Happy Easter!!!

Andrea and Daniel coloring eggs

Happy Easter! What a blessed Easter we are having!    On Holy Saturday, the kids colored eggs with their aunt.  It is always fun to watch the little ones color eggs!  Daniel was no exception.  We also made some Pysanky eggs for the first time.  We had made some of these earlier in Holy Week, and we had brought the supplies with us and so that we could make some with our aunt.  It is kind of cool to build layer upon layer, dipping and then laying down more wax.  You truly never know what you are going to have until when you melt away the layers of wax to reveal something quite special.  The eggs we made were not all traditional Pysanky designs.  Andrea made one that was whimsical, with Peeps on both sides.  The one in the back there is inspired by Starry Night. 

Pysanky Eggs - some done traditionally
and some not.

After Easter Sunday Mass, we spent time with our family, which was fun for all of us.  The kids enjoy seeing their cousins. 

Today, we went up to a friend's house for an egg hunt and do some activities together.  We began with a decade of the Rosary (the Resurrection), then while the big kids hid the eggs, the younger ones made the Divine Mercy Jesus from Catholic Icing.  After the craft, we made the Resurrection Rolls (also from Catholic Icing) and then the younger kids went to hunt for eggs, while we got the snack baked and all the other food put out.  I must tell you that the craft was great - - easy to do and suitable from the oldest (11) to the youngest (1-1/2).  The Rolls were also a hit - - they taste like cinnamon rolls.  Definitely a recipe keeper!  Now it will be hard deciding whether or not to make these more than once through the year!

We are not getting any "school" done this week, which is okay - - while we will buckle down next week, it's fun to take time off to celebrate in a special way.  Catholic Icing has some great ideas for Divine Mercy Sunday and for Pope John Paul II's beatification.  Be sure to check them out.  I am looking at possibly doing something with the stained glass pattern for JPII.

God Bless,
Jennifer

Some more notes - - at Learn Pysanky, they suggest farm fresh white eggs over supermarket eggs.  I am not certain where to get farm fresh white eggs, but I do have some brown egg layers in my backyard.  I picked out the lightest of the brown eggs I could find and used those for our Pysanky eggs.  As you can see, the dyes worked great, so I don't think the dye is an issue with egg color.  I am thinking the part that you would want to show white would just be the brown of the egg instead of white - which could be a preference thing.  Perhaps when we replace our flock, I will get some white egg layers, but for now the brown eggs worked fine.  We also used the brown eggs for coloring regular Easter eggs and they worked fine with those dyes, too.  I was glad not to have to buy eggs!