Last Friday for Friday Faves #56, we talked about the top 10 things that we love about Easter.  Today is Good Friday, the day that is almost the culmination to Holy Week. Good Friday is the day Christ died on the cross.  He atoned for our sins because He loves us. He made repentance possible.
     But, we know that as difficult and sad as that part of the story is to read, that dark day is not where the story ends.  Because, on the third day, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, overcame death and rose again.  And, on Easter Sunday, that is what we celebrate! So, for today's Friday Faves # 57, we asked ourselves, and we ask you:

      This is a special post to us and we felt that the best Easter message that we can share is the true one, so this is our Easter wish and Easter gift to you.
​     Between the 4 of us, we came up with a few excellent ways to remember the Savior and his glorious Resurrection. 

• Read the scriptures! In them is the true account of Jesus' life, crucifixion and resurrection. I love the account of Mary going to the tomb and finding it empty, the apostles running to see the empty tomb and being told by an angel, "He is not here: For He is risen!" (Matt. 28:6) Search the index or topical guide and search for scriptures that talk about the resurrection.  Read the words of Paul to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15.  And here is a beautiful story that shows the peace and hope that comes from a knowledge of the Resurrection: 

   I wish I had seen this link on mormon.org sooner.  If you click on this link, you can take part in #BECAUSEofHIM. Each day of his life during Holy Week is explained and there is a beautiful, thought provoking video to watch.  I hope that it will add to the Spirit of your Easter this year! 
     Here at 3 Winks, we are all looking forward to some wonderful Easter traditions.  We hope that you all have a wonderful time with your family and friends this holiday and are able to ponder the impact the Savior has made in your lives! We know that because of Him we have hope and peace. 

     Happy Easter! 

     Easter is such a beautiful holiday.  Spring is beginning, the flowers are beginning to bloom. The holiday is steeped in rich traditions and most of the things that we associate with Easter have symbolic religious meanings.  At our house, we love Easter for so many reasons and we have many traditions that mark this holiday as special to us. So, for today's Friday Faves, we decided to share 10 Things That We Love About Easter! I'll start with #10 and work my way forward! 

10.  Jelly Beans! About the only time of year that we eat these sweet, fruity beauties is during the Easter Season! Of course they are widely available everywhere and now they come in so many flavors and varieties.  I have found that I like them all!! :)
9.  Easter Eggs! This is actually going to be a few ideas in one spot.  Alicia mentioned that she loved coloring the hard boiled eggs.  (I have always loved that, too).  It is so much fun to get creative with the egg coloring.  We always set aside time on the Saturday before Easter Sunday to color the eggs.  
     Early Sunday morning, before church, the kids would all come out and hunt for the eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden around the house.  Yes, they had to hunt for the real ones as well as plastic ones.  Surprisingly, we never had any mishaps! 
     Since I have 6 children, that meant a lot of hard boiled eggs! Of course we ate some at breakfast on Easter morning.  One of my favorite things to do with the eggs was to make them into Deviled Eggs and into Egg Salad Sandwiches.  Hmm, we may need to share those recipes with you before Easter arrives! 
7.   Easter Morning Pastry!  To go along with the hard boiled eggs at breakfast, I always had either homemade or nice purchased pastries for Easter Morning.  Add a glass of juice, and it was a nice, quick breakfast to eat before it was time to head off to church.  Lindsey wants to keep this tradition in her family now.  One of the things that I would sometimes make was this Cherry-Cheese Pastry that I have shared with you before.  (It is a favorite of my DIL). 

7.   Easter Baskets! Maddy made sure that we mention Easter Baskets here.  They are always so much fun to get on Easter Morning.  Our kids had baskets that were their's that they used year after year.  Some of our kids had nice willow baskets and a couple had the colorful Easter type, but they were their own, so they didn't mix up whose was whose.  We always put in a nice mix of treats and little gifts.  Nothing too elaborate.  If you want some inexpensive basket ideas, be sure to check out our Easter Basket Stem Activities post, with a video! 

6.   Chocolate Easter Bunnies!  We used to get our kids those hollow chocolate Easter bunnies.  The chocolate wasn't that great, but they loved to break off the ears and then pour milk inside the bunny! My oldest son started doing this and showed his younger siblings how to do it.  Surprisingly, there weren't many messes from it.  It is just one of those funny things that evolved at our house from the early stages with our kids. 
​     If you have more discerning taste in chocolate, you can get Russel Stover bunnies at Dollar Tree! 

5.   Easter Dresses and Outfits!  When my girls were young, I used to love making them Easter Dresses, just like my mother used to do for me.  I like getting a nice, new Spring Dress as well, but I hate to sew for myself, so if I get one, I always purchase it. It is also always nice to get a new tie or something for the boys as well.  Starting on the 18th of March, Target is going to be having BOGO on their girls and toddler dresses. That is buy one get one for 50% off! So, if you aren't sewing the dresses, there is a great deal! Here are a few that I think are adorable:

4.  Going to Church on Easter Morning! Lindsey mentioned that she loves going to church on Easter Morning because the hymns seem to be sung more fervently and the messages are always beautiful. The same feeling comes to me when Christmas falls on a Sunday.  Easter Services are always beautiful and filled with hope.  In our church this year, there is a world wide conference that will be televised on Easter morning.  It will be wonderful to hear the messages right in our own homes. We can stay in our pjs and wear the Easter dresses the following week! 
3.   The Easter Hymns!  I already mentioned them, but the beautiful music of Easter deserves a place of its own.  Go here to listen to "Christ the Lord is Risen Today".  Go here to listen to "I Know That My Redeemer Lives".  Just a couple of my favorites.
2.   The Messiah! Madalynn reminded me of Handel's Messiah.  What a truly inspired and beautiful work of musical art! My girl's have all had the opportunity to perform in presentations of the Messiah, or at least portions of it.  Have you ever gone to hear it live and to feel that music just wash over you and fill your heart?  Have you ever been able to go to a sing-a-long of the Messiah and be a part of the music?  It is amazing!  Guess what!  There is a great opportunity this year to sing-a-long with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as they perform the Messiah! Go to this link and find out all about it! Event is on March 23rd.  You can even download download a PDF of the musical score! It is so amazing to sing the Hallelujah Chorus with that wonderful choir. I can hardly wait! 

And, at last, the #1 favorite thing that we love about Easter! Let me tell you a true story.  When my daughters and I were discussing what we should make Friday Faves about this week, and I told them I thought we should talk about something to do with Easter, I jokingly asked, "What was your favorite Easter?" Silly, right? Who can pick a favorite Easter from their lives?  But,  Madalynn answered, "The one when Jesus Christ was resurrected." Yes, she was kind of teasing me about even asking that question, yet, I was humbled and very glad that this was the first thing that came into her mind.  He is the reason we celebrate this wonderful holiday.  Because of Him, we have hope for eternity.  We hope that each of you can feel His love and hope in your lives.  While all of the other trappings are a lot of fun and serve as reminders of what Jesus Christ has done for us, I want to make sure that His name comes to my mind every time I hear the word Easter, and that I remember Him everyday!  Thanks Maddy, for that simple reminder.

     You will be hearing more from us on the subject of Easter over the next couple of weeks! We have recipes and ideas to share. We hope that you will let us know some of the things that you love about Easter and how you celebrate at your house. I am going to put links to some of our past Easter posts below. Just click the pictures and they will take you to those posts! 
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     Time for a thoughtful post! 
     Later this month, the daughter of some close family friends is getting married.  Her bridal shower was the other night and I wanted to get her something special. I started looking around my house for things I was given as a wedding gift, 38 years ago, that I still use.  Of course, there are just a few things that have stood the test of time and speaking of time, one of the gifts that I noticed first is this clock that we received as a gift from some of my relatives. 

     Throughout our marriage, this clock has hung on our kitchen wall wherever we have lived.  For 38 years, it has faithfully ticked away the hours, minutes and seconds of our lives.  I can only remember having to change the battery 2 or 3 times over all of the years that we have been married.  (My memory may be failing me, but seriously, changing the battery doesn't happen very often!) 
      As I thought about the fact that this clock has been the one that I have looked at the most when I needed to know if it was time to pick up my children from school, or if it was time to start dinner, or time for my husband to get home from work or time to leave for church. I started to feel a little bit nostalgic about all of those little moments that this clock has been there for.  I began to think about what a precious thing our time is and how often I have wasted it or under appreciated it.  I thought about some of the little memories that are only fleeting little moments, just seconds long, that will always stay in my heart.  Such as the laugh of a baby, a surprise hug or kiss from a child or my husband, a moment of dancing to the music or singing along with it, and so many more little treasures that have happened in this life of our marriage.  When I look at this clock, it represents the precious time with those I love and my recognition of how quickly the time passes.      

      I believe that this life is just a tiny part of my existence.  I believe that our spirits are eternal and that our lives will continue after death.  In our religion, we believe that we can have an eternal marriage and not one that ends at death.  So, while time is such a precious commodity during this part of our lives, eventually, in the eternal realm, time will mean nothing as we experience the joy of being with those that we love, forever, including those that have gone before us.  But, making the time in our lives now count for good is very important to us if we want to reach that celestial place. 

     As I think about our friend's daughter and her fiance, just starting out together like my husband and I did 38 years ago, I feel so happy for them and for all of the moments in time that they will be seeing in their lives as time progresses.  I decided that a clock would be the best gift I could give her for her Bridal Shower. (I think this is the one I got for her! I also love this one or this barnwood one.) I wrote her a note to tell her how I feel about it.  She may think I am just being a little silly and mushy.  You may be thinking that as well.  But, I feel blessed that time has brought me to this place in my life where I feel thankful for the times of my life and excited for others to be able to have their own experiences and I pray that they will use their moments wisely so that one day they can cherish those moments as I do. 
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