sacrifice of my loving savior who did more then just atone for my sins, he took on ALL of my burdens and felt them and thought of ME. He died, for me. Not only did he die for me but he lived again, for me. He sacrificed all to show me that I too can live again and to remind me why fighting the daily battle is so worth it in the end. I am so thankful that we have Easter Sunday to celebrate that immeasurable blessing.