Easter

I'm not really feeling the blog posting love right now -- kind of uninspired and blah-y. I have some items to post but I think I'll show you some photos of our Easter celebrations instead.

First, I have to brag on my 2 bigs. Every year they participate in a Bible Quiz competition that requires rigorous study of a particular book of the Bible and sacrifice of their Sunday afternoons from January to Easter. Hundreds of kids from all over the state converge to take the 210-question test. This little team of 4 Bible scholars earned a gold medal for the 4th year in a row. More importantly, they have a more intimate knowledge of Christ and his love and sacrifice for them. I'm so proud of them and grateful that God has placed a zeal for His word in their hearts. Great job, girls!

The Easter Bunny was in a sneaky mood this year. He tied colored yarn to each of the girls' bedroom doors that led all through the house to where their Easter baskets were hidden. They had to wind up their color as they searched for their basket. Tatum's was located in one of the kitchen cabinets, Ava's was found in the fridge in the garage, and Gentry's was all the way outside in the car. Can you tell we have some non-morning people in our family? I don't know why it looks like the dead of night in these pictures.

I didn't get any pics of the actual baskets because things had to move fast to get ready for church. In a nutshell, the EB went the practical route with flip-flops, spring-y scarves, new journals and a little candy.

Ready for church.

After church we had our traditional Easter dinner at my in-laws' house. My MIL always puts out a festive spread and decorates her tables to the nines. Here's the kids table...

 and the grown-ups table.

 All the cousins about to break into their Easter goodies.

After we stuffed ourselves with prime rib, mashed potatoes, layered salad and chocolate berry cheesecake, we moved outside for the egg hunt. With only 6 kids hunting this year (sadly, the boys have deemed themselves too old for such nonsense) and hundreds of eggs to "find", it's exactly like shooting fish in a barrel.

 The duck statue had twins this year.

 Papa adding a handicap to Ava's search.

 Gentry on a mission.

 Tye always brings some levity to the situation.

 Everyone had to find an egg with their name on it. That was a little more of a challenge.

 Tatum finally spotted hers in the hanging basket.

 Inside, there was a clue that led to another egg with a prize inside.

 Tatum's clue:

 With a little help, she found it in the garage freezer.

 Gentry's clue:

Her prize egg was found in the dirty clothes hamper. Hilarious!

On a different note, guess who was released from restrictions this week? She finally gets to try out her Christmas present! We are exceedingly thankful for answered prayers, compassionate and skilled doctors and strong antibiotics.