easter weekend.

whew. i can't believe it is already wednesday. between the craziness of work and that of my social calendar, i have just been too exhausted to sit and write my eager easter post! well here tis - better late than never.

so this past weekend was fantastic! despite catching a sneezing cold on good friday and having jack frost visit us on holy saturday (no joke, snow, april, uggh), it truly was a wonderful break from the realities of life... to enjoy time with family and bask in the glory of our gracious savior. usually we spend the holiday weekend battling traffic, but this year joe and elaine treated us with a visit - even with their lingering laryngitis sabotaging their vocal cords. quite the pair of troopers, i do declare.

we started off saturday greeting them at their hotel to enjoy the expansive view of the potomac from their room window - stretching all the way from georgetown down to the sw waterfront. spectacular! then of course stephen had to show off his newly acquired motorcycle license permit; he aced the exam earlier that morning...way to break the news, honey ;) we spent the rest of the day touring around dc by car, attempting to see the powder pink display of cherry blossoms despite their peak past. we initially had paddle boat reservations to enjoy the tidal basin scenery but between the not-so-springy weather and the post-bloom buds, it just didn't seem worth it. oh well.

but fortunately not all our plans were spoiled... with the idea initially conceived months ago, elaine purchased tickets for us to attend a grand opera performance at the kennedy center saturday evening. after dinner at their roof terrace restaurant (quite impressive) we grabbed our prime orchestra seats to enjoy the comedic and light-hearded rendition of the french opera - la fille du regiment - or daughter of the regiment, in plain speak. it was such a treat!!! having a mother-in-law with an operatic voice (high soprano c, please) definitely has nice built-in perks. it's just too bad she couldn't sing along :)

easter sunday followed with a lazy morning...no sunrise service this time...and a delicious brunch at bistro bis. we basically licked our plates clean, it was that good. and oh am i hooked on eggs benedict; truly love at first taste. divine. afterwards, we stopped in the nearby union station for an historic first-time visit for elaine and trip down memory lane for me. was that 1st college semester really over 5 years ago? back then, amtrak was my friend as i embarked homebound from philly's 30th st station. anyway, while there, i also convinced elaine to stop by my favorite tourist gift shop inside - AMERICA!'s spirit - that has the best smelling cherry blossom hand-soaps around. seriously - well worth the $3/bar!

we spent the remainder of the afternoon at home, watching ray vander laan's "easter story," enjoying a cat-nap, and/or catching the first half of the masters with all those men in green sports coats (and they call that monstrosity a trophy - barf). meanwhile, the kitties got busy coordinating the annual rodriguez easter egg hunt! it must be the bright colors but f&w just can't get seem to get their noses (& paws!) out of my easter basket. successfully hiding over 5 eggs from us...with one taking a full 15 minutes to find!...they certainly made the tradition egg-citing. ha.

fully rested and inspired, we made our way to church at gracedc for easter service. glenn gave an excellent sermon the vindication and validation of christ's resurrection to the message of grace. it is true that "sin always cost somebody something" but for the sinless christ that was the cross...to bury the power and penalty of sin, for us, forever, to free us from the guilty bondage we deserve. wow, what amazing grace. but i think what i enjoyed most about the service was the weekly "being honest with god" prayer that is uniquely scripted in each week's bulletin. this week's especially hit me. i liked it so much, that i thought i would share...

"merciful father, we confess our sins. although you raised jesus from the dead and exalted him as lord over all, we resist his rule over our decisions and ambitions. we often doubt your ability to give life to the deadness in our hearts and in our city. you exert your resurrection power to redeem the helpless, yet we overlook the oppressed and neglect those who mourn. we often pray as though you were dead - filled with doubt and fear. gracious god, have mercy on us through christ jesus, who died and rose again for our sins. shine the light of your gospel in our hearts, that we might live and serve you in the joy of resurrection life. amen."

i found this humble prayer to live confidently day-to-day in his power to be most refreshing and resonant. with easter now behind us, i leave you with this exhoration to hold on this spirit of freedom and promise of life anew and to celebrate his sacrifice continually, not just annually. he is risen...and so have we through him :)