Happy Easter to all...

and to all waaay too much candy!!!!!!!!
I am already ready to throw out candy around here, but I have to say, other than that, I am more than impressed with what my children are able to comprehend.  I definitely do not give them enough credit at times.  Don't get me wrong, they challenge my own competence of being a good mother every single day, but I am also amazed at times at what they understand.

Last Sunday riding home in the car from church I was worried that Easter was becoming the holiday of GORE for them....and here I was worried about what they thought about the Easter Bunny!   I mean, if I say so myself, when you think about it...what does a bunny leaving candy inside of eggs have to do with the meaning of Easter?  Atleast Santa represents love and giving....what does an oversized bunny who hops into your house (or does he come dow n the chimney like Santa?....and does he "lay" the eggs??  kind of gross!)  but what does that represent?  If you have a good suggestion I would love it!!!
But anyways, I was worried about those questions, but last Sunday what we got was:

Drake:  "Mommy, did you know that Jesus was cut on the side with blood dripping out?"
Hunter:  "Yeah, and he has bloody holes in his hands and feet too!"

I looked at Kyle and thought oh great, Easter is now about blood and guts....which is worse?  That or all about bunnies and candy?

Me: "Yes I did know those things, but do you know why those things happened to Jesus?"
(nervous for their response)
Hunter: "Yes, Jesus died so that we could live!"
Me: (a little in shock) "That is right!  Do you know what that means?"
Hunter: "He died because he loves us but he is alive again and is in our hearts."
Drake:"Jesus and God are everywhere!"

Kyle and I again looked at each other in amazement and thought to ourselves that we definitely do not give them enough credit.  They really did know the meaning of Easter....now if we could just figure out how to make them remember that in the midst of their constant wrestling and fighting....

And speaking of the meaning of Easter, the pictures below do NOT represent that, but they made for a fun weekend!  We missed our church egg hunt on Friday because Hunter was a little under the weather, Drake fell asleep, and we were just exhausted.  But, we made up for it on Saturday in between their baseball games.  Good family friends of ours came over for lunch and Drake and their youngest, Luke, (who is a head shorter than Drake but they really are the same age!  just opposite ends of the growth chart) were adament that they were spending Easter together.  So Kristen and I thought we would make that happen.

Silly Luke!

Hunter, Frank, Ansley, Drake and Luke

Hunter thought it was HILARIOUS that he found a Hello Kitty Egg

Then they received word that there was a special Golden Egg hidden!
and they looked...

And they looked...

And Luke got tired of looking....

And they looked

And then finally Hunter found it!

Easter morning...and folks....this is real Armstrong boys and how they look.  They popped out of bed and immediately wanted to see if the Easter bunny came.  Jammies and all!  Oh, and they are now at the age where matching jammies are NOT cool!  Drake likes to sleep in boxers (or short pants as he calls them) and Hunter like jammie pants and random t-shirts.   Drake's faces here just make me laugh out loud! 

And the hunt begins!

And here, from the bunny to church!  In hindsight, hunting for eggs after church would have been a much better idea for many reasons....just a nugget to take with you if your kiddos have not reached this age yet!

Drakey adding a rose from our yard to the flower cross

And then a delicious Easter lunch at Mimi and Da's

This is what hunting eggs without a basket looks like...I dont think anyone would recommend it