Ask me how many frames I had to use to get a picture that had all the kids looking at me. Ok, stop guessing…30! An exhausting cause for the sake of my Easter card this year. It was worth the effort. Everyone is even smiling, except Kobe. I’m just glad he stayed on the bench! I love Easter as much as Christmas. Growing up my mom was a single mother of 3 who often worked 2 jobs to make ends meet, that often meant that there was not a whole lot left over for extras. No matter what, I knew on Easter I was going to get a new dress and a new basket filled with treats. All my cousins (I have 25 first cousins) would go to my grandma’s and we would color eggs the Saturday before. Then on Sunday we would dress up and head to church. We would stand on stage and say our memorized Easter parts, and then head to the park for a huge Easter egg hunt. Of course I was mostly focused on the golden money egg! That was our tradition for the 18 years that I lived at home. Now with my own children it is so important to me to pass on those traditions that made such amazing memories. I also want to make sure they realize what we are celebrating. A few years ago I found a great video about the days leading up to the Crucifixion of Christ. We now watch the video and read from the bible the passages that detail the ordained events that lead to not only the death, but praise God, the resurrection of Jesus. I want them to realize right now the gift that has been given them. As we prepare for our celebration, I pray all of you will spend time throughout this week focusing on the freedom His stripes give us; freedom from weakness and sin, freedom from pain and heartache, freedom from the lives we lived before we gave ours to Him.