Easter in Quarantine

"We miss the comings and goings of everyday life.  Things feel shaky and unsteady and fragile.  It's like the shades have been pulled back and we're realizing to be human is to be vulnerable.  Our jobs, our homes, our work, our health, our relationships - it's never as secure as we trick ourselves to believing.  Home on this earth is never going to be perfect or whole or complete...."

But God - 

"Don't let this throw you.  You trust God, don't you?  Trust me.  There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home.  If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you?  And if I'm on my way to get your room ready, I'll come back and get you so you can live where I live.  And you already know the road I'm taking."  (John 14:1-4, the Message)

"Our primal instinct when life gets tough is to yearn for home.  When Jesus died on the cross, he made a way for everyone of us to go home."

I hope I don't forget Alice's sermon on Easter morning, snuggled up on the couch for another live stream church at home, only this time on a cold, dark, and dreary Easter Sunday.  Her message this year was about home, a fitting topic since most people are spending more time at home than ever before.  She spoke of our instinct for home, especially when times are bad, the imperfect nature of our earthly homes, and the eternal home Christ imprinted on our hearts from the very beginning and forever paved the path through the cross.  His plan for redemption was always about getting his people home. 

We spent more time this year than ever before really leaning into the man Jesus was and just what he did through the cross.  I loved gearing most of our home-school activities around Easter and we had so many good conversations together throughout the week.  One afternoon, we were talking about it on the trampoline and Cruz was asking all sorts of questions.  All of a sudden, the tears started flowing and he was connecting all these dots of eternity and the heaviness of it all.  And sweet Mila inched a little bit closer to him, rubbed his back with her sweet hand, and asked if we could pray together.  We prayed, right there on the trampoline, thanking Jesus for his sacrifice asking him to keep us close and safe during this scary Coronavirus.  Easter and home and these people I love so much and the time we had to just be in it all felt really special this year.  

We also had a lot of fun with eggs and bunnies and spring cakes and such.  Except for that part on Good Friday when I casually told Mila the Easter bunny wasn't real and made her sob.  Let's just say I don't have the best track record or timing when it comes to Easter bunny confessions.  

We kicked off "Make Art Monday" with more of Emily Lex's wonderful online watercolor classes.  Our technique has definitely improved since we first started. 

The kids' challenge one morning was to fill plastic eggs and create a plan to "egg" their cousins.  They loved being all sneaky about this and Cruz woke up at 5:30 the following morning to see if it was time.  We had so much fun that we turned around and "egged" Claire and Jaycie the next day, too.  When I asked them if they had more fun hiding eggs or hunting them, they both emphatically answered "HIDING THEM!"

I incorporated so many fun Holy Week activities from a resource Kate had sent me from Focus on the Family.  This sequencing activity was an excellent collaborative challenge for Cruz and Mila one morning and it was fun to listen to them work together to put the events of Jesus' life in order from his birth to Holy Week.

Sometimes, the activities are so fun that I don't want to miss out!  We went through some old magazines one morning and filled collages full of pictures and words that reminded us of Jesus.  It was sweet to see what they came up with.

We spent a beautiful day outside, exploring in the woods and attempting to complete an Easter scavenger hunt.  But you've probably heard by now why our excursion was cut a little short... ;)

I broke out of the house for some groceries, some fresh tulips, and a special deliver to our Cedar Valley Love Box family.  I put together a "Quarantine-inspired Love Box" and had so much fun sharing some of my favorite homey things with them.      

We dyed Easter eggs.  Yep, it's still one of my least favorite holiday traditions... 

We baked homemade bread and talked about why Jesus called himself the Bread of Life.  

We had a special Good Friday meal together.  We lit candles, read scripture from the Last Supper, broke bread and gave the kids grape juice.  Oh, and then I ruined the Easter Bunny.   

We had donuts show up on our doorstep the next morning, not from the Easter Bunny but from the Shaws.  I think they felt bad for Mila. ;)

We spent a good part of Saturday making food - breakfast casserole and frozen fruit cups for Easter brunch, and ham and potatoes and a pretty cake for Easter dinner.  We spent so much time in the kitchen that we rewarded ourselves with yummy takeout for dinner, including 2 for 1 margaritas from Amigos!  

And the slowest Easter Sunday to follow.  We watched church from the couch, had a yummy breakfast, took naps, gave the kids their Easter baskets, had hot cocoa and cake, called and FaceTimed the family we missed, played Sorry, and at night, watched the Sight and Sound Theater's production of the Jesus story.  This was such a treat!  During my growing up years, I always loved going to the big Easter production at Cedar Valley Church.  This reminded me of that and the kids' response to the production and story of it all was full of excitement and so many questions.  It was a great way to end our Easter weekend.      

It was an Easter for the books!