L-R: daughter Michelle, friend Lisa, friend Tim, sons Kevin, Jon, Dominic, friend AdamPlease excuse the unannounced blog vacation! I found out Saturday afternoon that, in spite of our previous resolve, my wonderful husband was loading up the gang and some of their friends and bringing them all home with him Easter Sunday! What a welcome and happy Easter surprise that was! As you can imagine, their being here has kept me pretty busy, all by itself. But, I also traveled to the Western Slope on Tuesday for my friend's rosary and funeral, and only got back last night. (It was a lovely, sad funeral, but we feel sure that if Angela is not already enjoying the beatific vision, she will soon be.)
But, anyway, I'm home now. Except for our oldest son, Paul, we're all here. And then some. &:o)
Tonight we're pulling together a double birthday party for Kevin and Jon, whose birthdays, the 25th and 28th of March, will never again (in their lifetimes) both fall outside of
Lent.
Kev
19
**
**
Jon
17
So I have a roaster full of roasts cooking down to delectible yumminess for barbeque and we'll be making a big southern trifle (We call it "Sumpin' good") of oreos, whip cream, and mocha flavored pudding for the birthday "cake."
The gang is out visiting friends right now and I have the house to myself and the five Littles. So, we'll make a path through the backpacks and paraphernalia that comes with teenagers, clean the bathrooms, and get a leg up on laundry while the coast is a little clearer. Then, tonight after all the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents arrive, I'll see if I can coax the Omaha contingent to sing for us. So, stay posted to see what they come up with for us.
And, Oh, Yeah! Meet the newest member of our family:
I can't help but feel like it looks a little too "soccer-mommish" for me. Our big old 15 seater van was a kind of badge of our highly-prized, big family weirdness. But, the poor old girl is only worth about $2500 and it was going to cost $2000 to fix her. Yikes! And, honestly, the gas was killing us. We travel about an hour to Mass, and are 40 minutes away from the nearest Walmart. Need I say more? And, while I will miss all that wonderful space in the big van, my poor back sure appreciates the ease of loading the babies into the minivan! (And it's runs so quietly and smoothly, I feel like I'm driving a hovercraft!)
To Bunny or Not To Bunny,
That is the Question...
A kind commentor mentioned that she was waiting to hear how we celebrate Easter. And I though, "Well, um, gosh, I thought I did that..." But it occured to me that I didn't mention maybe the most significant thing about our traditional Easter celebration, and this is likely the detail she wondered about. See, I did describe all the things we do, but I completely forgot about that thing we don't do. 
Yes, folks, you guessed it. We don't do the bunny. We have no quarrel, whatsoever, with families who cherish this tradition. Heaven knows, I don't want to get into that discussion! But, we just have never felt that the pretend "magic" and "mystery" of the Easter Bunny was better than the real Magic and Mystery of Our Lord's Resurrection. It just seems a little distracting to us. After a good Lent, it seems a little, well... inconsequential...
We enjoy coloring and hiding eggs, but the children know that Mommy or Daddy or sometimes Aunts or Uncles or Big Brothers do the hiding. (I think the repartee resulting from that knowlege during the hunt is way more fun!) I make up Easter baskets, and sometimes we hide them, but usually we just have them waiting on the dining room table on Easter morning. As long as there's candy after the long sugar drought... Well, seriously, the kids don't care where it comes from! In general, our celebrations are more about being together and enjoying the Feast for the sake of the Feast, and we've never missed the invisible rabbit.
Other mythical creatures that we wave at as they pass our house through the year:
The Tooth Fairy
Santa Clause
The Great Pumpkin
But, we do believe in Leprechauns,
And we're split on Nessie and Bigfoot
LOL! We don't do any of that stuff either. My parents -who were both raised devoutly Catholic- told us from the very beginning that none of that stuff existed, and I always appreciated it. My kids still want to believe in Santa no matter what I tell them, but they've never even heard of the Easter bunny or tooth fairy.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering more about what you guys do for that very reason. I can go to any blog and read about the Easter bunny, I come to your blog and you guys are burying palm branches and such. Your family is such an inspiration in this area.
Piglet visits our house occasionally and leaves treats for the kids.
ReplyDeleteI also believe in unicorns.