On Saturday, the day before Easter, we took Joel to an egg hunt. We arrived just as the announcer was starting the count down for the kids to run. There were a ton of people so Jeremy had to pick Joel up and try to run past the crowd. The huge crowd seemed to be a overwhelming for Joel but he had the biggest smile on his face when he was showing me all the eggs he found after the hunt.

Saturday night we let Joel dye Easter eggs for the first time ever. I had a mom fail; I forgot to buy vinegar so the only colors that came out were the pink and blue. Thankfully Joel didn't mind too much.. He still thought it was fun!

Joel was a little spoiled this Easter. On top of the goodies he got from the Easter Bunny, he also received stuff in the mail from Grammie (my mom), Great Aunt Cheryl, + Pawpaw & Granny (my dad and stepmom). Grandma (Jer's mom) also had a basket for him and Crystal (Jer's cousin's girlfriend) gave him a bucket full of goodies. He was very excited about each gift, and now he wants to it be Easter every day. He wakes up every morning and asks me if it's Easter still. It's cute.

{Easter morning}

{Egg hunt at Grandma's house}

I'm thankful he has so many people that love him and gave him fun goodies.. but at the end of the day I want him to know the real reason we celebrated Easter. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's not easy to explain it to a 3 year old but I still try. Joel LOVES for us to read books to him so the Easter Bunny put a book called "Let's Celebrate Jesus on Easter" in his basket. I already talk about Jesus every day to him and I always pray out loud (throughout the day and before bedtime) so Joel can hear. Sometimes I pray out loud and don't realize he is actually listening until I'm done praying and I hear a sweet voice say "AMEN!"  :-)

Easter 2013

Easter was fun this year with Joel! He woke up Easter morning and discovered a basket full of goodies from the Bunny. He even found a few eggs in the living room that the Bunny left behind. He thought it was awesome!

Later that day we went to a friend's house for an egg hunt. Each time Joel picked up an egg he would open it up and try to eat the candy. It was cute--and needless to say he ate way too much sugar that day. Haha!

I didn't plan to get Joel's picture taken with the Easter Bunny this year, but the NEX on our base was doing it and you could either use your own camera or pay $5 for them to do it, so we did it anyway. (The mall Bunny is almost $30 for their basic photo package.. Isn't that ridiculous?!) He was thrilled as you can tell.

I have struggled with whether we should do the Bunny and Santa thing for Joel. As a Christian I want my child to know the TRUE meaning of why we celebrate Easter and Christmas. I don't want him to think it's just about candy or how many presents he can get from. How do I balance it--the fun and making sure he knows the true meaning?