Holy Week

The week before Easter carries many traditions for our family. Whereas Advent and Christmas celebrations varied from year to year, Lent, Holy Week and Easter were almost always the same ~ watching Jesus of Nazareth, fasting, simple meals, celebrating the Passover dinner, Good Friday service, remaining silent from noon til 3:00 in honor of Our Lord's crucifixion, dying eggs, early morning Mass...and all the conversation that these events inspired.

When Shannon and I married, he jumped right on board.  He loved the infusion of so many traditions in every celebration, as crazy as it can be at times.  We had friends over to celebrate the Passover meal with us this year.  Having experienced a Seder meal at our parish earlier this Lent, Shannon did the best job ever explaining the symbolism-rich celebration.

Last night we dyed eggs with family.  It was absolutely insane with somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 dozen eggs and 13 children.  After we had bleached the last drops of red dye off our floor, Shan and I breathed a deep sigh and sunk into the couch.

While the Easter Vigil has not been a Mass we typically attend, tonight we are welcoming new family into the church!  This evening we will head to the Vigil Mass, but Easter wouldn't be Easter if we didn't go to
7:00 am Mass, so we will be there too.  That is one of my favorites.  We typically are one of the very first families at the church.  The entire Cathedral is completely silent, those of us there at that hour soaking up the complete peace of it all.  It leads me to contemplate the women at the tomb that first Easter morning.  How did it feel to be the first ones to realize that He had risen?
Were they fearful, joy-filled, confused?
Tomorrow cannot arrive soon enough!

The house is filled with the scent of lilies, boiled eggs, and cinnamon rolls in preparation for the Resurrection.
My children are jumping up and down with the anticipation of EVERYTHING, especially baby chicks due to hatch tomorrow!

My heart is filled with a peace that an intentional Lent brings with it every year.

Kath, making "unleavened" bread ~ we just don't allow it to rise 

The little boys helping ~

Dom removing the eggs from the egg turner

Joshie teaching the babies how to play chess...for some reason I don't think they are interested.

 

Waiting for directions from Daddy

"This isn't an assembly line, make sure you make EVERY egg pretty!"

"Uh huh, hurry up please...."

I am makin' it pretty, Daddy ~

Nickels was totally into dying eggs ~

Hannah & Grandma

This one made me laugh ~ Shan is totally into decorating his egg ~ 

Uncle Gabe & Kolby ~

Michaela was in heaven, holding her new baby cousin ~