Easter Joy

Sorry it's taken me all week to get this post up, I've been trying to relax after last week. We were so busy with the drama at church, I had to tell myself that if I didn't stop and think about what Easter is really all about then I would miss it. Thankfully, I was able to enjoy the season and through the drama, I not only helped others draw closer to Him but I, myself felt His presence as well.

Todd and I both had pretty big roles in the drama this year, so a lot of work went into memorizing our lines. Todd also helped build the set for the stage; he's such a handy man :) We had practice every night last week and then performed the drama a total of 4 times over the weekend. The drama was based on the story of Paul and Silas when they were thrown in prison for preaching about Jesus. I played the part of a slave girl, fortune teller who Paul had "set free," and Todd was one of the prisoners in the jail who eventually comes to know the Lord. It was a great story, probably one of the best Easter dramas we've done since Todd and I moved out here. A lot of people got saved or rededicated their lives to Christ, so we praise the Lord for that!

Mark played Paul and many of the guys in the prison were either from our youth group or were adult leaders. It was a little awkward being the only girl surrounded by all those guys, but it was so much fun. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much or smelled so much foul odor for that matter. Mark needs to quit eating onions, forever!

Grace had a wonderful Easter. She was completely adorable in her blue polka dot dress and pigtails. While I was putting her dress on her, she kept saying "Pretty?!" She loves getting dressed up for church. I tried to get a picture of her standing up, but she wouldn't stand still. The only good one I have is of her running to Daddy. And too bad Todd and I were dressed up in our costumes or we would've had a great family photo. Oh well, at least she wasn't scared of us. She kinda looked at us funny at first, but then came right to us.

We spent Easter with some great friends from our church this year. (I was too busy trying to get pictures of Grace that I didn't get any of them, sorry guys). They're from Pennsylvania and moved to Salisbury around the same time as us. Neither of us were going home for the holidays, so we decided to spend Easter together. Jerry, Heidi, Kaleb, and Doug are like our family out here. Heidi and I teamed up to make dinner, and they also brought an Easter basket for Grace with a bunny, a book, and some bubbles. Grace thought the basket would be fun to sit in while she read her book. What a hoot!

Grace also got several Easter gifts from her Meemaw and my sister's family. She really liked the chick that Meemaw got her, so did Baxter. He kept stealing it away from her. Aunt Megan got her some bathtub markers and a pretty dress, and Todd and I got her a singing bunny from the Hallmark store. I knew she would love it because it's ears move when it sings. She thinks it's so funny to grab those furry bunny ears.

Well, it's hard to believe that Easter has come and gone, but at least we know that the spirit of Easter will never leave. Praise God for His precious Son. He's alive!