Easter is such a wonderful holiday for us Christians!!!! It's the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior!!!! He died on the cross to save sinners from their sins! He came to give life and on the third day, he AROSE!!!!! He came out of the grave and is alive!!!! 40 days later, he ascended into heaven and still lives, alive, today in heaven!!!! Some day he will return again and take his church to heaven to live eternally!!!!
I love Easter!!!! It's always in the spring time and that alone spells out lots of life!!!! Many things are springing into life and green is popping up everywhere!!!! The grass turns green after a long cold winter. Flowers come up through the cold dirt and bloom! Trees are pollenating and bringing buds!!!! Lambs are born and chicks are hatched!!!! So much new life happens in the Spring!
This Easter was a lot different than any other Easter I've ever celebrated! The true story of Easter remained the same of course!!!! But because of COVID-19, social distancing is still in place. We are told to avoid crowds and gatherings of ten or more people. This is all to keep the virus from spreading rapidly! It also means no church services inside the church. No normal Easter dinners around the dining room table. We still got to celebrate Easter but just in different fashion and with a lot less people. Many families stayed home and celebrated with just their single family.
Like I said, trees are blooming all around us and these branches came from my sisters house!!!! They looked so pretty on the kitchen bar!!!!!
We have been staying home A LOT during these weeks of the coronavirus! I am trying to only leave the house for essentials! Grocery shopping has become my main outing these days! And even then, I stick to the smaller grocery stores where there are less people and hopefully less germs!!!!
My parents did invite my siblings to the cabin. It was up to each family if they chose to go. Mike and I told our kids in the very beginning of this whole "quarantine" that our word of advice is to only do the things that we would normally do. Nothing extra!!! Many stores are still closed. All restaurants are still closed unless they are offering take out only. Don't go here and there unless you really need to. Avoid large crowds! Let's do our part in staying home and maybe help save a life by not spread germs! So do we go to the cabin or stay home? We decided to go! We knew family time would be good for our minds and souls and we would not go into town to do any kind of shopping!
This is just what I needed!!!! For the past weeks, I've stayed home so much!!! And that's OK! I love my family and kids and even though I was forced into the homeschool mom, it's going good. I actually like it at home but I do really miss not seeing friends and getting out and about! I miss not be able to yard sale because that is my all time favorite thing during the spring months! I miss greenhouses and I'm soon ready to plant some flowers!
Time spent at the cabin also took my mind off of the virus and into a relaxing mood! I loved it!!! We played games into the late nights. We still washed our hands and used good hygiene even though we were now spending time with cousins! It was so much fun the kids too!
Mom and Dad hid lots of eggs outside for the kids to hunt! The sunshine and mountain air felt good to our lungs!!!!
Not everyone joined the cabin weekend but those of us who did .... we had a blast!
These dear children know the story of Jesus and the egg hunt was fun!!!!
These girls played together non stop all weekend!!!! So much time was spent outside on the golf cart and in the woods cleaning up the teepee area!!!!!
My parents handed out some chocolates and Austin was waiting for his gift while trying to not be impatient! :)
Hadassah and Jeremiah got to join us for a bit too!!!! I love when they spend time with us!
This cabin is known for the bears! Richard, the man who owned the property before Dad bought it, fed the wild black bears in the woods. He did crazy things with them. He fed many of them from his hands. He had one momma bear get comfortable and ate Dixie Cup ice creams out of his hands. When I was a little girl, we would often go back to Richards tiny cabin and watch the bears! Now, Dad owns this land and built a beautiful cabin on it! Bears still come but we do not feed them out of our hands. This was one morning that a momma bear and two cubs came out to eat some birdseed.
The time spent at the cabin was relaxing and fun!!!! So much Rook Board and Rummy O was played! We ate good food! Drank lots of coffee and hot tea! When we got back home, Hadassah and Matthew had these two bunny salt and pepper shakers on the counter for me! A cute Easter gift! I love these!!!!!!
On Monday night, the kids asked to color eggs. I had gotten a few egg kits to do at the cabin but never got to doing it. Ashlyn set it up and they colored eggs. This is always fun for the kids!
Even though this Easter was different for most of the world, we still celebrate that JESUS IS ALIVE!!!! It's sad to hear the news of so many dying from this sickness and many doctors and nurses are working many long hours to assist those who need medical help! I don't know exactly what God is telling the world through all of this but I do know that it is bringing many of us busy Americans back to the dinner table. We are spending more days together with our children because they are now home and not in school. We are grabbing for the board games and ping pong here in our home more than before! Ashlyn and I love to do puzzles together! It's the perfect time to sit down and talk to our teenagers heart to heart! It's a good time to read more books! Even though I've been mostly busy just being here at home, I do think of those who are lonely. Those who actually have the virus and are sick. I think of those who are dying and maybe many are nonbelievers. That's sad and it would be terrible to be dying without your loved ones around you. Pray for these people!!!! Visit the elderly if you are healthy! Send a card to those you can't visit right now! Give a call to someone who may need to have a one on one conversation! So many are thinking of good ways to make memories and just last night we again ordered take out! Mike swung by Lancaster County Club and brought home a warm quart of Clam Chowder!!!! It's the little things that are blessings too you know!!!!
I hope your Easter Season was still a good celebration! JESUS IS ALIVE!!!!
Happy Easter to your family!!!!!
