Happy Easter!

Nadia woke up at 5:45 and said she was hungry. It was the first time since Thursday night that she wanted to eat something. I tried to get her to eat crackers, toast, an English muffin, bagel, or tortilla chips. She first asked for popcorn. It's the first time in my almost 45 years that I have popped popcorn at 6:00 in the morning! She ate a few bites and then said she was done. I suggested she go back to bed and try to eat again in an hour. When the rest of us were eating breakfast, she asked for a yogurt. It didn't seem to be a good choice to me, but she insisted so I let her have a fruit flavored one (she usually picks one with little Oreo pieces in it). I was encouraged when she kept it down. She also woke up without a fever which was another step in the right direction. Lately Nadia has been going to Sunday School during the first service (like Oliver does); all three kids go to Soul Patrol kids' choir rehearsal in the second service. Ian almost always goes to the worship service in the first service. Since Paul's parents were joining us at 9:00, I asked Nadia to join us in the worship service today. I thought Oliver would go to his class at 9:00, but he wanted to also join us since his grandparents were there. He did pretty well. He sat on my lap during the sermon, which was a treat for me.

I had bought a ham before we went to Chicago in case I ended up cooking our Easter dinner, but Paul's parents said they would treat us to dinner at the Country Cupboard. Well it turned out that there are LONG lines at that restaurant even though it seats hundreds of people. We waited in a very long line for far more than an hour. They usually take reservations, but they don't take them on Easter. I know their busiest day of the year is Mother's Day. I think we'll be sure not to ever go there on Mother's Day! They had a menu you could order off of, or an all you can eat buffet. We all picked the buffet. Of the three kids Oliver definitely ate the most. He devoured his macaroni and cheese, chicken, applesauce, ham, mashed potatoes, brownie, ice cream, etc. Nadia's eyes were far bigger than her stomach, but she did eat a little. I thought she might be able to make it through the day without throwing up, but I was wrong. Around 6:30 pm she threw up again. Poor girl! I hope tomorrow will be even better for her. In the past I've always had the boys were a dress shirt and tie plus usually a vest on Easter, but considering the temps were supposed to get up to 84 degrees today, I decided it was too warm for that. I let them wear short sleeve polo shirts instead.

One Easter activity we didn't do this year was dye eggs. I had a kit and brought it to Chicago, and once I was out there I also bought some Vinegar. Drayton had mentioned he had purchased two dozen hardboiled eggs at Costco. I have never purchased eggs that were already hard boiled so I didn't know they are also already peeled. Oops! So we didn't color any eggs in Chicago. My kids haven't mentioned it so I don't think they mind that we skipped that tradition this year. One tradition that was important to my mom was wearing a brand new outfit on Easter. Nadia, Paul, and I weren't wearing anything new. Ian wore a shirt he had never worn before, and Oliver wore a pair of pants he had never worn before. I thought about buying myself a new dress as I haven't bought one in a few years, but I decided I'd rather wait until I lose some weight (not that I have been working toward that end but I hope to get in gear at some point). Before we went to Chicago I had bought the kids a bag of peanut butter eggs and also some jellybeans. We shared some with Wendy's kids, and Drayton ate the black jellybeans, as he was the only one who liked those. I know many people buy their kids gifts at Easter. It almost seems as big as Christmas in some families. I don't buy my kids any gifts at Easter, but Paul's parents gave each of them something. Nadia got some candy, money, black baseball pants for her softball games, and a bat. Ian got some candy, money, jeans, and a Mario t-shirt. Oliver got candy, money, and a Mickey t-shirt and shorts. Looking at the pics I have decided I like Nadia's hair a bit shorter than it is now. I think I'll get her a hair appointment sometime in the next month or two. Of course the main focus of Easter isn't a ham dinner, new outfits, candy, or eggs but rather our risen Savior. I loved the medley of Easter hymns we sang in the services. He is RISEN!!!