Weekend Wrap Party - Easter

How was your weekend? I hope it was wonderful but I know holidays are not always easy for everyone...so if it was a little tough...I'm really sorry & I hope something happens to make you smile this week. 

Mine was a little different than most Easters. For some background on me...I became a Christian when I was 4 years old. I grew up in a Christian home, with a great family & have definitely done the "ritualistic" aspects of Easter since...well, since I can remember. I love Easter. I love wearing a pretty spring dress, spending time with family, eating a great meal, maybe even some easter candy and of course celebrating the real reason of Easter. 

(Rew kids from Easter past - I'm the one in the flowered dress) 

My Easter weekend this year started out going salsa dancing with my sister & two other sisters (we have been on several "sister dates" in the past...so fun!) on Good Friday. When I agreed to go, I totally forgot it was Good Friday (I mean, has Easter not snuck up so quickly?). I felt a little bad about not doing something honoring Good Friday but when I talked to my friend Kauri she reminded me that Easter weekend is about celebrating something wonderful Jesus did for us. I just tried to celebrate by dancing...just with the girls...not with a latino man. ;p It was a wonderful time with the Easely sisters & of course my awesome sister, Meg. 

Saturday, we had some friends over that graciously helped us paint the downstairs "man cave." We bought a house built in the 60s & have been working on it little by little. Painting things ourselves is one of the ways we've tried to save money, but the man cave is a little large & it was a lifesaver that the guys volunteered to help. So thank you to Mike Spessard, Sean Fennelly, Austin McDonald, Tony May & Jeff Carter. 

Our basement was just a concrete slab & we've built it out as the money has come in. We're a little adverse to getting into debt! This is the coveted "man cave." :)

Sunday, I ended up going to Dalton, GA to meet my friend Kauri for brunch. She's one of my best friends & I simply adore her. It was one of those times where I really felt like I needed to spend some quality time with my friend. I love my friends very much, and want to spend more time with them. But for a while I was so focused on a career; and since I have a pretty good family support system...I think I've honestly taken some of my friendships for granted. This is really crazy because I have been blessed with some amazing friends!

We had to get our picture taken with Kelly, from Cracker Barrel. She made this awesome Easter hat that had everything except for peeps on it. :p 

That's a great way to have fun despite having to work on a holiday. In fact, Kauri & I think it would be a great Easter tradition. 

Even though my Easter was not a traditional one, it was wonderful. To me, Easter is a time of rememberance. Remembering why we celebrate it. Ironically, I got the greatest Easter lesson from an episode of The Walking Dead (TWD) that Mike & I watched Saturday night. I know. I'm pretty sure no pastor used that in his sermon Sunday morning. ;p 

It was the first episode I've ever watched of TWD. I'm not much of a zombie fan but it's filmed here in Atlanta. If you follow show, we watched the last episode of the first season. There's a scene where it seems like there's no hope - that they just have to wait and die. No way out. I got this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. What a miserable & depressing place to be. Feeling like there's no hope. No solution. Nothing more than that moment. 

On the drive up to Dalton this morning, I was listening to a song by Natalie Grant called "In Better Hands." There is a part that says, "But there is hope when my faith runs out." I thought back to the scene in TWD. That is what Easter is about. Because Jesus came, died then rose from the dead, we have hope. When we can't quite grasp eternity or we don't quite understand something or long for something tangible. In those quiet moments where you think, "Is this all?" "What's after this?" The Easter message is what says, "There's hope." 

I hope your Easter was wonderful & that your week is hope-filled. 

Got a great idea for a "dessert bar" for this weeks party-project. Stop by on Wednesday.