Holy Saturday and Easter 2015

HOLY SATURDAY

EASTER SUNDAY

Hunting for Eggs

The super traditional Easter swim.

 Lamb Cake, of course

 This year the children kept track of all of their little sacrifices during Lent by collecting popcorn kernels in a jar. After Easter, we popped the kernels and added all the melted marshmallow bunnies and chocolate candies for a fun movie treat. Yummy!

The Year That Was: April 2014

April was a month of incredible changes. Baby goats were born, Misty left and Pippin joined the family, the burned hillside burst in bloom, and, and, and ... Did I mention that seven baby goats were born? Because anyone with eight children needs seven baby goats to keep them company.

Misty, the lovebird, was Olivia's first birdy love. She was so pretty and sang such lovely songs, but she had a really nasty habit of trying to devour anyone who came near. So, Misty found a new home and Pippin, the green cheeked conure, arrived! He has a much nicer disposition and can often be found snuggling under Olivia's hair while she does her school work.

Lent, Holy Week, and Easter were celebrated with joy. 

And, I managed to blog about it: Lent & Easter

 On Holy Saturday, the first set of triplets were born. I cannot even begin to describe the elation and the fear that accompanied their births. However I do have pictures, lots and lots of pictures, which I will save for their very own post.

 

Gracie started writing her first novel at the age of eight.

This was our burnt mountainside one year after the big fire caused all the mayhem. I don't think I blogged about the fire, the evacuation with animals in tow, or the crazy trip down a fire road because it really wasn't such a lovely memory. However, it makes for great stories with the children along with their fond remembrance of the hike up the tippy top of the hill a year later. I stayed in the car with wee little Kolbe and took pictures while Daddy and company trooped to the peak. They were all so proud of themselves. Hurrah!

 Kolbe turned six months old in April. Baby Love!

The Year That Was: Lent & Easter 2014

Well, by tomorrow what I really meant was the day after tomorrow. It was implied, you know?

Being as we just celebrated Advent and Christmas and New Year's Day, I  thought it best to post our Lent and Easter pictures. Makes complete sense in my mind. I really dislike the idea of the photos being out of chronological order, so I'll start where I stopped in 2014 and just move on until we catch up in 2015. Hopefully, that means a whole lot of posts in a short period of time. As everything is almost a year old now and my brain is old and tired, there will be few words but lots of photos. Sorry 'bout that. 

Onto Lent 2014...

Holy Thursday and Good Friday

Holy Saturday

Blessed Easter

one tired, tired boy

And Now on to Easter...

(Let's slide Holy Saturday in here real quick first.)

Holy Saturday
I think the children look forward to Holy Saturday more than Easter. I know, it's not supposed to be that way, but there is something special about this day of preparation. For this is the day to lay out the new clothes, cut the unruly hair, trim the outrageously long fingernails, bake the tasty treats, and color those magical eggs. It is a day brimming with anticipation and easy smiles.

A special friend donated her old popcorn popper to our family cause. We had used it before, but the newness had not worn off yet. Knowing that we needed a large batch for our bird nests, I added an extra bit of kernels to the machine. Squeals of excitement rang throughout the kitchen when the lid and all the popcorn started spinning around and around. Even the oldest ones were tickled by the whirling dome of corn. Pure joy!

Of course, everyone painted and dyed the eggs. They even ask for the timer now so that the eggs will be properly dark with color. Marie Claire sat in her chair for the longest time dunking one cracked egg over and over again. 

Blessed Easter
It is amazing how easy it is to get the children up on Easter morning. My moaning procrastinating children are replaced with cheerful morning larks. Everyone bounds out of bed and rushes headlong into the feast day. I wish every Sunday were met with such enthusiasm. 

Stephen headed down the mountain extra early with Quinton so he could practice swinging the incense.  The girls and I followed at a slightly more leisurely pace. We had hair to curl, you know. Mass was glorious and surprisingly uncrowded. I wonder if it is the early time. Whatever the reason, it was so nice to stretch out a bit and enjoy the breathtaking beauty of a sung High Mass on Easter morning. Quinton did an admirable job as the Thuriber and even the little boys sat quietly. Marie Claire ran around outside with the koi. She really loves the echo of the chapel and thus spends very little time in there. 

After Mass, we headed off to my parent's home for our egg hunt, feast, and swimming party. Any holiday is a good reason to heat up the spa for my children! I always snap a bunch of photos of them before they dismantle the Easter glory and become pool rats. Xavier was having none of it this year. There was no way I could get him to sit in for the family picture. Oh well, God willing, we'll have many more Easters to come and I can torture him at a future date. As it was, everyone had a lovely happy day. I don't remember one cross word. Of course, Easter was quite some time ago now so I could be editing a bit in my memory. That's okay, I have happy pictures to prove it all true. 

As you can see, it was a very full day. Poor Xavier was tuckered!
Happy Easter to All
Thank goodness, we have 50 days to celebrate!

Pentecost and Then Some

First we'll start with the 'Then Some'

Garden of the Good Shepherd, Week 3

Yes, I know this is really old news, but since it tickles my children to look through the photos of what we have done, I'll post away. :-)

Menu:

Sun Pizza

Meringue Wind

Yogurt Raisin Hail

Blueberry Spritzer Rain

Zucchini Lightning

Rainbow Fruit Salad

Coconut Jello Cloud

Garden of the Good Shepherd, Week Four

Menu:

Apple Boat

Pretzel Mast

Turkey Sail

Pretzel Net

BBQ Sauce 

Gold Fishes

Hot Dog Leviathan

On to Pentecost because, well, that's as far as we got with the Garden this year. Now, in my defense, that is 100% more than we did last year, so next year we'll aim for yet another gain in Easter joy productivity. My children were a wee bit disappointed at our lack of progress but I put this great spin on it: we'll have have more surprises for next year. Ta-da!

Everyone looks eagerly forward to Pentecost because we have celebrated this beautiful holiday for many years now. The routine is expected to be followed, from the doughnuts to the cake and ice cream to the rousing game of 'Fire, Fire, Who's Got the Fire?'

All the children dressed in white for Whitsunday except Marie who was a vision in red. Nanna made the sweet matching dresses for the girls on Mother's Day when they were the May Queens. I'd post pictures for that one too, but I forgot the camera. It was lovely and my girlies love to crown Mary.

 After Mass and doughnuts, everyone pitched in to make festive decorations for the dining room. Fire was the focus, with tongues of fire on every wall. The chandelier supported the Gifts of the Holy Spirit mobile, while the little girls made posters with the Twelve Fruits of the Spirit. Dominic even made a birthday cake for the Church.

Little boys loved being the 'Might Wind' and kept those flames moving!

Menu:

Holy Spirit Chicken and Gravy Open Face Sandwiches

Tongues of Fire Salad

Just Because Apple Slices

Blessed Trinity Yogurt Pretzels

Strawberry Cheesecake Birthday Cake

Pentecost Ice Cream Bars

 Everyone sang Happy Birthday before the Mighty Wind descended...twice.

 Finally, we ended with 'Fire, Fire, Who stole the Fire?'

Gracie laughed and laughed until she rolled on the floor.

What a blessed day! How I love the gift of our Church's feast days!

Happy Pentecost
For more ideas, please visit Catholic Cuisine