Easter Sunday

This past Sunday, Easter Sunday to be exact, Husband and I finally made it back to church. 

But not just any church.

We fought through our sleepiness and made it to the sunrise Easter service at Mount Rushmore.

We were very thankful that it wasn’t unbearably cold. We bundled up in our thick coats and wrapped up in a blanket and enjoyed.

We have been watching our old church online each Sunday, and we are in the process of reading through the entire bible this year, but I understand completely the need to assemble and worship together.

There is just something that happens in your soul when you are singing along with fellow worshippers, and listening to God’s words in a sermon, that almost always speaks directly to you in an uncanny way.

We were SOOOO glad we got up and went.

Afterwards we drove directly to the Holiday Inn downtown to stuff ourselves silly at their famous Easter brunch buffet.

And stuff ourselves we did. 

We ate salmon, prime rib, salad, eggs, bacon, pasta, potatoes, biscuits and gravy, and enough dessert to feed an army.

And when we had finally had our fill, we went home and took a glorious three hour nap. Seriously, we zonked out. We both woke up with numb limbs. Best nap I’ve had in years!

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking the dogs, doing a small bit of grocery shopping, and finally, around 7:30 we started on the Easter meal we had planned. 

The day before we splurged and brought home a knock off egg grill/smoker. 

We’re considering it the better colored, more affordable cousin 🙂

It took us a little bit to figure out the correct charcoal ratio, then we made grilled lebanese flatbread (made fresh by Husband) to go with moroccan hummus (also made by hummus) to snack on as an appetizer. Our main course consisted of grilled bison, white cheddar and gruyere macaroni and cheese, and grilled cabbage. 

And of course there had to be dessert (remember who I’m married to!) so we made a lemon cream pie.

We weren’t too happy to be eating so late, but it was delicious so it made up for the pre-bedtime dinner. 

Normally on Easter I go to my Granny’s church, then the entire family gathers at my parents’ house to eat a big dinner and celebrate Easter, and my mom and dad’s birthdays (they were born just less than a month apart). It’s always one of my favorite, if not my number one favorite holiday. The sun is usually shining, the warm weather is starting to sneak in, flowers are starting to bloom, and the promise of Spring is in the air. My family is together, there isn’t the rush that comes with holidays like Christmas, and it’s common for us to spend the entire (I’m talking until dark) afternoon outside, talking, playing yard games, and just enjoying each other’s company.

We had a good Easter, and I know my family changed up their plans a little this year due to one set of Grandparent’s not being back from their winter stint in Florida, but I still missed the green of my parents’ yard, the smoked chicken legs my Dad always seems to cook in the Spring, my mom’s blooming daffodil’s, the laughter of my family cracking jokes at each other, the smell of spring in the mountains, and the feeling of home. Easter was most definitely the hardest holiday to be away from home.