The Worst Easter Ever!

Our Easter 2011 started out like any other Easter.  It was a lovely Sunday, the sun was shining (a miracle really considering our crazy wet/cold April), the kids were ready for church early and we headed outside for a few quick snapshots before church.
 

Just precious

 

Church was great.  The kids came home with almost as many treats as they got in their Easter baskets.  We decided to take a little stroll down the street after church to enjoy the lovely weather when we happened upon some neighbors outside.  We stopped to chat and that is when disaster struck!  Hannah skinned her knee.  It was terrible, her life hung in the balance and she was not to be calmed.  We had no choice but to go inside immediately to search for a band-aid.  No sooner had we administered the healing power of the band-aid when Ethan came running inside screaming that his head was bleeding.  Well it wasn't hard to see that he was right but it was hard to get him to tell us what happened.  You see, when Ethan is upset about anything he is just too traumatized to talk.  He can verbalize that he is bleeding, he can cry, he can even tell us that he can't talk but he can't actually say what happened.  Ironic isn't it?  

We finally got the story from Ryan, Ethan's friend.  He told us they had been messing around (as boys do) threatening each other that they would hit each other or push each other down, etc.  During this time Ethan had been inching his way backward and caught his foot on the edge of the window well and fell in backward head first.  Ouch!  The saddest part really was that we were all inside.  No one was really there to help him out.  So with his head split open and bleeding he had to hoist himself out and come and find us.  Poor guy.  

With one swift look I knew we'd be visiting the doctor's office.  Ethan's a fairly tough kid.  He got a shovel to the eyebrow 2 years ago and had to have stitches so this head wound wasn't going to be that bad.  He can handle stitches.  Little did he know that the doctor would decide that staples was the best form of treatment.  Staples?!  Metal, sharp objects, poked into his head?! That was not going to happen.  He got so worked up about the prospect of having staples in his head that the anticipation was worse than the real thing.  While we sat and waited for the doctor, waited for the numbing gel to kick in, waited for the nurse to come assist, he sat frozen, silently crying over the torture that would ensue and dubbed this day "The Worst Easter Ever!"  

 Here's my attempt at documenting the staples but you can't really see them under all the neosporin they slathered on.  Right at the top of the goop you can barely see the staples.

9 in all

 And yes, I did make him wear that shirt the rest of the day.

I don't think I could get him to take it off anyway, a little touchy about the owey.

Needless to say, he was happy when it was all over and couldn't wait to get out of there.  We were late for Easter dinner at Grandma's house and when we walked in Ethan became the center of attention, a place he does not like to be.  He was pretty shaken up and didn't eat anything the rest of the night and kind of kept to himself.  He did however join in the Easter egg hunt but he took it slow and was the last one to find all his eggs even though he was oldest hunter out there.

 

Oh and by the way, just look at that adorable Eden.  I may have taken a dozen pictures of just her.  Yes, I know she is not my child but do you blame me?  The dress she's wearing is the one I bought for Emma to wear at BriAnne and Joey's wedding (Eden's parents). So it's not just sentimental for me but for her too!  Awwww...

 This Easter was a combined celebration:  Easter, BriAnne's birthday, Eden's birthday and Hannah's birthday.  As is tradition in the Taggart family, the birthday people get to choose the menu for their birthday dinner.  BriAnne chose the meal and Hannah chose dessert.  Eden just had to live with the choices this year.  She'll get her say soon enough.  Hannah's choice?  Stawberry Shortcake.  Mmmmm... 

Grandpa Taggart always likes to add a little spice to our dining pleasure so we had the choice between regular shortcake and chocolate shortcake.  Delicious!

Here's our birthday girls!

I guess it's fair to say that this Easter probably won't be ranked as our best but it certainly didn't feel like a worst either.  We have so many blessings to be thankful for and now, as I am posting this, I can see them all so clearly.  What a marvelous gift life is, and family, and the gospel, and our Savior Jesus Christ who gave us the greatest of all gifts - eternal life, because of that I'd say this Easter and every Easter is the greatest!