Eventful Easter

Last night I went to bed around 9:30pm and woke up at 9:30am this morning.

WHAT?  I can’t even remember the last time I got 12 full hours of sleep. I guess I was tired from a jam packed Easter Sunday.

Ready… set… here we go.

Sunrise Service at Sea World

Scott has made it a point to attend Easter Sunrise Service at Sea World every year.  Since I used to work on the weekends and haven’t been able to join him the last 2 years, it was a treat to enjoy the service with him yesterday at Bayside Stadium.

The service started at 6:30am, but we try to get there by 6am to ensure a seat.  Almost the entire stadium was full by the time we got there, and it wasn’t long before the overflow sections were crowded as well.

Spending Easter morning outside, overlooking the water, hearing animals in the background during the sunrise is an incredible experience.

The view was stunning, and the service was equally as great.  Every year an Orlando based radio station Z88.3 hosts the service and musical guests, Selah led worship.

If you’ve never heard of this band, you should check them out.  The lead singer is Todd Smith, and the speaker at the service happened to be his wife Angie, who speaks of her journey of finding and trusting God with the Women of Faith Tour.

Individually, both of them lead and inspire, but together they bring tears and joy to crowds all over the world.

The service lasted a little over an hour, and Scott and I used our hour of free time to pick up a few things from the grocery store.

First on our list were the these two gems each of us gave up for Lent: Mountain Dew for Scott, and any kind of Odwalla smoothie drink for me.  Someone was excited about this! 😉

Easter at Amway

Before long, it was time to make our way downtown for our church’s first Easter service at the Amway Center.

First Baptist Church of Orlando along with with Hope Church hosted Love is Alive, the biggest Easter service in Orlando for over 17,000 people from all over the world.

Somehow we found floor seats next to the stage and enjoyed 90 minutes of astounding music, choir, soloists and speakers.  I’ve said it before, but the talent and production capability of our church amazes me.

It’s not uncommon for Scott and I to get goosebumps and look at each other during a moving song to say, “wow.”

After the service, there was a scheduled Flash Mob called Dance Your Shoes Off where hundreds gathered to dance – literally – out of their shoes and leave them for the needy.  Although I (Jane the busniess woman) wasn’t a part of this one, I enjoyed watching it from the roof top of our parking garage.

What a great idea.  The flash mob became a Resurrection Dance and gathered everyone together for a great cause.

As Scott so eloquently stated yesterday, it was nice to visit the Amway Center: where most people worship athletes, we got to worship the One who created the athletes.

Easter Dinner

When we got home from service, we quickly changed and threw together the beginnings of a Mint Berry Fruit Salad to bring over to my parents.

*Recipe will be on the blog tomorrow*

We packed the fruit salad, Scott’s beloved Mountain Dew, and this guy to celebrate the remainder of the day with family.

Roadie LOVES going over to Gamma & Pop Pop’s. <- and yes, since he is considered a grand-dog, that’s what we call my parents. 🙂

We showed up mid-afternoon to enjoy some time outside with my parents, grandma, and sister’s family.

I love that my family lives so close, and would miss these gatherings if we end up moving out of Orlando.

Everyone contributed to dinner and it was anything but traditional Ham:

I had no problem filling my plate up with chicken, asparagus casserole, corn on the cob, lima beans, a potato roll and our Mint Berry Fruit Salad.  The food was fantastic, and everyone raved about our dish.  Score!

We have a lot of birthdays in the family coming up (including mine), so my mom made a Funfetti Easter/Birthday cake and cookies to celebrate.

I would like to personally congratulate whoever at Pillsbury invented the funfetti cake.  It’s my absolute favorite and I’ve never ever gotten sick of it.

Artistry Lip Gloss Giveaway Winner

Okay, you’ve waited long enough! We have an Artistry Lip Gloss Giveaway Winner on our hands.

Congratulations to entry #14, Lisa!

Here’s what she said:

Please e-mail me at hwglamour@gmail.com with your address so I can send it on over!

I hope you and yours had a Happy Easter!

Enjoy the day, peeps.