We started the festivities on Friday and joined Crystal and her kids for coloring eggs. Pierce and Madi loved it and had a great time choosing colors and each making a special egg for Daddy. Madi was much too busy to have her picture taken, at least I got a smile out of Pierson. (And Matthew too)
Our finished product! The kids were so proud of their eggs and couldn't wait to show Dad! Grandma was off on a trip over Easter, so we had our traditional Cousins Easter Egg Hunt at Aunt Carolyn's this year. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of omelets and stuffed french toast before we let the kids loose.
And they're off!
Easter Morning...
Easter Sunday makes for a day to be thankful for 1:00 church. It was great to have a nice morning with the kids and let them have plenty of time for their fun. They were so excited for wake up and see what the Easter Bunny had left for them!
Madi was thrilled to find a Pet Shop in one of her Easter eggs! She also loved the new book she got of "My Little Pony" stories! I've never seen a kid love books like this girl does! 
Pierce was happy to find one of his Easter eggs filled with a little Star Wars Lego set! He also got some cool new books to read. Ryan was asked to speak in church and did a wonderful job! He gave a beautiful talk about the Resurrection, he made it quite personal sharing some things about the losses we've had in our family and how we are all looking forward to the Resurrection around here! He shared a sweet little moment we had with the kids...when we were ready to tell them that I was pregnant we sat them up on our bed and told them we had a surprise to tell them about. Pierson, wide eyed, and with out a second of hesitation exclaimed," Grandpa and Todd are back alive??!!" This was such a sweet moment for us, he was so sincere and you just knew he was thinking what a great surprise that would be! Ryan started his talk sharing this sweet little story. I had been in tears already- Easter Sunday fell on my Mom's birthday this year (she would have turned 52!) and as I sat and looked at my nasty, swollen, painful feet, in flip flops that were way too tight, during the Sacrament hymn, all I could think of was how miserable I was feeling and how much I wanted my Mom! - So my tears were already streaming as Ryan stood up to talk, but I'm pretty sure after he shared this I was no longer the only one in the room with tears. We had many friends in the ward complement him on his talk. It was a great opportunity for him. After Sacrament meeting I came home to put my nasty, swollen, painful feet up and all I could do was sit in my bed and cry some more. It has been 8 1/2 years since my Mom's accident and over the years as I've just gotten used to it, the meltdowns have come less and less. But this day, on her birthday, Easter Sunday, it was especially painful. Trying to endure my 3rd (and by far the worst) pregnancy, and having it sink in, how much has happened with out her here, (not to mention the feeling miserable) I felt like a little girl, all I could do is cry and think to myself, I want my Mom!
After allowing myself a breakdown, Ryan and I made our favorite Holiday dish, Mom's Au gratin potatoes, and headed to Jeff & Crystal's house for Easter dinner. We enjoyed a delicious meal and, of course, great company. Then the kids played for awhile and the adults got a chance to play too, for my first time ever, we played Phase 10. It was so nice to spend the evening with them, Crystal is so strong and such an amazing example to me. We are so thankful to have them so close to us. Of course before we left Crystal and I shared a few more tears and hugs. Very hard to believe they've been 8 months with out Todd (now 9, since my delay in posting) and have been through Christmas and Easter with out him.
Wow, what a day, Easter + Mom's Birthday + Ryan speaking on the Resurrection + Time at the Halls + being pregnant = Emotional Overload! It was a great day, and also incredibly hard. I am so thankful for the reminders of hope we have on days that seem so sad, for our Savior Jesus Christ, and for his Resurrection!
7 comments:
I am sorry your Easter was so hard. You are such an amazingly strong family. I can't imagine how much harder it is to deal with the tough stuff without your Mom, but I know she is watching over you.
~Monica
ps Did I miss the results of how Pierce got his black eye?
beautiful pictures of your easter! i miss your beautiful mom too, and i'm sorry it was such a tough day! so so grateful we know what we know.
Love you Josie! I'm so sorry for the pain. We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives, it still hurts so much, but we are so blessed to have the hope our Savior brings.
I was bawling while I was reading your post. I would have been one of the cryers in church :) We love you guys so much. I'm sorry the pregnancy has been so hard. You're almost there!!! So excited to see you soon!
I really appreciated Ryan's talk. You'll have to thank him for doing such a wonderful job. Sorry you had a hard day. Better days to come right?!
Dang, I missed his talk. I bet it was wonderful. It can only get better right. It's when we hit the bottom of the barrel that we realize we can only go one way. Can't wait for you to have that precious baby boy. He will make it all worth it in the end!!! Hang in there.
Oh Josie! I'm so sorry. For everything. I so wish your mom was still here but I know without a doubt she is watching over you. What an emotional day. I wish we could have been there to hear Ryan's talk. I'm sure it was amazing. Hang in there. My third pregnancy was by far my worst too - so bad I was welcoming the newborn stage! You are almost done!
Wish I was there to give you a hug. Love you.
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