Women Living Well Blog

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Did Not Go As Planned - Some Pictures

You might find it ironic after my Saturday blog post about Easter Stress that I had a terribly stressful Easter morning! I had thought through every step Saturday night. I felt very prepared. I laid out everyone's clothes, packed our bags for the Grandparents house, had my side dish cooked and ready to go, had my cameras charged, Easter baskets hidden and breakfast plates and cups out and ready to go. I had a list of what needed to be loaded into the car in the morning, including kid's bikes, my laptop and many other miscellaneous things.

I set my alarm for 6am and fell fast asleep.

At 7:40am, I woke..."what day is it? It's EASTER? What time is it? IT'S 7:40 AM????????????? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" My alarm was set for 6am! "We have to leave in one hour for church!!!" (We were committed to working in the nursery so we could not be late!)

Needless to say, it was a very rushed hour of video taping the children finding their baskets, getting them breakfast, myself showered and my hair dried quickly enough to be curled - AGH! We made it but the sweet morning time of savoring my Savior Risen and the memory of children waking to baskets and chocolate was completely lost in the moment.

Once we got to church - all went well - the babies were fabulous in the nursery, the service was hope filled and the lunch and dinner at my parent's house was great!

So here's our pictures:

It's a tradition for us to always have matching outfits!

It's a tradition to have Dad carving the Ham and all the girls yapping in the kitchen!

All the cousins getting their baskets from Grandma and Grandpa!

Funny!

Sisters - even they match! It's in our blood!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for a new giveaway!!!

How was your Easter?

Walk with the King!

25 Comments:

Ingrid said...: Cute and ironic :) Despite being rushed you looked fabulous! As moms I think we learn to throw ourselves together FAST, if needed :); April 24, 2011 at 10:26 PM
Unknown said...: Sorry, Courtney, but I did have to laugh; not at you, but with you. The best laid plans and all. :) Beautiful pictures! Glad you had a blessed day.; April 24, 2011 at 10:26 PM
My Captivating Life said...: That's always when it happens! When you think you are the most prepared. :) I love the care bear Easter basket! I got one for one of my girls a few years ago but we get a new basket every year. I couldn't get rid of this one though so it holds their hair bows in the bathroom now. I got so busy that I didn't even get a photo of my whole family together so you are doing better than me!; April 24, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Anonymous said...: You all look beautiful! We had similar morning...Our cute matching outfits didn't work out (all pre planned)...So our peacful, worshipful morning turned into outfit cram and jam...then we forgot to take pics ...just as well....cause none of us matched...as I was looking around at all the mismatching...not even, it was CLASHING....I thought WHO CARES! I thought about how all week we have been studying Jesus' life, His mission...parrelled to the old testament....and all He suffered...He literally went to hell for us and I am freaking out because we don't match! :-) got it all back into perspective all the "perfect" ideas I had didn't really matter in the shadow of the cross.....It looks like you and your family had a beautiful day! ...I am sooooo thankful for you and your blog! You are so inspiring!...God Bless you...Have a great week!...Thank you for your ministry and your honesty :-) Kellie Barley; April 24, 2011 at 10:34 PM
Courtney (Women Living Well) said...: Lol!!! Thank you for laughing with me everyone! God is keeping me VERY humble - which I obviously need :-) Lest - I think I can do this thing called "managing my home" on my own.

I am so glad to have a Risen Savior who loves me, helps me, and humors me :-)!

Happy Easter!
Courtney; April 24, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Christine said...: James 4:13-15 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
My husband used to say this all the time to the point I was tired of it, but it's so true. We can plan whatever we want, but sometimes things happen. :); April 24, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Toni said...: Honestly, I could never tell from the photos that things went anything but smoothly. You all look absolutely lovely, Courtney. Your son looks just like his Daddy, your daughter is beautiful beyond words (like her momma, whose beauty shines both outside and inside), and the pic of you and your sisters simply made me smile. Precious photos of a most blessed day. Thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Toni; April 24, 2011 at 10:44 PM
Courtney (Women Living Well) said...: Toni - thank you so much for your sweet words - you ALWAYS encourage me!!! This is why I felt I must tell the truth! Because the pictures MIGHT deceive my readers into believing that it was all smooth sailing this morning and I want to be real - it was CHAOS lol!!! But once we left the house it truly was a peaceful day - but man - that morning was grueling lol!!!

Christine - I love that verse selection in James - I just finished leading a James study over on http://www.goodmorninggirls.org but God must want me to really learn this lesson well huh? Thanks for bringing that to mind - it's a perfect fit to this post :-)!

Much Love,
Courtney; April 24, 2011 at 10:48 PM
Jessica Heights said...: Doesn't that always seem to happen when we think we're prepared? :) It was a crazy morning for us also. But I'm glad to hear that the rest of the day went smoothly!; April 24, 2011 at 11:06 PM
Kelly said...: Pretty sure our morning was very similar...except we didn't over sleep! ahh! It seems like no matter how much we prepare the night before and how early we get up, our Sunday mornings are super super rushed. :( I guess it has to do with getting a 15 month old and a 4 month old ready and fed...and I always seem to be the last one to be getting a chance to get dressed. It was 8 minutes til we needed to leave this morning and my hair was wet and I had no makeup on! Oh well, at least we made it to church and had a wonderful, worshipful time!; April 24, 2011 at 11:15 PM
Beth@The Stories of A to Z said...: You all look so cute in your black and white! And it looks like everyone had a memorable day in spite of a little over sleeping!; April 24, 2011 at 11:22 PM
Lynn said...: Hi Courtney!
I was remembering your post this morning! The Sunrise Service was so crowded that I had to climb all the stairs to the top of our outdoor amphitheater. I nearly tripped on a stair, and then had a hot flash from climbing all the stairs, that I was the only person not wearing a jacket at 6:30 in the morning. Then to top that off, a complete stranger sitting next to me said that he was terribly allergic to my perfume and would have to move! By then I was telling myself "this is what Courtney was talking about!" Thanks for your wise words. They were helpful!; April 25, 2011 at 12:14 AM
Jess said...: Isn't that how it always goes?! Our Easter was amazing! Our first born was baptized! Thank you Jesus!; April 25, 2011 at 12:15 AM
Tiffany said...: I took your advice yesterday and had everything laid out, but we still barely made it to church on time, I'm not sure how many of my kids brushed their teeth this morning, and it poured rain all day! I got a quick pic of the kids between downpours and like you said, as soon as we left the house we had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Thanks for your wonderful blog! I always find inspiration here.; April 25, 2011 at 12:36 AM
Sistergirl said...: Sorry, Its ironic I took your advice and mine Easter went perfect and we made it to church on time.

Don't woory, I am sure everyone had a great time once things got going.; April 25, 2011 at 12:46 AM
Anonymous said...: Lovely pics!

I usually make pancakes on Sunday morning but set hubby to the task of toasting hot cross buns to allow my morning to run smoothly.
We went to church - ate lunch with a church family at their house then afternoon tea/dinner with hubby's family
Love Easter Sunday
xoxo; April 25, 2011 at 4:53 AM
Lecia said...: Can you imagine the choas if you had not planned and prepared as well as you did? That preparation helped you deal with the "real life" that happens all too often.; April 25, 2011 at 5:06 AM
Anonymous said...: Courtney, I think it was great of you to post about the morning not going to plan....shows that even you, who posts a to-do list for a calm Easter morning, can have it all fall apart.
I'm sure it was a day filled with memories which everyone will laugh about later.
Blessings,
Mama Bear; April 25, 2011 at 10:18 AM
Mara @ Super Savings said...: Courtney, we had a similar morning - as did many of my friends! We woke up late, rushed around, unfortunately had some bad attitudes and harshness with the kids, got to church and still felt so chaotic. My three oldest were being baptized and we brought our camera and video camera with us - both batteries died before being able to take any pictures/video of our own children! Oh, the disappointment! I wanted to share with the out of town family who couldn't be there. (Of course the event was more important though than the pictures!)

I ended up thinking how strange it was for the morning to have gone so poorly, and for other friends and family too. I thought about how much the enemy would want to steal and destroy our joy and distract our focus on our Savior that Easter morning! It was then easier to rejoice in the Good News we were there to celebrate!
I agree with the other ladies too - beautiful pictures! =)

Mara; April 25, 2011 at 1:04 PM
Candice Y said...: :-) We had a beautifully unrushed morning... woke up at 5am, got everything ready, got it all loaded in the car, and headed to sunrise service taking place at 730am. One small problem. It was taking place at 7am. So oooooops. We showed up halfway through, enjoyed some music, some fellowship, but was actually thankful that we missed half of it. With a two year old, he wouldn't have made it, and they didn't have nursery services available. So we churched it up as we were able, and went home to fellowship and enjoy our family time <3 He is risen, indeed <3; April 25, 2011 at 1:15 PM
Amanda said...: Laughing b/c we've all been there!

Our Easter morning was actually very calm...because we attended Saturday night church. Ahhh....I had time to prepare for lunch guests, do Easter baskets, get dressed, etc...I think we'll make Sat night Easter service a tradition.; April 25, 2011 at 2:36 PM
Magento Themes said...: I was very happy on the day.. In ester morning we went to church and prayed. It was good day.we were share our feeling to god in a calm day..thanks for this blog to share my feelings with all.. Belated happy Ester to every one!!!; April 26, 2011 at 3:43 AM
Lisa Maria said...: Courtney, the funny things is our days went according to how God planned them and not us! In my country we get the Monday after Easter Sunday as a holiday so its a very hectic weekend and we usually spend Sunday with one family and Monday with another. I was exhausted for the entire time and my first batch of rolls were a flop. I even had a meltdown and cried, but it gave my husband a chance to step in and take over for a while and minister some good old fashioned TLC! I agree with what Mara said about the enemy trying to steal our joy.. I had quite a few of those moments over the last 5 days! Even that, however, God used for His glory and my husband and children showed me much love and support when I felt I couldn't cope. It was great to hear loving words about what truly mattered to them as we celebrated Easter together.

P.S. Despite all the chaos your family looks beautiful and you all look so happy together... that's what's important!

Love & Blessings; April 26, 2011 at 7:29 AM
Adoring Family said...: I love your heart! Thank you for the wonderful videos. You are such a beautiful example of what wives & mothers should be. I hope and pray I am the same for my family. Many blessings to all of you!; April 26, 2011 at 1:09 PM
Mrs. Debbie said...: That sounds like our Easter! We were running late & the kids decided to leave for church a little early since my oldest had to help with the sound for the cantada. (So thankful we have another driver in the house!) I got dressed & fixed my hair & decided to bring my make-up with me & put it on in the car. We got outside & noticed we had a flat tire! I helped hubby air it up in the pouring down rain but the tire wouldn't hold any air. It was coming out just as fast as he was putting it in! So we ran up to my parent's house just up the hill so we could use their garage & put the spair on. I put my make-up on at my parents while hubby was changing the tire. My hair was a total mess! I decided just to put it up in a ponytail since there was no way I could redo my sloppy wet mess! Hubby dropped me off at church & went to get the tire fixed. Needless to say, we both missed Sunday School & the service because we volunteered for the nursery since the couple that was supposed to be there was out of town. Through all that we did have a great time at my Grandma's house for Easter lunch!; April 27, 2011 at 7:19 PM

Women Living Well Blog

: Name: Courtney (Women Living Well); Location: Ohio, United States

I am a stay-at-home home schooling mom of 2, a son (age 8) and a daughter (6). I have been married to Keith, my high school sweet heart, for 13 years. My passion to know God and share him with others led me to the Moody Bible Institute where I graduated with a degree in Evangelism and Discipleship. Last year, I appeared on the Rachael Ray Show as a 1950's Housewife. To learn more about me visit my "About Me" page.

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Women Living Well Blog

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Did Not Go As Planned - Some Pictures

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