Easter Recap.

Easter Sunday.

What a joy it was to celebrate Easter as a family of three. Observing the cornerstone event of my faith, the divine resurrection of Jesus Christ, and sharing that exciting truth with my son, well, that pretty much takes the cake. Stevie and I had so much fun putting together Everett's Easter basket, getting him dressed up for church, and playing with him throughout the day that we completely failed at taking a family photo. Who does that?? Well, us apparently. We just took endless pictures of our little man discovering Easter eggs and, you know, chewing on them. Oh well. I tend to over-photograph our life in general, so while we might not have a ton of family pics from his first Easter, we have plenty of them from the day before and the day after.

This was our first Easter at home with family in many years. The past few years we've been in Boston and New York, so Easter has been an extremely chilly, friend-oriented holiday. We are grateful for so many unique Easter experiences, but this year with Everett was the best yet. It was just so much fun, introducing him to the traditions of the celebration, and even though he's not fully grasping it yet, it's just the beginning!

A Tisket, a Tasket.

I might have overdone it on the Easter basket. Well, it wasn't an Easter basket as much as it was a piece of luggage, his own little luggage bag! We are doing a good bit of traveling over the next few months, and I can't keep stuffing his goods into sticky Trader Joes tote bags. His bounty floweth over. And so of course, the bag just had a few goodies inside, MOSTLY NEEDS, like a bathing suit and sun hat and swim diapers. And a toy. And a book. And maybe some new shoes. I MIGHT BE OUT OF CONTROL.

We had so much fun, worshiping at church and then having lunch with family. And then egg hunting with cousins! And then crying a good bit. It's okay, it's an emotional day for all of us, Everett. 

I hope you all enjoyed your Easter as much as we did!

When Two of Your Favorite People Meet.

When Two of Your Favorite People Meet.

This happened a few weeks ago. Technically there are three of my favorite people in this picture, but Stevie and my dear Aunt Shirley know each other well. But it was the greatest privilege for me to witness my son meeting the snazzy, savvy, sweetheart that is my Aunt. Somehow my heart managed to melt a bit more. I thought it had done all the melting it could possibly do.

My Aunt Shirley has been a life-long inspiration. Not only is she overly-accomplished with an impressively long resume and all the accolades of the world, she is a woman of endless compassion and unparalleled conviction. She's basically Mother Theresa, serving all her extra time for others, and encouraging her students to join her many efforts. If I could emulate her character a tiny little bit at the end of my life, I would gladly call myself blessed and be done. And her joy! I don't know anyone who is more positive! Well, she and my mother-in-law can duke it out, because they are the two most positive people I know. FYI It's a really beautiful thing to be surrounded by practically blind positivity, by the way. Makes you feel like the world is your oyster. And why wouldn't I want my darling boy to be surrounded and influenced to believe that (because it's true!) But her kind of positivity isn't blind. It's fierce, statuesque, absolute in it's hope for what is the best kind of good. I am so lucky to have this woman as my guidepost, looking out for me, correcting me, smiling her big gorgeous, mischievous smile at me. Oh that Italian broad.

I hope your holiday weekend is filled with family time that makes you feel uplifted, full of hope, and encouraged beyond measure. Because that is a treasure not to be diminished. And if you don't have family like that? Well, then BE the family that does that. We have such a few precious days on this Earth. If you have the opportunity to be a person like Aunt Shirley to a little person like Everett, DO IT. The impact will be a pulsating, rippling, life-changing kind, and really, what else matters? Not career. Not money. But a little person being shaken by absolute love, acceptance and sheer hope for the future? Well, you could say that's kind of what this holiday weekend is all about.

Happy Easter, friends.