Day 4: Easter Sunday – Celebrating the Resurrection of our KING!!!
Early this morning, Dave got up and took the oldest 3 kids to a sunrise Easter Mass – beautiful! I love sunrise services and wish that I could have gone too, but these are the days for us to be practical and keep life easy, so I stayed home with the little ones and got them all ready for the day. We then left for Gloucester, my home town, and went to church at my old church (Lighthouse Worship Center). It is so neat to go back and see old settings and long time friends. I can only imagine what it is like for some of them to see me and my family, many of them knew me when I was a young teen! I guess they feel the same way I do when I see the young adults that I remember being babies! Ouch!
After church, my family all gathered at a local restaurant and shared a nice meal together. We then went to Gloucester Point beach and had a fun Easter egg hunt.
The kids had a great time, it is probably the first year ever that all the kids (except the baby) knew what to do. In years past I have had to take at least one little one aside and do a “pre-hunt” practice.
The pictures aren’t great here, but I wanted to say a quick verbage about my little girl’s dresses. My good friend Sharon made their dress and they are sooo cute. Her website is www.kossieoriginals.com. I normally like to match the girls, but with these dresses I chose (yes, you get to choose the fabrics!) colors and designs that matched my girls personalities. I did make sure that they did not clash and Sharon pampered me by using the same colored ribbon for each girl’s dress.
We haven’t really established a strong Easter basket tradition in our home. I do try to do a little something, but I don’t typically make a big deal out of it. Not for any strong reason really, but we do try to focus more on the Resurrection of Jesus and less on the treats of the day. When I was little, I remember the Easter dress and shoes being so special. I am not sure that we got new dresses every year, but I remember the search and the joy of the new Easter dress. Maybe, maybe…I will start that with my girls – next year!
After the egg hunt, we jumped back in the van and headed back to Richmond for a little play time at Nana’s, followed by an Easter meal with Dave’s family. Delicious! Dave’s mom and dad make a great cooking pair – he does the meat and she does the sides. I remember my grandparents doing the same thing every Sunday for our family meals together.
The kids decided to put on an impromptu play, a court scene depicting an infraction by one poor little cousin. It was fun to watch all the natural characteristics of each child play out – some negotiators, some judgers, some supporting, some facilitating and some bystanding. Because it was impromptu it was neat to see them each drift to the role that suited their personality best. And because it was a “play” they were free to act out characteristics without hurting feelings or getting reprimanded for not being patient or understanding. Picture an active and loud court scene where everyone gets to accuse, cry, defend, or proclaim without parental guidance!
Fortunately, it was Easter Sunday, and the little cousin on trial was set free by the Blood of the Lamb! We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!
Day 2: Jamestown, VA—
Jamestown is a good way to start a home school trip to study American History. We discussed all the sacrifices and risks the settlers had to make to leave Europe and come here. Being Good Friday, we also took a little time to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice for us. 
One other helpful tool we found when traveling with children is the two-way radio (commonly known as a set of walkie-talkies). These are critical, as we are often separated when one adult needs to take one or more children on a potty break, when the car needs to be parked, when one sits in the van with children and the other runs into the store to get emergency supplies, etc. It has also come in very handy in the past when we have needed to fly, and one of us drops the other off at the front of the airport with bags and children and the other parks the car and catches the shuttle back. It is invaluable in helping to find each other in the airport, and similarly when arriving so one of us can stay with children and get bags and the other can work on the rental vehicle/transportation/accomodation details.
