Easter in Nashville

God is good. He has blessed us beyond measure, and that was evidenced again this weekend in our trip to see Brandon and Jill (and of course Joshua and Aby) in Nashville.

We drove down to Nashville after I got off work on Saturday. The original plan was to drive back early Monday morning so I could be back in time for work. However, while I was working on Saturday, I was told I could take off on Monday if I wanted to. How perfectly that worked out! That enabled us to stay until early Tuesday morning instead.

Ryan’s mom was also able to come in for Easter, so it was a big family weekend. When we got in Saturday evening, they were about to start making Resurrection cookies. Jill found this really neat recipe that was a great way to teach Joshua and Aby what Easter is all about. I don’t remember all the instructions, but the kids had to crush some pecans, which represented the was Jesus was beaten. They smelled some vinegar, which represented what Jesus was given to drink while He was on the cross. They tasted some salt, which represented Jesus’ tears. There was more to it, but basically, all these ingredients were blended together. They preheated the oven, turned it off and let the cookies sit in the oven overnight. The next morning, the kids bit into the cookies and found they were hollow, just like Jesus’ tomb. Anyway, it was pretty cute.

Easter morning, we all went to Brandon and Jill’s new church, which, by the way is the same church that our dear friend, Amy Ostrander’s sister, Sally, and her husband just got called to. Small world. It sounds like Jill and Sally have already hit it off. Anyway, we were blessed by the worship and message.

We came home, tasted the Resurrection cookies and then started on preparations for dinner. Jill made a wonderful dinner, and I was able to “help” in the kitchen by showing off my skills with a knife. (Not really. It took me forever just to chop up an onion.)

Brandon and Jill also had some friends come over for dinner, and then all of the kids did an Easter egg hunt. The kids were cute. Sweet Aby liked to open each egg to see what was inside before trying to find the next one.

Ryan and Brandon set up a net in their yard so we could play badminton and volleyball. We didn’t play much volleyball, but we had uncontrollable fits of laughter while attempting to play badminton.

On Monday, we went out to eat for breakfast, and then Ryan and Brandon went home while the girls and Joshua went shopping for a little bit. The day went by fast, but we managed to squeeze in some more badminton, as well as teach Brandon and Jill how to play one of our new favorite games, Rook. They were really good at it. Ryan’s mom had to fly home that night, and it was really sad to say goodbye.

Before the kids went to bed, we all played Hide and Seek, which was really fun.

It was a wonderful weekend, and once again, we were thankful for the blessings of family, and of course, the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

(I'll post some pictures later.)