An End to Lent and an Easter Beginning

When do you start celebrating Easter? 

We start on Saturday night and after a Lent of no sweets (except for Sundays and Holy Days - I didn't want you to think we were saintly - ha!) for everyone in the Martin Family, sugar never tasted so good!

Phil made this beautiful cake ~ America's Test Kitchen's Yellow Layer Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

Baking your wife a yellow cake with vanilla frosting even though you prefer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting?
Now that's love.

Then we gave the kids an Easter gift:

 It was The Hobbit, and while the boys were thrilled somebody was definitely not...

"But that's a BOY movie!"

"That's not cool at all!"

"Yessssss!"

"Woo-hoo!"

Maybe she's just upset about her liturgically inappropriate pajamas?


We can all act like ungrateful children though, can't we?  God pours His blessings onto us, and we wish we had something else instead, something we think is better.  I have learned this Lent that God always provides the strength we need to handle life's events and we can lean on Him without fail.

I missed you all during my self-imposed Holy Week fast!  I'm not sure I'm cut out for this whole fasting business because I think the point is to help end attachment to whatever it is we've given up, but I seem to only desire it more.  Or perhaps that's what makes it a sacrifice?  And some of you made big announcements, how dare you? ;)

This was the best Good Friday (sacrilicious?) I can remember.  I felt so loved by Christ as I really was able to focus during the service at our church.  Alexander was the most well-behaved he's ever been, and we were even able to go to Confession after and remembered to start the Divine Mercy Novena that night.  Talk about God's grace!

At one point during the service, I leaned over to a fidgety child who was complaining he was tired and I said "Just know that Jesus died on the cross because He loves you so much.  Even if you were the only person in the world, He still would have died for you".  I completely convicted myself with the words that spilled out of my mouth.

Tonight, as I fill the baskets and eggs with little presents for those I love, I will remember how much God loves each and everyone of us, and be thankful for all the gifts He has given me.  A joyful Easter indeed!