Getting Ready for Easter

The count down for Easter started three months prior to the event. I do not know if the children are influenced by our routine attendance at church or if they are so starved for sugar they know this is one of the few free-for-all days allowed. Anyway, most nights before bed I'd get, " how many days to Easter?" It started out as months and half months. By the time we got to weeks, Eva was concerned our house was not properly decorated for the holiday. So the Friday before Spring Break I went to the florist and got, for free Im proud to say, a lovely quince branch that was at the end of its flowering. I decorated it with eggs, put the proper amount of chicks in nooks and on mantles, voila Easter. The children arrived home with their own little baskets that had the grass they grew, eggs painted and hung on the handle.

Some time that next week our yearly package from Esperanza, Diana's mother arrives. In it was Eva's beautiful Easter dress and stuffed animal. Much to Eli's chagrin all he got this year was a t-shirt and shorts. This sent him in to a fit. You know my boy has style and he needs to express himself too! So I told him I'd ordered him some seersucker pants. He lit up and asked if we still had the sailor suit from Quinn. He ran back and got it - I had it laid out to send back to Sydney, as it is only a size 4. Last year when I borrowed it for Uncle Allen's wedding (photo of Eli at the wedding), I had to talk him in to wearing it and as I recall there may have been a bribe included - oh yes, two pieces of wedding cake if he wore it. He struck the bargain that he'd wear it but not the coat or hat. Fine, we had a deal. Well this 5 year old was in love with this suit. He put the entire outfit on and declared his love. Needless to say the suit JUST fit him thanks to the extensions Sydney had sewed on the straps. The pant are a little too short, his fat cute legs stuck out of the bottom and the coat - JUST buttoned. All the same this is one proud little guy. He asked if he could keep it forever. I told him that we'd have to give it back by the time he's 20. He seemed happy with this. Our friend India came over for a playdate and Eli had to run and put on his suit for her. She seemed uninterested but Eli was all smiles. Alas we were ready for Easter.