Easter!

We've had a pretty relaxing day here at the Hill house. This morning we went to church, had a little Easter egg hunt, then ate some lunch-our traditional Sunday tacos. Here are some pictures from the day.

Owen before hunting for eggs.
He looks pretty excited, don't you think?

Looking for eggs.

The hunt was a success!
Owen was pretty interested to see what was inside all those eggs.
He was happy to discover that most of them contained chocolate.
Thanks Nana and Meme for all the eggs!

I was having a little trouble figuring out what to do this year for Easter. I want us to have traditions as a family, but I was having a difficult time getting into the whole "Easter" spirit. When I was growing up, we usually got a new outfit for church, ate a big lunch, had an egg hunt and received an Easter basket full of goodies-all fun things. However, I don't know what any of those things have to do with Jesus' death and resurrection. I just want to make sure I don't get so caught up and stressed with the commercial aspects of Easter that I forget to convey the real reason we celebrate. After a little research (very little), I discovered that the reason eggs are associated with Easter is because they symbolize new life. I like that. We can keep the egg hunt as long as we explain why there are eggs involved at all. We did that today. It was a short and simple explanation for our 2-year old, but it was important to me to share the meaning. Anyway, we didn't go overboard with traditions this year, but I've got a few ideas for next year that will help make the celebration meaningful and significant without getting lost in all the pastels and candy. I have to share one of my favorite traditions a couple we know does for Easter each year. Ryan sets up a tent in the living room on Saturday night and when his kids wake up in the morning, he excitedly exclaims, "It's empty!" I think it's so funny and clever-the perfect way to grab their attention and give him an opportunity to share the story of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

On another note, Easter Sunday (about 12 years ago) was the day I made a decision to accept Jesus' forgiveness and gift of eternal life. So, today is my spiritual birthday, in a sense. :)

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. John 11:25-26