8.10am We have made such good progress in getting Soph to stay in her own room over the past couple of months, but I fear that we might have undone it all this week. She came in with us at 2.30 this morning. Never mind!

9.00am It’s been nice to have a slightly slower start today. We’ve read some books and watched some Lion King. Now it’s time to get up and moving – it’s the day of our Easter Family Fun Afternoon!

10.10am Nathan has taken Soph out for the morning and I need to check over my facepaint kit and make some chocolate nest mixture before I go out to church.

11.15am I’m at church and so are Granny and Grandpa! When I ran an event like this last year, I needed the full force of Mum, Dad, Gran, Grandpa and Nathan to make it happen. This year it’s a bit different but Granny and Grandpa are still here to help. I’m very grateful!

12.45am Last minute preparations (the literature about church) are done. Now we just need to set up the craft tables.

4.50pm Wow, that was AMAZING! It was all go from before 2 all the way until gone 4! We think about 150 people came. We ran out of biscuits, fluffy chicks, chocolate bunnies, and space on the prayer station! We’ve got very few hats left, and we painted faces nonstop for two hours!

Everything else, the stone painting, carrot game, card making, nest making, cross decorating, the Godly play story, hotdogs, drinks, and, of course, Easter egg hunt, went down really well. The sun shone, and people spread out onto the grass, relaxing and enjoying each others company.

In the end, Granny, Grandpa and I didn’t even really have time for lunch – I must do better at thinking about food when other people are involved!

Nathan arrived with Sophia at some point and she was so cute. She had a bonnet on her head made by Gill and she toddled over to say hello. I think she really wanted to sit on my knee, but she was quite happy with other people until the very end.

Friends from Breastfeeding Support Sefton, Sweaty Mamas and Formby came along too, which was just so nice. I’m only sorry I didn’t get the chance to chat to people very much! As it was, I was painting lots of faces as bunnies, rainbows, Spiderman, tigers, flowers and even a vampire!

We didn’t ask for any money today. We got funding from the Deanery so I didn’t want to charge. But even so, people wanted to make donations and I believe there is over £150 in the safe – enough to do another one, perhaps? Not too soon though, we need to recover from this one!

6.00pm I am very blessed. Polly has brought a chocolate Easter cake round, which she and Sophia made yesterday. Granny and Grandpa have done a bowl of washing up (the kitchen was a bit on top of us). I’m now able to relax in a tidy kitchen with a piece of delicious cake. Bliss!

8pm Sophia is down! She spent the evening eating pizza, playing in her car and pulling the stickers off her Easter bonnet (sorry Gill!). Nathan went out to St Giles for the Vigil and I did bedtime. I got in the bath too because my hands needed a good soak from all the facepaint!

11.20pm My second sermon for tomorrow is written, printed and in my preaching folder. I’ve also redone Sophia’s bonnet ready for the morning.

I managed to have a bit of a discussion on Facebook this morning on a post by the ABC. Somebody said how churches who do Fun Days on Easter Saturday don’t understand what it’s all about.

I disagree. I know that Easter Saturday is important. I imagine that it must have been horrendous for the disciples. I know it is not Easter until sundown, and Easter liturgy should not be used until then.

But I also know that we are a post-resurrection people. Jesus is alive! And I would not ignore the opportunity to bless my community and engage with local families for the sake of liturgical correctness.

Easter Saturday will always be a special day to me. I was confirmed at an Easter Saturday service 17 years ago. Today has been amazing. I’m so pleased we pulled it off, and I’m very grateful to our fantastic volunteers!

An even bigger joy, though, comes in the morning…