He is Risen!! After an awesome service this morning at church, we joined some of our Chicago “family” afterwards for brunch and an egg hunt for the little ones. There are seriously so many pictures from the day (that’s what happens when you bring your fancy camera with you) that it’s hard to choose the best ones. Here are some of Charlie in her more “casual” clothes, Matilda Jane, of course…

Our first foray into the land of egg-dyeing was not what I expected. The perfectionist side of me imagined a glittery jewelbox of eggs, like the ones you see on all those boxes of PAAS egg-dyeing kits. Alas, I felt jipped out of the magical glitter because we ran out of it after covering only 5 out of a dozen eggs. The adhesive was gloppy, we didn’t have vinegar to make the colors really pop, and the wind threatened to knock over all of our cardboard egg stands…but you know what? Guess who had the time of her life and would never have noticed any flaws in the system?

Next year, I’ll have my egg-dyeing strategy DOWN!

Yesterday we had the laziest day. Charlie started out her morning with a visit from the Easter Bunny (Ella did too, but you know she’s more interested in eating her feet), and he did not disappoint! Along with some thoughtful contributions from Nana and Aunt Janet, E. Bunny filled Charlie’s basket with loads of goodies…including her first “Peep”!

This morning was SO beautiful we hit the ground running. We met Charlie’s pal Lindsay and her Mommy, Ms. Megan at the Lincoln Park Zoo for a little animal-watching. Good thing we got there early because at about noon you couldn’t hear yourself think there were so many screaming kids. Maneuvering the double BOB was a challenge in and of itself; add onto that trying to feed Ella a bottle while standing and waiting for a table at lunch (holding it up with my chin, mind you) and corralling a very cranky 2 year old.

Charlie loved the penguins (of course) and the lions were out in full force. She was not a fan of the Merry-Go-Round, as you can see from the picture below. Ms. Megan was so sweet to hold her when she got scared.

All in all, a fantastic way to spend the morning. Charlie’s outfit comes courtesy of Etsy…a gem from last summer that she can just now wear!

Today is a jewelbox of a day.

I’ve been logging time with the double jogger as much as I possibly can. Something about my ipod blasting Beyonce and the wind in my face as I hoof it has truly been life-giving for me. And the side effect to all this walking/pushing two babies around (not too mention two sessions with Tamme a week)?? It just so happens that I’m wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans as.we.speak. Hallelujah!!

Speaking of Hallelujah’s, as a Christ-Follower, Easter is about as important a day as you can get. On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified on the cross…but on Easter Sunday He rose again and we are so thankful that He did!! All of this life-giving fresh air has me thinking about the struggles some of our close friends are going through, and it’s even more reason to be grateful for God’s faithfulness.

I feel like I’m emerging from many months of darkness, both literally and figuratively. With the help of a little drug called Wellbutrin, my darling and most patient husband, and of course the persistent hand of the Lord I feel renewed. I still have a long way to go…but I’m getting there, one stroller ride at a time.