We'll Be Home for Easter : gearing up for a very unusual Resurrection Sunday

Well, this is going to be unusual.

I mean, the past month or so has been pretty unusual in itself, hasn't it? But there's something about drastically changing a big holiday that really emphasizes how different life is right now. This COVID-19 thing has affected daily life for so many, and I know that our minimally disrupted routine is not the norm and that we're very, very fortunate, but I can't help but feel a little sad as Easter approaches because our traditional celebrations just won't be happening.

Usually, we spend Easter with extended family. All the cousins play and do an Easter egg hunt on Trevor's side of the family, and on my side of the family we have Easter baskets and the fierce competition of the Egg Rolling Contest. And of course, lots of food at both celebrations. Family, food, fun, and most importantly, remembering the incredible gift of Christ, risen from the dead to save us from our sin.

But this year will be very different. We will be celebrating as just our little family at home.

You know what, though? The most important things won't change at all. Jesus Christ rose, whether we celebrate it with huge, loud, super fun family gatherings or not.

So. After feeling a little bit sorry for myself that my favorite holiday won't look the way it usually does, I set to work planning our own little celebration to make Resurrection Sunday a joyful, memorable day right here at home.

Here's what we've got planned :

Dyeing Easter Eggs

I mean, classic. Who doesn't love a good mess of sloshing dye and cracked egg shells, am I right? And of course, we'll make our name eggs for the Egg Rolling Contest, too.

"Stained Glass" Cross

My plan is to tape some strips of masking tape (sticky side facing out) to the big window in the living room in the shape of a cross. Then I will cut out squares of colored tissue paper, and Evert and I will stick them to the masking tape. Then I'll trim off the overlap and it should look really pretty when the morning light streams through. I think we'll do this on Saturday so it's up and ready for Sunday morning.

Resurrection Rolls

Super simple breakfast dish- Evert will help make these and then we'll talk about the marshmallow reminding us of Jesus in the tomb and how on Easter, the tomb is empty. We'll also have eggs and bacon for breakfast, too, most likely. Here's an example and instructions for these rolls.

Online Church

Enough said, there -- we'll watch our church's livestream service with the boys.

Easter Baskets

Trevor actually did some great thinking ahead and stopped at the Dollar Store when he was out for groceries. He picked up a couple sand/dirt toys, and I've got a couple small toys set aside, too, so we'll have a few small gifts to put into little baskets. My family tradition is to hide the baskets around the house, so we'll do that, too.

Easter Egg Hunt

Trevor's family tradition is to have a big huge (awesome) egg hunt around the farm. We'll do that, too, on a much, much smaller scale around our yard. I think Evert will enjoy it, even though it would be way more fun with cousins. I, being a Super Fun Mom, didn't buy any candy, so there might just be goldfish crackers in the plastic eggs. I know. Poor kid.

Reading the Easter Story

I would like to read the Easter story out of the Bible before supper. I think we'll also read it in Evert's children's Bible, and in our Biggest Story ABC book, too.

Hymn Sing!

I love Easter hymns. I really really do. So I think we'll find good versions of some of my favorites and sing along.

We'll probably do Crown Him with Many Crowns, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today (my all time fave!!), and Up from the Grave He Arose. Maybe some other ones, too. But definitely those songs.

The Egg Rolling Contest

Easter just wouldn't be Easter for me without the intense physical and mental competition that is the Egg Rolling Contest. My family (well, my mom's side of the family) has been doing this for years - and I've never heard of anyone else doing it. I'm not so sure I want to spill the details... but it's just such a simple and yet ridiculously fun tradition that I have to share.

Basically, each person has a designated hard boiled egg (their "Name Egg"), and then two people take their eggs and roll them across the floor at the same time, aiming to hit the eggs together. If your egg cracks when the two eggs knock into each other, you're out. If your egg doesn't crack, you move on to the next round until there's only one egg left standing. Er, rolling. Er... uncracked.

I'm going to win this year. I. Will. Win. And then, of course, the winner gets his or her picture taken with their winning egg and reports their glorious victory to the rest of the family.

Family Picture

We've taken a family picture the last three years. It's just one way to save the memory of the special day that is Easter. You know, even though we won't be enjoying the holiday with our parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews, this year will still be special. This Easter is still something to remember, something to celebrate. So we'll get dressed up, set the camera on a timer, and take a family picture.





Because yes, this year will be unusual. But Jesus Christ still rose. He still loves us. He's still in control, and we still get to celebrate God's power, might, mercy, and grace. And that is certainly something to celebrate.

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