Easter 2018

I love Easter, the season when earth springs back to life from the dead of winter, and Jesus stands resurrected from the tomb.

Easter's not as commercialized as Christmas, but every bit as significant. And to help remember the meaning of the season, we have a few special traditions sprinkled into Holy Week. Here's what we've been up to:

Lenten fish fries every Friday, sometimes on bikes and with neighbors, at the Catholic parish next to our neighborhood. (Excuse the blurry pic, but how cute are Lorelei and Mark?!)

We always host neighbors for our Holy Week Seder, remembering all the events that led up to the crucifixion and resurrection. This is my favorite Easter tradition!

We end it with Resurrection rolls.

Cutie!

(Speaking of neighbors, we made them some special gifts from our travels this week, which meant a stop at IKEA for my fave square Ribba frames.)

I attend a Maundy Thursday Vigil at a local monastery and recall the events of Jesus' agony in the garden. Mass begins at 10pm, and we end outside around a bonfire with torches at 2:30am, recounting the moment of Jesus' betrayal and arrest.

 This year some friends from seminary came with me.

 Who knew that a spontaneous lunch with two hitch-hiking monks would lead to an enduring friendship? These brothers and sisters are the real deal, serving the poor and imprisoned and sick, just as Jesus commanded. I always love to visit!

 On Good Friday, I got my nose pierced. (Not an Easter tradition, but wanted to document it.) :)

There was some mowing of the lawn. I love seeing green grass again!

... and the egging of the tree.

And of course, Easter egg hunts. We volunteered at one downtown with church, then the kids went to the one at the neighborhood park and we set up our own...

... a glowing egg hunt.

We took an Easter walk, searching for things in nature that represent some part of the Christ story, like thorns for the crown of thorns.

We dyed eggs.

And tie-dyed them too.

We ate our family's traditional foods this week: crepes, eggs benedict and an Easter ham dinner with green bean casserole, strawberry spinach salad, corn casserole and more resurrection rolls.

We watched our traditional Easter movies: Exodus, of Gods and Kings (Christian Bale, he's my fave), Rick Steves' Easter in Europe, and The Son of God. (This pic below was during Jumanji, which has nothing to do with Easter but captures the cul-de-crew vegging out at the movies.)

We planted jelly beans, which sprout into lollipops in the ground on Easter morning.

We snuggled on the couch to read the synoptic gospels' tellings of the Easter story.

And this year the kids helped the Easter bunny out, and set up the string to their Easter buckets.

Domino Geronimo helped us sort through the Easter buckets.

We went to church. The kids and I watched Mark tickle the ivories at Life.Church.

 Then I went to my church on Easter morning, Resurrection Downtown at the Kauffman Center. Both services were beautiful and stirring. Mark played my favorite song by Coldplay. And the Kauffman Center was just awesome, a place of deep spiritual significance for me personally.

The rest of Easter Day was spent in comfy PJ's playing Clue while it hailed and snowed outside, which made for an especially cozy day with my loves.

That Easter Bunny sure was good to us.

Happy Easter! He is risen indeed!