Easter Holy Week

My favorite thing about Easter growing up was our family's annual Easter Devotionals. I applaud my parents for this feat; among the Easter bunnies, candy, hunts, and baskets the thing I anticipated most was studying the last week of the Saviors life with my family. We would discuss and read scriptures each day, starting on Palm Sunday a week before Easter. We talked about what the Savior did each day of the last week of His life, and discussed it's meaning and importance. I have since continued that tradition with my own little family. My children have always enjoyed it as well. This year as I was looking through Pinterest, I found this link, http://www.mercyrivermusic.com/2015/03/how-to-celebrate-easter-holy-week/. This lady did a wonderful job of outlining the week and adding in all the new bible videos that the church just put out. It has the scripture references and a song for each day. The part my kids loved best though, was the craft or activity for each day and the holy week wall that we created. It was perfectly geared towards my kids age group and it was interactive enough to really get them excited about it each night. It really turned out to be our best year yet for child participation and involvement. Here it is in pictures.

 Riding the donkey into Jerusalem.

 Cleansing the temple and casting out the money changers.

 Judas betraying Jesus to the chief priests. I love his evil face below.

 Passover dinner. It was like a second shepherds dinner (which is one of our favorite traditions from Christmas)...they loved it.

 Working diligently on their names that made up the cross. He died for them, and all of us!

Our completed Easter Wall. It was so wonderful. We all felt so blessed to be reminded how much our Heavenly Father loves us to allow His son to die for us. And how very much our Savior loves us, to suffer and die for us. We know that He rose from the tomb on Easter morning! And because of Him we will get to be together as a family again, and we will be able to return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father again. It is amazing and overwhelming, we are so grateful!

I love LOVE love my little family. I wish Jon was in these Easter pictures with us.