very funny

Just wanted to compare...

Compare these pictures from last year (Sophia was two days old) with the ones below from this year. Time sure flies!

He is Risen! Allelulia!!!

After getting our baskets and candy, we got dressed for Mass and headed out to church. Immediately after that, we took some pictures before anyone could get too dirty. The kids and Paul look great, but I look awful in these. In my own defense, I actually was really sick and went directly inside and slept 4.5 hours following this. Paul took the kids to some friends house where they had all the necessary Easter food and fun, including an Easter Egg hunt. They had a great time, but I stayed home to sleep. I was very sorry to miss out.
Happy Easter everyone!! Allelulia!!

Here is a link to a web album with all the pictures from the past week or so.

Easter Morning

Here are a couple pictures of the kids getting their Easter baskets and looking for eggs before church. Unfortunately I was sick, so we didn't have an Easter egg hunt outside. Maybe next year.

Grownup Easter Eggs

The night of Holy Saturday, after the kids had gone to bed, I got out my collection of Easter Eggs that my mother has given to me over the years. Unfortunately, some of them have gotten broken, but I have about 10 now, and they are all different. I clipped some lilac branches (just starting to get a few leaves on them) from our yard and hung the eggs on them as a centerpiece on the dining room table. This year my mom sent me one that had belonged to my oma, with a cutout of our lady glued on it. I love putting these eggs out because they add so much color to the room. I also love the beautiful little leaves on the branches!

Getting ready for Easter!

Here are some photos of the kids dying eggs. I want to assure you all in the beginning, that despite Paulie's shirt, we are in NO WAY fans of the Mets. Call it an egg-dying uniform, if you will. Something he has been saving for an occasion just like this one.

We dyed eggs in the normal way, then added vegetable oil to the dye and redyed in a different color. Some of the eggs turned out marbleized and looked great. The oil also made them shiny, which was cool. It was a lot of fun!

Pictures from before Easter

Here are a couple I have been meaning to post...Anna in her ballet class outfit and Joey in his First Communion suit (and a headless giant). I took the boys clothes shopping before Easter and they were so cute about trying on clothes. Each one took a turn in the dressing room alone (they wanted to dress with no help) and then came out and showed me how they looked. Joey was so proud to wear a real suit and you could tell that he felt pretty cool. Paulie's outfit was a new one for Easter, and you will see it on the Easter post. I had a great time with them...they are really growing up.
Anna is also very cute in her ballet outfit and loves to get dressed up for class and spin around the room.