The Phillips Family: Easter Weekend...

Better late than never! Here was our sweet Easter weekend...

This is the first holiday we have now celebrated twice in Arizona

(since we moved right before Easter last year).

This one was a little busier than last years to say the least! It was fun remembering last year so sweet to see all that God has done in a year.

We moved into this house Palm Sunday weekend so I really had to make a conscious effort to not just let Easter come and go with the kids.

I was determined to talk about it and "write it on their hearts" this year for whatever they could soak in.

All week we watched our Jesus time Easter videos and talked a lot about the cross.

(especially when it came to discipline...felt like it hit home a little more when we talked about how Jesus really did give His life that they might be set free forever)

Then on Good Friday we made our first "Calvary".

The kids loved it and were so serious about it.

I made the dough and then we put it together and acted out the story of Jesus' death.

Making the hole for the cross and the spot for the tomb.

Waiting for it to be ready (it had to bake four hours!)

Jesus carrying the cross up Calvary

After "nailing" him to the cross Travis talked about Jesus' last hours, moments on the cross.

The girls were so sobered by the moment.

This is the Jesus that they love and worship...I think it was a little more real to them this year

that He actually suffered and died.

As crazy and silly and loud as my kids can be...I was so thankful for this holy moment.

And for my husband that seized it so well.

We then put him in the tomb where he stayed all weekend.

And this little mountain was our humble little center piece all weekend.

I kept really wanting to get a lily but felt like this a sweet reminder for all of us.

After our family Good Friday time we loaded up and headed to "A" mountain where we met over half our church for a Good Friday service.

We hiked up in silence and then had a time of reading and remembering Jesus and all that he has done for us...remembering our sin, and remembering the cross.

My very favorite song to sing at Easter is "How Deep the Father's Love for Us"

and we sang it on top of the mountain. The reality of His great mercy on us was overwhelming.

We finished the night with everyone at Fuzzy's...one of our favorite new taco shops,

and of course, Slickables for an ice cream cookie sandwich!

So fun living life with our church!

Saturday was a fun day too.

We knew we wouldn't have a typical Easter Sunday with Easter lunch, etc since our
church meets at night...so we made the most of Saturday!

We had all our staff over for Easter lunch (hamburgers and hot dogs!)
and then went to the park down the street for an Easter egg hunt.

Ready for the hunt!

There's our little competitor
(we kept her far from her sisters so we didn't repeat the
Phillips family incident between Trav and Bret when they were little!)

Proud of their finds!

Where did they all go??

Then Sunday was a glorious celebration of Jesus' resurrection!
The kids woke up to Jesus, arms lifted, on top of Calvary.
Ellie exclaimed when she woke up and saw Him...
"What's Jesus doing up there?!!"

Then that evening we headed to church for our Easter Sunday service!

We had powerful worship, a dance,
an awesome sermon (despite notes that vanished right before he had to speak!)
and baptisms that night.

So powerful when people share their hearts and speak out publicly their love and devotion to Jesus.
It was our first baptisms so it was a milestone for our church!
We love seeing people get baptized! (or "bathtized" as Gracie calls it!).
Here were a few of them...

Shaylyn