No More Easter Bunny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja7jQ2N48Ec&feature=player_embedded
It's the end of an era here in the Craig household.  Alex asked me the other day point blank if the Easter Bunny was real.  I lied; I said of course there was.  My eagle eyed 8 year old spotted the top handle of a cherry pink Easter basket yesterday in my car.  (BTW, Steve picked it up and left it in the front seat of my car.  I love his effort, but c'mon; could he at least have put it in the trunk?  Love you, honey.)  Ergo, the questioning began again:  Mommy, are you sure there's really an Easter Bunny?  I sighed.  I told her the truth.  Alex's response:  Mommy, don't lie to me again.
Ok, so she was a little upset about the no Easter Bunny thing, but she was more upset that I lied to her.  I commend her.  I must be doing something right.  Personally, I think she would have been fine with no Easter Bunny at all.  When she was 18 months old, I dutifully brought her down to the mall in pink gingham and whoopsie pigtails to have her picture taken with the old rat.  She screamed like there was no tomorrow and pulled her white ribbons out of her hair.  The photographer called me over to pick out a package ranging from $20 to $100, and I asked him if he was crazy; there was no way I was paying for a $20 picture with my child assaulting the mall Easter Bunny.  He gave me a blank stare in return.  Oh well.
So, as we're sitting down to a lovely Easter lunch with my family, someone brought up freaking Santa Claus.  You've gotta be kidding.  I buried my face in my hands over my green bean casserole and potatoes au gratin and pretended I wasn't there, until Alex's voice boomed over the conversation to me:  Mommy, is Santa Claus real?  Oh geez.  With everyone's eyes suddenly upon me, Jesus answered for me:  Honey, we'll talk about this later.  I tabled it.  She asked me not to lie, and let me tell you that the Santa thing is not going to go over as well.  So, I sugared her up with every other child around the world and am praying the subject will not come up for a very long time.
Don't be too afraid; I told Alex to not advertise the "Easter Bunny isn't real" thing for all the world to know.  It's not world stopping news and every child doesn't need to know.  She seemed to understand.
Through it all, I'm thankful because Alex assured me that she knows what Easter is about:  it's about Jesus conquering the grave!  It's about Him loving us more than anything and bearing the cross for our sins.  When she made cards for family members, on her own without my prompting, she drew pictures of Jesus on the cross.  Also, she was quick to tell me that two of her friends asked Jesus into their hearts today.  Wow.
Thank You, Jesus.  Thank You for loving us and teaching us what love is.  Thank You for the invitation and for walking along side of me wherever I am.  Thank You for helping my kiddo remember what's most important and coming to her in real ways.  Amen.