EASTER FUN

Hello!  I hope everyone had a VERY HAPPY Easter holiday!

I LOVE the Easter holiday.  Not just because of the amazing message it brings but also because of the amazing colors that surround Easter, the fun Easter candy, and the wonderful Easter dinner.

I think another reason I LOVE Easter so much is because as a little kid we always got a new pair of shoes for Easter and we usually got to pick out the shoes we wanted, within reason.  So no wonder Easter holds a fond memory in my heart.  LOL  Well this year I did not break tradition and did buy a new pair of shoes, actually two, but that is not what made it so great.

Growing up I loved sitting around my mother's large dinning room table with old newspapers draped as a tablecloth to decorate Easter eggs.  I was not the best at decorating but it was always fun to do especially since I knew that in my basket would be an egg with my name on it. Easter Sunday I loved going to church because some of my favorite songs were always sung in church and my mother always made the best Easter dinner, she still does but I am not home to enjoy it like I use to. 

Well this year I decided to try and recreate some of those fun fond Easter memories.

I invited some friends over to decorate Easter eggs on Saturday and it was fun.  A little Hannah Montana and Winnie the Pooh egg dye color kits and we were good to go.  My two dear friends Misty and Shelli came over and were good sports especially after just returning from Italy and being a little jet lagged.  

Sunday was my first attempt at making a Easter Ham dinner.  I had never cooked a ham before and thanks to a phone call to Mom I knew what kind of ham to buy and how to cook it.

My biggest worry was if the ham would turn out and so I bought pork chops as a pack up just in case.  LOL  Needless to say it all turned out well and I will save the pork chops for another day. The ham worked and I got to put the whole cloves and brown sugar on my ham just like mom does (normally that is my job when my mother does her Thanksgiving ham but due to the fact I have not been home for a couple years I have missed doing it.).  That was fun and brought back some good memories.  

So now that the ham was in the oven the next probably I faced was making sure that everything was ready on time so when my guests arrived they did not have to wait to eat. I only have one oven so I was worried the ham would get cold while I cooked the scallop potatoes  because those were going to take on hour.  It was also my first attempt at cooking scallop potatoes from scratch and not a box mix so I was a little worried.  Needless to say everything turned out fine and right as my friends were arriving the rolls were coming out of the oven (in my dream home I am going to have a HUGE kitchen with two or three ovens.  LOL) YEAH!!!

So my first Easter feast was Ham, Candied Carrots, Asparagus, Scallop Potatoes, Rolls, Spring Salad with candied pecans, gorgonzola, and orange cranberries, and a Lady Finger cake.  My friends brought deviled eggs and Apple Cider.  I don't have a picture of everything because my camera is not working but I hope you can take my work for it.  Needless to say the meal was a success, according to my friends.  My roommate and friends, Misty & Shelli, had a good time and that is what made it a GREAT & FABULOUS Easter.  Oh and the cute little Easter gift from my roommate and the e-mail card I got from Ralph Lauren wishing me a Happy Easter (the only e-mail card I got) were extra the icing on my Happy Easter cake.  LOL!

I am SO BLESSED and THANKFUL for SO MANY things in my life.  I am blessed to have such a FABULOUS mother who has taught me so much and gave me such fond memories, like Easter ones, growing up that I want to continue those traditions and bring those memories to life even though I cannot be home it helps to remind me of home.  I am blessed to have such an AMAZING family that I LOVE and ADORE.  I am blessed to have AMAZING friends that are willing to help make holidays away from family feel like home just by being with me and there for me.

Most of all I feel so LUCKY, BLESSED, and THANKFUL to have the gospel in my life.  To know what I know and be able to have that peace and comfort in my life no matter how hard and overwhelming it all gets.  While there are somethings I don't understand in my life it is nice to know that there is a plan and that is what gives me hope and faith everyday.  I am so thankful for that and it is comforting to know that someone has a plan for me (even if I don't know), loves me not matter what, and is watching over me.  Knowing that and having that knowledge in my life makes each day I get live a blessing!