Despite attending (and M singing) the Vigil, the girls came to mass with us this morning (and M sang again!). It was nice to all be at the same Easter mass, minus Allia. She joined us for lunch afterwards with some of her college friends, and we also hosted our favorite Seminarian, Chris (who used to be one of the kids' youth leaders). It was a beautiful celebration!
Baskets before mass
I sure love these beautiful kids!
Gloria learning to carve a brisket.
We spent time preparing our hearts and minds for Jesus during lent and especially this Holy Week. We watched our youth in the passion play (including Gloria as a "weeping woman"), attended the beautiful Mass of the Lord's Supper (at which Austin directed and Gloria sang with the Women's Schola), attended the Veneration of the Cross (at which Mariana sang with an amazing choir), and all but Cecilia and I attended Tenebrae. It was busy but just such an incredible way to prepare.
Today we are preparing our home and table for Easter. ALL the kids dyed eggs with the grandparents while I grocery shopped and began some of the food prep. They made crowns of glory and helped me make desserts and get the house tidied up, table set, eggs stuffed, etc. It is truly a group effort. We even squeezed in some garden prep in the afternoon so Sebastian could start his gardening project before the weather gets too warm. We are so ready to celebrate Easter with family and friends tomorrow (or tonight for Mariana and Gloria as they attend the Vigil).
I made plans with Sebastian to attend the annual master gardener plant sale and shop for his garden, which is his 4-H Project this year. He received lots of things and some money to help him get ready at his birthday party last weekend. However, we went later than last year, and almost all the plants were gone! Thankfully we had a backup plan for a local farmers' market, which was perfect. They had plenty of good plants and knowlegeable helpers. I even came home with a few plants for my new flower beds, which was what I was hoping for.
We returned home to a yard full of awesome college student helpers that were here for Big Event. They helped us so much in finishing out the flower beds and laying dirt along the driveway as well as a few other smaller tasks. Anastasia made cookies for us to serve with lunch.
Then the boys even served mass in the evening. We are so thankful for a busy but productive day!
Stephen had another track meet this evening and had his first try at long jump. It brings back so many memories for me!
Stephen has earned 4 different awards this past year at 4-H Shooting. Tonight he officially received all of them.
We rounded off spring break celebrating Sebastian's 10th birthday party with lots of friends and some nice weather despite a bad forecast. They had a lot of fun together doing nerf wars, infection and all kinds of outdoor fun.
We had a meet really close to Lito and Lita's house this evening, and Lito was able to join us to cheer on Stephen!
We had began spring break with out of town Dr. appointments and 4-H competitions. We squeezed in a visit with Lito and Lita today. Sadly the pool is under construction, but the cousins still had fun together!
My two early birds helped me make homemade biscuits this morning. They are a family favorite!
