What--A Holiday Post With No Photos!

A picture really is worth a thousand words, and that is why I was aghast that we had forgotten to bring our camera on Easter Sunday as we headed to the East Bay to visit "Auntie Marie." It was a special Easter after all, since our visitors from the Philippines were joining us for brunch and an egg hunt. I'm no great photographer, by any means, but I am an avid photographer who has truly become dependent on my camera to capture moments I consider to be noteworthy--whether they be once-in-a-lifetime events or just glimpses into the ordinary day-to-day. So, I'm going to have to dig deep and draw out whatever creative writing skills I have to describe in some detail what took place on our Easter Sunday.

We woke up bright and early and managed to get everyone ready and out the door in time for me to arrive in the first service preschool class. It was cute to see the little girls decked out in their Easter finery, and one little boy even got into the spirit of things by wearing an outfit with a tie that matched his fathers. No doubt his mother's doing! It was a joy to hear the children talk excitedly about what their plans for Easter were and then to have one pipe out "Easter is not just about eggs!"

I attended second service and heard the much-loved, familiar but always edifying message of Christ's substitutionary death and victorious resurrection. Sang many wonderful, uplifting songs. Thank you, Lord! Truly!

We piled into our SUV and proceeded to meet Marie at her cozy Craftsman cottage which most of us had never been to before. After some dubious directions from the owner (Miles Street turned out to be Martin!), and during which we drove in circles around what would best be described as a "colorful" neighborhood, we finally arrived in time to pop in for a quick minute before having to head out again for our brunch. The restaurant of choice turned out to be a happening kind of a spot that hosts a dance club on certain evenings. I had my reservations (the actual reservations were under Marie's name--okay, corny I know) but the food at the place was soooo good! When I asked Marie (Billy's sister, by the way) what kind of food they served there, she said it was a combination of Belgian and Creole. Uh, hmmm, okay. See what I meant about colorful! Anyway, we had Belgian-style fries and beignets for our appetizers. For my main entree I had the eggs benedict. It was one of the best eggs benedicts I've had, other than the salmon one I had at the California Market at Highlands Inn. Although that one was more memorable because I got to watch whales spouting in the nearby blue ocean while eating it.

After our delicious brunch we went back to Marie's place where Billy and Kathleen immediately went to work dying eggs. (Quick note about Marie's cottage--it is cute and bright blue, kinda like a smurf house!) So while Billy and Kathleen (who is 9) are mixing the colors and dying the eggs, she periodically asks, "So how do you put the candy in these?" I think she asked about four times! Anyway, it turns out Marie also had exactly 30 plastic eggs with peanut M&M's and Jelly Belly jelly beans in them. When Kathleen found this out, she asked, "Then why are we dying these eggs?" Good reasoning, huh?

We finally got around to scooting the kids into the house and hiding the eggs--plastic and otherwise. Let the egg hunt commence! Of course, the kids had a blast searching for the eggs. So much so that shortly afterward Andre exclaimed, "Let's find Easter eggs!"

And that was pretty much our Easter in a nutshell. . . .

(Wonder if that was a thousand words?!?)