Happy Easter!

I love Easter. I do think we should be thinking about what Christ did for us every day. But I love taking a day to really think about and consider both the cost of what he did for us, and the hope that we have because of his death and resurrection. And with Tyler running around, I love the extra opportunity to talk to him about what Jesus did for us.

I want a lot of things for Tyler in this life. I hope that he is kind and loving, I hope that he makes friends easily, cares about others and that he is happy. I hope that he always knows how much we love him and that he always loves and respects us. I hope that he works hard and does well in school and I hope that he always remembers to have fun! But more than anything in the world I hope that he understands who God is and his love for us, and that he loves God with all of his heart. Which is why my heart has been melting into liquid all week. I really try to enjoy where Tyler is at each day instead of looking forward to the next big milestone. But one thing I have been excited for is the day when he would learn to pray. For a long time he's been saying, "Amen," when we pray. But for the last few weeks he has been starting to repeat everything we pray like a little echo, and even praying on his own. For the most part he has just memorized some common things that we say. When he prays before dinner he almost always says, "Dear Jesus, thank you for food. Bless food our bodies. In Jesus' name, Amen." Sometimes he throws in an, "I love you." It is so precious. After playgroup a week ago I prayed with him before his nap. Then I told him it was time to lay down and kissed him good night. But he sat back up, folded his hands and said, "No, Mommy. Dear Jesus. Thanks playgroup." Again, precious.

And as we have been talking about Easter over the past week he has loved hearing the Bible story about it. We've told it to him in our own words and read it to him from a couple different children's Bibles. He is starting to be able to tell pieces of the story by himself. He tells us that Jesus carried the cross, that he got big owies, that people were crying, and that he's all better now. He often likes to bring his Bible to bed with him, and for the last few nights he's been specifically asking us to find the page with the cross before we leave his room. It is so amazing how much such young kids can take in and learn. I hope so much that he will always love to read his Bible and learn about God.

So yesterday, while we wanted to make sure our focus was on the true reason we celebrate Easter, we also had some fun.

I had an 'I just can't resist this' moment while shopping last week (although for $8 I don't think I'm the only one who would have bought something this adorable).

Hello, little stud.

 

He was really excited to wear his suit. He has always loved dressing up. I think he feels very grown up when he gets to wear a tie like Daddy. When we picked him up from the nursery they said he was very proud of his suit and showing it off to everyone.

 

After lunch Carl's grandparents and parents came over for a couple of hours.

 

Four generation picture

 

With his great grandparents, Dave and Gerda

 

It was great to see all of them. Tyler had a lot of fun. He's been talking about the people who were here a lot today and telling me where they all sat when we ate cheesecake!

 





And after everyone left we reserved a little time for some family Easter fun. We didn't color Easter eggs this year, but I did color rice for him to play in, and he loved it!

 

The trucks were a lot more fun to play with than the Easter Eggs.

 

When he was done playing, we had an Easter egg hunt ready for him. I wasn't sure how hard to make it, but he was a pro at hunting. Once he found the first one, he was a boy on a mission. It was hilarious, actually. I was trying to avoid lots of sugar, so some of them had a jelly bean in them, but there were also some with animal crackers or craisins (which he loves). After finding a few he started whispering, "jelly bean" before he opened each one. He was really hoping!

 

 

When it was all over, he kept looking. We told him when there was only one left so that he would know it was done, but he still kept looking. He really wanted to find one in his work bench. I don't know what I was thinking to not hide one there!