When The Fairy Dust Wears Off.......

Dear Momma,

I know you told me there would be days like these....... I just didn't know there'd be so many in a row followed after nights like these...... 

Love,
Rachel

Friday night the egg dying began. The Easter bunny comes on Saturday at our house. Makes it so Sunday we can focus on the resurrection and spiritual aspects of the day.

Egg dying was always magical to me as a child. If I put my egg in for x amount of minutes..... how much darker can I get it?

I'd really wanted to try different ways of dying eggs this year. I'd seen a blog that showed you how to wrap your eggs in old silk ties and it left the dye from the tie on your egg. Pretty cool looking. Natural dyes. I'd wanted to try those this year too but, The SM had been out of town at the beginning of the week and I had sick little ones..... it just wasn't meant to be.

The one tradition I am NOT allowed to let slip is the egg bread. The braided bread that is full of colored Easter eggs. Like a colorful wreath. My adopted son from down the street dyed those eggs for me. How I managed to not get photos of the older Native's dying eggs is beyond me.... Might have something to do with spending hours and hours sewing an Easter skirt for Henny Penny that I didn't finish until late that night anticipating how cute she'd look at church the following day.

With The Native's all snuggled in bed, the Easter bunny was able to come and fill baskets to brimming with little treats and goodies and eggs that had been dyed such vibrant colors by The Native's were hidden through out the house.

The next morning, Saturday, I came downstairs. I saw something suspicious on the carpet. I moaned. Oh nooooo! I found more, and more. Egg shells and remnants of eggs that had been.....

The dogs. They'd not been tied up when the little Native's got up and they had gone to town. I was so mad at them! The three younger Native's had few eggs to find. The dogs had found and eaten most of them.

Knowing full well what would follow, I tied up the dogs not wanting to clean up any messes!

All day they stayed tied. That night, thinking if any eruptions were going to occur, they'd be over with by then, I let the dogs sleep with The Native's as they always do. Especially Levi's dog. It is important that Levi's dog be with him.

Sunday morning. Easter morning. I arose and came downstairs and started the Easter bread. I knew The Native's would love having the warm bread for breakfast. As I started to mix the ingredients, the dogs were let out of bedrooms and brought down stairs to be fed and taken out. They were acting strange. I started to investigate and was horrified at what I found.

Hours it took me to clean up the mess. I tried to keep the spirit of Easter. I was frustrated. The bread didn't get done in time. I tried to control my temper. It was Easter, we'd been building all week up to this point in our family each day making Passover week special. I lost it. I swore. Then I got mad at myself for swearing. I tried to calm down. I continued to clean up the mess. I yelled, I slammed a door, my feelings inside were raging.

I fell to my knees and poured out my heart to my Father. I didn't want that day to be as it had. I'd worked so hard all week building up to a day that I wanted to be a spiritual feast and I had driven the spirit out of our home because of my anger and temper. I wanted those feelings to go away.

Henny Penny was sick. The skirt I'd made.... she couldn't wear....

I went to church worn out.

The music started. The first hymn sung. My spirit started to relax. The meeting progressed and the choir sang hymns that were a balm to my soul. We came home and ate the Easter bread.  The Native's didn't care that they had it for lunch instead of breakfast. They dove into their baskets.

A metaphor perhaps? Life has lots of dog puke and doo doo in it, but thanks to the Savior's atoning sacrifice for us, He cleans it all up and makes it better.

Not a pretty spiritual Easter metaphor but one I learned yesterday. Even on crummy days like yesterday, He can make it better.

This message brought to you from the barn. This is Rachel speaking. Over and out!