A minimalist Easter celebration and why

This year for Easter, we decided to keep things simple.  As in years past, we went to church Sunday morning and had a simple dinner at home (maple glazed ham, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach.)  We also opted to dye eggs on Easter Sunday too.  However, we did not do baskets for the dumplings.  We've never done anything outrageous or grand on Easter, but this year we decided to scale back on the candy and chocolate, gifts, and "stuff."  The girls each got a little chocolate bunny and two small chocolate squares.  Caleb got a bag of gummy bears and marshmallows.  They all split some peeps.  That's it.  And not a single one of them complained.  Well, Havi did when I first told her she needed to eat breakfast before she ate her chocolate squares.  But then I relented, and all was well in the world again.  

Earlier in the week, the girls did an egg hunt at Patrick's work while Caleb went to tennis practice.  And as such, we decided to skip the egg hunt at home.  Once we got home from church, we snapped a few photos of everyone outside.

The sequence on Havi's dress was so reflective that it shimmered on Caleb's shirt.  I didn't even see this until I uploaded the photos. And if you couldn't tell, that big boy of ours has decided he wants to grow out his hair.  Just how long he's going to let it grow, only time will tell.

So after photos, it was time to dye eggs.

After egg dyeing, we went swimming and watched the movie Home Alone 2.  I found it funny that we watched a Christmas movie at Easter.  lol

Anyway, the simplicity of our Easter celebration was the result of our desire to keep our focus on the true meaning of the holiday.  We wanted to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, not keep track of baskets, eggs, candy, and "stuff." 

One of our goals for 2015 has been to declutter our home and our lives.  We have donated a lot of stuff we no longer use in our home, and it feels great.  But we're not just ridding our home of unnecessary things; We are also "decluttering" our lives, in particular our food choices and screen time.  All three dumplings have been supportive of these changes as well.  It's been great seeing them spend more time doing things together as well as taking an interest in their health and well being.

While we still have a way to go with decluttering our home, we're happy about the direction we are going in.  We've realized the importance of living with just the things you need.  That was one thing my Bubby (gramma) taught me well.  But that was easy for her to do, as we had very little.  These three precious kiddos of ours, however, are growing up in a very different world than the one I grew up in.  Patrick and I have a greater opportunity to provide for them, making it more difficult to instill in them this same core value.  The world and its influence will also try to pull them in a different direction.  But our desire is for them to value togetherness over stuff.  And if that is our desire for them, we need to model it for them as well.  Now don't think we're going to go off the deep end and sell everything we own and live off the grid.  We're not going that extreme. But...we're embracing the minimalist approach to living and are already happy with how it's working for us.  

Our Easter happenings

Easter morning started fairly early for the girls, up before 6:30am.  They saw their baskets and opened their eggs with their bible verses in them.  Caleb finally woke up around 7:00am and did the same.  Then it was a quick breakfast and out the door since church starts at 8:30am and isn't close by.  We dropped Madeline off at her class, and Patrick went with Caleb to his (Patrick is his teacher.)  Havi and I scooted over to the cafeteria to hang out for the next 90+ minutes.  I thought chocolate milk and a sugar cookie with sprinkles might make a good snack.  I often carry my Fujifilm camera with me because it's so compact and convenient to use.  So I propped it up on the table with the lens cap and set the timer to snap a few photos of me with my little girl.

We sat at a table by a window with the beautiful morning light streaming in.  After the service we went to the children's ministry to pick up Madeline.  We ran into our good friends Greg and Cheryl and their two kids.  Their son Connor is a year older than Caleb, and their daughter Kylie is a year younger than Madeline.  So our kids are not in the same classes.  They always play chase and run crazy wild while we chat after service.  I'm surprised we haven't had any major injuries yet. lol  Anyway, I snapped a quick photo in the parking lot before we left....in front of someone else's car. lol

Although it had been sprinkling on and off, I thought we could attempt a quick photo of the dumplings at a little park we pass on the way to/from church.

It took maybe twenty photos to get Havi to look, and then we called it done.  Once home, we got ready for the egg hunt.  Patrick hid the eggs in a few select rooms in the house (because of the rain.)  Some eggs had candy and some had money.

So after the one pose photo in the park deal, I determined to capture a few more shots of all three dumplings together at home.  

Our neighbors were in their driveway.  So the dumplings said hello.  And I know under their breaths, they were giggling watching the drama unfold as I attempted this mini photoshoot.  Their kids are in their 20s.  So no doubt they were thinking back to years past when they were in our shoes.

After Havi's nap, Patrick wanted to do some yard work.  He had to run to the store real quick for a few things.  Often when he leaves, Havi cries.  She has really grown attached to her Baba.

Caleb and Madeline helped rake our sea grape leaves.  Havi dug around in the dirt and poked at the leaves.  And Caleb loved giving the girls rides in the garden wagon.  It was such a nice, relaxing day.  I know most people don't do yard work on Easter.  And I don't know if we'll be making it a tradition.  But still, it was nice family time together.  The kids laughed and squealed all afternoon.  And the backyard is slowly getting a mini makeover.

The eggs

Before I get to our low-key Easter celebration (in a separate post), I wanted to quickly share the dumplings egg dyeing fun.  Havi was a hoot.  She really wanted in like Caleb and Madeline, as you can see by her facial expressions.

I forgot to take close ups of the finished eggs.  Yep, a little mental mess up.  Anyway, they had a lot of fun, though not always a lot of patience. lol

Well, as this Easter season approached, I started thinking about our family traditions for this holiday: we go to church on Good Friday, dye eggs, church on Easter Sunday, and egg hunt.  But to me, it still seemed like something was missing.  Well, I read on a family blog I follow about their new tradition that involves giving each child an egg with a bible verse in it that the parents will pray over the child for the coming year.  I loved that idea.  And so, we picked verses for the dumplings and placed them in an egg in their baskets.  There is still more I want to do together as a family to make our Easter celebration more Christ-filled and meaningful, like making resurrection rolls, for starters. Anyway, I can't wait to see what we end up incorporating into our celebration next year.  I thought the bible verses this year was a good start in the right direction though.

Next up...church, the egg hunt and a little non-traditional Easter fun!