Sugar 'n' Spice . . . Twice!: Easter Dress

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” - C.S. Lewis

I know I'm not alone in this, but I tend to associate certain clothes with certain memories. If the memories I associate with an outfit are unpleasant enough, I'll probably never wear it again. I'll just let it hang in the closet for a while and then give it away once I'm honest enough to admit to myself that it's not getting worn. On the other hand, if something particularly wonderful happened while I was wearing a certain outfit, I have a really hard time letting go of it. (Chris usually has to stage an intervention with me when that happens!)

Last year a little before Easter, I found this cute little dress that I thought would make a good Easter dress:

Yes, the object in the top right of the picture is indeed the nose of a monkey slipper on my foot! Ha! I was standing on my bed to get an aerial shot!

So when Easter came, I wore it. However, that particular Easter turned out to be a pretty tough one. I cried all through the Easter service at church that day, because despite my joy for the meaning of the holiday, I was afraid that I was miscarrying. I also wore the same dress when I announced to our adult Bible fellowship class that we needed prayer because I was pregnant and having complications. When I hung the dress back in the closet that day, I thought to myself that it was a shame, but I would probably never wear it again, because of the bad memories of crying and all of the fear and anxiety I would now come to associate with the dress.

But the story didn't end there! Not long afterward, I learned that everything with the babies was totally fine. In fact, it turned out that I had more life living inside of me (twins) than I knew what to do with! :) While the rest of the pregnancy wasn't a walk in the park, and while the delivery had its share of complications and scariness, everything turned out OK.

I was thinking back on this whole time in my life earlier today, and I realized how neat it was that all of this happened around Easter. Thinking back to the first Good Friday, there was a palpable hopelessness that day as Someone who had seemed to be the Messiah, the promised One everyone had been waiting for, died. Not only did He die, but He died in the most brutal way imaginable, hung on a cross, killed by His own people.

But the story didn't end there! Three days later, He came back to life, and as the Jesus Storybook Bible (the girls' favorite, of course) puts it, "Jesus was making all the sad things come untrue." Up from the grave He arose! Things here aren't always easy, and a lot of times they're actually very painful and scary, but praise the Lord we have the hope to hold onto that one day, everything will turn out OK for those who love Him (Rom 8:28).

Earlier this week Chris and Mom were discussing Christmas and Easter and which is their favorite of the two. Chris pointed out that we wouldn't have Easter if it weren't for Christmas, but Mom replied that without Easter, we wouldn't have the hope of Heaven... and what an incredible, sure hope that is, if that same Jesus who rose again that day is our Lord and Savior!

I hope everyone reading this has a very meaningful weekend and a fabulous Easter, as we celebrate the wonderful news that not only did Christ rise again, but that He lives today. I know I'm going to celebrate the little miracles that have happened in my own life since last Easter by wearing that dress again this Sunday! :)

OK, since it's not a proper post without some pictures of the girls, here they are. This time, it's a total teethingfest!

Tamsie and her Sophie teether

But she's not too picky when it comes to teething. Anything will do, even a red monkey!

Evangelyn chews on a blue monkey. Monkeys are never in short supply around our house!

Evie teethes in the sun...

or in the shade!

Forget sucking! Pacifiers are fabulous for teething! So are fingers.

I guess they're just trying to be like me. Here I am chewing on my fingers when I was about their age, 28 years ago! And of course that is my dad making a cameo in here as well!