Don't Rain on My Easter Parade!!

The Bates Family, though young, has already built some annual holiday traditions. A cool thing about being a part of a young family is building those traditions. Every year they mold themselves a bit more, as Ryan and I figure out together what pieces of our childhood we would like to share with our children. Some of our favorite traditions are Easter traditions. Coloring Easter eggs with Papa Bob, Mimi and Aunt Robin on “Easter Eve”. Elle Belle searching for her Easter Basket hidden in the house, as soon as she gets out of bed. The annual Bates Family Easter egg hunt, done in the backyard with a family of spectators. All followed by brunch at our house.

We had a couple hits to our plans this year. One, Papa Bob and Aunt Robin were not able to attend the Easter festivities. Two, it rained all night and all morning. A year ago, this may have been a panic situation. When would we color eggs? How would we have our annual Bates family Easter Egg hunt? How would we smoke the turkey breast that had been thawing in the refrigerator for 3 days? What about Ella's white patent leather shoes, would they get ruined? Yet, my Mommy panic did not set in. After 3 years of motherhood, I've just begun to learn to let go of a lot of my expectations. I am learning that being with family is the most important of our traditions. I am learning that having everything "perfect" is not truly important. This is a hard lesson to learn. I'm not going to lie, I still love to do things right. But perfect is now becoming a different picture. Perfect is actually easier and surprisingly more joyful. I loved today!! It was perfect on its own!

Ryan smoked the turkey a day early. We colored eggs with the neighbors instead of Papa Bob and Aunt Robin. We postponed the egg hunt until after the rain, and planned a diversion for Ella Grace (thanks to Aunt Kiki) during the egg hiding. As for the shoes, well you'll see!! We enjoyed our family brunch and an afternoon of visiting with our families, together.

We are truly blessed. I thank God everyday for my beautiful family. For the blessings that He has given us.