Easter at our house

There is a flurry of activity around us. Buds bust out of tree limbs, birds make nests, insects buzz by.

”Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime,” said Martin Luther.

 In preparation for Easter, I wash windows, hang summer curtains, dust furniture, shop for groceries, cook for days, set the table for 17, affix a bunny to the front door, put up a bright red geranium flag, and tie colorful plastic Easter eggs to the trees.

Two tables will be pulled together to accommodate family and friends. We are all believers: Roman Catholics, Protestants and Mormons.

Instead of the traditional Easter ham, I will serve turkey with all the fixings, beginning with a fresh fruit cup topped with rainbow sherbet, homemade chicken soup filled with three peppercorn fettuccine, mixed greens with homemade French dressing, roast turkey, Mom’s green peppers stuffed with Grandma’s chourico dressing, mashed potatoes, Dawn’s green beans, carrot matchsticks cooked in broth, pickles and olives, cranberry sauce, and for dessert, Joey’s birthday cake with ice cream.

The Mormon missionary will say the blessing.

“Of all the victories in the chronicles of humanity, none is so great, none so universal in its effects, none so everlasting in its consequences as the victory of the crucified Lord, who came forth from the tomb that first Easter morning,” said President Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in “Images and Testimonies of The Living Christ.”

It is Holy Week; we carried palm branches through the streets of Jerusalem, ate the Last Supper in the upper room, fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, wept at the foot of the cross, and now rejoice in the presence of the Resurrected Christ.

Holding a tiny hand, we will walk outside in search of colored Easter eggs. Yellow daffodils wave in the breeze. Pink azalea bushes are in full bloom, while the rhododendron buds strain in their casings.

The eggs will be unearthed: tucked in flower beds, inside oak tree roots, planted in the kitchen garden, hiding under pine needles. The basket will be brimming with blue, green, yellow, pink and purple eggs. The toddler will grab an egg with his tiny fist and scream with delight as it opens.

“If we attend to the witnesses with listening hearts and open ourselves to the signs by which the Lord again and again authenticates both them and himself, then we know that he is truly risen,” said Pope Benedict XVI in “Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.” “He is alive.”