There was the year we sat atop a grassy hill (just after Heartbreak) with wine, ahem, I mean juice and cheese and salami.

There was the year we ate hot dogs in Cleveland Circle and drank beer while watching through a pub window.

There was the year Taylor ran it–last year, when it was 90 degrees outside–when I watched it with Macie and her foster family and my sister and her fiance.

Did you know, because the forecast was so unusually hot, they gave all the runners the option … read on

She would have been 63. Four years ago, when she died, her birthday fell on Easter Sunday. She missed it by just a month.

I am missing her in all sorts of new ways this time around. Less of a sharp pang and more of a dull ache that surfaces when other areas of my life are worn. And I say, sometimes out loud, “I miss you, Momma.” I say that frequently.

I miss telling her things. All kinds of things. I want to ask her so many questions. I want to talk to her about … read on

I know I post this (almost) every year. And I know you might be tired of the same ol’ stuff on Easter, but that’s the thing about a Mystery. You can come back to it again and again and always find something new.

Though Easter has changed for me over the past few years, bringing with it now much remembered sorrow as well as great joy in our Risen Lord, I am still excited. I am giddy.

Christ is Risen! We are children of the light and not of the darkness. We are heirs to the … read on

Here are some pictures of our daughter that we’ve never posted online before. Because we couldn’t.

These are not all of the ones I took, not by a long shot, but they are definitely some of my favorites. Enjoy them.

I have.

… read on

Today is the feast of the Annunciation–when an angel told a humble woman “Rejoice, Favored One!” and she gave her Fiat.

Today is the first day of Holy Week, the final preparation before we celebrate our Lord’s passion and resurrection.

We are an Easter people. Even in the midst of Lent, we remember the Alleluia. Today is Easter, too.

My mother wrote this poem years (and years) ago when a good friend of hers died close to Easter. Her name was Joy.

Easter Joy
Jeanette Marshall

The Sun is bright… read on

Being able to walk everywhere. (having to walk everywhere)

We were so close to so many great cafes there. It was nice to just take a walk and end up somewhere awesome. (it was less great having to carry all the stuff we might need)

My Sister and her Husband. But they’ll be moving to CA soon, anyway. (cross country flights to see family)

Warm, bright summertime. (freezy-cold winter winds-of-death)

The set up in our condo. Everything was so.. settled there.

The light through our windows. (the heat and cool through them, too)

My green wall. (ugly … read on

… read on

–Taylor and I are watching Foyle’s … read on

But then T sent me a text.

Happy anniversary of a successful hearing for our Macia.

It was a year ago yesterday that we knew she could stay. When I read his text all the emotions of that day, and all those days leading up to it, came … read on

[watching the clouds] … read on