He Is Risen

I think this is the first Easter we were home in several years, and it was really kind of a nice, relaxing weekend, despite the visit to the ER (see previous post). The weather was lovely, we spent a lot of time together, just our little family, and also had a good dose of friends added in.

We readied ourselves for church on Sunday morning, the first Sunday we had done such in a number of weeks due to at least one, if not all, of us being out of town. It was great to be back. Unfortunately, Jarrett missed the sermon (which was really good), as he had Sunday School duty, but I am sure Elsa was incredibly thankful to have her daddy back there with her.

After church, we met some friends of ours from the church we previously attended (our new church's parent church) at the Brick Store. We had not been there in ages, so it was fun to hang out in our old haunt again. Of course, late nights as a childless married couple and Easter lunch as a family have their fair share of differences, but, still, it is nice to even be able to go with kids.

Our friends, Seth and Jill (and their little one, Olivia) invited us and the others who had joined us back to their house after lunch for dessert and an Easter egg hunt for the girls -- this one outdoors in their huge backyard, complete with real eggs. Olivia and Elsa had fun, carrying their baskets around and spotting the colorful eggs among the grasses and trees, and us adults just had a nice time enjoying each other's company for the afternoon.

Skipping yet another nap, poor Elsa was exhausted and was actually the one to tell me sometime after 4:00 p.m. that she was sleepy and wanted to go home. Our little one fell asleep in the car, so hard that Jarrett was able to carry her into the house and lay her in her crib without her waking. We let her sleep for a little over an hour before waking her up so we wouldn't have trouble putting her down for the night.

What a fun-filled Easter weekend. Injuries, exhaustion, and all -- it was a most enjoyable time.

The Second Baby Helms joins in on the action.

Love this face.

Elsa and Olivia at the end of the hunt.