We had a great Easter Sunday celebrating with family and friends. As you already know, Kinsie gets really into holidays these days, so of course she was all about Easter eggs and bunnies. While all of that is good and fun, since Kinsie is able to understand so much more now, I tried really hard this year to help her learn why we really celebrate Easter. I tried explaining how Jesus died for us, then came back to life…but it is hard to explain that to a toddler when they don’t really know what death is yet. So instead, we just focused on the idea that we celebrate Easter because Jesus loves us, because she understands that concept, and loves the song, “Jesus Loves Me.” I really feel that society gets way too wrapped up in the “eggs and bunnies” part of the holiday, that they forget (or may not even really know) the true significance of Easter, and I want Kinsie to understand that significance at an early age so she always knows it as she grows up.
When Kinsie woke up in the morning, she was pumped to see what the Easter Bunny got her. She got an Easter basket with a personalized dinosaur placemat, Olaf tattoos, a magnetic building set, a new set of stamps, and Ninja Turtle bath toys. As you can see in the picture below, she was pretty excited, and even had to take her new bath toys to church with her.
After an awesome sermon at church, we went to my parents’ house for Easter lunch and an egg hunt. Ryan’s parents and brother were out of town for Spring Break, so unfortunately they didn’t get to join in on the festivities, but we still got to be with Ryan’s sister Megan and her husband Tim, Aunt Renata and her family, and Ryan’s grandparents. We also spent the morning with my parents, my sister’s family and some family friends. After lunch, the kids had an egg hunt. This was definitely one of the highlights of the day!
After the egg hunt, we went to Ryan’s aunt’s house for some family festivities with his mom’s side of the family. Like I mentioned in my last post, Kinsie has pretty much given up naps, but she’ll fall asleep easily if she rides in the car late in the afternoon. She fell asleep on the way with her Easter basket clutched tightly! Even once Ryan got her out of the car, she was still passed out! Once we got up to the house and she heard all her aunts and cousins, she woke up refreshed and joined the fun.
Kinsie loved getting to play with more of her cousins and have another egg hunt. Ryan’s cousin even dressed as the Easter bunny (even though it was probably the creepiest Easter bunny you could imagine.) Some of the kids were terrified! Kinsie was definitely skeptical, and she would only go see the bunny if I went with her. We had a great time catching up with Ryan’s extended family.
We really had a great day, and the weather was beautiful throughout most of the day. Kinsie loved getting to find eggs with all her cousins and friends. Throughout the day, I would even ask her why we celebrate Easter and she would say “Because Jesus loves us!” So even with all the hoopla, I still accomplished my goal this Easter! While Easter is the main day we celebrate the incredible act of love that Jesus did for us, really this is something we should celebrate every single day. Whenever I sit and really reflect on the crucifixion and the resurrection, my mind is completely blown. I know that I need to do a better job each and every day of reminding myself of the love that Jesus has for us, and the hope that the cross has given us. If you want to see an awesome Good Friday and Easter sermon, I would highly recommend the sermons from my church home, Traders Point Christian Church. The links of the sermons are below in case you are interested…
Happy Easter from the Matthews’ family!
More Matthews 
I’m so glad you all had such a wonderful Easter. You are such an awesome family. We love and miss seeing you. I feel blessed just to be a part of this family.
Uncle Pat