Easter Lesson and a Menu
I hope you had a Hoppy Easter and that it was Eggcellent! (Sorry, I have to say that pun at least once a year! Too bad I say it like 1,000!) Easter is probably my favorite holiday. Growing up in the midwest, the winters were long and cold. Usually by Eastertime winter's hold was finally letting up a little and sometimes we would get warm spring day to celebrate. Not to mention my birthday is usually near Easter and my very favorite flowers, lilacs, bloom near Easter too. So all that adds up to a sweet holiday with the best memories and makes Easter near and dear to my heart!
Thinking back to holidays as a child, my Mother had an uncanny knack for making them feel so special. Although we have a huge extended family (there are ninety first cousins just on my Mom's side!), many of them didn't live nearby so it was usually just us. (And by "just" us, I mean my parents and the seven of us kids.) She is an amazing cook and she would work tirelessly creating so much delicious food! We always cleaned the house and it was decorated for the season, even if it was little bunnies on the dining room table. Everything seemed perfect to me. Some of my best memories are the happy times and celebrations in my Mama's kitchen!
I have tried to create those same joyful memories for my own family of seven kids. Though this will be an Easter we will never forget, for the hard times and the blessings, I wanted to make it happy and another sweet memory for my family! I love to cook and it is an absolute joy for me to plan, cook, and bake. But, after I worked hard for days and cooked tons of food, guess what? I was tired! Then I had to try not to ruin everything with a bad attitude because I worked so much! I really do have the best intentions, but I have these grand plans and want everything to be so wonderful and perfect, that I wear myself out in the midst of it. Thankfully I caught myself early and I didn't let my tiredness get the best of me. And, though we were missing our friends and family, we had a wonderful time. We ate very well, played games, still had our Easter egg hunt, and read the Resurrection story in the bible. While we didn't get to go to church all dressed up for Easter, I think the Holy side of the holiday was more in the forefront of all our minds this year too with all the struggles going on.
That night, we had a violent storm sweep through our area. We have a creek on our property and with all the rain it had flooded, right though our gravel driveway sweeping most of it away. Of course, it's easy to look at the negative side of things when you see this going across your driveway, through the yard, and headed towards the creek...
But guess what? The kids had a ball playing in it! It reminded me that kids don't always see things the way grown-ups do. It's all about perspective. Maybe my kids won't remember my tiredness but that I cooked yummy food for them, and maybe they will remember the sweet times we had playing games together afterward. Hopefully, they will remember the sound of my laughter and the abundant love I have for them. I hope so!
And, though this river was unplanned, it sure was pretty sweeping through here! Sometimes the best things are unplanned, like this holiday that was quite a bit different. We all felt a little bit closer, we all felt the sacrifice of Jesus a little bit more, we found even more hope in what He accomplished for us on the cross! This Easter was one of the sweetest ones we've ever had!
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter too, no matter how you celebrated or where you were! I pray that you find hope in the presence of Jesus and find peace as you rest in Him. With all this craziness around us now, remember one Sunday morning long ago everything changed! And it will again!
And just in case you are wondering what our Easter menu was, I have included it below. Recipes are like old friends to me, some of them I have made for years and years. I love looking through them and have great joy bringing them out for each celebration! (Obviously, my fear of running out of food at a party tops my fear of running out of toilet paper!)
Easter 2020 Menu:
Appetizers -
Deviled Eggs
Garlic Artichoke Spinach Dip
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Balsamic Vinegar Bruschetta
Taco Dip
Main Meal -
Ham
Fried Chicken
Funeral Potatoes (We call them that because they always serve them at funerals)
Roasted Garlic Parmesan Asparagus
Cucumber Salad
Rolls
Desserts -
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Rich and Creamy Cheesecake With Blueberry Sauce
Lemon Dessert
Peanut Butter Eggs
Yum!
