Easter 2013

We had the joy of hosting Easter for Eric's side of the family this year, and it kicked me in gear to get our home ready.  We have red Christmas dishes, and well, those dishes have been in regular use since November of 2011.  It was time to sort through some things.  Eric is the major cleaner in our house, and made everything shine so I could put knick knacks all over it.  The day before Easter he started to count the number of fake/real flower arrangements throughout our house, but eventually gave up.  I would love an unlimited supply of beautiful flowers because I love the brightness they bring to our home.  (I've heard that people get those from things called gardens, but I don't see that happening anytime in my near future).  Here's what our house looks like ready for spring.

Of course, I attempted the now-famous Pinterest Easter bouquet.  My mom did one and it's even cuter.  I'm pretty sure the candy cost more than the flowers - oh well, it's still cute!  Eric's waiting for the flowers to die so he can get to the Peeps.

Here is a view from our kitchen to family room.  We love the way this house fits a lot of people in one area so it was great to be able to use that!

 Our new artwork!  We worked on it this winter, and absolutely LOVE having it above our mantel.  It only weighs about three thousand pounds.

Here are some pictures of our family enjoying time together.  My family maxes out at about 20, so it's still a little crazy to me that between 25-40 people will gather for holidays with Eric's family.  I love that they all get together for holidays, even as a big family.

Our family of four!   Emmalyn looks less than thrilled about Easter ... it was a little strange to wake up from nap time to a house of 30 people!  Poor girl! She recovered as soon as they started reading books to her.

We had a great time with Eric's family and then hopped to my parents to spend the rest of the afternoon eating their leftovers, napping, and playing with cousins.  We are so blessed to have an incredible family to share the resurrection of Christ with!  I truly felt the joy of Easter and the hope we have this Sunday!