Our Easter

I took a much needed blogging break for the Triduum.  That, in combination with the days off school, has done a world of good for me and I feel rested and hopefully ready to dive into the last semester of school.  I've almost made it through the first year of teaching! 

This Easter was really low-key but turned out to be much nicer than I expected (I tend to like elaborate plans, until I get flustered in the midst of them. Note to self: low-key is what you really want.)  My grandmother unfortunately was sick, but my grandpa joined David, Lucia, my parents, and myself for Mass and lunch out.  He's a fairly new Christian (he was baptized and came into the church in December 2010) and couldn't bear the thought of missing an Easter Mass.  

I find myself often a bit wanting from the Easter homily.  Since many Catholics only come to Mass a few times a year, Easter being one of those days, it's important that the homilies are inspiring.  This year, it was great!  Our priest used the homily as an opportunity to not only talk about the mystery of the resurrection, but also the recent changes in the Church with the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Francis.  An anonymous donor gave money to buy a copy of Rediscover Catholicism for every individual/family to take as they left.  I've read the first chapter so far and it's amazing.  On holidays, I always pray for those all my fellow Catholics sitting in the pews that don't attend Mass regularly, that something will touch their hearts and souls and bring them back the following week.  I pray that they will open their books and rediscover the beauty of the church.  

On Saturday, we went to an egg hunt at my mom's work and I was surprised by how quickly Lucia caught on to picking up eggs and putting them in her basket.  She loved it!  We did another egg hunt in our yard this afternoon and she was all over it!  She also was quite fond of taking out the items from her Easter basket and playing with them - about two seconds each, then going back to other items in her basket.  

This evening, David, Lucia, my parents, and I went on a walk around a small lake nearby.  After a nap, of course.  (Not just for the baby toddler.)  My dad carried Lucia on his back and absolutely loved it.  (Don't you think baby wearing grandparents are the cutest? We're all taking turns trying out the Boba Carrier I was sent to review.)  Overall, it was a wonderful day and Lucia seemed to really enjoy the first Easter she was old enough to participate in.  She got a bit grouchy midday, since we were so busy she didn't get a nap in until afternoon.  Despite that, I'll still give her a C for Mass behavior since my dad happily took care of her in the lobby most of Mass.

Here's the best picture I got of the three of us.  Our faces looking a bit odd since we're looking into the sun, but it'll do.

And since you can (kind of) see what I'm wearing, I'm linking up to Fine Linen and Purple and Camp Patton.  

dress: Kohl's

shirt: Wrapper (from my grandma)

scarf: Blessed Life Boutique (currently the free gift with $50 purchase)

heels: Guess (can't see them here, but you can see them in this post and this one)

I wore this same outfit on a date with my husband on Friday.  It was the 5 year anniversary of our first date, so my husband planned something special.  It was Good Friday, so we kept it simple, but I'll post about it later this week and you'll get another (better) peek at my outfit.  He loved the outfit so much that he requested I wear it for Easter.  Um, yeah!  If you tell me you like my outfit, I'll wear it every. single. day. for the rest of my life.  Thanks, honey.