Last Year Easter Morning Was a Disaster!

This sweet family photo from last Easter is deceiving.  It appears that we have it all together – let me beg to differ lol!

At first glance, you see we are all matching…this is our family “thing” – we always color coordinate for the holidays.  This year’s theme is navy blue, tan and white.

BUT previous to this picture being taken – we had mass chaos in our home because of ME!

Here’s how the night before Easter morning went:

I had thought through every step Saturday night. I felt very prepared. I laid out everyone’s clothes, packed our bags for the Grandparents house, had my side dish cooked and ready to go, had my cameras charged, Easter baskets hidden and breakfast plates and cups out and ready to go (we made resurrection rolls the day before). I had a list of what needed to be loaded into the car in the morning, including kid’s bikes, my laptop and many other miscellaneous things.

I set my alarm for 6am and fell fast asleep.
At 7:40am, I woke…”what day is it? It’s EASTER? What time is it? IT’S 7:40 AM????????????? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” My alarm was set for 6am! “We have to leave in one hour for church!!!” (We were committed to working in the nursery so we could not be late!)
Needless to say, it was mass CHAOS in our home!  Mama was frantic! lol!
I rushed the kids with their Easter baskets while taking a quick video of it, I couldn’t sit to eat breakfast with the family – I was too busy drying my hair as fast as I could so I could curl it…we tried to get pictures by the fireplace real quick before running out the door – one child was in tears in our pictures *guilt* 🙁 bad mommy!  Once we got to church, all went well.
But you want to the know the HUGE IRONY of it?
My blog post from the Saturday BEFORE this happened…Oh ya – THAT post – the one that makes me gulp and say to myself – ummmm…better follow your own advice girlfriend!
So here’s a repost of it…and watch out cause if you don’t follow #5 – you’ll have a doozy of a morning – that I can testify too lol!

******************************originally posted April 2011*********************************

How To Deal With Easter Stress:

Holidays can be really rough on mamas! We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do it all perfectly. There’s a laundry list of things we have to do to pull off great memories and a meaningful day for our kids and the pressure can warp mommies mood!

Let me forewarn you – Satan HATES Easter and us celebrating Jesus Christ rising from the dead! He would LOVE to ruin your holiday. There are many spiritual battles that we may face tomorrow and we need to be aware and stand firm (Ephesians 6)!

So here’s a few practical things to remember:

1. It’s the tradition of being together year after year that builds security and love within the family. NOT how big the basket is or how perfectly the eggs are dyed.

2. Be on guard against marital strife. Inevitably your husband is not going to help enough or is going to do it his way not yours. Bite your tongue (till it bleeds mamas!)- be gentle with your words toward your husband – avoid having an Easter blow up – that ruins it for everyone. If there’s something that is just way out of line – pull him aside privately or save it until bedtime to discuss (unless of course someone is in danger!).

3. Before you go to bed be sure everyone’s clothes and shoes and bows and accessories are out and ready to go in the morning. Put out the breakfast plates and bowls so breakfast is quick – you’ll be in a hurry to church and might want a picture before you leave (be sure your camera batteries are charged). These extra few minutes can make the difference between being frazzled and pleasant.

4. Get enough sleep tonight – do not stay up late watching television or browsing blogs and facebook. Be disciplined about your bedtime tonight.

5. Wake up before everyone else and get your quiet time in and shower. I know that might mean waking at 5am but trust me – if you are a step ahead of your family the day will go much more smoothly than if you are a step behind.

6. Pray and ask God to give your family peace and joy today. Someone could wake up sick, get chocolate down the front of their pretty dress, the Ham might not turn out right or your mother-in-law might just say something annoying again.

Remember – there is a spiritual battle we are in – pray continually that God will help you to respond lovingly and patiently and peacefully all day long!

I am saying a prayer for all who read this post today – that God would bless your Easter! Stand firm mamas!!!
Ps. 34:3 “O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.”
Walk with the King!
Courtney

19 Comments

  1. Oh! *giggle* I’m sorry! Thank you for sharing. Chaos happens to everyone. I’ll never forget the year I walked into the room to see chunks of silky long locks all over the floor- Yep, Larissa decided to give herself a haircut Easter morning before putting her pretty outfit on!

  2. Ha..you must have been at my house the last few years!!! I’m seriously considering doing all the Easter basket/bunny stuff on sat morning and just doing resurrection rolls on Sunday b/c it always seems rushed and stressful and makes it hard to focus on the true meaning. Easter is a really hard holiday each year with lots of raw emotions stemming from a few years of really stressful events around Easter so I am already on edge with my emotions lol. I am determined nothing will ruin my favorite holiday this year and the focus will be Jesus and not me or our clothes or the Easter bunny!!

    1. We have been doing our baskets after church for a few years. It’s not as hard for them to wait as you might think and it really does help to keep the focus on Jesus in the morning. We usually make Resurrection Rolls and then off to church. If you can’t do baskets after church I think the Saturday before is a great idea. I have a friend who does that so she can put their new Easter goodies in the baskets too.
      And this year we are letting go of the matching family outfits:) I have made myself nuts in the past trying to dress 5 girls (including me) and a hubby to match on a very slim budget. This year they are just going to get to pick from their closet. Hopefully this will keep us all calm and we can get to church in peace and ready to worship!
      Happy Resurrection Day All!

  3. I totally get it! No matter how hard I try to plan, Christmas always ends up chaotic. I forget to just relax and enjoy the season. Instead I focus on everyone looking cute and presentable….like the perfect little family. Thank you for sharing your “chaotic” story with us. Thank you for the tips! I will definitely use them!

  4. Oh, this is great advice! Many special days have been even more special when Mama remembers to pray for peace and joy. With a house full of little ones and a farm, we have to be prepared to be peaceful and joyful amidst “chaos” sometimes! 🙂 Of course, it is a joyful chaos. Thanks for this post and excellent reminders as Easter approaches.

  5. Great advice! Our church has sunrise service – we start worship at 6am, so it is always rushed, even if there are no disasters! But, one grownup puts out easter baskets on the table while the other is strapping kids in the car, so the Easter Bunny comes while we are at church. It helps to keep the focus on God first and not have any begging for candy at 5:30am!

  6. We will have our first reunion of the girls we raised over 15 years while working at a Children’s Home and their families. They are all going to be in church with their kids, and my husband is the pastor. I fully expect crying babies, fidgety pre-teens, etc. There is no way to anticipate it all, but I am convinced that our praise will be a beautiful song to the Lord, even if part of it sounds like crying. We are trying to make this an annual event, as most of our girls have no other parents. Yes, it can all go horribly wrong on Easter morning. That’s why I get up at least an hour earlier than the rest and have quiet time and a cup of coffee out on the patio by myself. My peace, my strength and my focus are infinitely better, when I wake up and spend time with God. Thank you for your site. God Bless.

  7. Ha we do matching outfits for holidays too perfect photo opportunity lol we do family w
    Easter photos in front of mawmaw and pawpaw pond. I’m a bit OCD and perfectionist abt out clothes and getting the perfect picture thanks for te remind to prepare ahead pray and then just relax and enjoy the day

  8. Amen! As someone who is a planner by nature, I struggle with perfectionist tendencies and having it all together for the public, of course. 🙂 Usually God throws some sort of something in my path to make me laugh and rely on Him whenever I get too perfectionist. 🙂

  9. Thank you for this post!! I am new(er) to your blog & love it! Your words ring true to all I have been “hearing” around me! We do face spiritual battles more than ever during Holy week & we need to remember that!! May you and your family have a blessed Holy week & Easter!!

  10. Wow! Thanks for being so transparent. I was; however a bit disappointed when reading. Seems like we focus so much on Easter itself that we aren’t recognizing the most important thing. We need to SLOW down mamas. (I’m speaking to myself) Jesus came to give us back relationship with God so the most important, precious jewels to Him are our relationships. It’s not about the baskets, eggs, and food we know that It’s about Him so how do we show it if we are acting like busy Marthas instead of Mary. What if we followed the leading of the Holy Spirit for Easter and not traditions that we’ve always done or perhaps (gasp) ask our husbands what they would like to do as a family this Easter. Our men tend to be more laid back and easy going and can show us a lot if we would just submit. I don’t want this Easter to be about just sprinkling a bit of Jesus in it, but to be saturated in His love and prescence. Our children will remember the fruit of His leading or remember the fruit if our leading and I’m sorry but the fruit of what I do… Doesn’t taste so well.

  11. Great Post…As a seasoned mother, wife and homemaker, with her children all married and flown out of the nest, I can so reflect upon those Easter mornings gone by….They were gloriously chaotic….well…not always…all your suggestions are good ones…but it is always good to remember with all “our” planning, even the best laid plans can go awry….if have any sage advice for young wives and mothers…it would be this…just do the best you can…that is all our Lord asks of us….be kind to yourself and do not beat yourself up for not meeting the “Good Housekeeping” seal especially on holidays…because I learned, as a young mother you will miss the treasure…the treasure of being perfectly imperfect…I learned that my husband and children were not looking for perfection, they wanted Mommy and Wife….even if it meant tha tholidays would be a crazy sort of joy filled chaos…well, at least sometimes! God Bless You…

  12. Growing up Baskets always came after we celebrated the Risen Christ and church services were over. I never figured out as a young child how the baskets got delivered when no one was in church. Then about my 13th year, I realized that dad or mom had “forgotten” something and had to go back in the house to get the purse r a diaper bag. 🙂

    I’m going to share this with my moms of littles though. It’s good advice for Easter morning.

  13. LOVE this post! This year my husband and I have decided that we are going to do Easter different than years past. No Easter baskets filled with candy they don’t need or junky toys that will be broken or thrown out by the end of the day. Instead they will be given a chocolate cross and a book/coloring book about the significance of Easter. We’ve noticed in our own family that our children are becoming entitled and expectant about what they’re getting for holidays such as Easter and Christmas, so we are trying to take a more biblical stand on these holidays to reiterate that it’s not about the STUFF it’s about CHRIST.

    God bless you, Courtney, for what you do!

  14. You have blessed my soul today!! I am so glad to hear that other momma’s have issues too – we are all at war with darkness and evil not with flesh and blood. Please Lord bless each family as we prepare to come before you and rejoice that YOU ARE RISEN!! Please help me to fight hard and persevere and help me to be a blessing to my family (my blood family and my church family) and to remember that it’s not about the dresses, the food, the photos, the baskets…. it’s about celebrating that you fulfill your promises!!! Praise be to God!!

  15. Might I say you guys look wonderful period, and even more wonderful for having only 1 hour to prepare! I love the Ephesians 5 reference and the thought that we will most certainly face ups and downs on Easter Sunday, as well as all other Sundays we are living for the Lord, as the Devil hates that! It is good to be prepared, spending time in His word and with Him. What a wonderful post.

  16. Thanks for posting! I also enjoyed reading everyone’s comments…I really needed to hear what you said about biting our tongues! I have ruined many different special family times (not just holidays) by NOT biting my tongue. Trust me, you don’t want happy family memories tainted by memories of being a grumpy momma!! Praying you all have a blessed Easter this year.

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