My Daughter is a Work of Art

Yet Another Nearly Wordless Wednesday

I’m sure all fathers when looking at their daughters feel the same overwhelming surge of love… and feel the complete certainty that nothing in the world has ever been nor will ever be more beautiful. Of course in my case, I’m correct. I made this “watercolor” of my little girl hunting for Easter Eggs during our annual neighborhood Easter street party this year using PhotoShop.

Daughter at Easter Egg Hunt Wathercolor

Copyright © 2011 A Daddy Blog™

Click on the image to view a larger copy. So, what are your Easter traditions? Do you dress in an Easter Bonnet with a flower upon it and go to church? Do you color real hard-boiled eggs or put treats in plastic eggs? And my last question: do Peeps have an expiration date… or are they like candy corn at Halloween and will survive the next ice-age? What are your traditions?

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  1. We have such a Hodge-podge, a little of my mom’s tradition mixed in with a bit of mine. Ok mostly mine. We always fix pickled eggs in a giant mayo jar, no mayo left in the jar, a few days before Easter. We color eggs the old fashion way with food colors and vinegar. Ummmmmm then baked ham, pot salad, green beans with whole potatoes for Easter dinner. We wake up on Easter morn to find the basket of goodies left by the Easter Bunny! If we decide to go to church the little one always gets a new Easter outfit. Sadly we don’t always go. 🙁

    1. Your Easter meal sounds great, Lisa. I want to do Easter at your house! Given our daughter is just two, we are still establishing our traditions. Our neighborhood holds a big Easter Egg hunt before the actual day, so we’ve done that two years in a row. That’s where the photo is from. I’ve never pickled eggs before… do you use vinegar and salt, I guess? Might have to try that.

  2. That picture is amazing! I love it.
    As for Easter, being Christian, obviously it is a very important holiday for our family. We go to Church on Easter Friday, Saturday is time for seeing family and having some fun. Hunting for treats on Sunday morning, and then off to church again. And yes, new outfit is a must – funky hat optional. Then there will be the family dinner either Sunday, or Monday.
    I don’t know about Peeps though. We are a chocolate and jelly bean family…..both which never last long enough to find out expiration. LOL

    1. Thanks! I enjoy playing with PhotoShop… some people say I enjoy it too much and need an intervention. 😉 Yours sounds like a fun, traditional Easter. Peeps were never part of our treats either. When I was a kid we colored real eggs and my mom hid them around the yard. Wonder how sanitary that really was?

  3. We hide chocolate eggs in the garden for the girls to find. We decorate baskets to turn them into easter baskets to collect their eggs with. Spend family time together doing something fun and eating all our chocolate eggs.

    1. Are those the colored foil covered chocolate eggs you use? In Dallas that would be a problem, as it’s usually warm enough for chocolate to melt by Easter. 😉 We used to decorate baskets for putting the eggs we found in, too. And put that fake “grass” in the bottom.

  4. Your daughter is so beautiful and I love the watercolor effect of the picture. Very cool!

    As for peeps…my hubby will only eat peeps if they’ve been left out for a few days to get stale. He says they’re better that way. I’m not so sure. Maybe it’s a man thing?

    As for traditions, we just do lots of Spring crafts, read books that teach the story of why we celebrate Easter, and we get the girls all dolled up in beautiful poofy Easter dresses and lots of curls, for church on Easter Sunday.

    We also dye real hard boiled eggs, and snack on them throughout the week. As for the plastic eggs, those are filled with special treats and are hidden preferably outdoors at grandma’s house. If the weather isn’t cooperating, the hunt takes place inside on Easter morning.

    Oh and this weekend we’ll be making homemade sugar cookies in Easter shapes and decorating them with frosting and sprinkles. Yum!

    Blessings,
    Rosann

    1. We get the girls all dolled up in beautiful poofy Easter dresses and lots of curls, for church on Easter Sunday.

      Sounds wonderful, Rosann! Not the stale peeps part, though. LOL. I’ve heard other people say the same thing as your hubby, but didn’t grow up with peeps, so don’t know the proper aging technique. 😉 We dyed real eggs when I was a kid, and my mom hid them in the yard, too.

      Easter blessings to you too!

  5. Our church holds a vigil on Maunday Thursday (the night before Good Friday.) The chapel stays open all night and we sign up for shifts so there is always someone there. The idea comes from the Bible when Jesus laments that Peter and one of the other Apostles (whose name I can’t remember) fall asleep while Jesus is praying for strength to make it through what he knows is coming. He’d asked them to accompany him in his prayers.

    So my son, age 8, wants to sign up for a shift. There is absolutely no talking during this time-its a very solemn soul searching event, and there are more people there than those who sign up, so I’m hesitant but also willing to let him try. Our time is 10 pm- very late for him. He gets up to light a dozen candles in our hour but he does stay quiet.

    11 o clock comes, but no one else does; no one besides the two of us are there- so we can’t go. There is a piano in the corner and my son asks if he can practice his recital piece. I think a minute and decide that if I were in mental anguish I’d sure like to hear him play for me. His piece happens to be Rio Ramba.

    He’s in the midst of it when the next person walks in. I look up rather nervously and she smiles. He finishes and we leave. Every year, now we take an hour and we always giggle a little remembering how my son played Rio Ramba for Jesus.

    1. That’s cool your son wanted to participate in the silent vigil, Susan. Certainly puts a focus on Easter beyond that of bunnies, colored eggs and peeps. And I love the Rio Ramba for Jesus story. Can’t replace memories like that. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing!

  6. I also wanted to say that your painting is beautiful. What a lovely keepsake for your daughter. She’s lucky to have so talented and thoughtful a dad.

    1. Thank you so much, Susan. I love playing with graphic art. I’ve created much better, but with a muse and model so lovely as my daughter it’s not possible to do badly. 🙂

  7. This is such an awesome photo of the wee one! Since I’ve moved away, can’t say we really do anything in the way of tradition for the holiday, though we have noticed many around our small town having Easter egg hunts. There was even one held at the park across the street from our house; complete with Easter Bunny!!!

    1. Hi, Mitzi. Because our 2 year old is an only child I really like it when there are opportunities to do activities with other kids. This was our second neighborhood Easter egg hunt in a year, and our wee one definitely got the point of it this time. LOL. Plus her Grampie visiting from out of state was able to join in.

      1. I noticed that by the photos. I think it is really neat that she gets to experience such awesome things in life. And Grampie being there this year, well, it goes without saying that made it even more special for all. Hugs my friend.

        1. Yes, it was awesome he was here, and I know you heard all the cool things he’s done for his granddaughter… well, really for all of us. Grampie’s the best!

  8. That is such a great picture! What a great way to capture the spring feeling behind it all. She is such a cutie!

    1. I really appreciate that, Ashley. I used bright colors and water-color like effects to make it as bright, cheery and spring-like as I could. As for her being a cutie… well, this daddy (firmly wrapped around her little finger) is forced to agree. 🙂 Thanks again!

  9. 1. The photo is beautiful!
    2. Headed to my dad’s this weekend for the traditional Easter Egg hunt on 80 acres (!)
    3. Mmmmm. Peeps.

    1. Hello Becca. Responding to your comments in order:

      1. Thank you for the complement. My wife took the photo. I simply dressed it up a bit. I’m carrying a camera all the time now, so soon perhaps I’ll rival my wife’s photographic prolific prowess? Probably not. 😉
      2. An Easter Egg hunt on 80 acres? Now that’s and Easter Egg hunt! Does your dad live in the country? Any cute fluffy farm animals?
      3. So there is someone who actually eats peeps? Are you like Rosann’s hubby in a comment above who likes to let them sit for a couple of days to age and harden to perfection? I’m a peep novice.

      Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great weekend, Becca!

  10. Hi Michael,

    The photo came out beautiful in watercolor! Don’t you just love to play with photo software?

    Let’s see, I have one boy, and he insists on dying real eggs, but we don’t hide those. We now hide little plastic basketballs with quarters in them. (his Nana’s idea)

    The Easter Bunny comes, this year likely with Legos. And normally church on Sunday morning, but this year the kid has “first communion” ceremony on Easter Eve Vigil. Very high church thingy.

    Love your blog!

    KK

    (Mom Loop Friday Comment Follow)

    1. Congrat’s on his First Communion! My mom used to hide real eggs in the yard… but then we’d always find a scary one months later. 😉 Yeah, I love playing with photo editing. Thanks for dropping by from MomLoop. Have a wonderful weekend!

    • JDaniel4's Mom on at
    • Reply

    This is wonderful. I love all the layering of color.this would look great on canvas.

    1. Thanks, D. Most of the work is done with a series of filters and such I applied to the original photo upon which it’s based. I should learn to accept complements. Thank you. Full stop. 🙂

  11. Love the picture, and your new format! (via mom loop)

    1. I really appreciate it, Mary. I’m still deciding if I like my new “look”. As for the picture, well, with a subject like her how could I go wrong?

    • Carolee a.ka. Blogging Biz Mom on at
    • Reply

    We were hoping to start a new tradition, Easter at camp….but the owner had a few medical issues and they are delayed in opening- they will be opening May 1st instead of April 15th.

    So everyone will gather here instead. We have broken standard tradition a bit…if it’s nice out we will cook out instead of the usual sit down dinner of meat and potatoes, etc…

    My kids hate Peeps, so I don’t even bother anymore…

    Check out my social network for bloggers, The Blogging Buddies Social Network Add your profile, blog link, etc….

    1. Hello Carolee,

      My 2 year old has not really experience a cook out, and I think at the least a picnic is a must soon for us. Sorry your camp got delayed, but it still sounds like you’ll have fun. I’ll definitely check out your social network for bloggers. You should also check out MomLoop, as they have a great community with lots of blogging support.

      ~Michael

    • Earline Fitzpatrick on at
    • Reply

    Maybe it’s a man thing? I think a minute and decide that if I were in mental anguish I’d sure like to hear him play for me. He gets up to light a dozen candles in our hour but he does stay quiet. I’m carrying a camera all the time now, so soon perhaps I’ll rival my wife’s photographic prolific prowess?

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