Monday, April 13, 2020

Grandma & Me: How We Celebrated Easter During The Apocalypse

Edited 4/16/20 to mention to those who may not have seen my previous pandemic post.  My children and grandchildren moved in with us the day before the first lockdown began.  That is how they were able to celebrate Easter with us.

Happy Belated Easter everyone!  I meant to have this post up last night and then guess what?  We got a winter storm and our power went out which fried our Internet modem.  We couldn't get a service man over until Monday morning!  I tell you, we were definitely living in the apocalypse between being shut in and unable to go to church, then getting about 10 inches of snow dumped on us when it was 57 degrees just the day before.  But when the Internet went out, that was the straw that broke the camels back.  Momma was not happy!  I was overcome with worry over how the kids would be able to work Monday morning without the Internet.  Thankfully our Internet provider sent out a repairman immediately so they didn't miss too much work.


My husband and I have been working feverishly in the garden the past month.  We are converting one of our flower beds into a vegetable garden in preparation for the apocalypse.  It has been so much work moving the flowers to other gardens.  The yard was looking so beautiful.  The crocus already bloomed, and all the daffodils were started to bud and some even bloomed.  I cut as many as could before the snow fell and brought them indoors.  I hope the rest survive.


The yard did look like a winter wonderland, but no one wants a blizzard this time of year.  Alethea is dying to get outside and play in it.  We had a slew of Easter activities yesterday so she didn't have time.  Hopefully today when dad is done working, she can go sledding.  

The thing that makes me real sad is this was the week we were suppose to be on vacation.  We were suppose to go to Wheaton, Illinois for Easter and then to Tennessee and Kentucky afterwards.  If we were able to go on vacation, we would have enjoyed 60 - 70 degree temperatures instead of this snow and cold.


In spite of the apocalypse and the bad weather, we were determined to have a great Easter no matter what.  I heard so many people say that they were sad that Christians couldn't celebrate Easter this year.  But that isn't true!  No, we couldn't celebrate in our churches with other believers, but we all still celebrated our risen Savior no matter what!  

We still rose early Sunday morning and put on our very best Easter clothes for church, even if it meant we would only be sitting in our own living room watching the services live stream.  I wore my new Easter dress from TJMaxx, and the grandkids wore new Easter outfits that my daughter's sweet neighbor purchased for them.


Our Lord has still Risen and no corovirus or winter storm will stop that fact!
Alethea loved singing "Christ The Lord Is Risen Today" during our church service.  I picked up this beautiful sign decor from Hobby Lobby last year.


And how cute is this little guy?  He gets handsomer every day!  


Alethea really enjoyed coloring Easter eggs early Sunday morning.


She also loved wearing her new Easter dress.  In fact, she is still wearing it!  She won't take it off!
She's definitely a girly girl just like her Momma and Grandma.

 

The kids loved the daffodils I brought in from the garden.  Of course Atticus just wanted to grab them and put them in his mouth, and we couldn't have that.



Atticus' peachy pants looks so cute with the coordinating plaid button down and suspenders.



Alethea's dress came with a matching pink coat.  It is so beautiful.  I don't know what I loved better, the dress or the coat.



We took some time to take other family photos before the church service.  Here is the little nuclear family:  my daughter Ashley, her husband Jason, and the grand babies.




What a smile, eh?




After the egg coloring and family photo shoot was complete, we all settled down on the sofa and watched Ashley and Jason's church in Wheaton on-line.  The music was so beautiful!





Hubby was the only one who didn't dress up this day.  He was up early working outside so he had his work clothes on.  He came in for the service and Easter dinner.


After the service we had a small lunch and Alethea went down for a nap.  While she was napping I put her Easter basket together.  I wanted to hide the basket in the house so she could look for it when she woke up but her mom told me she has difficulty finding things, and in a large home like ours, she'd really have problems.  So I laid these flower cut outs on the floor and all she had to do was following the path of flowers to her basket!




 

Alethea's Easter basket this year was small because I couldn't get to the store to shop.  So her basket consisted of just a chocolate bunny, some yogurt pretzels, and Reeses' Eggs, but she was tickled pink with it nevertheless.  It takes so little to make small children happy.



For Atticus, the only item in his basket was a stuffed toy.  But here is the exciting news:  he was so excited about it, he actually took his first crawling movements to get to it!  We were so excited to watch him crawl for the first time!


He was absolutely thrilled with his little stuffed elephant!


Later that evening, I set the table in a "Kid Friendly" Easter theme.  I used the daffodils from my garden and the "He Is Risen" sign for my centerpiece.  The daffodils looked so pretty in a blue Ball canning jar.  I scattered the paper flowers from the Easter egg basket hunt all over the table, and used blue dinnerware in celebration of spring.

We had a traditional Easter dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, corn, and cranberry relish.  I went off my Keto diet for two days. I've been on Keto since last fall.   It's good to "carb cycle" once in awhile so your body doesn't plateau at a certain weight.  I will resume my regular Keto diet tomorrow.
 

Well, I had to have some fun with this crazy weather so I decided to run out quick and do some fashion photos!  When I wrote about my new Easter dress in THIS POST  I mentioned that it might be too cold to wear it on Easter and I was RIGHT!  It's actually ridiculous even spending money on a new Easter dress when you live in Wisconsin because it's usually too cold on Easter Sunday to wear a frilly dress.

However, in light of the snow, and this horrible lock down were all under, I still just wanted to celebrate and have fun, so I ran outside in the snow and celebrated Easter no matter what!  Just like The Who's in Whoville from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, I was going to celebrate the Easter Holiday!  I was not going to let the weather or the coronavirus keep me from singing "Christ The Lord Is Risen Today!"


My husband would not let me walk out in the snow with my open toed nude sandals, so I threw on a pair of white booties instead.  It was a good idea, or my little toesies would have been covered in snow.


I just love this dress and can't wait till I am free again and I can wear it out on a warm day.  The halter style is so flattering.  I love that it comes with a pink belt to accentuate my waistline.  And I also love the longer length of this dress.


These nude Nine West shoes (old) I wore inside the house.  I had stockings on because it was too cold to go bare legged.


For accessories, I wore pink earrings, a rose gold bracelet, and I carried a vintage white straw bag.


I hope you all had a wonderful Easter in spite of the circumstances.  My daughter and I were so pleasantly surprised when we went on Facebook and saw that so many people still got dressed up on Easter Sunday and watched services in their living room.  They also did many of the traditional activities such as dying eggs and making a nice ham dinner.


Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

57 comments:

  1. Awww....looks like a fun day! I love the pretty dress on you. Hope you had an amazing day!!
    https://justlivejoy.com

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  2. Amy, you have such a beautiful family! Those grand babies are the cutest little people, aren’t they?! And your snowy photos, while the snow may have been unwelcome, do make for for gorgeous pictures. I am loving your floral dress, too. And the way that you have overcome the current situation and had a meaningful and special Easter with your family! Thanks for sharing your light and love with us.

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    1. Thanks so much. Yes, I love my "little people". The snow was beautiful, but so awful. We had plans for a beautiful photo shoot in the yard, and then it was too cold to go outside so we had to change plans to shoot in the house. But the blizzard made my house so dark inside, we really struggled getting decent pictures indoors even with extra lighting. Ah, spring in Wisconsin!

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    2. Spring in northern NY looks very much the same! It is snowing like crazy here right now! And all I really want in life at this moment is some fresh spring air to breathe! Thanks for linking up with me!

      Shelbee
      www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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  3. I can't get over that snow! Thankfully it was just a bit chilly and we've had some rain but no snow. We had a nice and relaxing Easter (Well, I did anyway, my husband spent a 1/2 day at work).

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    1. I know, it was awful! It's about half melted already but it's suppose to be cold all week. Next week looks better though. That's sad your husband had to work on Easter Sunday, but at least he still has a job unlike a lot of other people.

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  4. The snow is beautiful but wow, that is some late snow!
    We had tornado warnings and storms through Sunday night so that was interesting!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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    1. Yes! And it was a lot of snow too...10 inches! Ridiculous and always depressing when it arrives so late and covers all the flowers. I heard about the storms and 30 people dying. That's terrible.

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  5. Look at you- braving that snowstorm for an Easter shoot! I loved your dress and so nice you got to celebrate with family!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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    1. Well, all you can do is laugh at times like this or you will cry. Thanks so much.

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  6. I'm so impressed that you went out in the snow in that dress Amy. I would have hunkered inside for sure!!
    How wonderful you were able to spend time with the family. It's what really matters, right?
    XOOX
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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    1. I only ran out for less than 5 minutes for sure! Yes, I was so happy my kids and grandkids (minus 1) were with me on Easter. I would have been so miserable if they weren't.

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  7. I hope all of your snow is gone by now! It still seems like you had fun with your family on Easter and that is what is truly important!

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    1. Well, a lot melted but it's still cold so we still have some snow. Yes, it was great to be with family on Easter.

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  8. *_* Oh wow, it's still snowing. I always wonder what it feels like to live in snow. I'm thinking about drinking hot chocolate in the morning with marshmallow, warm clothes, watching movies under blanket... but a friend who lives in the snow said its not always nice.. not when you open the door and ready to go school or work then BAM... snow is blocking your way, haha.

    What a beautiful family you have! Happy Easter for you and your family. Stay safe and healthy!

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    1. It was actually in the 50's for weeks and the flowers were blooming and the trees budding, and then we got a blizzard. Very typical for Wisconsin. Thanks so much! You stay safe and healthy too!

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  9. Looks like you had a wonderful day, your dress is super pretty!


    xoxo
    Lovely
    www.mynameislovely.com

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  10. Wow! You really got a lot of snow. We woke up to a dusting of here this morning. It sounds like you had a wonderful Easter! Your grand kids are precious! Love your pretty dress! Stay healthy and safe!

    Jill - Doused in Pink

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    1. Yes, we did! It was awful, but we had a good Easter in spite of everything. Thanks so much.

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  11. It seems strange having snow for Easter but it makes a beautiful background.

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    1. It's strange, but sadly it is also typical of Wisconsin springs.

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  12. Aw! This all looks so fun and exciting. Those snowy landscape photos are gorgeous.

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  13. What a lovely post! I concur completely, we celebrate our risen Savior no matter what! You're very blessed that you could celebrate together with your family and darling grandchildren!

    Oh my!! You sure are brave to step outside for a photoshoot in a sundress! It's beautiful and I'm glad you listened to your husband to wear your booties!

    Blessings of health!
    ❤️carmen

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    1. Thank you! Yes, having them move in with us before the first lockdown began was the best idea. I don't know how I would have survived this long without them.

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  14. Hi Amy - lovely to see you with your family - and a heartbreaking reminder that we're not allowed to travel to see ours. I haven't touched my children or grandchildren for six weeks and it's a very difficult time (despite the video calls). I'm quite envious of you.
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 😊

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    1. Thank you. I'm so sorry you haven't been able to see your grandkids for so long. I can't imagine how difficult that is. Our children moved in with us before the first lockdown began, that is how we were able to spend Easter with them. I suppose I should edit my story if not everyone reads every single post of mine.

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  15. Oh gosh, look at that snow. Precious grandbabies! Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 11, open April 1 to 26. All entries shared on social media if share buttons installed. I’d like to invite you to check out my other current link parties too!

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    1. Yes, it was a lot of snow! Still here, but grass on the hill is showing. Thanks so much Dee!

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  16. Beautiful pictures.. can't believe you had snow.

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  17. How crazy you had so much snow! good weather for being isolated at home though I guess! it's nice you were able to all isolate together so you could spend Easter together too - we had to just video call the family to say happy Easter instead of all having the big meal together like we usually do, but I did still dress up and so did the boys :)

    Hope that you are having a good week :)

    Away From Blue

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    1. Yes, the snow was crazy. Today it will be 60 degrees so hopefully the last of it will melt away. Yes, I was happy to have family over for Easter.

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  18. Your joy is contagious! Thank you for the good post and opportunity to catch up with you and your family. As you know, I LOVE the snow, and your photos are just perfection but snow in April is a bit hard to take. In true fashion, though, you didn't let it 'rain' on your parade. I bought an Easter dress thinking I would get dressed up, the kids would come over and we could 'Easter' together. But our restrictions have become tighter and we weren't allowed to get together. I didn't put on my dress and the ham stayed in the freezer. Thankful that you have the room in your home and your heart for this little family to move in for a bit. The babies are adorable...growing so! Glad the hubs convinced you to save your sandals for sunnier days. Love your dress, the pretty tablescape, the children's baskets and your joyfilled heart!

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    1. Yes, I had a happy, joyous Easter despite the circumstances. Then this Thursday I had my first meltdown when our corrupt governor extended the quarantine till May 26th for no reason at all. Like I said in previous posts, I'm a roller coaster of emotions since this whole thing began. Thanks so much.

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  19. You're so cute! And nice dress dear!
    Have a great day! xx

    La ilusión de Nina - http://lailusiondenina.blogspot.com/

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  20. The dress looks beautiful on you and it looks like you had a wonderful Easter despite the snow and the current situation. I bet you missed not having your son there!
    Loving how these pictures turned out! We got several inches of snow today, not unheard of, but this is more than I remember ever getting at this time in April!
    Hope you're all continuing to do well!

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    1. Thanks Ellie! I saw Illinois got snow. You guys just got it a little laster than us. You had a beautiful Easter though temperature wise.

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  21. Super fun reading about your Easter, Amy... and how nice that your daughter and her fam are staying with you all during this time. My kids and I decided that it would be easiest for us to not do that... and it's worked out fine. I stop by their house about once a week with gifts for the kids and talk to them out in the driveway... me in the car and them standing more than 6 feet away. I will get to take care of grandson that lives a little over an hour away when his mama goes into labor this month. That will be nice! Your dress is lovely, and glad to had cut the daffodils before the snow hit!

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    1. Thanks Julie. That's great that you can still see them in person even though it's sad you miss the hugs/kisses. But soon, you will get to snuggle with that grandson!

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  22. It was a winter wonderland at your house. Great family photos and special spring Easter dress.

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  23. This was very hard Time for all of us to celebrate Ester. But i see you are happy no matter what and thats great <3 your children are very Lovely. Be safe! :*

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    1. Yes, it was a hard Easter for everyone. I'm sorry it was so hard for you. Thanks so much.

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  24. Loving everything about this!

    xoxo
    Lovely

    http://mynameislovely.com

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  25. Thank you! I only ran out for 5 minutes.

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  26. Thanks Marilyn. You stay safe and healthy too.

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  27. hi Amy
    I love that you took pictures in the snow! Your peachy pink dress is very pretty , just perfect for Easter. Love the pics of your grandkids in their Sunday best!
    thanks for linking!
    jess xx
    www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

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  28. Such a lot of snow! I love your dress, so pretty. Gorgeous family photos. Thanks for linking up!

    Emma xxx
    www.style-splash.com

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