Because Ben was sick, we asked the boys to ignore their baskets as much as they possibly could when they woke up until he was awake. I don't know if they surveyed the baskets thoroughly with their eyes before Ben was up, but they hadn't touched, which, considering Tommy's candyholic condition, is pretty impressive! Fortunately for them, Ben didn't sleep in too late (he never does!).
I think every family of Christian faith struggles with how to mingle the bunny/candy part of Easter with the true purpose of the holiday. Our solution has been to read the account of the true reason for our Easter celebration, the story of Jesus' last week on earth: his atonement, crucifixion and resurrection, before baskets (which may be the worst kind of torture for little boys, but it makes us feel like we are ultimately getting the right message to them, and the older they get, the more they seem to enjoy it, so there you go), and then they get to dig in. This year, the baskets each had a tee, a tie, abundant candy and one other small gift. Happy boys!
Then it was time for the egg hunt. Growing up, my family always hid/hunted for the dyed eggs on Easter morning, the candy-filled eggs were already in the Easter baskets. We never really talked about it, but somehow Adam and I ended up carrying this tradition on in our own family. The eighteen eggs, which we dyed the day before, were hidden...and only 8 were found. Huh?! We both knew that the Easter Bunny had hidden them just before the story and baskets, it had only been maybe 30 minutes before the boys went out to look for their eggs, so we were bewildered as to what happened to them. Adam said fox. I said bird. But we were both suspicious of Ruby, she looked a little guilty...and a little like how I feel after Thanksgiving dinner. We just couldn't understand how all the shells were gone if it was her. So I laid some bait, one of the leftover eggs. Lo and behold! RUBY! Shells and all. I checked the internet to make sure she hadn't poisoned herself, which she hadn't, but she certainly overindulged and had a bit of a squirrelly tummy for the next couple of days. Serves that poor egg snatcher right! And dog parent lesson learned...don't put the dog and the eggs out at the same time. Sorry, dear pup!
The rest of the day was spent enjoying General Conference; playing board games; having Adam turn up the volume over our board game noise; quieting back down so we all could hear; taking a beautiful sunny day walk; eating egg salad sandwiches (made with only 7 eggs), candy and more candy and even more candy, followed by a delicious Easter dinner; and spending time together as a family. Together as a family. My family: the reason I am most grateful for all that Christ did for us in his final days, especially that wonderful Easter morning when he was not found in the garden tomb, but had risen to perfection; so I can be with these whom I hold most dear forever and always.
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