- This is the day the the LORD has made! -

Not my personal writing, but I wanted to start this post off with an ancient homily on Holy Saturday that I loved reading and reflecting on this year while I [and the whole earth!] waited in silence and stillness for Easter Sunday:

“Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him, Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying:

“Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.

“I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise.

“I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth.

“For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

“See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

“I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

“Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God.

“The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.”

From the second reading in the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday, in the Breviary (citing Migne PG 43, 439, 451, 462-463).

 

Awake, O sleeper... Gooooodness, what an unfathomable blessing it is to love and be loved by our Lord, the new Adam!  Could go on and on forever about this, but I'll spare you all today. ;) :)  

On Holy Saturday, we celebrated Easter with Brian's family!  There is really no place our girls would rather be than with all their cousins, so it goes without saying that cousins + chocolate on a nice, sunshiny day was a real treat!

 

 

And then, at some point while the children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads, the Easter Bunny came!!! We realized that morning that we forgot to leave carrots out, so the kids were very relieved that he still came anyway! Hopefully he forgives us! ;) :)

Arabella loved her first Easter and was not mad about her basket full of goodies from E.B.!

Juliette realized this year that her eggs were full of chocolate and other sugary treats, and no Easter will ever be the same again................

Since the first child popped out of bed at 6:23am [*cough Scarlett*] and proceeded to wake up the rest of the sisters ^^, there was PLENTY of time to go through the Easter baskets, do the egg hunt, open each Easter egg and marvel over the contents, cook/devour a gourmet breakfast, and still make it to 10:15am Mass with plenty of time to spare!   

 

Because...what what??! He is risen, just as He said!!! I'm not a crier, but I embarrassingly blinked back a few tears during the gathering song as I looked around the church and acknowledged how privileged we are celebrate the greatest love story of all time alongside friends, classmates, and parishioners who have become family!

 

A beautiful Mass in a beautiful church with beautiful friends worshipping alongside us.  Surely God gave us a tiny glimpse of the kingdom to come today!

 

Then! After Mass, we were off to celebrate Easter with my side of the fam.  Had to stop by home and grab Bella Boo, of course! :)

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Happy Easter, friends!  We are praying for you; please pray for us, too! 

- Stations of the Cross -

The Stations of the Cross by Harper, 2nd grade

  

- Ash Wednesday and Lent and Holy Week ...OH MY! -

How is it time for Easter again already?! Time is flying faster than ever before! I wasn't at all prepared for the Lenten season this year, but allthesudden it was Ash Wednesday, and after that there was no looking back! When we initially left Ash Wednesday Mass, Juli wasn’t sure how she felt about her Hasty/Load Toner...

...but all in all, we decided it wasn't so much about the "shape" of the ashes and VERY MUCH about kicking off our Lenten journey ahead. ;) :)  [But...next year I will be requesting the iPriest or OCD, just saying. HBU?]

I feel like definitely know I say this every Easter [and Christmas], but each year gets better and better and BETTER; I am truly blown away by the big kids' spirituality and the way they just so totally love Jesus with the entirety of their little hearts. It is a wonderful blessing to experience our faith through the eyes of our children; it is a blessing I hope I never forget and NEVER ever take for granted.  And! The school work that comes home during the Lent/Easter and Advent/Christmas seasons is my absolute favorite [and if our cherubs throw away the tub of schoolwork and artwork I'm lovingly saving for them through the years, at my least my heart will be pacified knowing these memories live on forever and eva' on my little diary saved to the World Wide Web for infinity and beyond]:

Then!  Fish fry FriYAYs were a hit like never before this year! Cousins and friends and classmates...OH MY! Who will we bump into next?! ;) :)

Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest!  The family that "Palm Sundays" together stays together! Harper wanted to save our palms this year, and YouTube provided a few trusty videos that taught us how to wrap them!

On Holy Thursday, we dyed a dozen and a half hard-boiled eggs [and btw, remind me to go for 2 dozen next year, because the masses were highly disappointed when the blank eggs ran out!].  Grandma Resa gifted us a motorized machine that spins the eggs as they're being colored; needless to say, this contraption was a HUGE HIT, and the eggs turned out adorable, too!

After a fun session of egg dyeing/coloring, we dove head first into the Easter Triduum with Holy Thursday Mass where Scarlett got her feet washed by our parish priest...

...and then we attended the 3pm service on Good Friday.  I did not write this, but want to wrap up the blog today with a post that was going around social media this year: 

"He received 39 stripes because 40 was known to kill a man. They wanted him alive. They held handfuls of his beard, and hair and pulled it out by the roots. They wanted him alive. They kicked, punched, and spit on him for hours. Until there wasn't a single spot on his body not covered in blood. They wanted him alive. They shoved a crown of thorns down on his head so harshly it stuck in his skin. They wanted him alive.

After hours of being beaten, mocked, whipped, flogged, and tortured they made him walk with a cross. They made him carry it. A rough piece of wood with splinters digging into fresh wounds. They wanted him alive.

They wanted him to feel every ounce of pain they could bring. He had to feel it in order to heal us. Crucifixion was historically one of the cruelest most tortured deaths a human could face.

Hours upon hours of torture. Torture most of us can not mentally think of because the cruelty isn't normal. It isn't something our minds can comprehend.

We celebrate Easter with pastel colors, happy children hunting eggs, and chocolate. Truth is there was absolutely nothing happy about the day Jesus died. It was cruel, bloody, and nasty. He could have stopped all of it.

He could have called every angel in heaven to demolish every person standing and shouting "Crucify Him!" He didn't. He knew in order to have a Sunday you have to have a Friday.

On that cross he held the rapist and murderers, the sinner and the saint. He leveled every playing field and said ALL of you are worth it. He knew he had to carry the cross. He never promised the cross you carry in this life would not be heavy. His wasn't. His promise is that Sunday is coming. No matter how heavy Friday is.

Financially, emotionally, mentally, or physically. Friday is heavy. That cross is weighing you down and you are about to crumble under its weight. His promise was simply this. He won't make you carry it alone. What kind of king would step down from his throne for this?

Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God did. For you. He did every bit of it for you and me. Oh yes it is heavy. So heavy sometimes you do not think you can take one more step…But look up, because Sunday is coming."

Let us join our tear-filled eyes and heavy hearts to the Lord on Friday, knowing that He loves us beyond all measure and we will never carry our burdens alone...

...because, Sunday is coming.

- City Mueseum -

It's spring break, y'all! ...And the perfect time to cash in our Christmas gift from Uncle Blake: a trip to the City Museum!

I was so excited about this day trip, especially since Brian took PTO so we could make it a family adventure and do something fun all together while the kids were off school for a full week; but OH MY GOODNESS, [and] thank goodness he planned to come along, because I NEVER would've survived that museum zoo by myself with the three kids!  As Harper and Scarlett immediately darted off into a tunnel inside the mouth of a great white whale in the entrance while I was still trying to get the stroller parked and Juliette's wrist band adhered, I pretty quickly realized that the day would be a 1 adult:Harper/Scarlett and 1 adult:Juliette type of day.  Brian followed the big girls around [for what felt like hours] while Juliette and I found a little fun of our own...

 

...and pretty soon, the older sisters surfaced...

...but not for long before they were off to another area of wire contraptions and slides.  Aside from just the VERY LARGE CROWD inside, I wondered a few times if God was giving me a glimpse of hell: nasty, muggy air which boasted a mild-to-strong scent of B.O. every now and then, very dark lighting, endless caves and caverns and tunnels that led to unknown areas........... Surely at least 3 kids permanently disappeared in this place each day?!  While I was quietly considering all the ways one of our children would surely die, Harper and Scarlett were absolutely LOVING it all.  Harper even sweet talked her dad into taking her up up up and UP ten flights of stairs to scoot down the 10-story slide [which I am now currently on hold to make Brian a follow-up chiropractor appointment for]! :O

Hours later, I finally conned everyone onto the same story and roped us in together for a snack and a sit-down to watch a trapeze artist who escaped the circus. Harper loved the show and is now asking for a yard of stretchy fabric and a hula hoop to be hung from our basement ceiling so she can learn how to do circus acts and other forms of aerial gymnastics..................................

Around 1:30pm, a v. v. overtired and v. v. fussy Juliette finallyyyy fell asleep in her stroller, and Brian offered to push her around for a bit while I took the big girls off for more exploring.  Phew!  A break from a fussy toddler and a chance to explore the chaos with the big girls; I'll take it!   

 

But then!  3.6 minutes into our cavern spelunking adventure, Harper was officially LOST...! Scarlett and I spent the next 13.6+ minutes frantically searching and yelling her name approx. every 10 seconds into the dark abyss.  I didn't have cell reception in this particular dungeon-like portion of the museum but later retrieved 5 missed phone calls from cell phones of various museum employees who were helping Harper try to find us.  ...It's truly a miracle that she types in my cell phone number every week to complete her check-in at gymnastics, otherwise I'm not sure she would've known my number! :/ About the time she was at the front desk scared out of her mind that she'd never see us again since her dumb mom wasn't answering any phone calls, another woman reported to the front desk that there was "a woman/mom yelling, 'HARPERRRRR?' over and over and over very loudly in the cave area," and that prompted an employee to quickly bring Harper down there where we were anxiously searching.

REUNITED.

Zomg.

[With all the weirdos lurking around the world these days,] I literally thought for a few minutes we might never see our girl again!  ...And I'm totally giving a little extra empathy to Mama Mary during my reciting of the joyful mysteries of the rosary these days when I meditate on the pure JOY they must've felt when they found Jesus in the temple after three days of searching.  Three days!!! I could barely contain myself for 15 minutes hahhhhh.

The long story short is, upon being reunited with Harper, I immediately threw in the towel and handed the "explorer hat" back over to the fun parent who, without question, quickly began exploring with the kids again.  As I sat on the top deck outside by a sleeping Juliette and watched the more adventurous 60% of the family climbing on these wire tunnels and ladders about 578' above the ground, I pondered several important things like:
a) do we think engineers inspect this place every so often to make sure the attractions are safe?, and
b) what time does this place close for the day...hopefully soon?, and
c) how can I get my hands on a triple dose of Xanax for the next time we find ourselves brave enough to visit this very curious place?.............

About the time I was finished racking my brain with all these things, I saw two police officers escorting a purple tie-dye shirted City Museum employee out in handcuffs, and that was the final straw. Time to go!!!

I am happy to report that all 5 of us made it back to the van unscathed [albeit v. v. hot and hungry], and 4/5 of the family reported it as the best day ever!

Until next time, City Muesum......... *pops a Cayman Jack*

- Sewing for Seniors -

As a past student of our next-door neighbor's sewing camps, Harper was invited to attend the "Sewing for Seniors" service project that she hosted.  She chose to help the sewing students make blankets for seniors in the nursing home during Lent to help them showcase their skills while also teaching them to make space in their lives for Jesus.  ...Have I mentioned how much I LOVE living next door to this selfless and oh-so-sweet lady?!

A few weeks after the lap blankets were finished, the girls gathered at a local nursing home to deliver them to residents.  I absolutely love this photo and also the experience and lessons learned that came along with it. You are the best ever, Dana!!!
 

- Life be better thow... -

Keeping this post short and sweet today, because the pic says it all!  Life is better -- or at least "funny thow" -- with a baby sister in tow. :-* 

- Time to HUNT, lil' bunnies! -

Hopping around to *12* businesses around town to completely fill 3 egg cartons and collect a treat at each stop, too?! ...On the windiest day of the spring, might I add?  Don't. Mind. If. We. DOOO!

 

This unique egg hunt started a few years back during the peak time of COVID [you know, the time when the "let's-all-gather-in-one-big-clump-and-dash-forward-in-hot-pursuit-of-a-field-full-of-eggs" hunts were red X'ed and off limits], and it's still going strong three years later.  Our girls request to sign up each year, and this year they invited their cousin, too!

 

 Juliette loved every stop EXCEPT the meet-and-greet with E.B...

 

...but, thankfully, Daddy was close!  She clung on like a little spider monkey until we were safe and sound and on to the next stop.

What a day! 

...It's beginning to feel a lot like...EASTER!