This past weekend... was busy and wonderful! Best of all, I made it to Mass for the first time since the first Sunday of Lent, folks! I kept waiting all through Saturday for Gemma to get a sudden fever, or for someone to start throwing up or develop diarrhea, but the good Lord answered my prayers and saw to it that I made it to the feast of His resurrection. Alleluia!
On Saturday we were pretty busy around here, cleaning, cooking and baking, bathing, and doing some last minute ironing, and I had to cut Bret's hair as well. It was a beautiful day, and nice to throw all the windows open. Bret made ice cream and I baked vanilla cupcakes and a lemon Bundt cake.
Sunday morning I woke up to nurse the baby at 1:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. I put the kids Easter baskets in their rooms and was up on the sofa until 3:30. At about 3 I could see the light go on in the big boys' room and hear whispers. I told them to put out the lights and go back to bed! Apparently the older kids were all too excited to sleep much.
Sunday morning went without a hitch, and we went to Mass in Gallatin so that we could celebrate Easter with my family. The kids were all quite good through Mass, and they looked very nice. Amazingly, the older kids decided against staying for the Easter Egg Hunt after Mass--they said they had enough candy in their baskets at home! And the little boys weren't given a vote.
My mother brought over a beautiful bouquet of daffodils, lovely chocolates, and a big bottle of champagne! My sister brought some of the meal, and my sweet, month-old niece, Mariana, whom I finally got to hold. Truly, this Lent was very hard, but the joy of Easter has more than made up for it!
Some plans for this week: The octave of Easter is a week of Sundays, so in spite of my feeling as though we are somewhat behind in school, we will take the week off. After all, it is more important to impress upon the kids the joy of Easter than to catch up with a few lessons. We'll make it up this summer if we have to. I do want to make out a new menu plan, make a few appointments and work on a couple of projects if time permits. Maybe I can talk Bret into a trip into Nashville to the zoo--spring seems just the time to do this, as the weather is perfect! And of course we are preparing for Divine Mercy Sunday.
Also, as you may have noticed, I am fiddling with the blog and trying to move to a three-column format. Since I haven't time to spend many hours at it in a single sitting (nor have I the patience to do so!), I suppose I'll be at it all week...
If I can find some time for myself, I want to... I still have seeds to start and some knitting patterns to look through. I finished a pretty bib for Gemma's Easter basket, and a felted wool ball for her as well.
Special prayer intentions: Prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord for all His blessings; joining in the prayer campaign for the Holy Father, and continued prayers for friends and family.
Something that makes me smile: As if you couldn't guess...
Dear Nadja,
ReplyDeleteHow glad I am to know I can comment again.
I pray you have a wonderful Easter season.
I love that picture of the children.
Enjoy your redsigning
I like the new header.
I have a three column templete that I used on my learning blog and my Favourite Blog list etc blog.
I can e-mail it to you if you want
God Bless
I LOVE that picture of your kids! It's beautiful. They are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI like the new blog look too - especially the header. And I'm so happy to know you had such a wonderful Easter. Oh, and I'm very glad you're open for comments again.
Happy Eastertide, Nadja and family! He is risen. Alleluia!
I think not having comments was a greater penance on us than it was for you :-D. Glad it's Easter!!!
ReplyDeleteI actually really like the continued snow effect -- it reminds me of falling rose petals and gives your blog a Therese-ian flair :).
Happy happy Easter -- your family is so beautiful.
I'm so glad you're open for comments again :) I wanted to comment on every post more just knowing I couldn't ha ha ha. I'm glad you had a wonderful Easter and I'm going to put a Monday Morning Musings on my blog if that's ok with you (even though it's Monday afternoon. I won't link to you until I have permission of course. :)
ReplyDeleteNadja,
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog, and am so happy that you had such a wonderful Easter! Because I end up wasting too much time on the computer, I have to limit how many blogs I read, but yours is one on my list :) As a young (22-years old) traditional Catholic hoping to start a family in the next few years and to homeschool my children, you are such an inspiration simply *because* you're not perfect! (referencing your post from this past Wednesday...) I see some of these blogs where they do all sorts of art projects and fancy cooking and elaborate feasts and knitting and homeschooling etc. etc. etc. and think, how awesome it will be, I want my family to be just like that! But you have a wonderful family as well, and are not afraid to say, "oh I didn't have time to cook this or teach that", "my kids keep quarreling!", or just say how frustrated you are... I tend towards perfectionism, and your beautiful family is a reminder that things won't always have to be perfect. Thank you! You are in my prayers, and I hope you have a blessed Easter week!
-Katie
Katie,
ReplyDeletethanks so much for the wonderful compliment. I find that I constantly fall short of my ideal, and even though I am frequently disappointed with myself, I have come to a place in my life where I can forgive myself for my own mediocrity. It is okay to be "okay" and not excel in everything. If we want to strive for excellence, let it be for excellence in holiness, in patience, in humility, in the hidden parts of our lives. We can't do it all, so let's focus on what really matters!
Yay - I can visit again whenever I want!! Lovely photos. Great blog makeover.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking that maybe we need to celebrate the Easter SEASON...hmm - but I guess we would be working into September then...
Oh Nadja, I thought I was the only one who missed four weeks of Mass in a row! If someone wasn't sick, my husband had to work. If my husband was off, someone was sick! I think we made it to two Lenten Masses, altogether! Isn't that the way with small ones, sometimes?
ReplyDeleteAnd we still haven't made it to Confession for our Easter duty.
I LOVE the picture of your beautiful children!
you made it to mass!
ReplyDeletehooray!
icecream. lemon bundt cake. champagne. daffofils. chocolate.
as always you are my kindred spirit!
your babies look so darling in their easter duds!
fr. mentioned easter is really like a new year and i feel that way with everyone and everything looking so sweet and lovely.
i love the part in your musings that says...if i have some time to myself...or something along that line. that is classic. and so brutally truthful!
do show us gemma's bib and felted ball when you have a spare milli-second.
so glad comments are open.
selfishly it is easier responding this way than in an email.
how terrible is it that i am such a sloth that even email is painful....
i really wanted to try writing more snail mail.
but that doesn't seem to be working either.
oh, and one last thing...i am planning some meals too...what are you making? i've no plans for any french cuisine for a while so i'd like to know what wonderful. practical people are eating...
xo.
and happy. happy. happy. easter.
nice new collage header.
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed your blog all winter long. I was sorry to hear of all the sickness and prayed for you through those times, but your pictures from Easter show a happy and healthy crew. Great pictures. And keep up the good work. Being a mommy to 6 is quite a job. God will give you always the strength you need for the tasks.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless!