Holy Saturday

The service on Holy Saturday is my favorite of the year. The colors change from purple to white as we celebrate Christ conquering death. We are always tired and the service is so fun and invigorating. 

Our boys and our friends' boys reading a Bible story. How cute are they?

This cracked me up. Busy Guy is looking tired while listening to the reading.

My friends (the one on the right is our kids' Godmother) ringing the bells.

The priest sprinkling bay leaves. There are still flower petals on the floor from the night before. This makes for so much fun for the kids. They scoop it all into big piles....stuff their pockets and toss stuff in the air.

Mr. P served as an acolyte.

Of course I got in some snuggle time. Sis is still pretty light but I know I won't be able to hold her forever. I'm enjoying it.

After the service we take the kids out for donuts. Then it's home to prepare for Holy Pascha. We washed clothes, shopped for our basket of goodies, tried to rest (this means we all went to bed for naps. Cam and I slept 7 minutes...the kids slept 0 so after an hour we got up), and then got ready to go. The service begins at 10:30 pm. 

Holy Week...Friday

We attended services all week. Well, some of us. Mon. and Tues. Cam took half the kids. I stayed home with the other half. I need to pace myself so that I can enjoy and endure all of Holy Week. 

On Wed. night we had Holy Unction. It was a lovely service and each of us was anointed with Holy Oil. Thurs. night is the Passion Gospel service. Christ is nailed to the cross. A somber and moving service.

On Holy Friday we always take a family photo. You can look back over the years and see us each Holy Friday. 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. So fun.

This is the 2013 photo. I love it! Matchy Matchy of course. We are sitting on our back deck enjoying the sun!!

Friday night service is The Lamentation Service. The young girls in the church represent Myrrh Bearing Women. They sprinkle flowers around Christ's Tomb. This year Sis got to be a Myrrh Bearing Girl. So exciting!

Tuba was just excited to get candles...and be at church again.

She was very excited and very proud. She was thrilled that it is something just for girls. Each girl wears black skirt and white top. All the girls had braids and flowers in their hair. So pretty.

Sis is not known as the kind of kid to sit still....ever. But, she stood so still and quiet with the other girls waiting to sprinkle the flowers.

She even held her own candle. Yes, I was nervous.

A view of the church's dome.

We follow the priest outside and process around the church building. As we re-enter the church we pass under Christ's tomb. Cam is one of the men holding it up.

Buuuuusy!

It's Holy Week. Which means BUSY! Church services galore. Plus, I always wait too long and then rush around getting clothes bought...ironed...and ready for so many service. And then throw in getting ready for the Kids' Carnival on Pascha. Oh, and the regular business of raising kids and keeping house. Whoo!

So I could use some laughter. I'll leave you with this.

Not very holy...but funny. Sometimes I have to remind myself to laugh. This is one of those days. Carry on friends and remember to laugh.

Struggling

The why questions I just can't answer. I struggle with why bad things happen...in particular why bad things happen to children. Terrible horrible things. 

Every day on this planet innocent children starve. Children are abused and neglected. Some stories I've read will never leave my mind. Things so horrific no person...let alone a child...should have to experience them. 

Last night as I tucked Sis into bed she was grumpy and snottily called her bed stupid. I corrected her that her bed wasn't stupid but instead it was warm and dry and cozy and clean and all hers. I told her we are thankful to God for her bed. It was a teachable moment. I explained to her that there are many children in the world without a bed. Without warm blankets. Without a pillow, or stuffed animals or a mommy to tuck them in.

These are things we tell our kids a lot but this is the first time that Sis heard it. She heard it in her heart. Her little face got all tense as she asked question after question. She wanted to know why.

She wanted to know why we have these things and other children don't have them. I was paralyzed. I truly do not know what to say. I don't know why we have these things and others don't. It sounds crass to explain to her that some of it is the luck of being born where you are born...the family you are given. 

But how do I explain that there are many in this world who love God, who are thankful for their blessings, and do good yet they suffer. There is no way to explain this. 

Sis quickly suggested that these children come live with us. She scooted over and patted the open space in her bed....for a little girl with no bed. She looked to her closet and announced that she would give her clothes to these children who didn't have any clothes. She was ready and willing to take action. 

This is the reaction and action I want my kids to have. I want them to be moved by others' suffering and take action. I was proud of her giving heart....while my heart was aching and struggling with the unanswerable Whys.

Tea Partying

I've hosted a couple of tea parties recently. The kids (even the big boys) love it. 

I have lots of fancy tea cups and all of the tea party accessories. The kids love to pick out a special cup and spoon.

I let them pour their own milk and sprinkle their own sugar. We are learning the art of stirring tea in a fragile cup....you have to stay in the middle of the cup and stir gently.

My mom brought Sis a dainty little tea set from China and the little kids used it for our Teddy Bear Tea. They each brought a special furry guest to the table.

We are learning tea party manners too. You simply can not talk potty talk at the table. And zero burping is allowed. Pinkies up is optional.

The big boys had just as much fun as the little kids. We will be doing more of these tea parties. It's fun to use my pretty cups. It's nice to sit and drink tea with my lovies. 

Jumbled

My brain is jumbled. I have lots of things I could write about but I'm not sure what to do.

I could write about...

...our tea party

...or my Lenten journey

...or feature some Lenten recipes

...or how I had a terrible day and blew it with one of my kids, big time

...or my mid-life crisis

...or my latest photo project

...or worrying...or sleep...or my weight and exercise...or...or...or

You choose. I'll share it.

Spring Break

We had a fantastic spring break. Cam took the week off too. Vacation Baby!!

Usually when we have a staycation I don't really relax. It's hard to be home and look around at everything that needs to be done and yet relax.

But, this time I think I did it! Cam got the party started with a surprise trip to our favorite beach! Yippee!! He booked two nights at a beach front condo. It was CHEAP!! Best of all it was very fun.

We headed out on Easter Sunday (Western Easter to us)....we still have a few weeks to go yet. Our easter....Pascha is May 5 this year.

After coming home we spent the week hanging out and having fun....and trying not to do chores. :)

We saw The Croods. Very fun! We had movie tickets from Nana and Grandpa so it was a super bargain for us....$13.00 for popcorn and pop. Okay, that's not a bargain but it was all we had to pay for. It's really fun that the kids are all old enough to enjoy the theater now. Listening to the kids giggle was great!

We spent more time at the beach....our local rocky beach. The boys played catch with Cam and the littles ran and played and threw rocks into the water with Tuba. Then ice cream and french fries in the sunshine. Magical I tell you!

We went to a mid-week church service. It was so nice to enjoy a Lenten liturgy as a family. The pre-sanctified liturgy is one of my favorite services. It's truly beautiful.

The boys attended TKD classes with Cam. They had testing at the end of the week. We now have a red belt (Busy Guy), a second degree red belt (Mr. P) and Cam had a midterm testing....he's a 1st degree black belt.

Then we headed into the big city and played tourist. We took the kids to a very fun neighborhood called Fremont.

Fremont is full of fun things to do and see....for mostly free. The troll under the bridge is a must see. The big boys had just watched The Hobbit so they were especially interested in seeing this troll.

Then we wandered around looking at things. There are many statues and a rocket and ships and more trolls. We stopped for a hot drink at Fremont Coffee. They made fabulous foam art! The kids (and I) were thrilled. We sat on the outdoor wrap around porch and watched the people go by. 

Time to snuggle and visit.

Then off to find more sights. There were lots of fun shops which Sis and I wanted to go into....but we were outvoted. Ahhhh, another day.

We ended our week with church on Sunday and then it was time to get ready for back to school and work. Phooey! 

It went so fast...but it was so much fun!