Happy Easter 2016!

 

 

Tove Ann said it was like we were at high school prom when I put my jacket on her.  Actually, Tove Ann and I have a cold.  This is why she's wearing my jacket.  It was a bit chilly.

 

The kids got the bug first during Holy Week.  And then it spread.

 

 

Today, we were suppose to go see our sides of the family.  We cancelled.  I also intended to help at St. Joseph's but my voice was just not cooperating with me.  I helped out at Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil.

 

We still made Mass as a family together a priority.   

 

Here's our family picture after Mass which we took at St. Catherine's School playground which is also a parking lot.

 

 





 

 

EJ was being silly with some of these other photos.  I got upset at him and told him not to do that anymore (unless we call out "funny picture" or something).

 

But after thinking about it, I post these here for when he gets older.



 



Here's one....



 

....and another one!

 

What were you thinking, son??!??!





Goofy kid!!  But I love you.

 

Here's a shot with JP getting the camera timer ready.  He kept laughing about the timer.



 

Tove Ann and I had a lot of hard laughs today from morning to now at night as I post this.  One of those laughs was after an argument.  Yes, family life isn't perfect.  It takes hard work.  And it is difficult.  The anti-family culture today doesn't make things easier.

 

 

I blogged about Palm Sunday HERE.  This is the beginning of Holy Week.  After serving at St. Joseph's in Vacaville during the morning as a deacon by myself, I then went to the 5pm as a family at St. Catherine's in Vallejo.

 

Fr. Resti is in charge of St. Joseph's in Vacaville. 
He asked me to help him temporarily since there are no deacons at the parish.



 

Someone once asked me how I manage to serve as a deacon and have a family with young kids on top of a full-time job running diocesan programs.  I answer as a realist and talk about being balanced and good scheduling, but ironically it actually means daily Mass together as much as possible as a family, daily family meal at least once, and a daily family rosary.  Ironically, when life gets busy, pray. 

 

Sometimes I get to go to daily Mass twice(!) during the week: the first is with the bishop at the Santa Rosa Chancery @ 8:30am.  The second is later at an evening Mass.  When the kids are sick, we split up Mass times.  I started going to daily Mass when I was a high school sophomore.  In addition to the family rosary of 5 decades, I try to do more of the holy rosary as possible.

 

On the afternoon of Holy Thursday, I got to see my baptismal goddaughter Christi Marie who played with my kids.

 

I blogged about Good Friday HERE.  It was the second time that I did the Solemn Intercessions.  Last year, I chanted them, but I don't think I used the correct tune.  This time, Brian the music director at St. Joseph's trained me with the correct music notes.  I was also asked to do some parts in Spanish.

 



  

 

This year was the first time I have served as a deacon at the Easter Vigil.  At the Easter Vigil, I did part of the Exultet.  I blogged HERE about the practicing but didn't record the actual chanting.  Ellen, the cantor that chanted most of the Exultet, said that I did fine with my parts.  Some day, I will learn the whole Exultet.  The tune is higher than I'm use to, but it makes sense to hit a higher note because the deacon is proclaiming the Easter Exultet.

 



 



 



 

On Holy Saturday, I helped my in-laws out with something, and my mom and Papa Hardie stopped by to drop off some Easter clothes for the kids and supplies.  I learned how to say "Hello, brothers and sisters" in Chamorro or Guamanian which is from the Pacific island of Guam: "Hafa adai, chelus."  Papa Hardie laughs when I call him "chelus".  I later went to St. Joseph's to help with the Easter Vigil. 

 

At the Easter Vigil, someone asked me to baptize her son.  My heart was touched.  I hope to blog about this later.

 

We couldn't make the Sunday gathering, but my mom and Papa Hardie dropped by in the evening since we were sick and gave us some food and some Easter goodies for the kids.  Here is a pix of my sister Rachel's gathering.

 

Rachel posted on FB, "Cheers to the Lord for He is Risen!"
(used with permission)

 



My father-in-law also stopped by with some goodies, too, before the end of the night.

 

I am grateful for the day.  Christ is risen!  Alleluia!

 

Check out some of my other blogs at www.MarysDeacon.blogspot.com