A Blessed Holy Week

 “He is risen! Gone back to glory!” The angels rejoice with great zeal! The portals of heaven are ringing, “SALVATION! Salvation is real!” ~Greta Zwann

Love,

Vee

Photo Source

It Was Lovely

Oh dear! I've been away from blogging for ten days and managed to forget everything I thought I knew. This is dangerous when one has been as preoccupied as I have been. Anyway, starting again this morning by pulling the post that went on overnight and saving it for the correct day. 
Let me instead post about Easter, which was a beautiful day. The most lovely in recent memory with temps soaring to 80F. The landscape was almost snow free, but brown. Well, with those temps, we can't complain. No matter the circumstances or the weather, Easter is a day to be honored. Our very futures depend on what Jesus did for us on the cross and what He did in leaving His grave behind and our recognizing it. 

The family is still in the stage of going through the holidays one by one without John. So this was the first Easter without him and the last holiday when we will say  "this is our first ____ without John." We muddled through...at least, I did. I was glad that it was "my" year as it gave me more things to think about. John lives Easter every day now.
Recently, my grandson Jake told me as he came through the door that for just a moment as he climbed the stairs he thought he would find John here. Just for a moment. I have felt that way sometimes, especially in the morning on waking or at a certain time in the afternoon when John would have been coming home.

What I have learned through the year is that the same scene can look very different depending on my focus or my filter. 

 Are the tulips lavender or pink? (It depends.)

And I have learned that just because there is snow on the ground today does not mean that there'll be snow there the next. Things can change quickly when God is invited into a situation.

 ~very little snow~ It has been a blessing to read about your Easter so I thought I would share mine. And not one photo of the family. Am I slipping or what?! 

A Good Long Run

It was a busy Easter weekend and I am late to post.

It was busy in all the good ways that make it celebratory and meaningful. It was not my year to host all the family, though Laurel (my daughter) joined John and me and that meant doing something a little more exciting than beans and hotdogs.

We had pork tenderloin (daughter hates ham), baked potatoes, honeyed carrots, a garden salad, a fruit salad, and Laurel brought lemon chiffon pie. Now remember, I don't do tablescapes and, having seen so many lovely ones this season, I am a little lot embarrassed to show you. 

~napkin rose tutorial~

My first choice would have been the pink tablecloth with my lovely green Noritake plates, but could I find the pink tablecloth? That would be no. About twenty minutes after I set the table, I found it hanging in the closet right where it belongs. This plaid springy looking one was my mother's and I always enjoyed seeing it on her table so I simply went with my everyday plates...always easier on my hands anyway.


Later in the afternoon, Laurel had planned an Easter egg hunt for the boys that culminated in finding an "X" that marked the spot where the final prize was hidden. They participated halfheartedly because they said that they were getting too old for such things. My daughter said that she might have to go home and have a good cry. She has always planned wonderful games for them and it has been a good run. They will remember them fondly, I hope.  

The remainder of the afternoon was spent playing many games of Connect 4. It was a favorite when my kids were younger and I think that it still is. The grands like it, too. 

This was a fun photo to get while Sam was waiting for his turn...Bible reading on Easter Sunday...excellent! 

All in all it was a sweet afternoon except that my daughter-in-law was home sick with strep throat. Hope that the few hours the guys were away was helpful for her. She needs her rest. I think this is the second time this season that she has had strep and Sam had it a few weeks ago. Praying that this ends the cycle for them.

Hope to visit soon. As you probably have figured out, I no longer visit each day nor do I comment on every post. It's been a good, long run. Life is getting too short to spend so much time in Blogdom. There is much to do and everything takes three times longer to do it!  Thank you for stopping by today...
Popping in another that I had forgotten to add...

Easter Memories

It seems as if it has been forever since I just popped in to share a photo or write a line. I have been "under the weather" with a flare of some sort. I am hobbling along like an old woman. But then, I am an old woman. I feel best when sitting with an ice pack. I need four: one for my foot, one for my knee, one for my wrist and hand, and another for my notoriously wonky back. So that explains where I've been. I've tried to keep up with you. If I haven't commented, I have been reading!

Remember that I don't do tablescapes and, in fact, used my everyday dishes because they're easier on the hands and they look best for spring and summer. I decided to just "go with it" and add the ivy as the centerpiece. I did make a new table runner in my favorite colors to add a little something (precious little). I asked my grandson if he was thrilled with his packet of morning glory seeds and he said, "Not really, but thank you anyway." LOL!

My daughter planned another wonderful activity for the boys with a treasure chest in plain sight. Talk about anticipation. The goal was to find the key that fit the lock. Sam just wanted to borrow my glasses for a bit. He doesn't wear glasses, but thought it might be fun. What a silly boy! Jake was happily borrowing my iPad.

A game of wiffle ball in the afternoon on a very wet lawn ended the festivities. 

So now I have documented that 2014 is not my year! ☺

Easter Greetings

Now if the rising of Christ from the dead is the very heart of our message, how can some of you deny that there is any resurrection? For if there is no such thing as the resurrection of the dead, then Christ was never raised. And if Christ was not raised then neither our preaching nor your faith has any meaning at all. Further it would mean that we are lying in our witness for God, for we have given our solemn testimony that he did raise up Christ—and that is utterly false if it should be true that the dead do not, in fact, rise again! For if the dead do not rise neither did Christ rise, and if Christ did not rise your faith is futile and your sins have never been forgiven. Moreover those who have died believing in Christ are utterly dead and gone. Truly, if our hope in Christ were limited to this life only we should, of all mankind be the most to be pitied! ~ Corinthians 15: 16–19 J.B. Phillips New Testament

Many blessings to you as you ponder the Good News: He is Risen!

Fake Ballerinas

We have a line in our house that goes like this: It's a fake plum. We say this in a monotone much as my son did when he was teaching Sam about the difference between real plums and the wax ones gracing my mother's coffee table. Apparently, my son's still at it if Jake's comment about my "fake blanket" is any indication. It's amazing how often our family "line" comes in handy and it sends us into peals of laughter.

Found this idea while visiting *Aunt Ruthie's* *Easter Sweetness* Board on Pinterest. Hers are so much cuter because they're real! And check out those darling lambs.

With late winter hanging on so tight, I have needed to see cheerful reminders of better days coming.

Wouldn't you just know that John arrived home an hour early and found me making these tutus for my little chickies. I felt so ridiculous!  I may be entering my second childhood or perhaps I miss the frou-frou stuff that one does with little girls.

Have a super day and check back tomorrow when I participate in a photography prompt at Donna's: black and white. Black and white? Eeekkk! I don't even know if I've ever posted a black and white photo. ; > 

(see sidebar button for more details)

Then They Remembered

source

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Then they remembered his words.

Luke 24:5b–8

May all the blessings of Easter be yours!

Unusually Beautiful April 4

Easter Day was an incredibly beautiful day in my corner, almost unheard of for such an early April day. The temperature reached 70F and the sky was blue with just a puff of cloud every so often. For this reason, I was glad that we had decided not to go the full Easter dinner route this year.

After the church goers arrived home, we ate a light lunch and later in the afternoon had coffee and cake out on the deck. Prior to that, we played. The grands went searching for Easter baskets; we had a very long game of hide 'n seek; we colored; we jumped ropes; we sent gliders sailing all under that beautiful sky.

Just dropping in a few photos for me to remember by...

Where's that Easter basket?


Sam searching for just the right page to color


All hands on deck or Jake is contemplating an escape


There's a lot going on or Jake attempts an escape



John and Jake sporting sunburns or Jake is foiled again


Getting the Glider ready or Jake is still trying to escape


Do you suppose this gene runs in the family?



Hmmm, sometimes cropping can create such an intriguing photo...

It is my fond hope to do some snooping visiting today so I can discover more about your Easter Sunday!

Welcome Easter Morn

source

...the only way to take hold of God's promises for the future is to take hold of the resurrected Jesus in the present. ~J.R. Daniel Kirk

source



Enjoy a blessed Easter!

As always, comments are off on Sundays.

Too Soon Again?

Last Easter, I started a little early and perhaps I've been thinking about Easter a little early this year as well. This year Easter will fall on April 4th, which is six weeks from yesterday. If one is thinking about projects and rounding up items, though, this really is the time to begin. These three things are tops on my list for 2010.

1. Easter eggs tie-dyed What a clever idea! I have a few of these things on hand without going to Goodwill.

2. Easter Garland at Creative Breathing. So adorable!

3. Martha Stewart-Easter Oh yes! I can see that I'm early when I beat Martha Stewart. She's beginning her Easter fling on March 1st.

Hmmm, wondering when I can start forcing the forsythia...

*Bunny Tales

Pssst! Psssssttt! Right over here...it's me the bunny. Listen, the bird and I have a few things to show you.

There've been a few changes over the weekend.



For one thing She-Who-Always-Putters put that forsythia way over there so I wouldn't be able to eat it. Drat! Oh well, that's one thing — the forsythia is blooming.

Yup, here we are again. She-Who-Always-Putters found an old window frame. Big deal! But, noooo, She thinks it's the greatest thing since soap. Apparently, so does He — He-Who-Always-Putters. See that joint on the end there below? He goes ga-ga for that kind of stuff. So between her going on and on about patina and his going on and on about old construction...weird!



What did She do with the old frame? It's out on its keister...



But that's not the best news of the weekend. The best news is that He is a brand new great-grandfather. Yup, great: G.R.E.A.T. Grrrreat! His granddaughter and her husband have welcomed a precious baby boy to their family.

Say, come back tomorrow and see how much mileage She can get out of the same old story retold. Oh, She says to have a great day!

*Every pun intended. Check out "the real" Bunny Tales. Err...the real Bunny Tales.