Easter 2008

I am sad to say this year, I didn't attend an Easter Mass for the first time in my entire thirty-four year old life.

Darn Catholic guilt.

Yesterday, Max started getting sick. So I stayed home with the kids and Kyle sang in choir for the two and a half hour Vigil Mass. The Easter Vigil in my mind, is the most wonderful Mass celebrated in the entire church season. In addition to Max being ill, I also chose to stay home partly for selfish reasons--I find no joy in attending Mass right now. We have a sacramental minister priest who is currently assigned to our parish and he really, really enjoys preaching. So the homily is minimum twenty minutes long. I know it's a terrible reason to not find joy in attending Mass, the homily is such a small part of the entire celebration. But, in the past, there have been many a Sunday where I swear the message in the homily was being delivered to me and me alone. Sadly though, I can't remember any of the messages from any of the homilies he has delivered in the past year-plus he has been at our church. I get so distracted, irritated actually, that I can't focus then on the rest of the liturgy.

I did half-heartedly intend to go to another local parish's Sunday 6pm Youth Mass. But as I was online with a dear friend, I noticed the time was already seven past the hour. Shucks.

But, whether or not I went to Mass today, Easter is here...Jesus Christ has Risen Today--Alleluia!

------------------------------------------------------------
On a more secular note from Easter celebrations...

This morning, we got our Easter outfits on and headed over to my parents' house for the kids' egg hunt followed by Easter dinner. You can tell in the photo that Max was still feeling a bit punk. It was a laid back occasion. We were the last ones there and the first ones to leave this year, which is quite unusual. We are usually the ones who remain until supper. In addition to Max being sick, Kyle was dealing with a cold as well. I just wanted to get my family home.

This is a photo of all the local "Iverson" grandchildren:

From left to right: Max, Jack (13), Henry (4), Charlie (10), Millie (2-1/2), Nick (11), Cate. Missing: Miles (1-1/2) lives in Houston, TX. We look forward to seeing him this June.

Here's a cute Easter dinner table story. Max is truly coming along with word comprehension. And after each meal, we grab a wipe to clean hands and face. Today, Max got hold of a wipe and wouldn't let anyone help him. So I talked him through it:

"Can you wipe your mouth?" (Max pats his mouth)

"Can you wipe your nose?" (Max dabs his nose)

"Can you wipe your cheeks?" (Max reaches around to his bottom and wipes the butt of his pants)

Apparently, we didn't know that someone refers to his bottom as cheeks or butt-cheeks...

-------------------------------------------------------

I got another run in today to keep on task with my 5K training program. Today was a 44 minute run: 10 min walk, 10 min run, 1 min walk, 8 min run, 15 min walk. I started out at the parents' house and it took me 10 minutes to walk down to the lake. Sweet! Then I started my run (jog). I made it around the lake despite the slippery, uneven conditions, so I kept on running all the way home. I finished the 3.32 miles route in 41.29 minutes. I was so pleased!

The "Thank You" cards are in the mail...

Finally, finally! The thank you notes from Cate's birthday party back in February are in the mail.

I am generally quicker on the turnaround, but for whatever reason, I kept pushing them off this time. I wanted to make sure Cate would be involved in creating the notes. Sometimes I add a photo, or a special drawing. But this time, I had her decorate the front of the card. She chose to use stickers and markers. We sat down shortly after 7pm and finished around 9pm. Thirteen cards. I had a "good idea" moment and had her decorating a card while I wrote in her voice (see January 2008 post: "Testing...Is This Thing On?") on a different one and then we switched. I read her each message I wrote, which she then approved. It was nice to see that she also can appreciate each gift for different reasons. A favorite toy from this person, a favorite item of clothing from those people, some money to use for something special, etc.

One particularly touching moment was when we were writing Uncle Cliff's thank you note. He gave her a very pretty, delicate pendant and chain. It was made in Norway, which is part of our heritage. He also gave her a Pooh activity kit. He is always mindful of what kids really want. I reminded her of the gifts, particularly the necklace and her expression got very serious. She thought for a moment, then said, "Uncle Cliff must really love me." And I replied, "yes he does, honey." Then she said, "and I love Uncle Cliff too!" She chuckled and then stated, "Uncle Cliff...he's a really OLD uncle!"

She put the most effort into Uncle Cliff's card--covering it with a lot of hand-drawn hearts. She even included a drawing of herself with a bubble thought above her head containing another heart so he would know how much she loved him.

I have no doubt he'll know.

Happy Anniverary to Me!

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the Saturday that I started Weight Watchers, but more importantly, today is the one year anniversary that I had had enough and made up my mind that it was time to go. So bravo to me!

I started my weight loss journey on Saturday, March 10th. I exceeded my goal weight on Friday, October 26th, losing 47 pounds. I am currently sitting at 45 pounds down. My goal is to hit the 50+ pound mark by the time I go on vacation to Washington DC in April. I know I can do it. One of my best friends who is also losing significant weight reminded me last week that this weight loss is not a game (my mantra during the weight-loss phase was "game on!"), it's a lifestyle change. So, since I am competitive in nature, I am looking at it this way: I need to switch from the short distance sprint to a long marathon pace for the rest of my life. I know I will hit many walls along the way, but I am confident I will make it to the finish line at the end of my days living the healthiest life I could.

Speaking of running, I'm "training" for a 5K coming up in late April that I am doing along with two of my dear friends. I put training in quotations, because I think it's funny that one needs to train for a 5K. Some people aspire to do triathalons or marathons. I am aspiring to complete a 5K. So, in order to do it to the best of my ability, I signed up for an online training guide. It's a walk/run program. Yesterday was my second walk/run. 10 minutes walk/8 minutes run/10 minutes walk. Aside from it being really freaking cold outside yesterday, I was able to get it done. It will be nice when I don't have to worry about the snow and ice under foot. I am hoping it will make the running a little easier.

Sometimes cool things happen when you are changing diapers...

I had to change Max’s diaper twice in less than an hour’s time this morning. When I helped him stand up so I could pull up his pants the second time around, he said, "Ah wuv wu!" and gave me a kiss and a hug. Completely unsolicited. The first time he's done that. My heart absolutely melted…