We made it to Agape Vespers!!! YAY!!

ETA: I forgot to add: we had 17 languages represented for the Gospel reading! English, Greek, Slavonic, Russian, Japanese, Arabic, German, French, Latvian, Dutch, Jewish, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Danish and Georgian.

As we got to church, there were two lambs greeting us... on the spit! Now that smelled good! As Father said to a visitor, you cannot be a Christian and not deprive yourself, as Christ did and showed us. But then, when it is time to feast, we *feast*. 

The kids had a great time, Rachel miraculously recovered overnight, and it truly was Pascha for us, even with missing all of Holy Week. Strikingly beautiful and joyful. I am deeply thankful for that. And the food well, after eating so bland and simple for 7 weeks, all I can say is wow! 

I made this for the potluck and it was really good. The pascha I made is really really good, though we just bought some sweet bread, I did not have time to make the kulich with all the sick kids. Next year

Glory be to God for all things!! Christ is risen!

That is what we are having. We are all sick. I came home from Bridegroom Matins Monday evening to a little boy who had been throwing up all evening and things went quickly down hill from there. UGH. Tuesday, Rachel got sick, Wednesday, Matthias and Thursday, Tobias. Or something like that, the days are going in and out of each other at this point. Aaron came down with it Thursday evening, and even though I have been relatively fine, I am fighting the same bug and I am exhausted from being on puke alert.

It's a strange bug though because some of us got the GI flu and some just got fevers and headaches with overall achiness (sp.?). I was so bummed because they were all drinking kombucha and kefir, and taking probiotics and chlorella, but to no avail. I bet the house smells like hell too. Time for some all-around resurrection here! We are also really longing for a piece of meat!

Every year I struggle with the kids fasting from meat and now I really need to get this worked out before next fasting season because I get tired with my doubts and the back and forth about the 'they can do it, no they shouldn't' dialogue in my head, and I should not blame the sickness on the fasting but that is hard (temptation anyone?).

I think Thomas lost weight before getting sick and that is not good for a two year old. He needs meat. Matthias has GI issues and should probably eat meat. Rachel is a bean and rice person so she is totally happy during Lent, lol, but Tobias does gymnastics 6 hours a week, which will be 9 hours next year. He needs the energy and fatty protein. Not sure he should skip on meat either. I am still nursing a lot and do not need to fast but I can manage without the meat. And yes, I strongly believe in good pastured meet to be good for you! Staunch Wapper here Well, I try. I did get them to take frozen pieces of liver every now and then, so that helped I am sure, but it is tiny tiny amounts (pill size). At the same time, pastured eggs and raw dairy is good enough food me thinks, that 7 weeks without meat should be fine and there is grace in fasting, healing grace. Gah, I'd love some thought before I go lay this down before my (new) spiritual father.

Anyway, Thomas is still throwing up after eating though, poor kid, he seems to have both kinds. I wish I knew what to do for him besides what I am already doing. I am making chicken broth now so hopefully that will help him (why did I not think of this earlier?) Yay for nursing, but he is thinning down now :(

So hence no posts about this wonderful Holy Week that we are missing. And hence this uninspiring whine on this holiest of days. And the kids were so looking forward to the activities of Holy Friday at our church. They are really bummed. It looked really neat too, the program.

Tobias was so worried we would not be able to go to Pascha. Poor kid. He really felt like he was suffering. Mmm, ya. No, dear, you are struggling and you apply spiritual discipline to deal with it. We had great talks about this, and how satan was using our infirmities to bring us down. Even if we could not attend the service, which at this point I think we will, though perhaps not all of us, we will participate in the Resurrection one way or another through God's grace. The great things He allows to happen to strengthen our faith!

I did manage to make some pascha, and tomorrow I will make the kulich to go with it. These two recipes are awesome! They lay it out nicely so you don't have to think and plan which I needed this week! :D  I have a cold pascha recipe as well somewhere, but the heated one is just a lot tastier to me. One of these years I will adapt them to NT and play with them, this was not the year however. But there was just no way I would not make this for Pascha!

My New Year's resolution (that is what Pascha always feel like to me), is to make more pictures to share with my family. My poor parents are really missing out. Why is it so hard for me to keep in touch? I even forgot my brother's birthday this year and meant to call and then it just doesn't happen :( Resolution time.

Have a wonderful Pascha everyone! Keep us in your prayers please!

I think they are about 3 weeks old now. They are so cute, and curious.

And this is our newest addition: Koko! He is two months old and hand fed, so already very tame! He is slowly warming up to us. They are so much fun! This is a clear wing variety. All white wings. Very pretty.