Easter Photos (Part 2): Food, Family and other Fun Stuff

Here is one last collection of photos to summarize our Easter of 2012...



We made a fun new recipe called "Bird Nests," which was so easy and a bright reminder of the New Life that Easter represents...



We continued the tradition of making "Resurrection Rolls," which beautifully explains the meaning of Easter with a sweet surprise at the end...




Our growing boys still find delight in decorating Easter eggs...

 

It warms this mother's heart to see her boys having fun together as friends...



...and I pray that my boys will clearly see the beauty and the saving power of the cross someday...



Here are my little helpers decorating our traditional Easter Lamb cake, a tradition that my Grandma Raba started  back on the farm in South Dakota...




Grandma Raba would be so proud of these sweet little boys carrying on her tradition...

 

My mom's constant help in the kitchen made this Easter extra easy and special for me.  She continues to teach me so much about homemaking and holiness every year, and I can only hope to be as saintly as she is someday...



Our cat Arwen was thrilled that my dad likes cat naps as much as she does...




Paul was extremely helpful (and handsome) getting the Easter meal ready...

 


What a beautiful feast!  And yet still a pale reflection of the feast and the joy that awaits us in Heaven someday because our Savior paid the price for our sins on that first Easter so long ago.  Thank you, Jesus!

 

Easter Photos (Part I): The Hunt

This Easter, we continued our tradition of an outdoor egg hunt with some friends of ours, and every year it seems to get more fun. Two days prior to Easter a snow-storm passed through our area, so we were worried that we might have to search for our eggs under the snow! Thankfully, the snow melted in time for our egg hunt, and we had glorious weather to help us celebrate our Savior's resurrection. We have found the perfect spot for our egg hunt just a few miles out of town, by a beautiful lake, with snow-capped mountains all around. The dads head out to the sight 15 minutes before the moms and kids to hide the eggs, and then its a mad dash to collect eggs AFAP (as fast as possible) :) What a joy it is to watch the wonder on their faces. It was especially fun to see Nathanael's reaction to the egg hunt, as this was his first year to truly participate. He was content to find just a few eggs, and more than happy once he learned there were treats inside! After the hunt was complete, and the little bellies were filled with sugar, the kids enjoyed throwing rocks in the lake and watching a muskrat take his Sunday swim across the water. Us adults loved watching the delighted little ones and just relaxing in the fresh mountain air. Having my parents here to experience the Big Sky style Easter egg hunt was an extra treat!

As I watched the kids search diligently and with so much enthusiasm for the Easter eggs, I was reminded that we never really outgrow hunting for hidden treasures. The treasures may change, but the love of the hunt stays the same. I remember being in high school hunting for the perfect college to attend. And then in college hunting for the perfect career to choose. As I matured, I started to hunt for which vocation God was calling me to be: the religious life or marriage. What an unexpected treasure it was to find my husband, who, at the time, was a military pilot traveling around the world and somehow found his way into my heart. And now, I ask myself, what is it that I hunt for with enthusiasm??? Now that many of my dreams are either fulfilled or seem out of reach, I find that I often get complacent in my hunt for joy, treasures, or God's will in my life. Watching my kids search for their Easter eggs this year reminded me that I still need to pursue treasures, especially the greatest treasure--JESUS. Even though I already have given my life to Jesus, that doesn't mean I shouldn't still be seeking a deeper relationship with Him, searching for ways to love Him more, serve Him better. I know that faith should not be based on feelings, but I still am praying for the grace to grow in my love for Jesus, my enthusiasm for serving Him, my passion for prayer time with Him... Just like the parable of the hidden treasure in the gospel of Mark, I want to be willing to sell everything I have, to give all of myself joyfully in order to have the treasure of life in Heaven with Jesus (Matthew 13:44). Just like my kids searching for candy-filled eggs at Easter, I hope I never outgrow the excitement of searching for sweet treasures too! "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)
 

May you find the treasures that you seek, and may they indeed be sweet! :)

What family photos have taught me...

My parents came for Easter, which made the holiday so much more joy-filled, special, and relaxing! It was also a gift to have them here to help us take a family photo...

I've learned it's truly laughable to attempt a family photo with four children and expect it to turn out "perfect."

As a perfectionist, it drives me a little crazy when at least one person in the photo is blinking, not smiling, holding a toy, looking away, or having a hand on their forehead for example...

I'm slowly learning to not expect perfection and to accept with a smile the imperfect messes in my life, to laugh at the family photos that might not be perfect but capture the joyful chaos of real family life. After all, outward perfection is what the Pharisees sought, but Jesus showed us that perfection of the soul is what we should be seeking. Soul perfection is what Easter is really about... Jesus made the perfect sacrifice on the cross to save us from our inner imperfection. I can now be assured of perfect happiness in heaven someday, which helps me to accept the imperfections of this world with a smile (most of the time...I'll probably always be a recovering perfectionist!) :) This year's family Easter photo helped me realized that I can't make all my kids smile perfectly for the camera, nor can I force them not to accidentally blink. A perfect family photo (when it happens, which is rare), is simply a gift. And so is our salvation. And Nathanael and I think that's worth a BIG smile! :)

Michael's Birthday Full of "B's"

On Michael's 9th Birthday, he celebrated with a lot of "B"s:

First, he was surprised when his mommy picked him and his brothers up from school and started driving east instead of driving home. "Where are we going?" one of the boys asked from the back seat. And mommy replied, I thought the birthday boy might enjoy a game of BOWLING!!!"


I had forgotten how fun bowling is...it's just pure, fun, cheap entertainment. We had an absolute blast. We had the bowling alley all to ourselves (which was a huge bonus considering our 1-year-old who thought he owned the place and was running down the lanes, trying to pick up 15 lb bowling balls, and NOT using his "indoor voice").


"This is my indoor voice, Mommy!"


While the three older boys bowled, we all snacked on fresh, hot french fries and sipped on ice-cold soda. After a couple rounds of bowling was complete, it was time for another "B": BROWNIES! Mommy made a bowling-themed brownie cake for the big birthday boy.


Next, came a couple of presents, which also started with "B's": a BASEBALL BAG for all his baseball equipment, and a BUGLE for calling in a big elk for daddy to shoot this hunting season (Technically, I think the elk call that daddy bought him is called a "cow call" not a "bugle," but that would ruin my "B" theme, so I'll just play dumb and call it a bugle). :)

Anyway, a great time was had by all, and still another "B" awaits the birthday boy this weekend... He invited all his best friends over for his "real" birthday party where they will head across the street to the baseball fields for a fun game of BASEBALL.

Bowling, Brownies, Bugles, and Baseball...it just doesn't get any better than that, does it? (At least not for a 9-year-old boy, anyway!) :)



Happy Birthday, Michael! I love you more than all the bowling balls, brownies, bugles, and baseballs ever made in the whole world multiplied by a BILLION!!!

My Lenten Lesson

This has been a very good Lent for me, and I am certain it is because of the the special morning devotion my husband and I did together, along with the extra prayer time in the afternoon that I put aside each day. During those quiet hours in prayer, I have felt God whispering His will to my heart. I have discovered His will for me is to seek humility. As I was pondering the virtue of humility, I was reminded of a book I read many years ago, a book so simple, yet truly profound in its insights into the spiritual life. The book is called "Hinds Feet on High Places," by Hannah Hurnard. It is certainly on my top 5 books that I've ever read, and I highly recommend it, especially if you are going through "a desert" or "valley" and you're longing to reach the "high places" of joy and peace that the Lord wants you to have. The book is about a young girl named Much-Afraid who is crippled, but longs to be healed and to be able to scale the high mountains. The Shepherd takes her on a difficult journey to teach her to overcome her fears. Anyway, even though it's been 10 years or more since I've read the book, God brought to my memory a scene from the book that I believe He wanted me to meditate on to help me learn what humility looks like. Allow me to share a portion of the book with you... Perhaps God will whisper something to your heart through these words too:

...they came to a place where a rushing stream poured itself across the path they were following and went cascading down the other side. It was running so swiftly and singing so loudly that it seemed to fill the valley around them with its laughing voice.

As the Shepherd lifted Much-Afraid across the slippery, wet stones she said to him, "I do wish I knew what it is that all the running water sings... It sounds so happy and so eager, as though it were repeating to itself over and over again some very lovely, secret message... Tell me, Shepherd, do you know what all the waters sing as they hurry on their way?"

The Shepherd smiled again, and they stood silently for a few moments by the little torrent, which seemed to shout even more loudly and exultantly as though it knew they had paused to listen. Suddenly, as Much-Afraid stood beside the Shepherd it seemed as though her ears and her understanding were open, and bit by bit, the water language became clear. It is, of course, impossible to write it in water-language, but this is the best I can do to translate it. Of course it is a very poor effort, for though a water song perhaps may be set to music, words are quite a different matter. But it went something like this:

Come, oh come! let us away--

Lower, lower every day,

Oh, what joy it is to race

Down to find the lowest place.

This is the dearest law we know--

It is happy to go low.

Sweetest urge and sweetest will,

Let us go down lower still.

Hear the summons night and day

Calling us to come away.

From the heights we leap and flow

To the valleys down below.

Always answering to the call,

To the lowest place of all.

Sweetest urge and sweetest pain,

To go low and rise again.

"That is very puzzling," said Much-Afraid, after she had listened for a little and found that this was the refrain, repeated over and over again, though with a thousand variations of little trills and murmurs and bubbles and splashing sighs. 'Let us go down lower still,' the water seems to be singing so gladly, because it is hurrying to go down to the lowest place, and yet you are calling me to the Highest Places. What does it mean?"

"The High Places," answered the Shepherd, "are the starting places for the journey down to the lowest place in the world. When you have hinds' feet and can go leaping on the mountains and skipping on the hills, you will be able, as I am, to run down from the heights in the gladdest self-giving and then go up to the mountains again."

Those words really convict my heart of my own selfishness...my desire to be put on a pedestal by my husband, my desire to be liked by everyone, my desire to do everything perfect, my desire to look good and together all the time, my desire for me-time, my desire for a nicer house, nicer kids, nicer everything. All of those desires are completely self-centered instead of other-centered or Christ-centered. Instead of wanting to be on a pedestal that I don't deserve, I should want to be in the lowest places, serving others unnoticed for no glory other than pleasing the heart of Jesus. "Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours!" How contrary the joyful "Water Song" is to the selfish messages this world screams in our ears. How I long to find the joy in being little, being low, being humble--in serving rather than being served. Will you please pray that I can learn this lesson of humility, that my life can be like a cascading stream that serves life-giving water and joy to those who cross my path? All for the glory of God and the salvation of souls!

Have a blessed Holy Week!

Letter to the Editor

Lately, my husband and I have been praying and stewing a lot about the recent Health and Human Services mandate, which will require all businesses to offer insurance that would freely cover unethical things like contraception, sterilization, and even abortion in the form of the morning after pill and oral contraceptives that can cause abortions if conception takes place. Obviously, we are strongly opposed to this mandate, but we are struggling with what to do about it. The government seems so big, and we seem so small. Another Goliath versus David scenario, perhaps? So finally, I felt moved by the Holy Spirit to at least make my Catholic voice heard through letters to my local politicians and through an editorial, which got published last week. The name of our local newspaper is called the Independent Record, and what sparked the editorial was a question that that IR posted the previous week, asking the community what they thought about the Blunt Amendment, which would have overturned the HHS mandate. Below is my editorial, followed by some unexpected feedback I received from a person I admire very much indeed...


Last week’s "Independent Record" Question of the Week asked the community to share their views on how they felt about the Blunt Amendment being rejected in the Senate. The Blunt Amendment was put forth by Roy Blunt, a pro-life Republican senator from Missouri, and it would have overridden the Obama Administration's HHS contraception coverage mandate and allowed any employer to refuse to cover any kind of health care service by citing "moral reasons." The Amendment was rejected by a 51 to 48 vote in the Senate.

As a Catholic Christian, I was saddened that the Blunt Amendment was rejected. I strongly believe it is completely unethical and unconstitutional for a government to mandate that businesses and individuals violate their consciences. The HHS mandate would provide insurance coverage for not only birth control, but also the morning after pill and sterilization---none of those items are considered necessary "health care" in my mind. Also, many forms of birth control are abortifacients that take the lives of unborn babies. How appalling that our government would force businesses and insurance companies to provide something so evil for free! As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor before the Blunt Amendment vote. "This is just the beginning. If the government is allowed to tell people to buy health care, it won't stop there. I wonder what's next? This isn't about one particular religion -- it's about the right of any American to live out their faith without the government picking and choosing which doctrines they're allowed to follow."

Even though the Blunt Amendment failed, I continue to have hope in our nation’s leaders to correct the wrongs that the current administration has inflicted upon our country. I have even greater hope and trust in God’s patience and mercy. Therefore, I believe with much prayer and the voices of constitutionally-minded Christians who speak out, the HHS mandate will eventually be overturned. I am so proud of all the religious and political leaders who are boldly speaking up to protect our religious and constitutional freedoms. As Alexander Hamilton, one of our nation’s Founding Fathers, once said, “Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.”



Not very often does a person receive much feedback from an editorial. You wonder to yourself whether or not anyone even read it, let alone was moved by it. You wonder if it was worth your time, energy, prayers, editing and re-editing. But something inside you tells you to write it anyway out of obedience—obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. So I wrote it. This time, however, I actually received some special feedback. I received a personal letter from my bishop. A letter of thanks. I was shocked, encouraged, and filled with profound thankfulness at having such a loving shepherd to lead the flock of this diocese. Here were his exact words:

Dear Maria,

I wish to thank you for the courageous letter you wrote to the Independent Record, published this morning, March 22nd, on the opening page. Your remarks were thoughtful, timely, and a strong public testimony to the mind and mission of the Catholic Church. I am both grateful and proud to know that you are a member of our Cathedral Parish. May the blessing of this Holy season be yours in abundance.

With warm personal regards, I am sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend George Leo Thomas
Bishop of Helena

I encourage all of you readers to find your voice about this issue too. Please write to your local newspaper and ask your politicians to stand up for religious freedom and the Constitutional rights. You may not receive a personal thank you note from your bishop, but I have a feeling God will send a grace-filled thank you hug to your heart.

A Few Gems

Today I stumbled across a few quotes that I felt were gems worth sharing:

This one I thought was perfect for us mothers who find it hard to set aside large chunks of time for prayer because it seems like our little ones are constantly in need of us... So instead we have to find ways to make our work a prayer:

"Whomever labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands."
~St. Benedict

This one just made me smile because I feel like I'm constantly trying to trade my cross in for a smaller, lighter weight one:

"Do not pray for lighter burdens; pray for a stronger back."
~St. Teresa of Avila

And this one by JPII was such a beautiful description of what makes the rosary such a powerful and personal prayer:

"The rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth... Against the background of the words "Hail Mary" the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul... At the same time our heart can embrace in the decades of the rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind, our personal concerns and those of our neighbor, especially those who are closest to us, who are dearest to us. Thus, the simple prayer of the rosary marks the rhythm of human life."
~Blessed Pope John Paul II (1978)

And lastly, in honor of holy St. Patrick, here is a small exerpt of his powerful (and lengthy) prayer that Catholics call St. Patrick's Breastplate:

"I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me.
God's host to save me."
~St. Patrick

May we carry the promises captured in these gems in our minds this week to give us encouragement and strength to carry our crosses and bring Christ to those we meet!