Happy Easter from the Holley House

Here at the Holley House, we decided to keep Easter pretty low-key. We've talked about how we want to celebrate holidays, and this is probably going to be our holiday mantra throughout our lives. Much as we enjoy holidays, we want to enjoy them for the right reasons, and in the right way. I would reference this article in the Huffington Post, which resonated strongly with me. I'm also hoping to avoid the sight of our children running around in sugar-induced frenzies before dropping into a similarly induced sugar coma.

So, low-key. Today, that involved going to a movie with my parents and brother. Side note: my family loves going to movies on holidays. It started a number of years ago when we went to the movies one Thanksgiving, and developed into Thanksgiving and Christmas movie outings each year. This is something to which my husband strenuously objected while we were engaged, so we didn't go this past year. It seemed fitting that we would end up going today (acceptable, I suppose, since it's not Easter until tomorrow).

This evening we're dying eggs, which I haven't done for years. I'm really excited. That is, of course, if my husband wakes from a food coma, induced not by sugar, but by Chubby's:

The Chubby Challenge: one pound of fries, plus this massive sandwich, composed of three grilled cheese sandwiches, and three 1/3lb patties, plus toppings. All of which must be consumed in 15 minutes or less.

Did James do it? Yes, yes he did.

Tomorrow, I will playing in my capacity of ward choir pianist for the Easter program. A tender mercy this week: the choir is slated to sing two songs. I received the music for these four weeks ago. One of the songs, I picked up with relative ease. The other song has been causing me stress from the moment I first tried to play it. I have been practicing every day for the last month, and I still wasn't feeling anywhere close to competent. But this week, I received a call from our music coordinator, who was shortly able to find another woman in the ward to play this particular song. I was a tiny bit embarrassed--it is my calling, after all--but the relief that I felt was immense. So I will be playing one of the songs, a lovely Easter medley, and then relaxing! We'll be spending the evening with James' family, enjoying what I'm sure will be a marvelous Easter feast.

With all this said and done, I am excited to celebrate Easter for the truest reason of all: the death and resurrection of our Savior. A few days ago, I was trying to find a picture for my Facebook profile that would reflect the celebration I felt in my heart. I found a lot of images of the cross, or the tomb, or the risen Lord. Nothing felt quite right. And then I found this:

I know it's not an image specific to Easter, but for me, it became so. Because Jesus Christ is the light and life of the world. His sacrifice made it possible for me to live a righteous life. His Atonement will make it possible for me to live with my family, my beloved husband, forever. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for this wondrous gift. But this weekend, my thoughts linger on that most Holy One.

I hope that you and yours have a beautiful and joyous Easter.

Addendum (added Monday)
We had a blast dyeing our Easter eggs! We just used one of the little dye kits you get at Walmart, and we used the "magic crayon" to make fun designs.

These are our eggs in their second life:

Happy Easter!