The Easter Egg Hunt by Joannie Kay

breathe normally once again, she reached up to
touch his cheek.  “I love you with all my heart and soul, Noah Martson. 
I have no idea what I did to deserve you, but I am so lucky you love me.”
    “I
am the lucky one, Meggie,” he said sincerely.  “You make life worth
living.”
    “Even
when I am a brat?” she asked guiltily, wondering if he would spank her soundly
tomorrow when she gave the girls their Easter Baskets.
    “Are
you in trouble, precious?” he chuckled, already knowing she was up to some sort
of surprise for Easter.  It wasn’t like his Megan to obey their daughter’s
‘no candy’ rule.
    “Not
yet,” she sighed, and then said, “I need to get busy, honey, but thank you for
this.  I feel completely rejuvenated now.”
    “I
feel lazy,” he admitted.
    “Then
take a nap if you wish.”   She
leaned over to kiss him before jumping out of bed and picking up her clothing
from the floor to put it in the laundry hamper before dressing in sweats. 
She left her feet bare and went down to the kitchen to bake her Easter Bunny
cake.  While it was baking, she put together a fruit salad that needed to
be in the refrigerator overnight before it was served.  After that was
done she busied herself dusting the dining room and the living room, and then
she ran her Swifter over the hard wood floors.  The house wasn’t really
dirty, but with the children coming, she wanted to make sure there wasn’t dust
everywhere, and she wanted to make a good impression on Carrie.  It was
the first time their son was bringing home someone he considered special, and
she was positive there would be a wedding in the not too distant future. 
She wanted to like the girl Jacob chose.  Hopefully she would fit into
their family.
    Megan
took her cake out of the oven to let it cool, and then went outside to take
care of one other matter that needed attention.  What had seemed the
perfect idea a few days ago was probably going to ensure a sore bottom, but it
was Easter!  She returned to the house, and mixed up some icing for her
cake.  She took a small portion and tinted it pink, and another bit she
made green, and she got out candies to use for the eyes, nose, mouth, and
whiskers.
    Megan
worked steadily and by the time she was finished decorating the cake she was
pleased with the results.  Noah came into the kitchen as she was loading
the dishwasher.  “I fell asleep!” he admitted with a sheepish expression. 
“Is there anything left to do?” he wanted to know.
    “We
need to hide the girls’ baskets and hide the eggs.  I don’t think there
will be time after services to get it all done.  They normally come here
right after instead of going home.”
    “Inside?”
he asked.
    “I
think that works best, Noah,” she nodded.  They had fun, putting eggs
around the house for Rachel and Natalie to hunt, and even a few that Daddy,
Mommy, and Uncle Jeff would have to help them find.  Noah and Megan were
careful to count the real eggs to make sure they were all found.  Those
would only be used for decoration since they were sitting out all night. 
Megan already had other eggs boiled and peeled, and waiting to be deviled
tomorrow after sunrise services.  They decided where to hide the Easter
Baskets for everyone and wrote out a treasure hunt with clues to help the girls
find their basket.  The girls enjoyed that last year, and Jeff and Julie
Ann had fun helping them figure out the clues. 
    Noah
had to admit that his wife knew how to make even the simplest of things a lot
of fun.  He knew she would be at her happiest tomorrow, even though she
hadn’t said one word about the minimum of candy in the baskets.  Tomorrow
would be soon enough to learn what she was up to, and she was up to something. 
He knew his Meggie well.
    Sunrise
Services were beautiful and the music wonderful and uplifting.  Megan was
in a wonderful mood and when the girls wanted to ride with Grampa and Gramma,
they agreed, provided it was