Passover, Sully and Egg Hunt

Easter weekend was full of keepsake memories. Some I wish to last a lifetime, others are for the children to think back on fondly.  Easter Sunday is such a pivotal day for Christians because it is the celebration of Jesus's resurrection and makes following Him worth living for everyday.  This year we added an extra celebration to our weekend:  our own Passover meal.  The Jewish people were instructed to kill a lamb and spread its blood over their doorposts one evening while still living in Egypt as slaves (Exodus 12).  The angel of the Lord came through the land and killed the first born child in every house which did not have the blood on the doorposts.  The angel passed over the doors with blood.  God instructed the people to have a special memorial dinner every year thereafter to commemorate that event on the same day of the year.  Orthodox Jews still celebrate Passover yet our dinner helped us to understand how Jesus came and fulfilled many Old Testament prophesies such as being the Lamb of God who died to take away the sins of the world.  Not sure how much the kids will remember from our Passover dinner, but it was very special for me and I'll always have the pictures!

Adding the finishing touches to the table.

Our Seder plate.

Washing the hands by the head of the household...

seemed to be one of the most...

exciting parts of the meal!

Waiting patiently to eat as we listened to Daddy read.

Examining sprigs of parsley.

The meal "script" and preparation instructions were found in Celebrating Biblical Feasts, a book which came in our home school curriculum this year.

Our Passover was enjoyed by our parents too who joined us.  The dinner made for a fun, multi-generational experience.  

I get the Passover celebration as Jesus was crucified on Passover weekend, fulfilling the prophesy of Him being the ultimate passover lamb.  What I don't really understand is why we dye and decorate eggs and give our children baskets of candies and trinkets.  Nevertheless, we did both. (And no, I've never told my kids that the Easter Bunny is real... actually denounced that fact. And yet they said they like getting things from him.  Although Philip was bummed this year to receive the homemade playdough Surprise Eggs which he doesn't like.  Blame it on the Easter Bunny!)

As my Dad has been working many Sundays at Amazon but had Easter Sunday off, we decided to have Sully's Baby Dedication at church on this day.  As Baptists, we do not believe in infant baptism (baptism is something to do once a person has personally decided to follow Jesus), but we do have a special ceremony in which the parents promise to raise the child to know Jesus and the church promises to support the family in doing so.  Our pastor, Dr. Hank Williams, has dedicated each of our children to the Lord.  His prayer over them and us is so encouraging as well as humbling.  Such an incredible blessing and responsibility to raise a child to know and love Jesus!

Our amazing church family.

Pastor Hank reads the life verse we picked for Sully, James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

He then explained Sully's name.  Sullivan means "eyes like a hawk" so Pastor Hank told Philip that Sully would always be watching him.  James means "follower".  Sully has two big brothers and two big sisters.  He's not lacking for someone to follow after!

The dedication is finished with Pastor Hank holding our baby and praying for the Lord's blessing over him.  Such a special moment.  I want above all else for my children to seek the Lord's direction for their lives and follow it with all their might.

 To finish the weekend, we enjoyed a yummy Easter lunch at my parents' house along with Uncle Mike, Aunt Andrea, cousins Holden and Luke, and Grandma Ruth Ann.  My kids look forward to the backyard egg hunt all year.  Seems like it comes around much more quickly than just once a year.

Long extended table to fit us all.

The littles Juliet and cousin Luke

Rylan still needs a bit of assistance so he's staying put with Mommy and Daddy.

Philip's barefoot approach.

Rylan examined his eggs closely.

Cousin Holden looks like a pro egg hunter.

Braewyn is happy to show off her stash.

Sully missed all the action but appears to be enjoying his nap.

Until next year!

Big Boy Beds

More kids means more beds, and better to go up than out in my mind.  The girls have enjoyed sharing bunk beds so we knew in time Philip and Rylan would share a set too.  However this time around we were expecting Sully so not knowing if he was a girl or boy, we waited to decide what kind of bed to buy until after he was born.  Hooray another little boy who would not be far behind Rylan in moving into a big kid bed.  This helped our decision: we needed bunk beds with a full bed on bottom for these two little brothers to share.  Upon visiting furniture stores, we discovered that full over full bunk beds were an option.  Philip got wind of this and his mind was set.  Full over full would deter the idea of jumping off a top twin bed onto a bottom full bed, and we also liked the idea of giving Philip, our oldest and firstborn, the chance to have a big bed to himself (Rylan also has a full to himself but only until Sully outgrows the crib). We feel completely blessed by Jesus to have been chosen to raise this great bunch of kids.  Never would I have thought as a teenager that one day my house would be filled with bunk beds!  Funny how things work out.  Here's how that boy bedroom looks these days.

Time to kiss that crib goodbye!

Here you can see the room layout with bunk beds and crib.  Sully will be moving into the crib from the bassinet in our room in a month or so.

All decked out with bedding and boys!

Bunk brothers.

And here's how we found Rylan the first night.

We'll try again the next day at naptime.  He looks cozy.

A few days ago, Matthew was coming to bed and he said I had to come see something.  Is it the wicked witch of the east with a house on top?

Sleeping soundly just not exactly in the right spot.  I think this bed will work out just fine.  Rylan has been doing great staying in other than these two nights.