easter!

From the Prayers of the People this morning:

"For all who have need of the gift of Easter; for all who journey from illness to health, from despair to hope, from grief to consolation, from loneliness to love; for all our brothers and sisters, that death may have no more power over us, for Christ is risen, Christ is risen indeed."

God of life, we thank you for the mystery planted in us, the paradox of life from death and community from scattered disciples.  We praise you for the dying which saves us from death and for the rising which brings us life.  We pray, as we live, through Jesus the risen one, in the power of the Holy spirit, now and forever.  Amen.

good friday

the crucifixion, from brian wildsmith's "the easter story"

maundy thursday

From the Prayers of the People:

"Pour forth on all humankind your blessings of 

life, harmony, and true freedom, 

through Christ our Lord."

our very plain seasonal table as it looks tonight

the washing of the feet, from this set of holy week ornaments

holy week, from the calendar "salt of the earth" given to us by aaron's mom

our family

our family, by isla, march 2013

i love this picture isla drew recently of our family.  she has been really into drawing people lately, and it's fun to see what details she chooses to highlight in each picture.  in this one i like how she and i have long hair, and the boys all have short, spiky hair.  i asked her why only a few of us have circle hands and she said she just forgot to add them for daddy and noah.  and why is ezra frowning?  because he's ready for a nap.

a festive st. patrick's day (week)

we appreciate any reason for celebration around here.  and while we try to focus on the christian roots of saints days, it's also fun to embrace some of the random modernizations in celebrations of saints days that have evolved along with the sacred.  so we talk about how st. patrick used the shamrock to illustrate the concept of the trinity, but we also stick lots of sparkly foam shamrocks to anything we can, just because it's fun.

isla and klara showing off their green bling

isla stamped this tshirt with various shades of green fabric paint on shamrock stamps and wore it all week

 

on saturday night we went to boundary bay to see the irish dancers.  (you can see a bit on the video above.)  we've gone for a few years in a row now, and it's always worth the crazy crowds.  isla loved it!  she watched in amazement as the girls kicked and stomped and their curly wigs bounced.  she says next year she wants to learn irish dance instead of ballet.  we'll see!

my red-headed wee bit of irish boy

we had a great corned beef and cabbage supper with the schwarzes.  the hempler's corned beef was amazing!  and carrie made a great bread pudding with an irish whisky cream sauce.

noah's schoolwork

i stayed home from church on sunday with ezra while he napped, so i missed the st. patrick hymn, "i bind unto myself today."  it's such a strange but captivating hymn!  i leave you with it here in its strange and lovely entirety, just to round out this week of festivities:

I bind unto myself today
the strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three.I bind this day to me for ever,
by power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
his baptism in Jordan river;
his death on cross for my salvation;
his bursting from the spicèd tomb;
his riding up the heavenly way;
his coming at the day of doom:
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
of the great love of cherubim;
the sweet "Well done" in judgment hour;
the service of the seraphim;
confessors' faith, apostles' word,
the patriarchs' prayers, the prophets' scrolls;
all good deeds done unto the Lord,
and purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
the virtues of the starlit heaven
the glorious sun's life-giving ray,
the whiteness of the moon at even,
the flashing of the lightning free,
the whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
the stable earth, the deep salt sea,
around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
his eye to watch, his might to stay,
his ear to hearken, to my need;
the wisdom of my God to teach,
his hand to guide, his shield to ward;
the word of God to give me speech,
his heavenly host to be my guard.
Christ be with me,
Christ within me,
Christ behind me,
Christ before me,
Christ beside me,
Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort
and restore me.
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of
all that love me,
Christ in mouth of
friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself today
the strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three.
Of whom all nature hath creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.

isla's easter "egg-stravaganza"

on friday night isla performed a few songs with her preschool at their "easter egg-stravaganza" concert. it was very cute.  her favorite song, that we've been hearing at home for weeks, can be heard on the video above.

i'm not usually a fan of easter celebrations before easter.  this is still lent, people!  but when it's your daughter's preschool "egg-stravaganza," what can you do?

this is what: you can dress her up all pretty in her new easter dress and french braid her hair.

and when she sings "this little light of mine," with her little light waving so bravely it's nearly poking her neighbor in the eye, you bravely hold back your own tears and fill with pride to be her mother.

under noah's pillow

sadly, the tooth fairy did not have access to a "sacagawea" one dollar coin, mostly because the tooth- note-writing happened over the weekend while the bank was closed.  i know, i know, you'd think the tooth fairy would be a little more savvy with the problem solving.  she cleverly left a "toonie" instead, but the note writer did not feel that it was the same thing and demanded the toonie be exchanged for two US dollars.  what happened to the innocence and joy of finding a simple, shiny quarter under your pillow??

(also, does anyone have a good source for sacagawea dollars?  just so i could let the tooth fairy know?)

isla lou, four and a half, and isla-isms

isla louise is four and a half!  today, or yesterday, or tomorrow... it's hard to tell exactly since february only has 28 days.  but now-ish.  we do like to celebrate half-birthdays around here, so we will have cake with her birthday buddy autumn on monday, and isla will get a little half-birthday gift that day too.
 
in honor of this lively little girl, here are a few photos from lately and some of my favorites of the things that have come out of her mouth in the past little while (that i have been quick enough to write down.)

working at the flower shop in school

skuuting on the whatcom creek trail

throwing rocks into the creek 

trying out snowshoes in whistler

here are some isla-isms from the past little while.  prepare to laugh!

• isla, in church before we go up for the eucharist: "are we going to get the christ stuff now?"
• isla: "did you give the library workers a email that i really wanted the cinderella movie?"
  me: "yup."
  isla: "what is email?"
• isla: "don't touch me!  i want you to hold me..."
• isla: "every day i think, who built all these houses?  i think about it all day long.  who made all these houses?  workers?"  (walking around the neighborhood)
• isla: "i wish aven's doggies were died."
  me: "why do you say that, honey?  she loves her doggies." 

        isla: "WHY would a kid like dogs??"

• isla: "i don't ever want to leave mexico.  i want to live here forever!"
• isla: "mama, did you have the same voice when you were a little girl?"
• after reading "how the grinch stole christmas":
  "mama, our hearts are just the right size, right?"
• isla: "i don't like those kind of cursive jumpy castles."  (re: jump around fun zone.)
• isla: "mama, i know how they make marbles."
  me: "how?"
  "in a factory.  the first person puts the pieces of paper on the [conveyor belt], then they go to the next person, then they cut them in strips, then they sell them in a shop!"
• after eating a sample pulled pork sandwich at the grocery store: "i love meat."  (sigh.)
• isla: "mama, our lives are different, right? because you like stuff that I don't like, and I like stuff that you don't like... but some things we like both, because we both like broccoli."
• "mama, you're doin' screen time!"
• "mama, there was a tomato nut stuck in my tooth, and it just blasted out into my belly!"
• working in the living room on a puzzle and singing: "oh god, we lord.  oh god, we lord.  oh god, we lord."
• "mama, this puzzle says '4 plus.'  that's good, because i'm 4 and noah's plus!"
• telling me that she counted in her head to place the numerals next to the pumpkins: "i just did it with my voice.  in my heart."  (putting hands to her heart.)
• isla: "somebody wrote in my new notebook.  somebody scribbled in there!  and i said to myself, 'whoever wrote in my new notebook, if it was a grown-up, they should go in jail!'"
• isla: "mama, at nighttime my preschool is called 'catch the moon.'  [it is called "catch the son."]
  me: "that's a funny idea, honey."
  isla: "me and noah solved that mystery!  me and noah realized that."
• Isla:  "mama, we don't need any more kids in our family, do we?"  me: (laughing) "no, i don't think so."
  isla: "anyway, if we had more we would have to give one away.  and you don't want to give me away, because you love me, right?"
• isla: "i'm hungry for meat!"  (after seeing a friend eat some steak her dad had made on the grill.)
• isla: "did god die?  because he's in heaven?"
• isla: "i think we should get noah to stop talkin' because he always interrupts me!"
• isla to rosa, at her little kitchen: "would you like some caffeine?"
  rosa: "no thanks."
  isla: "but i would."
• isla:  "i like our house.  we never should give this away."  (after vacuuming)
• isla: "mama, did god make people?"
  me: "yup."
  isla: "but does god have any hands?"
  me: "um, i'm not sure."
  isla: "i think he does, to make people, to make babies."
• isla: "mama, when i grow up i want to be a mama.  and a dancing teacher.  a dancing teacher mama."
• isla: "mama, i love packin' up things in boxes!"
• on too-big pants from a friend: "i guess we have to put these in the blue bin, until they grow into me."
• singing in the car on the way home from camping: "kate is kind of my friend, kate is kind of my cousin"... then, "people can't live without trees, we need the trees..."
• when isla is done eating, instead of asking if she can be excused from the table, she says, "can i be full?"
• isla:  "you can spell my name, 'e-r-a-q' or if you don't want to do that one, you can spell it 'i-s-l-a.'  i have two pairs of letters."
• on riding a pedal bike for the first time: "my bike is wanting me to go wibbly-wobbly!"
• on seeing a rainbow in the sky.  "i've never seen a rainbow in the REAL REAL sky before!  only in books!  it's prettier than i could even think!"
• "is this the meantime?"

preschool picture, age 4

"telephone"

reading right now

noah has been reading so much on his own lately.  he is reading right through the whole "jesus storybook bible" in bed at night.  his favorite story is david and goliath.  :)

he also just ordered "stink" from his school book order, and read it on bus on the way home!  now we have a bunch more from that series from the library.

and he is working on a project on the pioneers, so we have a bunch of pioneer books from the library too.  i love the "my first little house" series.

aaron has a few books going at once, as usual.  he is a guy with many interests...

isla has been super into the cinderella story for a while now, and i think we've read just about every version out there.  we found this one recently, which combines cinderella tales from many different countries.  and the pictures are by julie paschkis, whose illustrations i just love!

we read about the dancers book in smithsonian magazine and requested it from the library.  it is so cool!  the pictures are so clever and tell little mini stories about life.  isla loves is.

the bunnies book we found randomly at the library and just love it.  these little bunnies are fairly naughty, but the book is so surprising that we all just cracked up as we read it!  and the bunnies' jambes are really cute.

i flip through lots of books more than i really read any, but i am trying to make it through jim lynch's new book.  i really liked his book "border songs," and this is his new one.  it's about the world's fair in seattle in 1962.  it's interesting to learn about how seattle center came to be.  the kids and i really enjoy hanging out there now, and i like to imagine it back then.

and the "green crafts" book has lots of great, doable, not too messy ideas.  i am making a few copies of things before i return this one to the library.

ezra still eats books more than reads them, but he's sort of beginning to get the hang of flipping through the pages.  we ordered this one for him from noah's book order.  (have i mentioned i am having lots of fun with the kids' book orders?!?  i love them!)


and when a quiet moment presents itself, i love to listen to my new favorite podcast, planet money.  i love the hosts and i really appreciate how they are able to explain very complicated fiscal issues in laypeople's terms.  and they're funny!

on the drive to and from whistler this weekend, we all really enjoyed listening to the frances audio collection.  these stories are so wonderful and quirky!  and the narrator has a wonderful british accent.

and in car isla and i are enjoying the new ben gibbard cd, former lives.  she loves the first song, about singing acapella under an umbrella.  i love the songs "lady adelaide" and "a hard one to know."  and he's actually coming to western on sunday, and i am going to see him!  i'm excited.  it's rare that musicians i like come to town, and rare that it works out for me to go.  hooray!

happy st. valentine's day!

on letting go

--mary oliver

last night we had ezra with us in the ash wednesday service.  he had been in the nursery with the other kids, but our pager went off halfway through.  aaron went to retrieve him and they came back just in time for the imposition of ashes.  as i held ezra on the way to the altar rail, i could feel him taking deep breaths, calming himself from his crying.  i wiped the wet tears from his chubby little cheeks.  i set him down to perch on the rail while we waited for our turn.  aaron received his ashes, i received mine, and then our priest asked if ezra should have some too.  i said yes and watched as he made the sign of the cross on my little boy's forehead.  "remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return."  ezra was quiet and still, watching with wonder at the movements in front of him.

i don't like to think about my little baby being dust, or returning to dust, ever.  i'm sure it is the hardest thing possible for mothers to do.  and how?  he is so full of life!!  moving, talking, laughing, touching, tasting, crying, reaching, gobbling, yelling... nearly every waking minute!  even as the service continued, ezra's breathless little laugh filled the somber spaces of quiet in our big sanctuary.  serious parishioners, dark splotches on their foreheads, laughed too.

later, after we retrieved noah and isla from the nursery, they stared at our ashy foreheads.  when we had given them the choice to join us for the service or to stay and play, they chose to play.  but now they wanted the ashes.  we walked back into the sanctuary and found father jonathan.  "do you still have any ashes left?" i asked.  "we have a few more people who want to receive."  he smiled and led us back to the altar rail.  the kids were serious, knelt down and watched as he retrieved the small silver bowl.  he rubbed his thumb inside, made the sign of the cross on their heads, and reminded them that they were dust.  we thanked him and walked away.

on the way home, isla asked, "how did they make jesus's body stay on the cross?"  i took a deep breath, but noah answered quickly.  "with nails," he said.  "they nailed his body."  "where did they nail him?" isla asked.  "on his hands and feet," i answered.  "that doesn't seem like enough to make him die," noah commented.  "maybe it was because that made him bleed," i told them, nervously, hoping they wouldn't ask me to explain further.  i want to protect them from any more painful details, from any more sad reality.

but they don't seem bothered by it.  they accept it as the past and rejoice in jesus's rebirth.  they look forward to heaven.  they take comfort in the presence of angels.

i wish i could accept these hard things with their simple faith.  lent is hard for me.  i don't like this part of the story.  i mourn with mary, the mother, and mary, the friend.  i feel chastised too when jesus says, "do not hold on to me."  i want to hold on.  to a living, breathing jesus.  to my children full of life.  i don't ever want to let go.

so this is what i'm thinking about this lent.  how to trust like a child that everything will be alright in the end, even in death.  to not fear.  to be comforted by angels.  to let go.

lately

• listening to the song "stompa" by serena ryder over and over.  i heard it on a vancouver radio station driving by myself home from vancouver the other night, and it was awesome!  you can hear it here.

• watching downton abbey season 3.  can you believe what happened to sybil?!?!

• valentine's day crafting.  we have made heart-shaped cookies, pancakes and biscuits, beeswax hearts, felt hearts, paper hearts, potato-heart stamps, and of course done lots of heart-shaped-foam stickering on everything.

• frantically sending out the last of the christmas cards before lent begins and christmas cards become really inappropriate!

• listening to noah read us "weird but true" facts from his new books. 

• thinking about what will happen in the next wildwood chronicles book!  (i finally finished "under wildwood", and it was awesome.)

• following ezra around the house saving him from dangerous situations.  loving his toothy, dimply, breathy laugh.

• checking on the progress of the bulbs in the garden.  getting ready to plant peas.

• doing laundry.  constantly.  how can we possibly have so much laundry!?!?!

• biking again on non-rainy days.  i think it's time to get the green seat hooked up for ezra!

• working on another pair of pants for ezra from this pattern.  these are really fun and so cozy!

• doing some spring cleaning.  i am trying to go through every little corner of this little house and organize/eliminate!  it is slow-going but feels really good.

• thinking about summer plans.  looking forward to camping/biking/island beaches!

• getting ready for lent.  the kids are excited to try to "be serious and think about jesus" to get ready for easter.  now, how, exactly?