we just pulled an all-dayer

today we are taking a day of rest.
we took in just about as much of Easter Sunday as a family of four can take in.
my morning began at 4.30am when the alarm went off so i could throw the egg bake in the oven. amazingly, we got the kids and ourselves ready and out the door by 6.15 to find a little surprise spray painted on the new trailer and work truck. (we actually were shocked it took 2 1/2 years for the gangs to tag our vehicles since our neighbor's fence gets it just about quarterly)
our church has a easter sunrise gathering followed by an egg bake brunch every year and while it is crazy to get up and out the door, we are always glad when we do it. this year i was helping with the brunch, so there was no rolling over to turn off the alarm.
it was beautiful, in spite of the freshly falling snow! maybe that adds to the beauty of the resurrection. life seems all the more alive in the midst of mourning death. any bit of green just shines out of this snow (or in our case, simply HEARING about glimpses of new growth). my dad told me yesterday that the rhubarb is coming up in his garden.
the gathering at the edge of the frozen lake was small and brief and everyone huddled back to the brunch...which was fantastic! such a wonderful way to celebrate. by 10am most are on their way home to nap.
but, we headed to papa and mema's house for a quick easter egg hunt. zoom and cousin izzy cruised around the house searching for eggs. we were all thrilled to see matchbox cars and little figurines instead of the expected candy - thanks mom! check out the intensity in these two!
next it was off to hubby's family gathering. we thought about just dropping in for an hour or so, but zoom went out sledding with the older cousins and was having a blast! so we decided to skip his nap and spend some time with the family.
we thought if we arrived early to church that evening we might find it more relaxing, so we went there straight from the family gathering. naturally, zoom fell asleep on the exit ramp of the freeway, just blocks from church. he and i napped in the car for an hour then gathered with our church community. following the regular gathering there was, well, a dance party! one of our friend's was a d.j. in his former life and spun some great music. even zoom was out on the dance floor (covering his ears) dancing with the rest of us!
next year i'd like to be a little more selective about which activities we participate in, but considering the rushing about, we did pretty well!