Egg-cellent!

We had one of those wonderful weekends where there was no itinerary. No dance class, no impending work schedule. Just a few free days that stretched out ahead of us. We soaked up these days of nothingness with plenty of togetherness...which can be a rarity around here. We played outside, rode bikes, flew kites and took long walks...all while soaking in the beauty of the season. Have I mentioned that I LOVE SPRING??

And what would Spring be without a vegetable garden? This has become a yearly tradition with Emily, Steve, and now Stephen. They spent an entire morning pulling weeds, readying the garden, and shopping for plants. This year we have even added Emily's version of a scarecrow to the garden: a pink dragonfly. Oh how I love my girl! On the menu this year: broccoli, red and green peppers, spinach, romaine lettuce, tomatoes and corn. Now the corn was a surprise guest. Seems as though Emily's class planted and germinated their own corn plants. At least, I was told it was corn. If not, I'm always up for a surprise!

And now my sweet little mess of blonde curls, has decided that she no longer needs the "little wheels" (training wheels) on her bicycle. She insists that she can do it herself. So with some help from Daddy, she attempted to "balance". She tried and tried and was completely undeterred from the falls...all with a big smile on her face. Oh how I love those dimples and the dedication! There were no "boo-boos" to report, despite the numerous crashes. However, Daddy was a different story after about 45 min of chasing her up and down the street. And then there was Stephen, who chased his sister, with equal determination, up and down the street with Elmo in the pink stroller. Oh how I love these babies!

I have always loved Easter. I can still smell the sweetness of my little brown wicker basket with the pink bow that was always brimming with chocolate, peeps, and jelly beans. Easter morning always began with a frantic search throughout the house for your basket. The Easter Bunny seemed to get more creative and cunning with each passing year; baskets in the oven, bathtub, or sometimes under your bed. After all treasures were discovered and accounted for, it was time to put on our new Easter outfits and brand new white shoes....because no one ever wore white before Easter in those days! Huddled in a pew, with our new favorite lovie we prayed fervently for a quick Mass so that we could get home for the egg hunt. A backyard awaited us with hundreds of pastel plastic eggs that held treasures yet to be discovered; coins and jelly beans.....because any self-respecting, true South Floridian knows that you NEVER put chocolate in plastic eggs! As you gathered all of your loot and found yourself a quiet corner (which was a challenge in and of itself as one of four children) you began to open your eggs, one by one. Each egg contained a special gift that was only revealed once your sweaty little fingers finally managed to pry open the egg. Maybe it was something you had hoped for, like the coveted quarter. Maybe, it was something you didn't expect or hope for, like a black jelly bean. Regardless, after you had finished opening all of your eggs and looked at all of your loot, you realized that even though you received some things you had not wished for or wanted, that you were happy and proud of your new found treasures. As I watched my children enjoy their first easter egg hunt of the season last weekend....listened to their squeels of delight as they ran from egg to egg and compared all of the eggs they had found...I realized something. Our lives are much like those plastic pastel eggs. They contain gifts, wonderful gifts, that are just waiting to be opened and realized. Occasionally we don't get what we had expected or hoped for. But, when we take a moment to look at all of our gifts, we realize all of the blessings we are surrounded by. We can only hope that in the process of looking for our eggs, we aren't too distracted by other things, that we miss out on the best gifts of all.

Hope your Easter is filled with faith, happiness, hope, and family. Don't let the unexpected eggs bring you tears or tantrums... And always be yourself....no matter who that is... Give 'em a thumbs up...(Stephen's version) And no matter what, always be happy and smile... Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy and Blessed Easter!