our {happy day} Easter garden

last week, a sweet little birdie invited me{and you} 

to join her in a mission to bring a little bit of happy into our everyday lives. 

 she assured us that it would bring a spring to our step, and a smile to our face.

she was right.

on Tuesday, with the family{including my husband...YAY!} in tow, 

we strapped on our seat belts and took a ride to a local nursery to fulfill 

the challenge.

let's stroll through the greenhouses, shall we?

WARNING:::PICTURE OVERLOAD!

but i think you'll enjoy it anyway. :)

this was my favorite!  i am so drawn to delicate leaves and draping vines.

but at $35.00, it stayed right there.  :)

 

 

 

you see, we were on another mission, too.
i read about a wonderful Easter tradition here that totally sparked my interest.
i knew that it would be super fun for the kids, and it ended up blessing me more than i could have imagined!
an Easter garden.
a visual parable of the event that forever changed our fate as lost and hopeless sinners.
a representation of the darkness that did not prevail, for the Light did come!
Jesus conquered death, paying our sin debt, that we might spend eternity with Him.
but we must choose to put our complete faith and trust in Him.

He loves us that much!

 

Easter is going to look a bit different at our house this year.
no bunnies, no candy, no eggs....
:::i mean, we always emphasized the True Meaning, but i think it was lacking because of these extras.:::
just Jesus, His brutal death, burial, and the
glorious empty tomb that followed, assuring us that indeed,
HE IS RISEN!
we want the true meaning of this day to permeate in our hearts
and help us to reflect on the Sacrifice that was given.
 the greatest gift of all...eternal life through Jesus.
no distractions.
just Jesus.

we are totally not against any of the above mentioned traditions.
we just did them last year!
 we just know that for us,  this is the right thing to do. :)


and so our journey began, to seek out the perfect rock for the tomb.
we headed over to the road that we used to live on because it has the best rocks, of course!
it is also a continual reminder to our family that God always has our best interests at heart.
on this road resides the farm that God blessed us with a couple of years ago,
but found necessary to take away.
52 glorious acres with a spring, an original 1800's log home, and the perfect valley setting.
our dream, but not His plan.

 

i prayed that God would reveal the best rock for this little project,
and in typical form, He answered.
we had lots to choose from.
but there was one perfect stone.

 

i think i'll let the pictures tell the rest of this story...

 

 

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o, death, where is thy sting?

o, grave, where is thy victory?

 

so there you have it.
our Easter garden.
this was hands down, the most fun and meaningful project we have ever done!
on Palm Sunday, we'll line the path to the tomb with candles,
for Jesus, our Light, is coming!
we will begin the journey and light a torch each day leading up to Good Friday, when all went dark.
on Friday, we will wrap a small clothespin{Jesus} in white cloth,
and prepare the 'body' with scented essential oil for burial.
the stone will be rolled over the tomb where His body resides.

 

and then we wait!


"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
Matthew 28:6 


thank you SO much to alicia and megan for their amazing inspiration in this project.
i love how this little 'ol blog adventure has brought so many wonderful and encouraging people into my life.
it is truly a blessing!

i hope you are having a blessed day!

 xo, 

mary