Easter Weekend 2023

Dale and I have been home since late November, and suddenly it’s April! How did that happen? In three days J is getting married, and in two weeks Dale and I will be headed off on our next adventure! What a wonderful time we have had being home with our family.

Easter is a wonderful celebration of our Lord’s death and resurrection. “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow!” This is especially comforting now, as the world around us falls deeper into darkness. But if He is for us, who can be against us? Dale and I have so much to be thankful for!

Our Easter weekend celebration began last Wednesday when, at the end of the work day, we drove north to stay with our oldest daughter and her family. We always enjoy spending time with them — the grandkids are so amusing, our daughter is a warm and gracious hostess, and our son-in-law loves to smoke (meat) — what’s not to love? Also, our younger daughter, J, was also able to join us since she lives nearby.

This trip was especially good since we also got to celebrate Easter with them. We actually came home on Saturday evening to attend services at Central for Easter service and to have lunch with friends and family here in Georgetown; so we had two celebrations!

Seder Meal

Our Easter kicked off on Thursday with a special meal. The Seder is the traditional Passover meal that includes reading from the Haggadah, drinking four cups of wine, telling stories, eating special foods, singing, and other Passover traditions. C had collected and cooked all the elements for the meal while Z read from the Haggadah. We even had lamb! It was a wonderful end to a very busy day.

Earlier in the day I attended Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) with C, who leads a group. It was very enjoyable to be physically present with women for this since I attend BSF online. It was also the kids’ last day of school for the week, and Bear had football practice that evening. Once every one was finally in the house we were able to sit and enjoy our meal together.

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday, we colored eggs and prepared food for Easter lunch. I’ve always loved dying Easter eggs and hunting them. As a teenager, I’d do it all by myself since my older brothers were no longer into it. Though I never bought candy-filled Easter baskets for my kids, we always hunted Easter eggs.

There were a surprising amount of places to hide eggs in their backyard. It was an energetic event with the grandkids trying to outdo one another. I believe Bear found the most, but A found the one with the $. So they were both happy.

After the egg hunt we enjoyed another delicious meal before heading back down to Georgetown.

Resurrection Day

Richard, Carol and Michelle attended church with us for Easter service. D and A also sat with us. It was a full row of Reams, including new Reams, old Reams, former Reams and cool Reams (Dale and I). Paster Mark brought the message. Afterwards, we enjoyed Easter lunch at the Matthews’ home (A’s parents). There was definitely plenty of food and conversation.

My Easter celebrations have changed over they years but they are all extremely special to me. Some of my fondest memories include spending Easter at my grandmother’s home in Rusk County, surrounded by our extended family. When our children came along, we carried on all the traditions including attending sunrise services. We have wonderful memories of cold North Carolina mornings in front of a big wooden cross on the steps of Brookwood Baptist Church. In recent years we’ve added traditional Jewish customs, further enriching the celebration. Who knows, maybe next year we will be celebrating together in Jerusalem!