easter sunday

 

1// gathering around the table with full bellies and wet feet after our easter egg hunt. gramma and grandpa had gone out earlier in the morning to hide the eggs while i was still getting ready. some were hard boiled, others filled with candy and coins, or a paper declaring a prize won. when everyone got back inside, they sorted their loot. and stuffed their faces with chocolate.

 

2// little miss ella, flipping through a book on the floor in the hospital room where her baby sister, lillyan, had been born the day before. her cheeks are far too pinchable.

 

3// forever wearing my hair like a ballerina and posing in some wonderful window light (in my second outfit change of the day.)

 

4// my easter egg hunt treasures. my hands were stained with a rainbow of egg dye for days.

 

5// i may have eaten my weight in cadbury caramel eggs, which may have lead to a temporary food coma.

 

6// outfit one of the day. i couldn't seem to make up my mind. i just love, love the print of this pullover that my oma handed down to me. it makes me feel wild and classy all at once.

 

7// grandpa and his new grandbaby, lillyan.

 

8// my good-morning coffee in gramma's favorite mug.

 

9// i have far too many photos of this plant, but i cannot help it. we're friends.

 

10// gramma said that my dad's father use to make these intricate little eggs for easter. he'd blow the yolks out of them and then create little animals using cotton and yarn. this little buddy of mine, i named louie. he has a fluffy tail and ear hair made of cotton. say, "hello."

 

11// there was more ham than you can imagine-- and deviled eggs, and cheesy potatoes, and taquitos from longhorn steakhouse that my dad brought, and baked beans, and homemade bread that my grandpa makes for every holiday. i could probably eat a whole loaf by myself, happily if someone would let me do so. for dessert, there was lemon meringue pie and a wonderful pineapple angel food cake that grandma had found the recipe for in a magazine column a couple of months back. after our tummies were beyond full, everyone seemed to doze off. i think gramma snuck sedatives into the ham.

 

this boy was out like a light. he may be turning the big 1-6 this month, but he will always be my baby brother. the boy who slept in a mickey mouse room for years (and now is terrified of the poor mouse), would let me snuggle with him when we slept, the boy i gave my favorite stuffed puppy to when he was born and use to sing with in the back seat, the one who still holds my hand in public, who use to cry when i wouldn't let him play barbies with me, and has been my best friend since i was five years old.

 

my parents have been separated since i was two and a half years old, so for as long as i can remember, i use to go back and fourth between my dad's and mom's house. each time i would leave my dad's, chase would beg me not to go. he was so little and couldn't understand why i had to leave-- not that i truly understood it at the time, either. i cannot pinpoint how old we were at the time, but i remember i had this brand new bunny that i had made at build-a-bear. she had pink and white tennis shoes and a pink skirt, and for the longest time, i called her my best friend. i'd tell her all of my stories and secrets, and cry to her when i was sad. one day, when i got back from my mom's, chase had told me to go look in my bunny's pocket. i made my way to my room and found her sitting on my bed, just as i had left her. i reached in the little pocket of her skirt, and tucked in it was a dollar bill and a hand written note left by the sweetest little boy. it read, "i love you. frum chase." i have the note to this day and in my eyes and in my heart-- almost sixteen and all, he will always be the little boy who left the note that touched my heart.

 

12// whether real or fake, flowers always make me happy.

 

13// sweet baby ella naps.

 

14// finders keepers and dye stained fingers.

 

15// more window light photos. i cannot help it.

 

16// relaxing at the end of each day looks like this. and this, right here, is home.

 

 

i hope your bellies were filled with delicious yummies, wonderful family, so much love, and that within the hustle + bustle of your easter sunday, you remember what it is all truly about.

 

he is risen and he is good.