Holy Saturday

This morning, Aunties Shannon and Caitlyn accompanied the girls and I to the Holy Saturday service at our church.  Because of the special services throughout Holy Week, the church bore the symbolic decorative items associated with the various Vespers of the previous nights. 

Madeleine apparently felt as if she had fallen down the rabbit hole and into an alt-universe church.

MADELEINE: Mama?  It just doesn't feel like the right church.
ME: It doesn't?  Why not?
MADELEINE: 'Cause they put different STUFF up.

Despite her confusion as to what church we were at, Madeleine was clearly still confident enough to instruct her aunties as to typical church protocol.  Staring up at Auntie Caitlyn standing in our pew, Madeleine felt the need to inform her rookie aunt that standing is not ALL we do.

MADELEINE: Auntie Caitlyn?  Did you know we don't JUST stand at church?  We SIT DOWN, too.

I'm certain that Madeleine's instruction helped bring Auntie Caitlyn's understanding of a Greek Orthodox church service to fruition.  Especially considering that Caitlyn has been a member of the Orthodox church since birth.

Julia wasn't confused by the differences in altar decorations, but she WAS a bit thrown off by the changes to the typical Liturgy.  Because of it being Holy Saturday, the chants and hymns are slower, allowing the priest more time to complete the longer prayers that are part of Holy Saturday service.  During the "Se imnoumen" hymn, through which the congregation kneels in prayer, Julia apparently ran out of things for which to pray.  Turning to Auntie Shannon in the middle of the hymn, Julia whispered, "I can't think of anything else to say!"  I, on the other hand, didn't even get a chance to complete my prayer, because I was so distracted by the fact that Madeleine was crawling around underneath the pew instead of kneeling, but, hey, I'm glad for Julia that she got the chance to finish hers - and THEN some!

Back at home after the service, we got down to the parts of Easter that the kids REALLY like.  Ethan and I dyed eggs with the girls, which basically amounted to each kid putting an egg in a particular color dye and then asking for the next ten minutes: "It it ready yet?  Can I see if my egg is done?  How much longer do I have to keep my egg in there?"  But the wait was worth it in the end, as the girls were thrilled with the rainbow of colors we had in our egg carton:

Next up was an egg hunt in the backyard, organized by me.  This is one of our Rowe household traditions, and the kids are always SO excited about it, even though they manage to find all the eggs in about a minute and a half.  The sight of them sprinting with joy through the yard, shouting out, "I FOUND ONE!" makes the whole experience a delight for me as well:

In the late afternoon, Yiayia arrived with Clara, Auntie Shannon's pet chihuahua, who is currently under Yiayia's care.  The girls, who used to be terrified of Clara, were now delighted to see her.  Madeleine seems to think that she can speak to Clara as if Clara understands complete sentences in English.  As Clara stood whining at the door for Yiayia, who went back outside to unload her baggage from her car, Madeleine wandered over to console her doggie friend.

MADELEINE: Where's Yiayia, Clara?  Yeah, I don't know either!

Equally excited to see her Yiayia, Madeleine exclaimed, shortly after Yiayia's arrival, "You haven't been here for, like, a HUNDRED YEARS!"

Reunited after a hundred years, we all enjoyed a nice meat-filled dinner together, now that our 40-day Lenten fast is over, and the girls were dismayed when it was time to go to bed.  Rest assured, however, Julia plans to make sure nobody gets to sleep in tomorrow.

JULIA: I can't wait to wake EVERYBODY up early in the morning so we can search for my EASTER BASKET!

Every year, I hide the girls' baskets in a different spot, and part of the fun of receiving the baskets is the hunt for them.  Madeleine, unfortunately, is not looking forward to the search.  As we lay in her bed this evening after her lullaby, Madeleine lamented her assumed pre-ordained fate.

MADELEINE: (face crumpling) But Maaamaaa, I think I will never FIND my Easter basket from its HIDING PLACE!
ME: Well, honey, don't worry.  You can take a look for it, and if you can't find it, we'll all help you.
MADELEINE: (lip quivering, eyes filling with tears) But Mama, I'm just SURE I will never FIND it!
ME: Well, you know what honey?  When you were little, you could never find the hiding spot, and I always helped you.
MADELEINE: (despondent) But MAAAAAMAAAA!  I will NEVER EVER be able to find my Easter basket by myself EVER AGAIN, just like when I was a BABY!
ME: Okay.  I'll tell you what.  I'll make sure to hide it in a place that's easy to find.
MADELEINE: Okay Mama.  So, just hide it under the table.  And...hide Julia's under the PIANO.
ME: Well, honey, the problem is that because Clara's here, I can't hide your baskets on the floor, because Clara might try to eat the chocolate in there.

Luckily, after a moment of thought, Madeleine had the perfect solution to this problem.

MADELEINE: Well Mama.  Maybe you better make Clara her OWN Easter basket, and you can hide THAT one on the floor.

Can't wait for tomorrow morning, when Madeleine, Julia, and Clara ALL get the chance to receive their baskets of goodies!