Mum and Dad’s backyard is a wonderland of nooks and crannies of hidden corners and jungle like growth. Adventure beckons blossoming imaginations in the rubble of old building projects, the fractured remnants of structures long ago moved, altered or torn down.  Even in the ordinary plod along days the kids adore going there but Easter is something special. Oh the thrill to be had scanning the gardens for that moment of adrenalin when a sparkle of coloured foil reviles itself.

We don’t make it easy for them either, can you spot the egg?

Lani brightened up on Panodol and the thrill of the moment.

Grandma teaching Sabrina to fetch eggs for her and bring them back to her basket.

I always feel it’s slightly disturbing that they like to play with the bunnies, introducing them to each other, even naming them before they bite their heads off.

This is where we found Eli Easter morning I guess he was keen to start the lounge room egg hunt.

We have never encouraged our children to believe in the Easter bunny or Santa for that matter, I feel it’s lying and as a Christian I can’t justify it in my mind.  The bible clearly states that deceit is wrong and I can’t bare the thought of my children loosing confidence in my honesty. I want them to grow up knowing that their parents will always be approachable and that all questions no matter how big or small will be answered in truth.

That being said we still have an egg hunt every year, it’s a game just like a treasure hunt at a party and just like they know that the pirate who hide the treasure chest in the backyard was Mummy and Daddy they also know that the chocolate eggs were hidden by us as well. I have to say to anyone out there who feels a spark of conscience over misleading their children that the excitement of Easter egg hunts even when you know that there is no such thing as the Easter bunny is still extreme.  I sometimes think even more so because they don’t have to doubt and wonder about the oversized bunny business they just have to enjoy the thrill of finding chocolate and we will never have that moment where they learn the truth and feel robbed.

Except Sabi didn’t really get it this year she thought we were finding toys….

…till her brother helped her out then she never looked back.

Fuzzy morning hair and their chocolate stash.

I kind of stuffed up though, I left Glenn’s egg in the car so his Easter treat was a melted blob of chocolate goo.

After all the eggs were found we piled into the car to head off to church only Lani started to feel sick so we got out of the car and pilled back into the house and did the Church bit at home.

I printed off colouring in sheets and we made a salt and four based finger paint.

I read from the bible to them about Jesus’ burial, resurrection and ascension. Then we discussed what we had read and prayed together.

So apart from Lani vomiting it was a very sweet family Easter.

Glenn and I also looked at a few Easter clips on Utube the first one we watched in Church on Good Friday and the second is just cool. hope you all had a Vomit free Easter.

What’s Mothers day without breakfast in bed? Mine even came with a menu, all be it limited. And yes they made it themselves and yes it was edible. Glenn even held Sabrina so I could eat without a baby jumping on my head a rare treat in this house.

I see mothers day as a multi layered celebration. First you get jumped out of your sleep by 4 excited to bursting little people who are desperate to show you all their tokens of appreciation.

Then after church there is an opportunity over lunch to reflect on how special your own Mum is. How much more like a friend she has become as time has altered our rolls and yet how much I still value her opinions. Also how beautiful it is to see her running around the playground after my tearaway lot.

And Lastly there is a chance to take a deep breath in and thank God from every inch of my soul for these precious little ones.  

Mothers day is not just a day for Mothers to be spoilt, it is It is the perfect opportunity to thank God for the privilege. Happy Mothers Day.

To any of the uninitiated out there Miss Mousy Moo and her hodgepodge of friends are all made from air drying clay which is just the best stuff for entertaining bored little fingers.

The amount of focus that poured out of Lilly during this craft blew me away. The mouse and the snail in the foreground are hers, along with a bunch of lady birds and a cake and pizza. She even researched before she began looking through a few of the twenty odd craft books I have scattered around various book shelves. It is the most focused and dedicated to a task I have ever seen her and I am going to turn back fondly to these photos the next time she turns into a whirling dervish and runs straight into the sharp pointy corner of a wall.
 

Lani on the other hand jumped straight into squeezing the gooey stuff between her fingers. I think she found the squidging squelching and squashing way too appealing to actually stop and waste time forming the clay into recognisable objects. For a while the only thing she had finished was the slug you can see slap bang in the centre of the photo. Sorry to be a bother but I’m going to ask you to scroll back up and have a look…go on have a peek… right now imagine it painted a brownish colour and you can imagine how flustered Glenn was when he came home from work and she was all "Daddy Look What I Made"

Of course she did get productive eventually and made a large red thing with toothpicks in it and a heart pendant for a necklace which she painted pink (Like duh as if any other colour ever existed)

It was naturally Eli’s idea to embed the spiky toothpicks into the art works, I had put them out on the table in the hope that they would be used to create otherwise unachievable intricate details, but I suppose a giant blue echidna is a great use for them too.

We also made some wooden spoon puppets aren’t they just so sweet, well, other than Lilly’s demon possessed yellow glowy eyed one.

And major thrill of these holidays we had a very special blue bear sleep over and stay up way to late with our fuzzy brown lot, but that’s the point of a sleep over really isn’t it.