What a Week!

On Monday morning I woke to a house that appeared to have been through a wind storm...inside the house. There were dishes covering the table and kitchen counters. Candy strewn everywhere. Piles of clothes humped in the hall, in the bathrooms, on bedroom floors...and in the entryway. Piles of shoes scattered. Empty toilet paper rolls left unchanged. In all three bathrooms! Crumbs and dust covering all surfaces in the house. Mail stacked up.

You see it was Holy Week. We celebrated Pascha this past Sunday.

Glory! Christ Is Risen! Indeed! He Is Risen. What is Pascha? Read HERE. How is it different than Easter? Read HERE. And if you want to see how much the kids have grown, look HERE. And if you'd like to be scared look HERE.

Okay. That was a lot of looking.

Now, back to the current year.

Let's start with Palm Sunday. It was a beautiful sunshiny day. We had a great time at church. Hosana!

Cam had to work this year during Holy Week. So we didn't make it to the services on Mon. or Tues. night. On Wed. night it is Holy Unction. It was a lovely service....that is until Baby George decided he didn't want to have the oil put on him. He hollered loudly and then blubbered for a good 20 minutes. Well, he hates lotion and hand gel so I guess to him it feels the same. The rest of us enjoyed the experience.

Holy Thurs. was an amazing service too. Christ is nailed to the cross. It is a somber night. I love to see my kids' faces as they listen to the scripture and watch the service. It was a late night and they were tired from the previous night's service. Holy Week is brutiful (brutal + beautiful...taken from Momastery blog. Love that term.)

Holy Friday. We waited for Cam to get home from work and then headed off to church....again. :) The service is a candle light service (in our family you have to be 5 years old to hold a lit candle). We process outside around the church with Christ in the tomb. The young ladies in the church dress as myrrh bearing women and throw rose pedals. The music is so beautiful. It's one of the best services of the year.

It's also the day I always get a new family photo. This year it was sunny and we have a new house with a deck. So outside photo this year! I think it turned out great!!

Sis looking so cute!

Busy Guy did a great job with his candle!

And...here's what each evening looks like....plus three way-bigger kids asleep in the back.

More to come tomorrow! Holy Saturday and Pascha!