Oh Happy Day!

Last night the girls and I made resurrection rolls since I knew we'd have no time for it today. These were so simple to make and turned out perfectly! Here's what we did:

First, they each took turns dipping a marshmallow in butter then rolling it in sugar and cinnamon.

Next, they placed it on a piece of Pilsbury crescent roll dough and wrapped the dough all around.

We popped them in the oven for 15 minutes.

When they were done and cooled off enough, we broke them up and 'ta-da'! They were hollow! The whole time we were making them we talked about what happened to Jesus after He died - did He stay dead? What did the disciples find when they went to His tomb? What does Jesus rising from the dead mean for us? Then when we broke open the hollow resurrection rolls, we cheered - "The tomb is empty! Jesus is alive! Whoo hooo!". This was a 'sweet' object lesson that we will certainly be doing again in years to come! Did any of you try out the Resurrection cookies? How did they turn out?

Sunday morning we did an egg hunt with the kids after they opened their Easter baskets.

They're getting REALLY good at this egg hunting buisness!

Once they were all found, they took turns opening them. I had them all numbered so they would be opened in the right order. These were Resurrection Eggs that I had put together the night before. As each egg was opened we told the part of the story that each item pertained to. Piper listened very intently and loved the surprise of what was inside each egg. The best part though was when she opened the last one and there was nothing in it! She gasped and looked at me like I had made a mistake. Then when I asked her what was in Jesus' tomb when the disciples went to look on Sunday morning, understanding dawned on her - "Nothing, Mama!" That's right, baby girl, Jesus is alive!

(I think it is so important to make sure my kids understand exactly what Easter is all about. That doesn't mean that we can't have fun or eat chocolate. In fact, I think teaching the importance of this holiday should be wrapped in sweet memories and kid oriented activities. This should be an exciting day for us as Christians, full of joy and celebration!)

The greatest day in history, death is beaten
You have rescued me
Sing it out, Jesus is alive
The empty cross, the empty grave
Life eternal, You have won the day
Shout it all, Jesus is alive
He´s alive!!!

Then we got all dressed up and went to church to celebrate! Daddy graciously took a picture of us 3 girls all prettied up but he looked very handsome himself! ;) Just sayin'.

So in case you haven't heard,

Jesus is alive!

Oh happy day!