Yesterday started with Easter baskets... brimming with chocolate bunnies, Christian t-shirts.... egg gum in a miniature egg carton (a favorite my mom always put in our Easter baskets), a wind-up chicken that poops gum eggs.... a fun morning... a sugar high....
We had an amazing Easter service at church... singing the old hymn "Up From the Grave"... my 6 year old sounding like an Oakridge Boy (he was still singing it on the way to school this morning)....
praising our Lord and Savior who is "Mighty to Save"... who conquered the grave!
We hosted 17 people for Easter dinner... such a fun afternoon.... our auntie & uncle... cousins from Wisconsin... our surrogate aunties & uncles in IN... my husbands "workout buddy" (Brock avidly works out at 4:45a.m. weekday mornings)....
My 9 year old helped me set the dining room table Saturday afternoon... my husband & 6 year old out on an errand....
He said, "Let's break out the good stuff, Mom." ... pointing at my husband's grandmother's vintage china hutch... he was suggesting we use the 'fine china'....
I use my china, silver & crystal twice a year.... Christmas, if we are home in Indiana... and on Valentine's Day... a tradition I started with my boys a few years ago... setting a 'fancy' table... cooking seafood, a twice a year treat as well....
So we got out the china... we polished the sterling silver (Francis the 1st, following in Brock's Grandma Toll's footsteps)....
What a great day it was... the food was del-ish... Brock smoked pork tenderloin on the Treager my mom & dad gave us this Christmas... everyone brought a 'dish'... cheesy potatoes... asparagus casserole... creamy fruit salad... key lime cheese cake... we ate well... and were ready to be 'rolled home'....
We were in the mood to 'veg' after our tummies were full ... the boys retreated to their 'den' to watch Ant Bully.... Brock & I put on our stretchy pants and curled up on the sectional... having a "Kennedy's" marathon... almost devouring the whole series in an evening...
The dishes had sat on the counter, while our rears warmed the couch.... once we were finished "making like broccoli".... it was time for showers & stories for the boys... then off to dream & slumber...
the dishes still on the counter....
I have never been a good housekeeper.... I once broke out in tears to my husband when the kids started school this fall, "Now I'm just a housewife... not even a stay-at-home mom anymore... and I stink as a housewife...."
So, with the brood in bed I filled the sink with steaming water & bubbles and set to work scrubbing... I always hated washing dishes by hand... even as a kid at my Grandma Lenore's farm, you had cousins to keep you company while washing....
But the day had been a joyous one... and I decided to wash with 'joy in my heart'....
My mind started to wonder as I scrubbed... about the family members who had gifted us with these fine things at our nuptials.... about Brock's Grandma Toll, setting those Francis the 1st pieces out for every Sunday dinner of my husband's childhood....
... AND before I knew it, the dishes were done.... setting on the dining room table waiting their turn to be put away for the summer....
This has me thinking about two things....
I love how my son asked me to "break out the good stuff"... the fine china that is stored away in the hutch...
Psalm 147:14 (New Living Translation) "14 He sends peace across your nation and satisfies your hunger with the finest"....
I set to work washing dishes with joy in my heart... and the task speed by... filled with memories & gladness...
Psalm 144:15 (New Living Translation) "15 Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord."
So in the future will I "break out the good stuff" on a more regular basis... or leave them in hiding for 8 months....
AND .... when a daunting tasks awaits... will I do it with joy in my heart....
Love it, Becca! And I love your joy :)
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