Eastertide

Happy Easter to everyone!  I never get tired of hearing the Easter story and while I've been working in a Catholic school here in England, I have to study it more in-depth than I perhaps would if I worked in a non-religious school.  The more I learn, the more humbled I am.

For instance, this year I learned that when Jesus died, the Temple veil was torn in two and there was an earthquake.  Besides those two events, the sky also went completely dark in the middle of the day.  All of this happened at the same moment that Jesus died--and people still question who the Son of God is?  The Earth literally shook and was devoid of light when Jesus gave up His life on the cross.

My class was focusing on the events of Maundy Thursday from the Last Supper to His time in the Garden of Gethsemane and then until Jesus was arrested.  From these stories, I learned that Jesus took some friends with Him to the garden to be with Him in his final hours on Earth so that He could have someone to pray with Him and comfort Him.  But, His friends were too tired and couldn't stay awake.  How lonely and scary to know what your death would look like and there was nothing that you could do to stop it.  I suppose Jesus's life was lonely many times--being the only Saviour of the world and at times, being visited by the Devil himself while looking for some time of quiet concentration in the desert.

I'm sure I'll continue to learn more details about the story I love so much and Jesus's life will continue to surprise me.  Even the details I may have known since I was little, I will begin to see in a different, more humbling light.

Here is a link to one of my favourite Easter songs:  I Love to Tell the Story

Jackson ever so carefully stacking his tower

Meeting his Great-Aunt Ann for the first time

Carrying a balloon around at his friend Ethan's party

Our little Maverick flying a plane in reverse at the party

Jackson had two birthday parties today!  He only took a three-minute nap in between each one and showed he has a high willpower to party.

Dining with Ralph, the birthday boy

Winding down at the party and sharing some lemon drizzle cake with Mommy

Showing off his many facial expressions and munching on some cucumber

Developmental updates:  I forgot to mention that last week, Jackson turned 18 months old!  At times, it feels like he should still be a tiny baby, but at other times, it feels like we've always had Jackson in our lives.  Today we tested his body parts vocabulary and he now knows 'ears,' 'toes,' 'mouth,' 'belly button,' 'eyes,' and 'head.'  Jackson has loved opening his plastic Easter eggs and finding little chicks and bunnies inside this week.  It has turned into one of his favourite games--not so much hiding and finding them necessarily, but just opening and closing them over and over again.  Apparently, Jackson can now eat sandwiches without tearing them apart layer by layer.  (We discovered this at the birthday parties today.)

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.