Easter week, part 1

We decided yesterday that we should do something to make the week leading up to Easter more meaningful. One of the most memorable aspects of studying abroad in Jerusalem was finishing our study of the four Gospels by retracing Jesus' steps during the last week of His life. It was fascinating, and made it so much more real. As much as I would love to, flying to Jerusalem just isn't practical right now (not to mention that hiking down the Kidron Valley and up the Mount of Olives multiple times would be difficult with a 4-year-old and baby--awesome, but difficult), so simple family activities will have to suffice.

Since this was a last minute decision, teaching Mabes about Palm Sunday yesterday was pretty basic. But she liked it. The Monday before Easter is when Jesus cleansed the temple, so for today, Mabes colored some pictures and told the story to Dave. And since the best way to reinforce a lesson is with food, we made pretzels.

I think the princess plate really adds to it, don't you?

A little culinary history here: pretzels were invented in the 7th century by a monk as a reward for children who learned their prayers. The twists symbolize folded arms. So we made pretzels to help Mabes remember that Jesus cleansed the temple because people weren't being reverent there, but we should be reverent at church. Just like buttery, cinnamon-sugar pretzels. Hey, it worked. She remembers the story and we all enjoyed the pretzels.


And I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love spring. Maybe because winters here are--frankly--ugly. Winter in California is perhaps the greenest time of year (I had no clue what Paul Simon was talking about in "Kodachrome" until a couple of years ago), so East Coast winters were quite the shock. But spring is gorgeous. A view of our street last week:

Mabes with Flat Ainsleigh

And finally, is there anything cuter than a baby in a onesie? I really want to bite those thighs. She's been trying to roll over, which is quite surprising since Mabes didn't roll until she was 5 months old, and after a few days decided she hated ending up on her stomach and stopped until 8 months. Annabelle successfully rolled onto her back last week, but it was on my bed, so I think the soft surface helped and I'm not counting it yet. I'm in no rush for her to grow up!





Totally blurry, but in natural light, so you can see the reddish tint to her hair. But her roots are white blond. Strange.


I spend a good chunk of my day kissing--and trying not to eat--these cheeks.