Our First Easter With Caleb.....

First, some photos....

At the "Easter Eggstravaganza" on Saturday..... Receiving his Easter basket, hand made by grandma:)

With pap and mommy before the start of the Passion Play

With Grandma.....

Eventually the pants just have to come off :) As you can see, he was much more interested in the "fower" as he says than in smiling for a family photo :)

With his daddy....two fine looking fellas :)

Soooo adorable....I stared at a him a lot today :) Thanks to granna and grandma for the lovely Easter outfit. Grandparents....what would we do without them?

This weekend was truly wonderful (the only thing that could have made it better would have been if Zack hadn't been scheduled to work most of the weekend....we missed him so much!). We took Caleb to an Easter event our church puts on every year for the community on Saturday. It has lots of things for kids- an egg hunt, face painting, lots of inflatables, etc. Caleb actually went down the giant slides a couple of times with mommy and then with pap, and he seemed to like it okay. Then he decided he wanted to get in the big bouncy inflatable. That was all well and good until a few bigger kids got in and made it really bounce....then Caleb decided it was time to get out! Later that afternoon we went to pap and grandma's house, and Caleb received his first Easter basket! He got some new books, fruit snacks, and some cool cups with straws (we are working on getting rid of the sippy cups :) Mommy and daddy also got their Easter baskets :)

This morning we performed the final performance of our passion play at church. We had performed throughout the week as well, and as I reflect on the performances, I realize what a true blessing it is to be able to tell the most beautiful, amazing, and awesome story ever! I am moved each time they raise the cross and I see Jesus hanging there, bearing the sin of the world, for you and for me. And how I am overjoyed when the choir breaks into "He's Alive".

Praise God, He is Alive!!

While backstage, I also thought today about how blessed we are to have Caleb with us this Easter. He watched the Passion Play about three times this week, and though I know he doesn't really understand what it is all about right now, I pray everyday that one day he will. He looked so pretty today, yes, I said pretty :) I just kept looking at him all day, in disbelief that we could be so blessed. Something else I thought about today.... I wondered if the children we met in Ethiopia were thinking about what Easter means. I hope that they were, and because our agency is a Christian agency, I believe that the staff probably recounted the Easter story to them.

I also thought about how very few of the children there would have an Easter basket or have a nice Easter outfit to wear or have a nice Easter dinner spread before them. I know that stuff really doesn't matter, and that it is not truly part of what Easter is all about, but still, it was something I thought about. It is a "no brainer" for most of us here in the USA to go out and purchase a new Easter outfit and to have a nice Easter meal....but that is not the case in Ethiopia. I thought about the kids there, and I wished that I could give them all a brand new outfit and an Easter basket full of things that would make their eyes sparkle and food that would fill their bellies. I wish that for all of them. Though I can't do that very thing, I can make a difference, and so can you! If you aren't involved in helping children that live in poverty stricken countries, would you please consider it? There are links to two great and credible organizations, Compassion International and The Mocha Club at the top of our blog, on the right side. Both have wonderful ministries and help to make the lives of children better for a very small monthly donation.

Happy Easter!