"Everything we have done as a family during the forty days of Lent has led us to this day.  It is time for rejoicing! It is appropriate to bring out the very best of everything for the feast of Easter Day.  Flowers, china, the works. If you can, though, have food that doesn't take a lot of last minute preparation, so that instead of fretting too much in the kitchen, like Martha, you have time to rejoice with Jesus, like Mary." 

                                                    LENT AND EASTER A SOURCEBOOK FOR FAMILIES
                                                                Helen Hull Hitchcock

It's nearly here, the pinnacle of our liturgical year.  It has been a prayerful lenten season.  We have managed to read through three of the four gospels together in the evenings and now we are talking about the Passion. The crucifixes are draped in violet.  The easter outfits are coming together. Jelly beans and egg dye are waiting in the pantry so we can sit the yard Sunday afternoon and watch the children race around trying to fill their baskets. Ham is defrosting.

There are so many wonderful, crafty ideas online.  I think of them too late as a rule.  Perhaps tomorrow we will fit one in.  Or perhaps not.  That's ok too.  It's not about the crafts after all, nor the decorations, nor the eggs as much fun as all those things are.  It's about Heaven, the big stuff of salvation.  So it seems in our best interest not to lose our peace over any of the rest.  

Thrifted finds this year. 

There is no mandate that you must adore your child's inlaws, but let me tell you how wonderful it is when you do.  When I grabbed this towel for the 20th time this busy day, the towel sent by the other mother who loves my son these days, I stopped and remembered again how truly blessed we are.

No matter how tiny your children may be, don't forget to pray for their vocations and the people who will become their family someday. 

So.  Disclaimer ok?   90% of the time I'm a hard core, from-scratch, crunchy mama.  The other times it is a holiday, birthday, or bring-a-treat event and I pull the semi-homemade card.  The nice thing about this sort of compromise is that small people can follow the directions and work successfully on their own. Big morale and confidence builder.  That's exactly what we did today.  I knew we couldn't pull off a big project in between two weekends of travel but we wanted to do something fun.  Also, I have a huge aversion to throw away crafts and would rather they play with food instead.  Granted,  Twizzlers and Rolos probably stretch the definition some…

Pinterest for the win! 

#nailedit 

"We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us."

Jane Eyre

We have a winner for the book giveaway. Congratulations to Dayna!

"I would like to make a dinner by myself, like pick out the stuff and do it." 

You don't have to tell me twice.  I don't fight people for that job.  Though when the volunteer is under 12 that really means, "I want to make dinner with you helping," which is just as good really.  Better.  

So on a Sunday afternoon we sprinkle yeast in a bowl of warm water and watch it bubble.  

We knead and pound and throw pizza dough high in the air.  

Because….process over product right?  

Because they aren't going to have hours of unspoken for Sunday afternoons forever.

And this one was very, very good.  

PS – Don't forget the book giveaway closes soon! Be sure to stop over here and leave your name. 

A couple weeks ago we talked about Jen's new book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse.  It is a book of 30 daily readings designed to encourage, strengthen, and uplift military spouses in the unique challenges they face. Whether it’s a deployment, move, or raising military kids, find real-life solutions and inspiration from someone who’s been there. 

Well, Jen is graciously offering me a copy to share here. Simply leave a comment in the box below. Your email is required to notify/send the book and will not be used for any other purpose without your permission. You do not need to be a military spouse to win!

Each social media share (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) will be worth one more entry.  Please note where you shared when you leave your comment. 

The “fine print”: Each win is worth either You Are Not Alone in Kindle format or softcover (shipping of print copy within U.S., Canada, or APO/FPO addresses only). Winners will choose which format they prefer. The print edition will ship in 6-8 weeks. Kindle edition of the book works on the Kindle app as well as the Kindle device. Winners choosing the Kindle edition will receive an Amazon gift code issued by email, which is to be used only to purchase You Are Not Alone.

Giveaway closes on Tuesday March 7! 

 "…let me walk through the world with a joyous soul. 

No doubt, there is much in it to fill the heart with painfulness; and pessimism has turned to the strifes and sorrows of creation for proof of its dismal creed. 
But the goodness of God is written, too, in letters of gold on hill and lake and mountain and forest and stream.

Not a sunrise, but speaks of His patient and enduring grace. Not a sunset, but stirs the conscience of the sinner, and opens Heaven itself to the saint. So much of His divine glory, the Almighty Maker conveys . . .
  by His sunrise and sunset touches, 
  by His flowers and woodland trees, 
  by His vast ocean and starry sky. 
Therefore let me be strong and of a good courage — He remembers me, His redeemed child! 

The sights and sounds of the landscape ought to be preachers and trumpets of the glory of God. In the cool of the day, when I pass through the country fields, or climb to the summit of the hill, or sit and gaze across the sea — God and my soul should meet and talk."

– Alexander Smellie

Although we are back in the States we have definitely not abandoned our nomadic tendencies. My husband’s career takes him all over. This was once a trial, a big one in fact. Today however we are at a place in life with half our children grown where we can venture out together and still have adults holding down the fort at home.  This year we are doing just that with the children still home.  #worldschoolers! 

  The first trip for 2016 was to Montana where my husband was attending a course on tribal relations being held by the University of Montana and local Native American representatives. My original plan had been to venture out to the mountains a bit and shoot some landscape on this trip.  Landscape isn't really my passion though.  I always gravitate back to people and their stories.  Then the steady light rain that greeted us caused an about turn in my plans which worked out just fine.

That first day we found some thrift shops and then a secondhand bookstore we spent a morning digging through. We walked across the lock bridge when the drizzle let up, thinking of all the hope those engraved initials represent. We watched a man fly fishing in the river down below. We toured the campus which the president had proudly told us was ranked the eighth most beautiful in the US.

And the pool.  It isn't a road trip without reading by the pool while the kids splash. Fun for them. Fun for me. 

I was able to join my husband for the small class dinner with the university president, who coincidentally went to graduate school less than an hour from our own hometown. The keynote speaker from the Salish tribe shared her perspective as both a member of the community and a former Washington DC program head. Another gentleman at the table was married to a Montessori teacher connected to a pilot program in China.  So only iphone snaps day one.  And lots of people and lots of stories. 

The rain did let up up after this first day and the big camera did come out before we were through.  I will share some more tomorrow. 

(Wendell Berry's Fidelity was a nice surprise. Going well!)