Showing posts with label Lent and Easter 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent and Easter 2013. Show all posts

Monday, May 13, 2013

Easter photos (lots!)

I was going to post this yesterday afternoon. That has become my "blog time." If I can get a few posts written and scheduled on Sunday afternoon, then you'll have something to read that week. Otherwise, I don't really find much time to work on it anymore. However, after church here yesterday Will and Jaan went with the choir to another church, for another Easter service, so I was busy. But I'm grabbing some time now to write....

So, last Sunday I woke everyone up with "Christ is Risen!" and loud Easter music. Jaan said that he thought the building was on fire. Take a look at his face in the picture below:

Prettiest Easter cake we've ever had.
Will had to be at church really early, so he didn't get to share Easter breakfast with us (), but the rest of us had a fun and special meal. We get enough kulich/paska from other sources, so I don't labor over that. I do make a quick coffee cake every year. Remember how plain it was, with the closed tomb? By Sunday morning it was decorated and with an open, empty tomb. Over cake and juice, we all retold the resurrection story to Bogdan. And we told each other that "Christ is Risen" while breaking red eggs:

No, he wasn't trying to hurt her!
Bogdan's butterfly from the cake
Where is the butterfly, Bogdan?
After breakfast we got dressed and headed to church, stopping for photos on the way.

Easter 2013
Children singing at church
Quick tea afterwards
Then we went with a group to visit a tiny village church.

Headed out to village
Beautiful flowers there!
From a distance, they even looked like dogwood, much bigger than they show up in the photos I took. In my photos, they pretty much just look like apple blossoms, but in real life they didn't. The tint was purplish, instead of apple pink. Katya and I guessed that they're айва, and it looks like we were right.

Bogdan was tired of sitting and just plain tired--it was nap time--so he and I did more wandering around the village than anything else. He was determined to find a "moo," but was satisfied with lots of goats, chickens, birds, butterflies and other bugs. Going for a walk felt like a great way to celebrate, and the church babushki were happy to see him before and after. Plus, the older children got to sing for everyone:

Children singing in the village
Tea again
I loved the yellow fields on the way there and back!
(It's too early for sunflowers yet; this is rapeseed. Maybe even prettier?)
Done in!

Sunday, May 05, 2013

Christ is Risen!


We're enjoying a wonderful, full day of celebrating the Resurrection. I'll write more tomorrow...

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Waiting...

Bogdan has really enjoyed the Bible stories and activities this week. When I called him into the kitchen after his bath tonight--just to let him see the breakfast cake I had made--he came running, climbed up to the table and waited expectantly. I showed him the closed tomb and the plain-looking cake, and then put it away. Nothing more tonight. His response was "Nyum?" and a very sad face. I tried to comfort him with the explanation that it's all for tomorrow, but I don't think he understood much. He's in for a big surprise!


Friday, May 03, 2013

Clean Thursday, Good Friday

Last night we made unleavened bread, as my friend Allie mentioned, and read about the Last Supper. The recipe there mentions that Jewish rules allow 18 minutes from the time the dough is mixed until it goes into the oven. We definitely couldn't fulfill that requirement! That led to some great discussion about law and righteousness and what Jesus did for us.

(This morning we also took leftovers out with us for snack, and it was rather funny to hear Raia explaining Jewish Passover to the various neighbor children as she shared her matzo around.)







Tonight we read about "The Darkest Day," taped the light switches off, and got ready for bed in dark and (relative) quiet.


And now we wait....

Monday, April 29, 2013

Holy Week


Yesterday was Palm/Pussy Willow Sunday here. I am really enjoying seeing Bogdan get involved this year.


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Lenten Love


Our Easter is much later than the Western date this year. So, we've just started our family preparation, when many of you are almost to Easter itself. In the past, we've read and loved Lenten Lights (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). I was planning on repeating that this year, but at the last minute I changed my mind. Instead we're focusing on Jesus' love for us and learning verses to go with that theme.