A quick Easter recap

M and the girls are reading Harry Potter and this is the view out my window...

We have gotten about 5 inches of snow over the past two days.  A little sad so late in the season, but after so mild a winter we really can't complain.  The girls had one last (hopefully last!) afternoon of sledding while I shoveled with a baby under my coat.  That wore me out pretty good.  Nothing else on my to-do list got done today.  :)

I thought I would quickly recap our Easter week here while I'm sitting in bed doing nothing!

It began with Holy Week services at my new singing gig, a Catholic church nearby that has a professional choir.  I've been singing there regularly for a few months.  So I was there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night of Holy Week, along with the usual Sunday evening Mass.  M ended up joining me for Friday and Saturday since the choir was low on basses and I was able to get a sitter at the last minute.  So it was like a fun little date night!  Beautiful music-- Bruckner, Poulenc, Palestrina, di Lasso, and Byrd, among others.

My favorite was the Easter Vigil service-- I had never experienced that one before. It was so breathtaking to watch "the light of Christ" come through the building.

Both Friday's and Saturday's Masses went long so it was a couple of late nights for me and M since I needed to pump after we got back.  On Easter morning the girls were up early, though... sooooo...

Happy Easter to me.  :) And thanks to our dear Tatiana's mom and grandmother for gifting me this delicious Columbian coffee!  It really hit the spot!

(Oh I also forgot to mention that Zach and Piper sent Easter baskets for the girls too, which arrived Friday and they were beside themselves!  I managed to get a few blurry pics as they opened them... there was much movement and excited jumping.)

(As you can see, the packing peanuts were enjoyed almost as much as the Easter baskets.)

Back to actual Easter morning.

We kept it really simple this year.  There had been many requests made of the Easter Bunny in the weeks leading up to Easter... like, big, Christmas- or birthday-type requests.  I thought it would be good to dial down the excitement a little and preserve the meaning of the holiday, so each girl got just a new book and a small bag of chocolates.  And you know what?  They didn't complain about not getting their requests, and were perfectly content and calm throughout the morning.  We had a nice peaceful start to the day reading our new books.

Then it was off to church.

Then Easter dinner with my brother-in-law's family

Listening to Todd tell stories is always eagerly anticipated!

They had a little egg hunt for the girls... so much fun!

(Those clip-on earrings are from Grandma H.  Big hit!)

The food was delicious and the company was great.

J alternated between asleep and totally happy-smiley.

See her yellow bunny? (from Auntie Bethie)  That has become a favorite toy.  :)

Then it was off to one last Mass for Mama, and home for Daddy and the girls to sleep it all off.

It was a wonderful week; busy in the best way!  We are blessed.