Jesus Christ is Risen Today! Alleluia!

Well folks, we trudged our way through Lent this year.  When the Holy Triduum arrived, the entire family was so ready.  Pia, you were so sweet.  This year you gave up cake, except on Dada's birthday, and picking which cup you wanted when you got a drink.  Dulce, you gave up soup.  I gave up many things and then failed in my fasting and then gave them up again.  How little I love suffering and yet how desperately I long to be united with Christ.  I must learn to love His cross.  (My spiritual life, I'll save the story of that for a different place.)

Anyway, Holy Thursday rolled around and we were super ready.  Our Lenten calendars were nearly destroyed almost completely colored in! Pia, you kept giving me (and everyone else!) the count-down to Easter!  We got ready for our annual family foot-washing.  Dada got home from work and the commotion began.  First we ate dinner and our Lenten pretzels. Each year it is to beautiful to see my two little girls get their feet washed by their Dad.  This year they helped me wash his feet, too.  Pretty soon I am going to teach them the "Servant Song".  We headed out to the Holy Thursday liturgy and they loved watching Father wash the feet of the men.  Then we visited 7 churches to pass the night in prayer with Jesus.  At each church, we had a prayer intention and a prayer planned.  It was a great mini-pilgrimage with our whole family.  The girls fell asleep just after we left the 6th church.



Thanks for the picture, Pia.

 Good Friday: the curtains stayed closed all day. We built a Resurrection set together and decorated our family "altar" (aka the top of the piano) for Good Friday and Holy Saturday. We made a large tomb and put in Jesus and the little girls' Easter baskets. (They understand about the Resurrection and the Empty Tomb, this is our practical way of living it out. When they look in the tomb again on Easter morning, what will be in it?!) We tried to go to the liturgy of our Lord's passion but got mixed up and ended up at teen's Living Stations so we came home and read the Passion by ourselves. Prayer, quiet, waiting.

In the tomb....

We are so grateful to Catholic Icing for this Resurrection set!

Holy Saturday: more joyful fasting, time to get ready for all the celebrating on Easter Sunday!  The girls and I made Rice Krispie treat Easter eggs so they would have something to bring to the parties.  (Never again, they were a mess!)  We made Resurrection rolls!  Wrap a marshmallow in a croissant.  Explain that Jesus is the marshmallow and we are wrapping His body in the linens.  You put the rolls in the oven for ten minutes, symbolizing Jesus in the tomb for three days, and then when you take them out, Jesus is not there!  He is Risen!  All that is left are the "linens".   Once Pia and Dulce went to bed, Ron and I kicked it into high gear getting ready for Easter morning.  The house was decorated, baskets were hidden and an angel was placed in the tomb.

Pia and her "Resurrection Roll"

Easter Sunday morning: We woke up.  Pia, you woke up first and as usual climbed into our bed.  Dulce had joined us in the middle of the night.  I grabbed my Bible and we read the passage from Mark 16:1-7 when the women go to the tomb and they meet the angel who tells them that Jesus is Risen, just as He said.  We all went out to our tomb, and what was inside?!  An angel! 

"Why do you look for the living amongst the dead?!  He is not there, He has been raised to new life! Alleluia, alleluia!"  So you were off to find your Easter baskets, which had been resurrected into new, glorified Easter baskets to celebrate the BEST gift ever.  Our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Dulce, you found your basket first....which makes sense since the first thing you did was pray, "St. Anthony, help me find my Easter basket."


Ron's "Easter basket"

For the girls, they also got a book about Saints and an alphabet puzzle.



For me. 3 eggs with candy and one empty one to remind us of the empty tomb.

The rest of the day we have spent celebrating!  Oh, how glorious Mass was!  My heart explodes with joy and gratitude.  Breakfast with my mom, dinner to follow with Ron's family.  Lots of candy has been eaten.

Pia, you were so sweet this year.  When you got your Easter basket you examined everything, each new treasure.  You loved all your "date coupons" and your slinky and your chocolate bunny and your crayons and your medicine dispenser (haha!)!  You have been shaking your shakey eggs and singing songs from our music class all day.  You hardly ate any candy in your excitement.

Dulce, you ate as much candy are you could, as quickly as possible.  When I confiscated your candy, you put on your new apron, grabbed some fancy shoes for yourself (and a pair for Pia), and took your baby and medicine dispenser and went to the play-room to nurse your baby.  Apparently your new apron also doubles as a nursing cover.

You have both been singing "Jesus Christ is Risen today" all day.  You are lovely, and I love you and I am so glad that we get to celebrate these family holidays together, and that we actually celebrate Christ's Resurrection.  Ron, thank you for being awesome and sewing together the aprons while I frantically cleaned.  You are my perfect match and I love you so much.

He is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed! 

Off to celebrate some more.