Happy Friday Folks!
I’m popping in to do a little Easter Weekend Recap that I’ve been meaning to do all week but our Easter festivities kinda stretched all the way to yesterday so this is the first time I’ve had a free moment to sit and think and type.
We had a wonderful weekend. It really began last Wednesday with the Easter Egg Hunt at church. On Thursday, Ben’s parents kept the boys (Thanks Colsons!) so that Ben and I could attend the Spring Supper hosted by the Gilchrist Farm Bureau Board of Directors. It was a great meal of Ham, peas, beans, and other deliciousness as well as good fellowship with people we don’t get the opportunity to see very often.
My fellowship was cut short however because I had to be at church for the final dress rehearsal l for an Easter musical (cantata) that the church produced called “He Is Risen”. It was an amazing tribute to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am so impressed by the work put in by our Music Minister Brother Emanuel Harris as well as all of the people who volunteered to make costumes, create sets, handle lighting, sound, props, act and sing. I really just showed up to sing every night but there were many, many others who really went above and beyond to make the cantata a success. There were performances on Friday and Saturday night as well as on Sunday morning for the Easter service. Ben watched the boys on Friday and Saturday night (with help from his sisters on Saturday) so that I could participate. On a side note: Bo actually went to all of the practices with me. I would wear him in the Ergo and believe it or not (I have witnesses) he would sleep then ENTIRE TIME we would practice – with all that noise and music.
My man and older boy both had the day off on Good Friday. The weather was beautiful and we (they) spent much of the day outside putting our yard back into shape after the dreary winter months. Ben planted flowers down the sidewalk and even purchased a couple of hanging plants for the porch. Some mysterious nemesis has gotten into our grass and killed it so Ben also spent time on Friday and Saturday using the Roto-tiller to till up the soil and spread new grass seed. We are hoping that with rain, sunlight and prayer the grass will grow so that we don’t have to spend money on new sod.
Saturday afternoon was spent celebrating the 80th birthday of Ben’s Aunt Margaret. Aunt Margaret’s birthday was actually in January but some of her family lives in Virginia and were not able to make it down to Florida in January so we celebrated with warm weather in April. Three of Aunt Margaret’s four children were able to attend the celebration as well as many of her grandchildren and even some great-grands. Aunt Margaret is Ben’s Mom’s sister, so her children are Ben’s first cousins but really her grand children are closer in age to Ben and I. Aunt Margaret’s family did a wonderful job with the celebration! They cooked mullet, fried chicken, gumbo, cheese grits, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, peas, swamp cabbage, hush puppies plus more that I can’t remember. It was a variable buffet of “Old Florida Fixins’”. Basically all of my favorite foods in one place. I ate more than I should but was still sad that I couldn’t eat more because I was afraid of what more food would do to my singing voice. I thought that belching on stage may have detracted from the drama of the crucifixion story. I was sad to leave early and wish I could’ve stayed longer to visit. John Brooks had a wonderful time eating and playing with his cousins and was gloriously covered in dirt from the top of his head to his toes by the time that I left.
Sunday morning broke bright and early. The Easter bunny found our house and left some fun goodies for John Brooks and a few fun things for Baby Bo as well. We continued the celebration with a Hershey’s peanut butter cup/cinnamon roll breakfast then somehow all managed to be dressed and out the door to Sunday School relatively on time. John Brooks and Ben went to their Sunday School classes and I kept Bo with me as long as I could as I got ready for the Easter performance of “He Is Risen”. We had decided earlier that Bo would go to the nursery for the first time that day but to be honest I was pretty nervous to leave him. Thankfully a friend of ours, Emily, who has three young girls and is a nurse was the nursery worker that day so I felt as comfortable as I could leaving him there. In a last minute decision, we decided to let John Brooks go into the bigger kid nursery as well due to the violence and length of the Easter program. I was thankful that they allowed John Brooks to stay in the nursery so that Ben was able to enjoy the program with out distractions.
After celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus at church we went to lunch at Pa and Aha Hardee’s house. Robin’s parents (Ellison and Mary Alice) are so sweet to our boys, especially John Brooks and really go a long way to give him cool experiences at their house with their horses. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and fellowship with my Dad and Robin and our extended family. We relaxed and enjoyed being on the back porch after lunch while John Brooks entertained us with song and dance. John Brooks has become quite the performer recently and enjoys an audience much like one of his parent’s did when she was his age. 
By late Sunday afternoon we were full, happy and exhausted from a wonderful Easter week(end) spent with family and friends celebrating our Risen Savior!
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