Easter Weekend

On Saturday morning the kids attended an egg hunt in our town that they had never attended before. The Wesleyan church in our town sponsored the event that was held at an elderly couple's home. It turns out they've been hosting an egg hunt on their property for 35 years, but we had never been there before. There were quite a few people there, and unlike the egg hunt from two weeks earlier, almost no one was wearing a mask or shield. At this event the kids were broken into smaller groups. Oliver was with the 7-8 year olds, and Nadia and Ian were in the group for 11-12 year olds. Even though there were a lot of kids at the hunt, they had put a LOT of eggs with candy in them, candy, stuffed animals, etc. in the grass so the kids came back with quite a bit of candy. We left Milo at home for that egg hunt. If we return next year, we will bring Milo as other families had brought their dogs with them. After we had lunch we headed out to the kids' last egg hunt for 2021. It was held in Montgomery. The other two egg hunts the kids attended this year were sponsored by churches in our town. This was the only community egg hunt they attended this year whereas typically they attend four community egg hunts each year all within 4 miles of our home. Again, almost no one was wearing a mask. They call it an egg hunt, but they only put out two eggs per age group on the field (prize eggs) and otherwise they just have candy all over for the kids to pick up. The candy could be a small piece or a large chocolate bunny. All of the other egg hunts advertised for ages 1-12. This one they broke the kids into groups by grade. Technically Nadia should not have participated because the oldest group was 5th/6th grade, but since Nadia is 12 and didn't participate in ANY egg hunts last year when she was in 6th grade, I let her participate. She knows she'll be too old to participate in any next year. There were far more kids in the 3rd/4th grade group so Oliver didn't get nearly as much candy as his siblings did, but they all came home with plenty. Oliver's will be gone first because he shares his with the kids in the neighborhood. Nadia's will last the longest. She hasn't even finished all her candy from October yet!

On Saturday we played our family game for the week since we knew we'd have company on Sunday. Ian picked Guesstures. Nadia, Paul, and Oliver were on a team. Ian and I were on the winning team. I had planned to make Torrejas for dinner on Saturday night, but we ate leftovers instead. I made the torrejas on Sunday morning for breakfast before we headed to church. The boys and I really liked them so it won't be the last time I make Torrejas! On Saturday Nadia and I made a batch of lemon crinkle cookies for our dessert on Easter, and Ian helped me make a batch of Heath bar cookies. On our way home from church on Sunday we stopped at a park so I could take pictures of the kids in their Easter attire. After eating lunch I began to prep the meatballs for our dinner. We met the Towfighis plus Jenna's boyfriend, Toby, at the same park later in the afternoon. I took pictures of their family for about one hour. After we came home, I began making the dough for the focaccia bread. All sixteen of us had dinner at about 6pm, and they left a little after 7pm to return to Maryland. They were with us for about four hours. We watched the first episode of the second season of The Chosen on YouTube, and then the kids went to bed. I took around 150 pictures yesterday! I edited some pictures last night and finished editing them today. 

Tonight the kids and I had ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, and hot cross buns for dinner. I thought the buns were delicious! I've seen various ideas for a warm place for dough to rise, but this recipe suggested turning on an empty dryer for a few minutes and then putting the bowl (covered with plastic wrap) in the dryer while the dough is rising. I would have never thought of that idea on my own. I always remember my Grandma Sampson when I'm kneading dough as she was the one who taught me how to make yeast bread back when I was around Nadia's age. 

The best parts of Easter this year for me were #1 the church service and #2 spending time with my sister's family. Our senior pastor, who has been a pastor at the church for 40 years and is 70 years old, is retiring at the end of May. He and the pastor who will become the senior pastor when he retires preached the sermon together. At the end of the service, Pastor Arlie sang the song "He's Alive" by Don Francisco (written in the 80's) which is an Easter song from the perspective of Peter that I remember singing in Maryland many years ago. Last year we weren't allowed to go to church on Easter so I was all the more appreciative of the freedom to worship with other believers this year. They even had a very small choir up on the risers for the first time in 13 months. We hadn't seen any extended family members since November so it was also very special to spend some time with Yvonne's family. We were able to meet Jenna's boyfriend, and they were able to meet Milo. I forgot to take a picture of Milo with any of the cousins. I had intended to take one of Milo and Joshua as he really, really loves dogs. Hopefully I'll remember next time!

Paul's mom will likely be transferred from the hospital on Wednesday to a nursing home. We're praying that God will guide and direct her to just the right place, and we're hoping that Paul's dad will at least be allowed to visit her. She has to be on intravenous antibiotics for another 6-8 weeks.