It’s going to be 80 degrees here today. My tulips are blooming with a backdrop of cherry and pear blossoms exploding in our neighborhood. It means I’m sneezing. It also means Spring is here and it’s time for a happy Spring giveaway for one lucky reader. Because I appreciate anyone who reads this blog, I’d love for the following to be yours:
A set of three handmade, hand painted {by me!} lovely bird cards.
A gorgeous crystal pendant necklace adorned with dogwood blooms made by my talented sis-in-law Mindy.
A small Spring nest filled with glittered eggs, perfect for a mantle or entryway table.
Essie’s polish in “Sugar Daddy” and a polka-dot file to get your piggies ready for flip flop weather.
Also included in this month’s giveaway:
- Two Choxie chocolate bars – chocolate +fruit + almonds=YUM.
- A handmade flower pin to gussy up your Easter outfit.
- A beautiful bar of French soap wrapped in sparkling dragonfly paper . . . love.
- A glassine envelope of cardstock messages and embellishments, great for gift tags or being a builder!
- A sweet sample of “Spring String” from Divine Twine.
- Three small lined dragonfly notebooks.
Wow! I just decided to nix the giveaway and keep it all for myself. Okay, not really.
If you need/want some Spring in your life {and I daresay in your step} just leave a comment telling me about your fondest Easter memory by Thursday at 5 pm EST. I’ll pick and announce a winner by Friday!
I’m off to take my kids out of school and surprise them with a visit to see their Grandparents who have a three hour layover at our airport! Happy Monday.
30 comments:
I was 7 in Zurich, Switzerland and my family was staying with friends. Their children were all grown up, so they thoroughly enjoyed spoiling the visiting little ones. Big baskets overflowing with chocolate goodies. Plus, for breakfast we made beautiful hot cross buns with raisins.
Growing up, our family hosted a sunrise service on the Sat. morning before Easter. We invited family & friends over for an Easter program and to watch the sunrise and have breakfast with us. I remember one year my dad had us all stand up and hold our arms out for 3 minutes. I remember how tired my arms felt after just a minute and I began to feel such a love for my savior who endured so much and did so much for me.
I was 9 years old when we woke up to see that Spiderman had attacked our house. There was yarn in four different colors and it was strung up everywhere. My Mom explained that we all had our own separate color of yarn. She told us where the hunting string started and that we would find prizes along the way until the end when we found our Easter baskets. My color was green and I found a new bathing suit in the dishwasher!! It was the best and most amazing treasure hunt ever. Now that I'm older I can appreciate the ingenuity and the work my Mom put into it!
My "favorite" Easter memory was when I was probably 6 or 7 years old. My mom, who loved animals, surprised my brother Jeff (14 months younger) and I with a new puppy for Easter (given to us a couple of days early). Only thing is, she didn't tell my dad! So when we heard his car pull in that evening, Jeff and I excitedly started running around the house trying to figure out where the little puppy was hiding. Jeff ran around one corner as I ran around it the other way and we collided. He was at the perfect height to have his head plant itself solidly into the bridge of my nose. So for Easter that year, in addition to a new puppy, I had two black eyes and a badly bruised and swollen nose, which was a not-so-nice addition to the pink Easter dress with a lace overlay that my mom had so painstakingly made for me. I was indeed a sight for sore eyes...and no one seemed to notice my dress. My face was too much of a distraction!
I've always loved Easter with the promise of renewal and rebirth evident all around. The Easter Bunny part of Easter was very low key in my family. No chocoalate eggs or rabbits. No Easter gifts. Sometimes we got a new dress but not always. I think it really depended on money and with 7 children money was often tight. On Easter morning we would wake up to find jelly beans and these nasty large eggs, like jelly beans, hidden around the house. It was every kid for themself, no color coding so of course the older kids always found more eggs than the younger ones, even so it was still fun. The Saturday before Easter we would dye hard boiled eggs and it was my favorite part of the Easter celebration or least the preparation for it. Now my favorite part of Easter, other than the church service, is hosting my family for Easter dinner.
I don't have any from when I was a kid : ( although, ever since my first easter being married to my Honey we've pretended that the easter bunny visits us. We sneak at night and put out easter baskets for each other. Yup, corny and childish but totally and wonderfully indulgent and fun.
:) We had many good Easter's growing up, but my favorite is last years. We had held our family's easter egg hunt on the church grounds, a few blocks from where we had all gathered for a pot luck lunch. My dad had driven my ailing grandmother over so she could watch the kids hunt for the eggs. After he had found his fill, Max (2 yrs) climbed into the drivers seat and proceeded to "drive" Grandma Renie to all sorts of places. "Driving Miss Renie" is still laughed at today.
The first Easter that I really remember was when I was 6. We lived in Ozark, AL and it was beautifully, vividly SPRING. I remember lots of flowers and green, green grass. An overflowing Easter basket(not so much candy as the plastic Easter grass!), running through the yard in our Sunday best. That was actually the first year I realized we celebrated Christ at Easter. I appeciate my mom so much for making that distinction early in my life. Such a happy memory!
In 2005 my family spent some time living in The Netherlands while my husband worked a special project for his company. We spent the week of Easter in a Centerparks Resort just west of Essen, Germany. The Easter Bunny was kind enough to bring the whole family one 3 foot tall chocolate bunny made of pure Swiss chocolate (instead of one individual small one for each of us). Unfortunately, the heater in the condo we were in broke that night, and temps soared to 90* inside. We woke to our Easter Baskets surrounding a plastic bag full of a pool of chocolate with only a bunny ear left on the kitchen table! After laughing our heads off (much like the bunny) we all grabbed a spoon and had melted chocolate for breakfast!!! Now it's a tradition to melt one bunny and pour the chocolate over ice cream after Easter dinner.
I have lots of fond memories, but most of them are related to food and family. Here in Spain, and specially in Catalonia, we have lots of traditional Easter food.
In my family we usually make "brunyols", which is a kind of sweet which takes all day long to be prepared and then cooked. All my family work during the day, so it's so nice to spent the day together doing that.
Also is a tradition that the godparents give "la mona de pasqua" (which is made of chocolate) or "el tortell de rams" to their godchild.
Now some link with pictures:
Brunyols:
http://spb.fotolog.com/photo/27/33/118/xargay_fama/1239386546289_f.jpg
Mona de pasqua:
http://fotos.infojardin.com/subidas-imagenes/images/bwy1238892336r.jpg
Tortell de rams:
http://www.barcelonapoint.com/images/web/special_easter_tortell-de_rams.bmp
So now you know a few more things about Easter in Spain and Catalonia.
The first Easter after my oldest sister got married I was 9 or 10. She had been away at school for a few years and I missed her tons. She and her new hubby came down for Easter weekend. What made it my favorite was that his family, that lived just a few minutes away, was out of town... so we didn't have to share them with his family. We got them 24/7 for that long weekend. Selfish I know, but hey I was a selfish kid back then.
{I've followed your blog for years since Becky Barnhurst told me about it... the dragonfly notebooks in this giveaway have forced my silent stalking to be broken:)}
When I was about 8 or 9 my parents surprised us with baby bunnies for Easter. They were black and white and sooo cute. It was the best surprise. I remember my mom building a hutch for them in our backyard. It was a fun memory though eventually someone left the cage open and the bunnies ran away (probably better for them anyway).
BTW, this giveaway is the best EVER!! So many darling things. I'm swooning.
I have another one too. Much more monumental actually. Easter 2008. Had a lovely talk with my mom that day which eventually led to finding my other mom, the one we share.
Even better than chocolate bunnies and bread right out of the oven!
My favorite Easter memory is from 2 years ago. I made a special dinner for the family. Before we ate the meal, we sang together the song "Did Jesus Really Live Again?" Then we sat and ate fish and honeycomb together just as Jesus had eatten to show the apostles that he was real and alive again. There was a special spirit I won't forget. The kids still talk about it.
My favorite memory was when I was around 11. My granny helped us make easter egg baskets. We blew up a balloon and wrapped some pastel string all around it. She dipped it in some sugar water solution and then we let them dry. When it was all dry we popped the balloon and cut an egg shape into the string. She filled them with grass and candies. I thought she was magic! I think I will do them with my kids this year!
When Cameron and I were living in China, some members of our very small church group found a ham at Easter time. It was so rare to find good food in Nanjing, and they could have easily kept it to feed their large family. Instead, they invited us all over and shared a huge and delicious Easter dinner. I always remember their generosity that Easter.
I'd have to say going to church on Easter. The choir would sing these powerful majestic songs, that I could feel the spirit. There was rejoicing and celebration. I loved it!!
Wow, what an awesome giveaway!!!
My favorite memory is probably my oldest daughter's (she is now 12) first Easter. I was SO excited to have a little girl to dress up, and my grandmother bought her Easter dress which was so special. We spent the day at my grandmother's house hunting eggs and spending time as a family. My grandmother passed away when my daughter was three years old, so those memories are so precious to me.
My favorite Easter memories include the tradition of dying Easter eggs with my family. We got really creative. Our eggs never looked like the box. We used crayons, rubber bands, stickers, and many different colors. So much wonderful fun. The vibrant colors remind me of the beautiful world the Lord has created for us. The eggs remind me of rebirth and the gift of the Resurrection. I love my Savior and love to celebrate His love for me each year.
Apis, this second memory about Easter is so MONUMENTAL as you said! Love love it!!!
Easter time encompassed many things for me growing up like my Birthdays, spring was coming, and General Conference. What I looked forward to was getting a Easter dress! When I was little my mom made me the cutest dresses. One was so cute that my older sister wanted one too and threatened me to NOT wear mine the same day as her. phft. And of course food was part of the memories too, either a yummy ham or the Mess Hall with the soldiers, in my new dress!
Easter was one of the holidays that brought our family together. Before moving around the world, we spent my early Easters with my Grandparents in California. I'm not sure I loved it then, but looking back now I have great memories of getting all dressed up in beautiful fancy dresses that my mom had sewn and going to church with my Grandparents. Now, I love starting the day with my own kids all dressed up at church.
My favorite Easter was 2008, because I had a brand new baby girl. One of the reasons we chose Grace as Tessa's middle name is because she was born the week of Easter. I brought her home on Good Friday in the sweetest little lavender bunny print PJ's. Our hospital was an Adventist facility and as we were leaving someone was playing hymns.
Easter was always amazing growing up. I do have one year in particular that I remember.
We spent the night at my grandparents. The next morning my sister and I wore matching floral dresses that my mom made and then we went to a Sunrise Service. I thought this was amazing. Watching the sun rise and hearing about the resurrection of Christ made a profound impression on me at this young age. Having pastries for breakfast afterward probably helped too.
When we returned to my grandparents house the Easter Bunny had come. In California (when it doesn't rain) there is not enough humidity to ruin a great hunt. There were tons of dyed eggs and jelly beans (not in plastic eggs) everywhere in their back yard!
Later that afternoon it we went to my Grandparents country club for a hunt on the driving range. As I recall we searched for white eggs that had numbers written on them along with eggs filled with candy. Why numbers you ask? Well, every child's dream and every parents nightmare of course. They were giving away Easter Bunnies!!!! There were four of us kids and lucky enough we ended up with 4 bunnies. Yep, lucky us.
I named my bunny Oakey because my Grandparents lived in a place called Oakdale. Oakey became an indoor pet that we toilet trained. Crazy. Even crazier is that the other three bunnies were put in rabbit hutches....all of us thought this was great until someone realized one night that their pet was dinner!!!!
I remember the Easter when I was in 1st grade. My grandmother made Easter dresses for her 3 granddaughters. They were in pastel pink swiss dot for me, pastel blue swiss dot and pastel green swiss dot for my sisters. I woke up so excited for Easter but I felt funny. I had the chicken pox and didn't get to wear my new dress for 3 weeks! I did get to eat my chocolate bunny though.
One of my fondest memories from Easter was when I was quite young, around 8 or 9. Growing up in the military we didn't live close by family, and were not around for alot of holidays and family events, but for some reason this year we were visiting family during Easter. My grandpa lived on a farm and he held a huge Easter egg hunt each year for all the grandkids. I remember searching for eggs, along with my many cousins, in bales of hay and around the farm. It was so fun!
When my cousins and I were younger we used to have a big easter egg hunt at my Grandparents house. I loved running around in our Easter outfits finding eggs! Thanks for the chance to win.
Susan
susanhagner@gmail.com
As a child, I loved celebrating the Easter bunny on the Saturday before Sunday. My parents wanted us to focus on the resurrection and our Savior for Easter. I loved having the Easter bunny come one day, and then the next day have a more reverent tone in the home as we went to church and felt the true meaning of Easter. Anyways, this might sound a little shallow, but it was awesome having loads of Easter candy while my friends had to wait one more day. I don't know how my parents convinced the Easter bunny to come early, but he never failed. One morning he even brought me some new Care Bear PJs and some white Ked sneakers. Those were some good times. However, when I was able to put on my new Easter dress and go to church the next day, I knew it felt a lot different on Sunday than it did when the Easter bunny came. I felt peaceful and I felt warm. As a child that is how I would have described my feelings as I think back to my childhood.
I don't really have a favorite Easter memory (except maybe of my mom making me beautiful Easter dresses, as a little girl), but these days, Easter is enhanced because I get to sing at a Sunrise Service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. What better way to celebrate Easter than to sing of the glory of the resurrection of the Savior, as the first rays of light come peeking over the hills and the birds begin to sing their song. It makes the 4:45am arrival time all worth it :)
My favorite childhood memory of Easter is dying Easter eggs with my family. We would rub the eggs with vinegar to enhance their color and my dad would put a bit of oil in each color, then all 5 of us (my parents included) would go to town dipping our eggs in this color or that. The effect would be marblized eggs! We took such pride in creating every masterpiece and we would memorize which eggs were ours so we could find them on the traditional Easter egg hunt with cousins in our backyard.
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