Easter/Spring/My hubby

I am really looking forward to this weekend. With Christmas being first, Easter is my next favorite time of the year. Especially when Easter comes in April instead of March. However it always seems like it sneaks up on me no matter if it's in March or April. We have some great, special things planned for Saturday. And some of our agenda will be new to us this year. Brennan's getting older and is very curious about God and Jesus and I think this is the perfect year to really start focusing on the TRUE meaning of Easter.

We've never really made a big deal out of the Easter Bunny. As a matter of fact, I don't think we've even had our pictures made with the Easter bunny in the past few years. It's just not something that appeals to me. But, things are blooming, the sun is shining, and Easter in it's religious entirety is a breath of fresh air and a way to really get back to the things we take for granted in our hearts about our salvation.

Here are some plans we have for this weekend:

#1. I really want to take the time to watch "The Passion of the Christ". Chad and I saw it in the theater when I was 8 months pregnant with Brennan. I vowed to never watch it again. Don't get me wrong. It was AWESOME. But, it was so awesome it shook me to my core. I vowed to never watch it again because of the brutality of it and the violence of it. But, now, I realize I SHOULD watch it again. Why should I be AFRAID to watch it? What happened in that movie is a very accurate portrayal of what MY Savior and YOUR Savior did for us. To be afraid of it is to be afraid to see what was done for me. As hard as it is to watch, it's what history has recorded and the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So, maybe Friday night after the boys have gone to bed, I will sit and watch it. Maybe I can even get Chad to watch it again, too.

#2. Saturday morning I want to make Resurrection buns. I have seen several versions of this recipe printed, but found an excellent one that Rana Bryant posted on Facebook. If anyone wants that version, I can email it if you are not on Facebook.

#3. If memory serves me correctly, Chad has worked the past couple of years on the Saturday before Easter. However, he will be at home this weekend. He will now get to experience dyeing Easter eggs with the boys. That is certainly a treat. (Take that however you want it....)

#4. Saturday night, before going to bed, I plan on making some Resurrection cookies with Brennan. I found a great page on the internet that provides the scripture and each step to go along with it. This may be the thing I'm looking forward to the most about this weekend. Brennan is at the stage in his life, he's really curious and asks a lot of questions. He even opens his Bible almost every day and "reads" it. He can't read all the words, but he uses what he hears in Sunday School and church and repeats it as he looks at his Bible. It is so sweet.

#5. Wearing our spring clothes to church Sunday morning!!!! And no, that is not the most important thing about Sunday morning, I know. But, I love to dress my family up and I LOVE that this is the one Sunday Chad will actually wear a coat and tie. (He refuses any other Sunday, except for Mother's Day if I really beg him enough.)

So, a few things planned for this special weekend. I am really excited about all of it!!!!

On a different note, I must say, I am so proud of Chad. This past Sunday he was ordained as a deacon. This is something that was not necessarily an easy decision for either of us. He has been nominated a few times in the past, but we were not at a point in our lives or our marriage to accept that call. It was not even an option. But, this time Chad felt the pull and prayed about it and we talked for several weeks about it. He was even 5 or 6 weeks late turning in his questionnaire . He then followed the tedious process and the "interview" process with the appropriate leaders in our church and it all worked out. There are certainly some things that I have had to make a personal commitment and a vow to change, and I certainly have to think before I speak and think before I act and really take my role as a deacon's wife seriously. It's an honor and a privilege to me and I can definitely say that Chad and I both have come a very long way spiritually, emotionally, and mentally the past couple of years. Our marriage has also matured, and I can say it's matured in Christ just in the past year. I am where God wants me to be and Chad is where God wants him to be also. Someday Chad and I will hopefully be able to use our story and our faith to help a young couple in trouble or in need of serious changes in a marriage that needs saving. I couldn't ask for anything more than what God chose to bless me with as a husband and a father to my children. And I have taken it for granted before, and there are still moments I still take it for granted. But, we are exactly where we need to be.