If the marshmallows and Jesus went to Heaven...I want to go too!

The Saturday before Easter, Ella was very excited to go to her friend Lauren's Birthday party. She kept asking to go and I kept telling her it wasn't until later. At 10am I told her we'd go after nap to which she replied, "I go take nap NOW, K?" I chuckled at her eagerness and thought of how I could explain it better. Then I grabbed a plastic toy clock that we have and put the hour hand on 10am. I told her "This is what time it is now." Then I moved the hand and counted, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3. "We don't go to Lauren's birthday until it gets to here. Okay?" This seemed to actually work.

Well, A few days ago our Easter books came in the mail. (There was a slight glitch in the shipping, but they refunded the cost and the books have served as a great follow up/reinforcer to all we did with the Easter Season.)

After reading one she exlaimed, "I want go ta Heaven Mum!". And I told her how excited I was that she wanted to go to Heaven, but that it would be a while (hopefully). To which she replied, "I go ta Heaven NOW! K!?" Again I reiterated that I hoped it would be a long time until she goes to Heaven. She jumped up in bed excitedly as if a lightbulb had just burst on,"Mum. You go get da clock, K!? Den you turn da tings aaaand den we go to HEAVEN!" I just about died laughing at the cuteness!

Her beautiful desire to go to Heaven also gave us our first opportunity to share with her how to do that! I asked if she knew how to get into heaven, and told her all she needs to do is ask God into her heart and ask him to forgive her for the naughty things she does. We've had that conversation a few times since and it blesses me so to know that we've already been able to plant that seed with her! Oh how I pray it grows!

There are also some other neat remnants of Easter that I pray linger a while as well. When you ask her why we celebrate Easter she'll usually say, "Jesus woze fwom da dead!" Then she'll quickly go on in a strung together excited blabber saying, "And da marshmallows were all gone! Dey not dere! Dey go up ta Heaven and Jesus go up ta Heaven and dey wid da God!" Because the resurrection rolls were a giant success and she was ASTONISHED (slash upset) that the marshmallows that she so adored were not there anymore! We talked a lot about how Jesus went up to Heaven after he wasn't in His tomb, so I'm pretty sure she surmized that that's where the marshmallows went too! :)

The following are just a few excerpts from the two books which I LOVE!

"The unmoveable moved, the stone rolled away!

Hurray! The first Easter, God's victorious day.

The women ran quickly to find the eleven,

explaining that Jesus had gone up to Heaven."

~J is for Jesus by Debbie Trafton O'Neal

"This story's amazing and all of it's true.

He died on the cross for me and for you.

If you love Jesus, believe and obey,

then you can see Jesus in Heaven some day."
~An Easter Gift for Me by Crystal Bowman