Your assignment if you choose to accept it is to be present this Easter weekend and really pay attention to what you do and why—even before that, I want you to create an “Easter” album on your smart phone, inside your photos app, so that you can begin to collect some of your best photos taken over the last several years. Set a 15-minute timer and locate 5 to 10 photos from each Easter season. Add them to your Easter album and then witness the magic! When you bring similar photos together in this way, you will both discover and recognize the consistencies—themes, traditions—stories you most want to tell around this and other holidays.

I find it is also helpful to make a list of specific aspects of a holiday that I want capture with my photo taking. What’s on your list? Traditions, food, specific relationships, gifts and baskets filled with goodies. YOU get to decide what to remember and what to document. Take a look back at pages or scrapbooks you’ve already created and SEE if what you’ve captured is a true representation of how and why you celebrate—then know that you can focus your efforts this year on details that perhaps you’ve inadvertently overlooked before now.

Many times over the years, my children have found Mad Libs or a new book in their Easter baskets. One of my all-time favorite books is Runny Babbit, by Shel Silverstein.

I also LOVE the idea of including these super-CUTE 3x4 cards—a few of which are pictured here— in an Easter basket. Cut them up and tie them together with some white string or tulle. Then invite a child to record their own thoughts and observations. Visit the Persnickety Prints blog to download these!

You can watch the PBS News Hour coverage and response to the tragedy at Notre Dame HERE.

Of course Danny Kaye sings it best … Here comes Peter Cotton Tail, in the classic 1971 animated stop motion TV special— I remember watching this with my siblings and finding it now again—I’m curious of course as to what movies, songs, books—perhaps Alexa facts and riddles my children and grandchildren with associate with holiday memories.

Looking for a transcript of this episode? Click here to download.