Zeke's First Easter!

Luke's third.

So much fun.


Early-morning awkward shot. And what's with those empty baskets? Easter baskets are not supposed to mimic Jesus' empty tomb...


On our way to church! 20 minutes (33%) late, cruising down Russell...


...with a real cutie-patooty, first-Easter baby sitting beside Mama.








After church, the boys took their naps, Richie took his bike ride, and Bethany got to play with that oft-neglected creative side of her brain. She hadn't dyed an Easter egg in years. Long gone are those sibling who-does-the-best-egg competitions. Shiloh usually won, as she recalls. He had some intense patience going on and could let those eggs sit on his spoon in the dye for a loooong time.


When Luke woke up, we woke Zeke up, too (that boy can SLEEP) and headed to Bethany's parents' house for the Easter festivities. First, the Easter Egg Hunt! Luke started out veeeery grumpy. Can you tell?


Alexander started out happy. (What's new.) The two boys ran around collecting their non-sugar-filled eggs. The Grammy and The Noni did excellent jobs filling the eggs with non-edible items. Stretchy worms, for example.


Shealyn arrived just in time to get a few eggs, too.


By the end, we even got a "smile" out of Luke. And look at all those eggs!


Back inside, Auntie Robin did a beautiful job of lulling Zeke to sleep. And no, she is not boring. She just has a way with the little ones... (and looks great while she's at it!)


Time for food! Or for the kids, time to continue playing. Here, Luke dodges Shealyn smooches. She's really into the kissy game these days. He's not.


Ah, but Zeke will accept her affection. (The beauty of an immobile baby who has no choice.)


Shealyn cuddled with Zeke while The Big Boys played "together."


We pried them outside for a game of basketball. They were so good that they could even dunk.


After every basket, Luke asked everyone to clap for him and did a triumphant run-in-a-circle.


Zeke coolly watched from the sidelines, eying The Big Boys' game and developing strategies to beat them two years from now..


Most of the time, Luke ended up playing basketball alone (asking everyone to cheer for him, still). Alexander was zooming around the yard occupying himself with more exciting things. Like cars.


Shealyn was distracted by the butterflies. She and Luke would be playing basketball, and then all of a sudden she'd run the other direction calling out for the butterflies. And she had a gravitational pull toward Sienabug. Luke likes to show off in front of other people that he has an "in" with the babies, and will smother his cousin and brother with love so intense that no one would dare imitate it. Only a related kid could get away with all the "love" he shows.


The ess family.


The grammy-noni sisters.


The muscleman. Too hot to wear his polo... out came the muscle shirt.


Daddy with the Zekers.


Kristen with the Zekers.


The Zekers with the Zekers.


"And my, what big eyes you have, my dear!"


The gracious (and fiiiine-cookin') hosts of Easter this year.


And an Easter-evening, blurry shot of The Armstrong Four.

Extra reading about our Easter, for those who wish for more:

This happened to be our very favorite Easter on record, because of our sons. The joy of watching Zeke as we celebrated our first holiday with him, and the joy of getting to explain our faith to Luke and to see him really "get" it.

Only in talking to Luke have we realized 1. how very, very simple the message of the gospel is; and 2. how exciting its news really is. The word "gospel" means "good news." It is truly the very best news we have ever heard. There is a God. I am not it. God is perfect. I am not. But this perfect God loves imperfect me. With a perfect love. And for some crazy reason, Perfect God wants imperfect me with Him in eternity. So He made a way. By sacrificing His Son. Fully human and fully God, Jesus bridged the gap. He was slaughtered: beaten and hung on a cross. But on the third day...

Easter.

Jesus lives.

He took all the sins of the world upon His shoulders. All of it. ALL of it. And when sinless Jesus had borne all of the consequences we sinners ourselves deserved, He rose again. He defeated death. He WON. And souls who accept His sacrifice are promised eternal life in heaven, because Perfect God will accept Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf.

And we're offered this for free.

Now that's a good deal.

Even our two-year-old gets excited about it. He told us this week that he wants to go on a walk with Jesus. He wants to go to heaven. He trusts Jesus to forgive him all of his sins and prays spontaneously for Jesus to be his friend.

The eighteenth chapter of the Biblical book of Luke (good name) says that "anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Now we get to see right before us what it means to receive the kingdom of God like a little child.

He "gets" it. He wants it. It thrills him.

A hymn that triumphs in Jesus' resurrection and its implications for us:

Jesus lives, and so shall I.
Death! thy sting is gone forever!
He who deigned for me to die,
Lives, the bands of death to sever.
He shall raise me from the dust:
Jesus is my Hope and Trust.

Jesus lives, and death is now
But my entrance into glory.
Courage, then, my soul, for thou
Hast a crown of life before thee;
Thou shalt find thy hopes were just;
Jesus is the Christian's Trust.

On Easter, it is Christian tradition to say to a friend, "He is risen!" and the other person responds, "He is risen indeed!"

This Easter, we told Luke, "He is risen!"

His response?

"RISEN!!!!!!" with a shriek of joy and a happydance.

Ah. Faith like a child. It's GOOD.

Why do we go around making things so complicated? Where's all our joy?

The gospel is simple. And it is such good news that it deserves a really, really big happydance.