Easter Weekend 2025
Banger weekend, just banger. We kicked things off on Saturday with a good old fashioned BBQ. Gone are the days of ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. We throw down with smoked chicken breast, potato wedges, Mexican corn salad, garden salad, deviled eggs and of course, dessert. Middle Son requested my lemon curd filled lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Hubby asked me to make Black Forest cuppies and somewhere along the way I also added strawberry pretzel salad. We ate, we talked, we laughed, we napped, played cards and watched movies. It was the perfect way to spend our day together. And of course whenever I get anywhere near my husband with my camera he goes out of his way to not smile. It’s annoying, but he’s still a keeper after all these years.
Sunday’s service was wonderful and we had 70 people attend! I realize many folks show up just because it’s Easter or Christmas but I’m grateful that they come. Every chance a person gets to hear the Word is a chance that they’ll accept Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. That’s amazing. I got to talk to one of the newer ladies attending church since it was her first time serving on the Greeting Team. We chatted about everything from church to kids AND she even volunteered to be on the Hospitality Team as well! I told her don’t tease me, because I’ll sign her up faster than a road runner on roller skates. Our service teams are growing and that’s just such a blessing! My church is small and I’ve written previously about it being a church plant. We’ll celebrate our 5th anniversary in November of this year. The Lord has sustained this church and brought it through many, many storms. We’re still standing because of His grace and guidance. It’s not because of anything we do ourselves.
There were a few really good conversations with the Pastor and Pastor’s Wife. It’s weird to type their “titles” (Pastor and Pastor’s Wife) because they’re my friends. Heck, I consider them family at this point but I strive to always separate friendship with their positions in leadership at church. There was clearing of the air, discussing the future and I walked away feeling especially loved by Jesus. If the Lord wills it, there are good changes coming up but for now I’m keeping it all in prayer and seeking the Lord’s path in all things. At the end of the church day as we were walking to our cars, I was invited to join them (PB & Wendy) for a trip to Longwood Gardens. Folks, I can’t express in words just how much I love Longwood Gardens!!
Even though it was crowded (who knew folks flock to LG the day after Easter?!) it didn’t disappoint. Longwood never does. The tulips were at peak bloom and I got to see the Bonsai area, it’s one of my favorites. After walking around for a couple hours we hit the gift store and my sweet friends bought me a plant! It’s an Aphelandra Zebra plant and I’ve never had one before. I love the stripes on it. It’s already repotted into a slightly bigger planter and soaking up the sun out back along with some bulbs and a few seedlings I’m attempting to grow.
Growing plants and keeping them alive has never been apart of my skillset. My maternal grandparents always had a HUGE garden filled with corn, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, radishes, peppers… so many veggies. They even grew Concord grapes and had bee hives for honey. Hubby and I had a very small vegetable garden in 2023. We decided to not plant in ‘24 or this year because our budget didn’t allow for it. We’re organizing areas in our yard to accommodate much larger grow beds for 2026 and Lord willing, we’ll be rolling in enough vegetables to sustain us through the winter season. We enjoyed tending to the garden in ‘23 and also enjoyed the zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers that year.
The gardening goals are real and we’re hoping if we take it slow, plan well and buy what we need over the course of the next several months, we’ll be reaping a harvest of home grown goodness we can also share with our family and friends.
Peace,
Nim.
