On Saturday, we invited 25 people to our home for Easter dinner. Unfortunately, one person fell ill and 3 others couldn't make it due to last minute family obligations. (For those who can't do the math, we ended up feeding 21 people). We invited a mix of people. Some older, some younger. Some new to our church, some that don't even attend our church. Some that we invite every year and some new people. It was an eclectic mix of people and definitely a wonderful group to have over.
The Preparations: Dan and I planned to do most of our prep work during nap time. But unfortunately for us, the boys were too excited to sleep. The boys didn't have their traditional 2-3 hour nap so we could prepare dinner. Just an hour and a half each. This kind of shocked Dan and I. They were constantly in the way or getting into trouble, so we corralled them in a fenced area inside our home. That way we could work freely, without worrying that Micah was eating electrical cords or Joel being underfoot in our busy kitchen. For safety measures....ya, that's it...
Menu Planning: A delicious feast for all, which included working in numerous dietary restrictions. An excellent challenge for Dan and I. For dessert we had white cake with whipping cream and strawberries. And for those gluten free/dairy free folks, there were special (store bought) cookies and coconut milk ice cream bars. Dan and I made sure that everyone was well fed (big surprise there!)
The Feast: We've made it an annual tradition to invite people into our home for Easter. It seems to be the best holiday for us since it spans four days. This gives us enough time to accommodate our own family obligations and still leave room to carve time for our friends. Dan and I had a LONG list of people we wanted to invite and we wished we had more room to accommodate more families. It pains us that many people we wanted to have join us around our table weren't able to fit. (We need a bigger place to accommodate more people!)
We definitely enjoyed the group we did have!
Side Note: We own 21 chairs. The perfect amount for the number of people who came. But what family of FOUR has twenty one chairs??? Cough....hoarders....cough, cough. We prefer to think of it as hospitably inclined. Ya, that's it. We ain't no hoarders, we're just hospitable. Ya, that sounds right. Hospitable....
This end of the table was filled with laughter. Literally, all we heard was laughing. It was great to have our house filled with joyful sounds. We were blessed by the company we had.
I made a point this year to snap a few photos. Every year that we've held our Easter dinner, I've always regretted not being able to take photos. (I think I was always too busy or too exhausted). But this year, I took a few seconds to snap a few pictures. I'm glad I did.
I love seeing the smiling faces and the conversations from around the table. I love seeing people connect with others whom they've just met. I love hearing and experiencing how gracious, warm and inviting our guests spirits are. I love the jokes and teasing yelled across the table. I love the kids squeals and cries. I love the gut busting laughs echoing in our house. I love the quiet conversations and whispers made amongst new friends. I love the gentleness that was received. I love watching people receive the small touches that Dan and I made to make everyone feel welcome. I love that God orchestrated the perfect group of people around this table. Dan and I felt truly blessed to be able to share this evening with all of you.
Anaya and Micah playing together
Anaya stole Micah's giraffe. Micah stole our hearts with that face.
New friends: Julia and Dolores
Matt and Anaya
Thanks to all of you who came into our home to share a meal with us. You have blessed us beyond words. We can't wait to do this again!
