Easter freak session and our non-traditional traditions

As the sun rose on Easter morning I should have been thinking something meaningful about the glory of the new day, but I was mostly thinking, So soon? Five more minutes. Three drowsy children got prodded out of bed and ten sleepy feet began tapping out their wake-up-wake-up shuffle. Jeffrey started making breakfast. The sun kept rising and soon it was poking timid strands of light into our windows and into the corners of my muddled mind. My attitude started adjusting to the light, the smell of scrambled eggs and the sound of the coffeemaker. I gave thanks for sunshine, caffeine and protein. Whenever we need to refocus, thankfulness is a really good place to start.

The gratefulness and sustenance put my head got back on the track it should have been the moment it left the pillow. Blessings. Thanksgiving. Rejoicing. Good Sunday thoughts. A chiming clock called me to hurry up. Getting five people ready and presentable usually requires a hunk of patience and a lot of "Hurry-up!" But today the hungry hoard made their eggs disappear with no need for speed reminders. Daddy makes the seriously best scrambled eggs ever. Amen.

The day was shaping up to be a lot like most of our Sundays. I hadn't planned a lot for Easter. We usually do whatever feels right that particular year. Occasionally that is a blow-out, no-holds-barred, go-for-broke extravaganza. More often I think of 40-hundred fun new things to try but thinking is all I get around to doing so I end up pulling together something spontaneous according to our mood that day... [Insert mental freak out session here]

Am I ok with our lack of plans?
Should I make a bigger deal out of it?
What about Easter traditions?
I guess I pretty much stink at traditions.
We almost never do the same thing twice on holidays.
I am probably hurting my kids by raising them this way.
Look at the enjoyment other people get from their traditional holidays.
Look at how they have the forethought and dedication to pull off those time-honored ceremonies year after year.
What is my problem?
Is something wrong with me?
I better get my act together before I screw up our lives...

These wrinkly thoughts needed straightening out even more than Felicity's dress. The youngest climbed out of the shower and started shouting for his towel. Latham wandered through the livingroom looking for his shoes.

Just like every Sunday.

And there it was, like a sudden burst of steam from the iron.

We do keep traditions in our house. 

They might not look like other people's. They might just be simple little things we do on a daily or weekly basis instead of yearly, but they tell a lot about who we are as individuals and as a family unit and they are infinity important to our well-being. And 

So maybe the true issue was never my haphazard, slap-happy, observance of this or that holiday. Maybe the true problem lies in taking for granted the time I am given every day to celebrate our basic family-life for the treasure that it is. Maybe the key is being very intentional about the way we spend out time, the routines we pick up and the actions and words we repeat.

"Habit is a poor substitute for conviction."

"What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while."

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Ps 118:24

Those are all words I need to repeat to myself frequently. They are true and have the power to change my way of thinking and therefore, my day.

And my Easter was changed. No, I wasnt suddenly inspired to deck the halls, dress as the Easter bunny or color eggs. I just saw our Sunday for what it truly is, a beautiful tradition. I  found a sense of peace and contentment in where we are at this time of our lives.

I fell in love with the first day of the week all over again.
And it just so happened to be Easter.

I hope your Easter was just the way you like it!

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What does our Sunday look like? Here is a nibble...

Coffee

Makes the birds sing sweeter.

Eggs

Sunday go-to-meetin' clothes

Helping in the kitchen

They worry me a little when they are so excited to use knives. Little savages.

Setting the table

Sit down dinner

Funny papers

We fought terribly over these as kids... Why didn't we figure out we could sit three in a row and see just fine?

Somewhere in there I had a nap; a pregnancy custom that I observe almost daily with great satisfaction and downright selfishness.

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Because it was Easter: a few last-minute whip-ups in my typical spur-of-the-moment style.

Cotton-tail treat bags

Paper lunch bags, cardstock-ears, cupcake papers, cotton-ball tails. Inspired by Katherine Marie

Brown eggs

Nice of the hens to pre-color our eggs for us!

Fresh reads

Thank goodness for my stash of go-to gifts and its usual inclusion of books that I picked up in a rare preparatory moment. These are tied up with thrift store lace and unfinished quilt-blocks.

*****

P.S. If you came over here from The Prairie Hen's Nest, welcome to our new blog-home! I hope you will follow along. Stay tuned for a giveaway in the very near future. I'm excited to share with you.

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Have a happy day!