Easter 2018

Here's a quick recap of our Easter activities this year!

For Holy Thursday, we did our usual Passover-like meal (see an earlier post for the lamb and unleavened bread recipes). This year, the grocery store only had a pre-marinated boneless leg of lamb, so I skipped the marinating step. The grilling went fine since the weather was warm enough to cook outside. To ensure our table had something for everyone to eat, we also made some couscous from a box that the prescholar had selected in the store--a garlic and herb flavor (I guess the couscous was also pre-marinated!). Usually we make plain couscous so this was a nice treat. The dish made quite an impression on our young one, who called it "God's Supper Couscous," and requested it for lunch the next day using those very words.

Will I like it as much as yesterday? Will it all make it to my mouth without spilling?

SUCCESS!

Good Friday was uneventful. Half the family was suffering from colds, so we didn't go to church. We did make a small crucifixion and burial scene by the front door. Again, the weather was nice enough to allow outdoor work.

Calvary recreation

Also on Good Friday, I finished rereading Saint Thomas More's The Sadness of Christ, which I've read for three Lents in the past six or seven years. It was satisfying as usual, though a marked contrast to Saint Francis de Sales' Sermons for Lent. While both are highly practical, More is a lot earthier and speculative. Francis's final sermon is about the Passion and he sticks very closely to what's said in the gospel texts. More works from the texts and imagines the situation in more detail, adding in assumptions he's made or he's read in the church fathers. I found both books good but the differences are amazing to me.

Holy Saturday was mostly a "recovery from sickness" day for the family. We hung out at home, rested, and got ready for the big Easter celebration on Sunday. We did dye some Easter Eggs, including some "blown eggs" where we blew out the middle of the egg and dyed the hollow shell.

Blown eggs, hard boiled eggs, and decorative eggs

Family came to visit and we started off Easter Sunday morning right by going to 9 a.m. Mass. After Mass, we had brunch at our house, featuring food made by us and by my sisters. It was too delicious to bother with taking pictures, I'm sorry to report. The Easter Egg Hunt in our family room did get some pictures.

Searching for eggs

Is that an egg or a golf ball

Eggs-salent!

Still searching

We're not sure if we found all the eggs that we hid. We thought we hid seven eggs for each child, but only found nineteen eggs altogether. [PAUSE FOR READERS TO DO MATH IN THEIR HEADS] Happily they are fake eggs with candy inside, so they won't reveal themselves odiferously for a long time. The kids had a lot of fun. They wanted to eat candy right away. We let them in celebration of Easter.

In the afternoon, more family came to visit and we had a fun time playing video games, board games, and wiffle ball (again, the weather held out!). Dinner was ham and sides. Dessert was cheesecake and pies and cookies, which did manage to get photographed before the hungry horde descended.

Desserts

It was a lovely Easter for us, I hope it was for you as well.

He is risen! Alleluia!