when the neighbors come to party

48 guests came to our neighborhood Easter party.  32 adults and 16 children, plus our crew of 7 made for a grand total of 55 people!  Our oldest guest lives on the 6th floor directly above us, he must be at least 70.  The youngest was a 5 month old baby.  Most of the children were aged 3 to 7.)

I prepared 17 cups of egg dye and we finished every single hard-boiled egg (I lost exact count but it was around 100 eggs!)

 
Top to bottom, start to finish, it simply could not have been one bit better.

Seriously.  Matt and I sat [exhausted!] on the sofa that evening, rehashing the events of the afternoon and we couldn't think of one single thing we'd want any different.  God's hand was evident in every detail. 

We dyed eggs, ate snacks, hunted Easter eggs, listened to the Easter story using the Resurrection Eggs... all outdoors (thank goodness for our courtyard because there's just no way to make 1000 square feet of home an adequate hosting spot for 50ish, at least not for several hours of party).  Then we squeezed the crowd indoors where the children enjoyed every square inch of toy space and the adults heard a crystal clear presentation of exactly why we celebrate Easter.  It was glorious! 

Gift, just gift, to host this party.  We loved it.