Early Easter Meal

We had our big Easter meal last night, as I knew there was no way to do it on Sunday, with church being so far and the whole 5-6 hour excursion it takes leaving us pretty wiped out.

And okay, I admit, I didn't really have to do an Easter meal - it was kind of more of an excuse to splurge to make cheesy potato casserole, white butter rolls, deviled eggs, ground beef, strawberry walnut salad, and banana pudding and strawberry cheesecake. But it sure was good!

It's also true that being overseas somehow makes me want to celebrate our holidays all the more. I've always been one to like to have tradition for special days, and the urge is greater here, though the ingredients may be harder to find (and more expensive!).

It was my first time to make the whole Easter meal, and though it took 5 hours of cooking (all afternoon on Friday!), it was a great success. Two of Ryan's co-workers joined us, to share the feast.

Ryan came home a little early to take care of Hadassah for the last 30 minutes, which helped a ton. She was a good little helper, splashing as I washed dishes, playing with playdough as I cut up potatoes, and so on, but, as always seems to happen on the days when we have company over, she was much more emotional and less content for most of the day, making some things a challenge. But we made it through and our taste buds were happy with the efforts. :)

Tomorrow we'll go to church, and friends are coming with us, which we are excited about! We told them Easter was the biggest celebration for Christianity, and even in America, that's when the most people attend church. Instead of the conference room at the hotel our church meets at, this week they rented the large Crystal Ballroom to accommodate extra guests. We are looking forward to celebrating Jesus' resurrection with the Body, and introducing some things to our friends for the first time!

He is risen! He is risen indeed.