Better late than never…

I thought I would post some pics from Easter weekend. Our tradition is to dye eggs on Friday, to leave out for the Easter Bunny on Friday night. That way he can come a day early (PKs usually get the raw end of the deal on holidays, so the Easter Bunny makes an exception and arrives at pastors' houses a day early, so that kids can enjoy their Easter treats without being rushed-- and also so that Sunday can be about the REAL meaning of Easter).

Moses was great with the eggs and dye this year. No repeats of two years ago. :)



Both kids thoroughly enjoyed finding their baskets filled with goodies and looking for eggs:

ZuZu had a special dress made by MaMa for Easter Sunday:

Moses' outfit was complete with hat from H&M in Manhattan:

Both kids also thoroughly enjoyed Easter breakfast at church:

And I got a 2-hour nap on Sunday afternoon. A great way to spend Easter! :)

Holy Week

I always love the week before Easter-- although it is a little busier now that I am married to a pastor. But it started out extra-special this year, for two reasons.


First, Palm Sunday was Moses' first appearance on the church stage:


Second, we dedicated ZuZu that morning:





It was a long day-- ending in the lenten service at our church that night-- but it was such a great day.


Our church has an annual Maunday-Thursday service, but it started at 7:30 and this year I opted to stay home and make sure Moses and ZuZu got to bed at a decent time.


Good Friday was just the way I like it-- cold and rainy! That always just seems so appropriate.


Our family tradition is to dye Easter eggs on Friday night-- because the Easter Bunny does a special favor for pastors' families: he comes a morning early. You know, so you can enjoy your Easter basket and not have to rush through it before the sunrise service. Plus, that ensures that Easter Sunday is what it is supposed to be about!


Moses was SO GOOD about being gentle with the eggs. And he loved his eggs so much that they went to bed with him. :)










Sunday was beautiful-- again, totally appropriate weather! Both Moses and ZuZu actually woke up before they needed to-- which on Easter Sunday, is a relief. We had a little trouble getting Moses to wear his sweater vest, because he was afraid his tie wouldn't show, but his "girlfriends" (all of which are at least 15 years older than him) at church can be rather persuasive.









It was a total success: Both children came home in tact and with no stains on their Easter clothes! :)

Rejoice!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby

And feel the pride and joy she gives

But greater still the calm assurance

This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Because He lives I can face tomorrow

Because He lives all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He lives!

--Because He Lives, Bill Gaither

Now that we are recuperated...

In our home, we decorate Easter eggs on the evening of good Friday, and the Easter Bunny comes that night. That way, Moses can take time to hunt for the eggs and go through his basket, and we can have a good breakfast together (Kurt made biscuits & gravy this year... yum!). Also, it means that Easter Sunday is what it is supposed to be about: Jesus.

So, here is some video footage of Moses dying eggs. In my "motherly wisdom," as K referred to it this weekend, I started by bringing out just ONE color to the dining room, and I started with the lightest color. I have entitled this video, "Perhaps we should have waited until next year..."

After the I stopped laughing and the mess was cleaned up, we went back to the kitchen, where we let Moses drop one egg into each color, and then he was taken back to the living room. I fished the eggs out a little later and let him play with them. By the way, not one of the 6 eggs was left unscathed that night, and one was so badly beaten (no pun intended) that it had to be thrown out.

The next video is Saturday morning. I have entitled this one "egg toss" (very original, I know). You'll have to pardon the smudge on the lens. It had just been touched my m&m fingers...

But our little monkey was such a good boy. He loved going through his basket. And we loved watching him go through his basket.

And finally, a few Easter morning pictures. Doesn't he look like such a little man in his wife-beater?! :)

Stress Relief at the End of a Long Weekend

More to come tomorrow. Including video footage of a yellow dye river and an egg-toss egg hunt. Oh-- and sleepy pictures of a poor little boy who was taken from his bed, thrown into his Easter clothes, and whisked to the sunrise service. But he received a doughnut payoff later.


Right now, I am too tired to post anything substantive, so the previous teaser will have to suffice. Besides, I still need to get next Sunday's music ready....


By the way, our stress relief tonight: two hours of Hawaii Five-0 after Moses went to bed. Best quote of the evening: "Greed, Mr. McGarrett. Greed and money. That's what ecology is all about." Oh to live in the day when you didn't have to be politically correct. Of course, you had to fear "the syndicate" and the "red communist agents," but at least you could speak your mind...


Here's one picture of K and me. Moses was too busy playing with MaMa and Papa (his new names for Grandma and Grandpa) to stay put for the picture.

Up from the grave He arose!

And the darkness was rolled away like the stone from the tomb, and the Light shone forth from the empty grave.

Thank you, Jesus!

Awaiting Easter

I LOVE Easter. I have always loved Easter. But Easter of 2006 made the day even more special-- because that was the day our precious baby boy came into the world. Weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs 7 oz, he was born at 8:42 PM on April 16. So in a way, Moses gets two birthdays: one on Easter every year, and one on his actual birthdate. (Won't his siblings be jealous in later years?!)

Here is a portion of a letter I wrote in to a Christian radio station last year. It won a contest on "What Easter Means to Me":

...So why is Easter special to me? Two words: NEW LIFE. But “new life” on so many levels. Of course, it is the most important day of the year to me, because it is the day my Lord and Savior conquered death, rose from the grave, and saved us from our sins. Halleluiah—the Lord lives!

But “new life” on another level as well. Last Easter—April 16, 2006—Moses Obadyeah Smith, my firstborn, came into this world. For months, our prayer warriors had been praying that our baby boy would be born on Easter. My husband, who at the time was a worship minister at a church in [omitted], assured the worship team that they better be ready to lead without him, because we were confident that our baby boy would be born that day.

So I should not have been surprised when, at 4:00 Easter morning, I awoke in heavy labor. Afraid that I might be wrong and later humiliate myself when my husband didn’t show up for church on EASTER, we waited until 6:00 am until we went to the hospital. By then my contractions were very intense and very close together, and the nurses assured me that it wouldn’t be long.

Unfortunately, both the nurses and the doctor made a number of miscalculations (including his size—I started at 112 lbs, and he was alost 9.5 lbs!), and after 13 hours of incredibly intense labor, my precious baby boy became lodged in the birth canal for three hours. I am so thankful that this was my first child, because I had no clue that things weren’t going as they should!

But my prayer warriors—who by this time had dodged TORNADOES in order to be at the hospital—were praying fervently outside my door. And God did not let us down! Moses Obadyeah was born that night.

So I obviously cannot think of Easter without thinking of new life. It is the day God’s firstborn came back to life, and the day my firstborn was, by the grace of God, given life.

Easter sunrise (before the tornadoes!):

One proud papa:

Moses Obadyeah:

Moses the monster baby :) (my brother entitled this one "large and in charge" on his blog):

Easter-y Moses M&Ms (I had these baggied and in a cute basket in the hospital, and then forgot to hand them out-- so on the blog they go!):

One week later (on his actual due-date-- I still look 8 months pregnant! yikes!):