A (very) Good Friday

Today was everything a (very) good day should be.

For starters, I finished a new dress for Miss E last night, so she had a special surprise this morning.  I forgot that I had purchased this fabric on sale right after the first of the year.  I came across it while digging for something in my sewing stash, and the timing was perfect.  The band of fabric on the bottom of the dress has little bunnies on it....exactly what we need for Easter weekend!

Sadly, the Old Buzzard had to work today, so the kids and I did a Walmart run to gather ingredients for Resurrection Buns.  This was a wonderful start to our day.  Here's how to make them...

Line a baking stone with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

We began by reading the crucifixion story out of Emma's storybook Bible.

Count out eight marshmallows.  The white marshmallows represent Jesus...pure and white, without sin.

 Roll each marshmallow in a dish of melted butter.  The butter represents the oils used to embalm Jesus' body.  (I forgot a picture of the butter!)

Add cinnamon and sugar to a dish and smell.  Stir together while explaining that the spices represent the precious spices used to prepare Jesus' body for burial.  Roll each buttery marshmallow around in the cinnamon sugar.

Open a can of crescent rolls and separate into eight triangles.  Place a marshmallow in the center of each triangle and gently work the dough around the marshmallow.  This represents the burial cloths used to wrap Jesus' body.

The marshmallow needs to be completely covered in dough, and all creases need to be pinched tightly closed.  You don't want any butter or cinnamon sugar on the outside of the bun, so I found it helpful to work in stations.  The kids did the butter and cinnamon, then I used my clean hands to wrap the dough. 

Place the buns in the oven (the tomb) and as you close the door, talk about the large stone rolled in front of it.

Now station a soldier to guard the tomb for a few minutes!  :-)

They bake about 12-15 minutes.  While waiting, read John 19 out loud.

Remove from oven and let cool for two minutes before carefully opening a bun.

Empty!!!  Jesus is risen indeed!

This was a sweet activity...figuratively and literally.

We read an Easter book while enjoying our treat.

The book was part of a very special delivery that was left upon our doorstep.

(THANK YOU Aunt Nichole and Uncle Calvin!!!!)

I was feeling so relaxed and festive after our sweet morning together.  Then we headed to the mall because Hayden's itouch was broken.  What a mess!!  It didn't occur to me that school was out and people were off work.  It looked more like Black Friday than Good Friday at the mall!  SO crowded.  But, I found a front row parking space, so I couldn't deny Hayden the opportunity to visit the Apple store.  I tell you what....of all the stores to visit on a crowded shopping day.

BUT, we left with a fully operational itouch, so our mission was a success.  Not to mention the fact that Emma was more than content to sit and play with ipads while we waited our turn.  She would have been quite pleased to wait there all day!  Ha!

Next, we headed to the creek to celebrate the first official day of spring.  We went to this creek last year on Good Friday, and it seemed like a nice tradition to establish.

This photo reminds me of Tom Sawyer.  :-)  He's got his wadin' britches on!

We didn't have long to spend, but we enjoyed kicking off our shoes and letting some cool water slip between our toes.

We hunted for fossils and checked for creatures under rocks.

The kids were very generous about posing for pictures, and that was like a little gift to me.

We left the creek and went to Good Friday service at church.  Then, we came home and had homemade pizza for dinner.  Afterwards, Buzz and I took Em to Stride Rite for new shoes for Easter.  She is a funny size, and after three stores we had only one pair to choose from.  Neither Buzz nor I were super crazy about them, but she was absolutely thrilled.  She just tried to sneak her new sandals under the covers with her at bedtime because she couldn't stand to take them off.  Now that we've watched her make such a big deal out of them all night, Buzz and I both love them!  They make her so happy.

It was such a good day, and I am grateful for the togetherness it brought.

Happy Good Friday.

Remember....it was not the nails that held our Savior Jesus to that cross.

It was His love.