A Tale of Two Easters

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Happy Easter, everyone! A family with two pastors and two churches is not going to have a relaxing Easter weekend. This may seem obvious, but this was the first year we actually lived it.

Here we have a few attempts at an Easter picture of the boys. This is not easy these days! Caleb has decided he doesn't "like" his smile, so it is hard to coax one out of him. I did get a BIG one when he woke up this morning and saw some candy had been left for him. The outfits are from Mormor, and hopefully Caleb's legs won't grow too much before next week. He needs to wear this to Amma's wedding! Saturday was practice for Bethany's Easter pageant. Every church has its own traditions. Bethany makes 150 Easter baskets for the kids. Here they are, ready to be filled.
Caleb and his buddy Micah had fun waiting for the egg hunt. Bethany women had over 1,000 plastic eggs and many dozens of the hard-boiled variety hidden across the churchyard. This was one of the fastest egg hunts ever, since Chicago was a balmy 33 degrees yesterday!



The Campus Ministry pancake breakfast at Augustana got off to a rough start, when a donated electric griddle kept messing up the circuits in the church. Here are some campus ministry folk with Robert, making pancakes in the hallway of the church (which was on a different fuse!)

Pancake breakfast at Augustana. Robert says they had $520 in the pot at the end. Not bad, since we spent just $120 for all the food! You've got to love Moo and Oink for cheap eats.

Then it was off to Bethany for more Easter breakfast. Bethany never does anything in an understated way. I was skeptical about the $7 cost for this breakfast, until I saw it. Pancakes and sausages were accompanied by biscuits and gravy, packs of sugary cereal, fresh strawberries and cream, egg casserole, and much more...Wow! This put Augustana's breakfast to shame. BUT...I haven't heard if this one actually makes any money.

Following the breakfast was the Easter pageant. The kids did so well! Everyone was dressed to the nines, and all the girls had new braids. The boy in the red suit is another Caleb!

I hope you all had a blessed Easter! We might have complained about the busy schedule this week, but we feel so lucky to have TWO church homes. We certainly have not been short of opportunities to praise God for sending his Son, Jesus, to die for us.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!