Holy Week somehow creeps up on me every year. I feel like we scramble for the next few days, then accept with exhaustion the fact that we won’t get everything done we want to get done. I think it crept up on us faster than usual this year because of Beatrice’s arrival at the start of Lent.

Because Jake is still on paternity leave, he was able to take Michael to almost all the weekday services. Michael did exceptionally well for a two year old, and loved standing up with the choir.

I was able to duet the Hymn of Kassiani with Jake on Holy Tuesday, which is one of my favorite pieces of music in Holy Week.

I will kiss Thy feet Whose tread when it fell on the ears of Eve in Paradise dismayed her so that she did hide herself because of fear. Who then shall examine the multitude of my sin and the depth of Thy judgment? Wherefore, O my Saviour and the Deliverer of my soul turn not away from Thy handmaiden O Thou of boundless mercy.

Most of the services I attended, however, I was soothing a tired and gassy baby in the cry room. I’ve written (multiple times) about the different type of ascetic service required of mothers in different seasons of life. I don’t have any new thoughts right now, but this week I sat and held close the reality that this, too, is prayer.

I loved watching Michael with Jake this week. He often asked to go to church throughout the day, even if he had just been that morning or the night before. He also began to run around singing snippets of what he’d been hearing: lots of AMENs and ALLELUIAs!

Between singing in the choir and taking care of two children (even though their godparents and grandparents both helped out so so much) I didn’t get as many photos as I wish I had. One day, I’ll borrow a nice camera and try to capture all the glorious, beautiful details of our services during Holy Week.

But for now, enjoy the small snippets I managed to capture.

Come, receive the Light that is never overtaken by night, and glorify Christ who arose from the dead.

Christ has Risen from the dead, by death trampling upon Death, and has bestowed life upon those in the tombs.

We got home around 2:30 am on Sunday morning, and went back at 1 pm for Agape Vespers and our church’s Pascha BBQ. Agape Vespers is one of my favorite services: we read the Gospel in as many different languages as we can, and also we sing another of my favorite music pieces for the evening prokeimenon:

Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God who does wonders!

Jake and I sang it again as a duet. One of my favorite things to do is sing beside him, and I love that Holy Week and Pascha give me so many chances to do so.

Michael loved hunting for eggs with the rest of the kids, though he was decidedly uninterested in the candy inside and just wanted to keep finding more and opening and closing them.

Jake and one of our subdeacons competed on the Velcro wall (Jake won, sorry Jeremy — next year!), my dad made some incredible ribs, punch and wine and beer and whiskey made their rounds, cake and chocolate and donuts and Pascha cheese were present in copious amounts. As I said on Instagram, ain’t no party like a Pascha party.

So, Christ is risen, dear friends! We have entered with joy into the Paschal season. Now for naps, enjoying good food and good drink, spending time with good friends, and more naps!