But wait, we still had MORE Easter Fun!

Christ the LORD is Risen today, Halleluia!

Alive, alive, alive forevermore! My Jesus is ALIVE!

This has been such a wonderful Easter weekend! We could not have asked for more lovely weather yesterday to celebrate THE most amazing miracle of all time! It was a day when it just feels good to be alive, the sun shining beautifully, the trees bringing forth new life...This truly is My Father's World...

This is my Father's world, 
 and to my listening ears all nature sings 
and round me rings 
 the music of the spheres.
  
 This is my Father's world:  
 I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, 
of skies and seas; 
his hand the wonders wrought.


 
This is my Father's world, 
 the birds their carols raise, 
the morning light,  the lily white, 
 declare their maker's praise.  
 
This is my Father's world:  
he shines in all that's fair; 
in the rustling grass I hear him pass
he speaks to me everywhere.
  
This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget 
that though the wrong
seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
 
This is my Father's world:
the battle is not done. 
Jesus who died, shall be satisfied, 
And earth & Heav'n be one.
  (Hymn by Maltbie D. Babcock )
 
On Saturday, we headed over to the church Jeff grew up in to their Egg Hunt & carnival. It was a gorgeous day to be outside (have I mentioned how nice the weather is?) and they had several booths set up with various crafts for the kids to do. 




The girls are ready for the fun! 
(No, they did not ride to the event in the back of the van, they hopped in when I took the stroller out!)
Fun at the different booths...they decorated Easter bags, made crosses, decorated cookies & made a necklace...oh & there were tatoos, balloons, cookies, popcorn & lemonade! The kids were in heaven!
Darcy sees Nana! 
Drew loves name tags...sticky, magnetic, you name it, he grabs them! 
I have no idea why Darcy was making this sad face, but she was happy as always being held by Pop! 
Darcy found the cookies...and Drew wanted one, too!
After all of the stations, they put on a little puppet show with songs & the Easter story. 
Oh look, Sophie found the tatoo booth! 
Next, it was time for the Egg Hunt! Everything was so well organized & they had separate areas for each age group. 
Jack & Sophie were in one group & Darcy was in another. Drew was just enjoying being held by the grandparents!
It was a wonderful outing & then we went to Pop & Nana's house afterwards for lunch & more playing outside...eggs were hidden & found many more times, there was running & swinging on the swings, and of course everybody enjoyed Pop taking them for a ride on the golf cart...after a while he came back in with one sleeping baby (Drew) & then went back out...and a short while later he came back in with a sleeping Darcy! All that fresh air & sunshine wore everyone out, but it was a great day! 



Resurrection Sunday dawned bright, sunny & warm! We headed out to the earlier service at church & it was fantastic!!! After church, we came home to get cooking because we had invited both sets of parents over for lunch. 
Of course I wanted some pictures of the kids in their Easter finery...so we tried snapping some when we got home from church...next time, I'm going to try to get my act together like Jenny & get ready with enough time to take pictures BEFORE going to church!
Since the weather has been so nice (I may have mentioned that,) we decided on a simple menu of steaks on the grill, baked potatoes, green beans, corn, spinach salad with mandarins & strawberries & rolls. Everything came together beautifully & was delicious! For dessert my mom made a pecan pie trifle (can I say rich!) and my mother-in-law made her YUMMY brown sugar pound cake...suffice it to say that no one went home hungry! Oh, but the kids did save room for some chocolate bunnies! 
This was our first holiday meal in our new dining room! It was SO pleasant with the sunshine outside & the nice view of the yard outside!
 Check out the pretty wicker tray, nest & bird in my centerpiece...a few weeks ago I entered a Springtime giveaway over at The Blessed Nest and I won! Stacey sent me the lovely tray, nest, bird, several seed packets for a little herb garden & Phyllis Hoffman's wonderful spring magazine full of fresh ideas! Thank you Stacey!! I also love all things birdy & so it all fits perfectly with my decor!
After lunch, the kids spent the afternoon playing out in the yard in their swimsuits. They played with the water hose & water table.
Drew trying to figure out how to work one of the water squirters that the older kids got for Easter.
Darcy 
Jack 
Sophie 
Drew is ready to head in for a while!
After the grandparents left, we set up a little swing-ball game. The kids continued to play around in the yard & we had one of our first wildlife encounters at this house...we heard a thud, which I thought was one of the kids hitting the tennis ball, but Jeff sat up really quickly & said, "Whoa, look at that!" A 4+ foot black snake had dropped either out of a tree or off of the roof of the house not 15 feet from where Jack & Sophie were playing. He (the snake) was cruising across the yard & headed down into the hollow of one of the big trees. He froze about half-way into the tree. We couldn't figure out if he was hunting for something down in the hole or what. Thankfully, no one screamed or tried to pick up the snake. We all just watched him with great interest from a few feet away for a little while & then we went back about our business. I did a little internet research & discovered that he is an Eastern Rat Snake, one of the most common "black snakes" in this area. They will often freeze when frightened, so I am guessing he sensed us & froze when he was 1/2 way in that tree. I imagine we have not seen the last of him, so we cautioned the kids to always LOOK where they are walking & also to NEVER try to pick a snake up...that was especially for Sophie who seems to have no fear of lizards & snakes! We actually don't mind having him around as a good black snake will eat pests including harmful snakes! I wish I had thought to get my camera to take a picture, but I will next time! Okay, I know that this has turned into the post that won't end...so here I will call it a night!