Our Very Own Easter Egg Hunt

I'm not really a fan of the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus.  They just distract from the true meaning of the holiday.  My desire to stay far away from them surprises me since I love imagination and playing pretend.  I love Disneyland and all the fun it offers.  However, for holidays where what Christ did needs to be the center focus, I stay far away from the pretend.  

With that said, I shocked myself when I jumped right into the Easter Bunny coming on Easter morning.  Thomas, without any help from Jared or I, was very intrigued by the Easter Bunny and how he works.  He was at school, they saw him, he told me, well, his shadow and his ears in the window anyhow.  He asked if the Easter Bunny would come to our house and at the time I just avoided the question and probably just changed the subject.

Well, Easter morning rolled around and I hear Thomas' door open.  I was curious to see what he would do because I had hid their Easter treats, but left one out in plan sight for him to see as he walked down the hall. I heard his steps walk, then pause, then come running into the room. 

 He excitedly, but matter-of-factly asked, "Did the Easter Bunny come?"

 I responded with a, "huh?"

Thomas said, "Well their are peeps on the table and I didn't put them there, so he must have come."

Well, that was all it took and I just jumped right in and went with it.

Thomas loved it, ran down the hall telling Benjamin just what was going on.  It was priceless, we listened in on the monitor as he filled his younger brother in, telling him just how it works.

The two of them went to town finding all that they could and Thomas made sure all was even and even figured out that there had to be more because it wasn't even yet.  It was so cute!!  

His first discovery:

Benjamin showing Daddy what he had found:

The Easter goods.

So, I'm still pondering, but I did learn a few things.  We explained the whole gospel and the joy that Easter really is.  Thomas asked questions and even told his friend and his brother all about Easter.  He loved looking at his set of Resurrection Eggs and telling us what each one holds.  That is the joy of Easter and the part that we will share with him throughout the year.  The Easter Bunny, well, I told him it was just pretend in the weeks before Easter, but still that morning he seemed to really believe and had fun with it.  We didn't let it take over, but still let him have his fun with it.  It was fun to see him have fun with it.  It was fun to see the joy of a child in him.  I will continue to ponder these things between now and way- too- soon re-introduction of the man in the red suit, and figure out just how much they'll be around.

What do you all do about these characters?