We have a number of traditions related to Easter which the kids love. The biggest one is that their Easter baskets are hidden, often quite hard. This comes from my family's tradition and has grown along with our kids. The first year Stephen and I were married, we went to my parent's for Easter. Stephen's Easter bag was hidden inside a dutch oven, inside the dutch oven cover, stacked underneath two other dutch ovens sitting off in the corner of the kitchen. :) In his family they were just sat out on the couch, so having people searching all day added a new spin.
Several years ago when we lived in
Utah, there was a gospel doctrine teacher for Sunday School who
seemed like he must be crazy. We moved in in July and every week
he would talk about Easter eggs he had found during the
previous week. It was several months later that he finally
explained to some visitors
what he meant by Easter eggs and it all started to make sense.
At Easter, we hide eggs and baskets for children to find because it is fun and enjoyable for them. We hide them in a way that with a little effort they can find them. We're not trying to make the task impossible, but we don't want to make it too easy and just hand them a basket of eggs already gathered. Neither of those options would be as fulfilling for the children.
The Sunday School teacher explained that there are figurative Easter eggs hidden in the scriptures. Gems of hidden knowledge, inspiration, and insight that Heavenly Father wants us to receive and has made available for us to find if we take the time to look for them. He knows we will remember these insights better if we earn them and own them. Even when someone else shares an insight, we are less likely to remember it unless it ties into our life in some way. With this insight, Easter egg hunts have become even more special to our family and my kids have heard this analogy often.
We've continued hiding
the baskets and as the kids have grown, each year they send a letter to
the Easter bunny asking that the basket be hidden a certain "hardness."
This year Eli and Lincoln wanted Easy, Adam and Jeanisha XXX Hard, and
Ryan and Tyler XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Hard. Yes, 15X hard. Tyler even said, "I
hope it's hidden so well I can't find it until my surgery." (which is
not until April 26th.) Of course, this morning, he started wanting hints
as soon as the easy ones were found. (How often do I want to get the valuable treasures from the scriptures the "easy" way?) They each get 3 questions or
hints. They can also do a job to earn an extra hint that can divide the
search area in half. It's fun to listen as they figure out the best way
to phrase their question to get the most benefit. what he meant by Easter eggs and it all started to make sense.
At Easter, we hide eggs and baskets for children to find because it is fun and enjoyable for them. We hide them in a way that with a little effort they can find them. We're not trying to make the task impossible, but we don't want to make it too easy and just hand them a basket of eggs already gathered. Neither of those options would be as fulfilling for the children.
The Sunday School teacher explained that there are figurative Easter eggs hidden in the scriptures. Gems of hidden knowledge, inspiration, and insight that Heavenly Father wants us to receive and has made available for us to find if we take the time to look for them. He knows we will remember these insights better if we earn them and own them. Even when someone else shares an insight, we are less likely to remember it unless it ties into our life in some way. With this insight, Easter egg hunts have become even more special to our family and my kids have heard this analogy often.
This year, because of the 15X hard request and the bulky nature of what the Easter Bunny left, they were each told that an orange card with their name and the Easter Bunny's picture had been hidden and that when they found that, they could trade it into mom for their Easter stuff. It's amazing how many more good hiding places you can find for a piece of paper vs. a big bag of goodies. :) Stephen did suggest my desk for the 15X hard one, but in that case it might not surface until next year. :)
Eli's was in the silverware drawer. Pretty easy, right? I even gave him the morning job of unloading the dishwasher. He had almost finished the silverware before he noticed the bright orange paper sitting in the drawer. :)
Lincoln and Eli were the only ones to find theirs before we left for Stake Conference this morning. The others are still looking. Adam thought hard then came up with his first question, "Where is it?" I told him I would tell him what room instead. :) He's now got it pretty narrowed down. Ryan, Tyler, and Jeanisha still have plenty of searching to do. Ryan knows his is in the basement, Tyler knows his is on the main floor, but not in the family room. Jeanisha knows hers is not in the garage or laundry room. It's a fun tradition that makes Easter extra fun and provides lots of gospel teaching opportunities.
Stake Conference today was. . . . challenging. Our ward choir was selected as the choir. That meant Stephen and Ryan were on the stand and I had 6 kids by myself. We got there early to get a seat in the chapel while I fed Cumorah, hoping she would sleep. She had different plans and the first half hour were not fun. I had planned that my friend with teenagers would sit with us, but she didn't end up coming, so about 5 minutes before it was going to start, I went up to the usher and told him that if there was a grandparent type couple that wouldn't mind helping with kids, we had some extra seats. Instead, he sent a grandparent type couple with two little kids of their own to take care of. The meeting starts, Cumorah's fussy and we're not really by anyone we know. I'm sure as people from the ward came in, none of them even noticed that I was all alone or registered how difficult it is to keep 6 little kids reverent for 2 hours. I'd already had to take Cumorah out during the prelude music.
During the opening prayer and song, I said a silent prayer asking Heavenly Father to send an angel to help me. Minutes later, a sweet gray-haired lady in a red dress behind me leaned forward and whispered, "If you have to take the baby out, I'll watch the others." So I ended up in the hall with Cumorah and Lincoln for the first 20 minutes or so. She settled down and we slipped back in between talks then finally fell asleep in my arms. About then, Lincoln decided to be squirmy. The same lady leaned forward and asked if I would like her to hold him. Instead I passed back the sleeping baby and was able to spend the last hour and a half keeping the others kids reverent, quiet, and listening. Cumorah woke up during the closing song. After it was over, this sweet angel thanked ME for letting her hold the baby.
I am so grateful that she was observant and willing to help. I'm sure she doesn't realize how much she helped me, but without her help, I would have probably sent the entire 2 hours out in the hall or given up and just loaded them all in the van. I hope that I can be observant of others and help without being asked.
