A Brookhaven resident’s yard will be covered with Easter eggs, live animals and lots of children Saturday.

Mary Manny likes it that way. She saves up her money every year to fund her own Easter egg hunt, which is open to all children in the community.

There will also be prizes, but kids never know what they’ll find until they get started on the hunt.

“Last year, I put a $100 bill in a golden egg,” Manny said. “I like to come up with new ideas every year to make it different. The Lord puts it together for me.”

Manny’s 20th annual Easter hunt will be at her house on 1099 Zetus Road at 2 p.m.

Manny is known for having one of the most popular Easter egg hunts in Brookhaven. Her Easter egg hunts have put smiles on children’s faces for 20 years, but planning for this year has been a challenge.

The 57-year-old discovered she has cancer along with heart trouble last week, but she’s praying that God lets her make it through Saturday.

“I need surgery really bad,” Manny said. “They told me ‘if you don’t have surgery you’re going to die’, but I’m going to put it in the Lord’s hands.”

When Manny isn’t going back and forth for doctor visits, she’s preparing for the Easter hunt.

“Seeing these kids happy brings my happiness,” she said. “They look up to [the hunt] every year because it’s been going on so long. They don’t forget my name,”

Manny said she’s thought about not doing the hunt, but God won’t let her stop.

“I had five brothers and five sisters and we didn’t have much of nothing and I see kids in the same shoes. It’s not just about thinking about you, but of others,” she said.

Manny said her family has always given her the encouragement to keep going. That’s husband Steve Manny and daughters Shelley Griffith and Sherry Burns as well as her deceased daughter, the late Kelly Edmonds.

She hopes to find at least one child who has a better Easter because of her event.

Parents have told her that the event is sometimes the only Easter hunt their children get to participate in.

“I didn’t have it, so I’m trying to give it to them. The Lord gave me a good heart and it’s for kids. He blesses me with money to do it,” Manny said.

Manny is asking for parents to bring plastic or boiled decorated eggs and candy to help her out this year. For more information, call 601-835-1132.