Allergy Friendly Passion Lunch for Good Friday

Lacy at Catholic Icing created an incredibly clever interactive lunch for her kids to retell the story of Good Friday. I think it is brilliant but wanted to make a few adaptations so it would work better for my family. This one is safe for my kids' food allergies (eggs, nuts, dairy, sesame seed), has a hand out to help me remember what I'm doing without scrolling on my phone, and ends with Hot Cross Buns so I can include that traditional treat while adding the step of Jesus Being Laid in the Tomb.  

A couple of notes about the food:

- In the picture for the Crown of Thorns you can see that I used the Aldi GF cookies with their GF pretzels stuck in them because when I originally did this we were also a gluten free family. Now that we can have wheat again I'm using Lacy's original idea of Ritz crackers.

- For the silver coins I originally melted down the Enjoy Life chocolate chips and made round drops on parchment paper, let them cool, and then wrapped them in aluminum foil. This year I bought an Enjoy Life chocolate bar, will break it into pieces, wrap them up, and call it good enough.

- My kids don't love Sunbutter so the sandwich is butter and jelly cut out in the shape of an Easter egg. Egg salad sandwiches would work, too, but if you can have eggs I'd probably just stick with Lacy's hard boiled one to make it easier.

- Because we are dairy free I used strawberries to represent Peter's ear being cut off.

- For the Hot Cross Buns I use this recipe, shape them into rounds, and then ice them once they are baked. It is not a traditional Hot Cross Bun but it is dairy and egg free, my kids like them, and it works for us.

I hope this is helpful and I wish you a very holy, beautiful, Triduum. If you are joining the Church this weekend please know that I am praying for you!

Planning Ahead: Our Holy Week and Easter Baskets

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry but I've still got a few things planned for the upcoming weeks and I thought I'd share in case you're looking for any ideas, too.

This year my kids and my husband have Holy Week off and I am praying for good weather because we are hoping to:

- work in the yard, cleaning up some flower beds and catching voles
- clean the windows (I like to meditate on the Light of Christ while I wash my windows.)
- stain two outdoor benches

I should probably tell Travis about these things. ha!

We will also be fasting from all non-religious tv for the week. Old school Veggie Tales, CCC of America cartoons about the saints, and The Great American Bible Challenge on Netflix will be watched. We will also do a Family Movie Night on Wednesday where we watch The Prince of Egypt, also on Netflix. I think that movie, the Steven Spielberg animated film about Moses, is a great launch into Triduum. Travis and I will likely watch The Passion on Good Friday.

On Good Friday we will also be eating the symbolic Passion lunch that Lacy at Catholic Icing developed years ago. I make modifications because of our food allergies but the gist is the same. (Maybe I should blog about what we do? Would that be helpful to anyone?)


Our kids' Easter baskets are going to include the following

jump rope (affiliate link) - my kids are merciless on jump ropes and even the nice ones are failed us so I'm just going basic this time around

children's umbrellas (affiliate link) - I did this several years ago and the kids loved it. Three of them are still in excellent shape but two of them need to be replaced and Tee is finally old enough for his own.

bubble wands (affiliate link) - it's like Oprah: every body gets a bubble wand!

bubble refill (affiliate link) - to go with the wands and our bubble blower and bubble mower

pogo stick (affiliate link) - my kids have been asking for one for months. We are getting one for the older kids (not pictured) and the one pictured above still in its packaging (affiliate link) for the little ones.

water bottle (affiliate link) - each of my kids gets a Thermos water bottle when they begin Kindergarten. It serves as their cup ann that way there is no confusion of which is whose. L's Doc McStuffins one is old, faded, and a bit too juvenile for my almost tween, although she uses it without complaint. I'm excited to give her this pretty, more grown-up one.

Other great ideas from some of my favorite online stores are:

The Catholic Journaling Bible from Blessed Is She (affiliate link) - I love mine. It makes for great study time since it has all the footnotes and cross references plus room for notes, prayers, doodles...

Catholic Bible Stickers from Look to Him Be Radiant - my friend Katie makes these and I LOVE mine. As much as I wish I could doodle beautiful things in my Bible I am not artistic and so when she started selling these - they fit the margins of the BIS Bible perfectly - I immediately purchased some. I love that they add little touches of beauty next to my scrawling notes.

Custom Felted Bead Decade Rosary from Lily Joy Designs - I have one of these babies and I love praying with it. It would be a perfect companion to one the Mystery studies!

Madonna of the Blossoms print from Sleightholm Folk Art - one hangs in my living room each Spring and I love it. Absolutely gorgeous.

Strong Brave Loved t-shirt from Someday Saints Designs - so pretty and perfect for a teen or tween.

Gold Foil Sacred Heart print from Small Gifts Great Love - one hangs in my kitchen and I love it!

The new study series from Blessed Is She - Mystery - I wrote Believe! (affiliate link)


Now, I need YOUR help, please! My almost 8 year old boy needs a big gift for his Easter Basket and I can't think of anything to give him. He doesn't need a new umbrella, water bottle, helmet, swim trunks, or anything like that. Can you help me out?

a bullet journal for Holy Week

Yesterday Travis and I were in different cities for Mass. I was on my own to tell JP and JF repeatedly that palm fronds are not light sabers while nursing baby Tee during a 25 minute homily. There should be a direct order from the USCCB that all homilies on Palm Sunday must be under 10 minutes. Let's get going on that.


So obviously my Holy Week was off to a holy start. ;)


Today is for playing catch up after a weekend that included my brother in law's wedding and our friends' daughter's baptism. Today's ultimate goal, though, is low to no stress. JF's allergies and asthma created a couple of incidents (hives at the rehearsal dinner and a nebulizer treatment during the wedding) so I'm ready to keep it low key.

I've even got a playlist, courtesy of my friend Katie:


Bullet journals are all the rage right now, right? So here's mine for the week, but typed out in a blog post instead of actually written in a neat bullet journal.

My hopes for the rest of the week:
Monday: light cleaning and groceries
Tuesday: catching up on laundry and doing last Sunday's Mass Box craft with the older kids.
Wednesday: hiding 30 pieces of silver (aka quarters from my Paradise Falls jar) for Resa, JP and JP and attending evening adoration with the family
Thursday: attending Holy Thursday service with the family - we haven't done this for a few years but I think the older kids will enjoy it and the younger kids will be given a low bar and fruit snacks.
Friday: bake hot cross buns in the morning, do Stations of the Cross with the kids at noon, have quiet from noon til three, attend Good Friday service
Saturday: clean the house, no tv, celebrate Travis' birthday with good friends
Sunday: 7am Mass, Easter umbrella baskets, feast and celebrate!

And really, most of it I'm not committed to, their just goals.

Cue the boiling water and the crying baby at the same time!  I'm hoping you have a grace-filled, fruitful Holy Week.

Easter Sunday and the days preceding

Jesus Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!
(and then you say) He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia!

We had an unremarkable Holy Week that was capped off with very pleasant but also very tiring Easter celebrations.

I was able to help with the celebration in Ben's preschool classroom. I made these little tombs out of donuts and donut holes on a plate smothered with green frosting. I walked the kids through Good Friday and they all rolled the "stones" in front of the "tomb." Then we became very quiet as I talked about how sad the whole of creation was on Holy Saturday. Then I had them roll their "stones" away and open up the empty "tomb" because it was Easter Sunday and Jesus was risen!

They sorta cared.

Good Friday I was nothing but hangry the whole long day. We ate hot cross buns, walked to the library, had a quiet afternoon, did the stations of the cross, and called it a day.

But Holy Saturday started well, with my family and I attending the Blessing of the Easter Baskets at our Cathedral. Ben was able to "serve" and hold the book of blessings for the Bishop, who was a delightful ham and made everyone laugh repeatedly.

It ended well, too, with lots of fun with Travis' family.

Then Easter Sunday came and I was so happy to see it.

I did my decorating late Saturday night and finished up Sunday after 7am Mass and breakfast of bacon, coffee, and fresh cinnamon rolls.

Our Easter mantle looks a little like this:

I love this crinkle paper grass.

Some pictures of the kids with their Easter booty:

And finally, what I wore Sunday. (Linking up with the ladies at Fine Linen and Purple!)

This is as good as it got. I wanted to take a picture after Mass but the 8:30 crowd was showing up before the 7:00am Mass was even finished and then I was passing out fliers and Travis loaded the kids in the car. So, dining room picture was as good as it got. 

The girls are wearing Easter dresses given to them by my mother-in-law. Their cardigans are from Target. 

My dress: Target, this spring

My cardigan: Target, last fall

Glasses: Firmoo

Bangs: a whim

I currently love my dress but I have a pretty strong feeling that in a few years I'll be embarrassed by it. But for now: I look great!

A couple of thoughts heading into Holy Week.

Here we are on Palm Sunday and I don't know about you, but we made it! 

Ben turned his palm frond into a fishing rod and pretended to catch fish... until his father caught him. 

JF kept making his into a circle and sticking his face through it... until his father took his away and placed it next to Ben's.

Resa acted like hers was a broom... until I took hers and put it next to the boys'. 

JP just shook his in the air, like a little boy in Jerusalem. 

(And L spent the night at her grandma's so hopefully she is behaving wonderfully.)

"I will sing of your mercy that leads me through valleys of sorry to rivers of joy."

Jars of Clay, The Valley Song

One of the things I love so much about this week is how solemn and beautiful it is. The liturgies with their silence and darkness and candlelight, the readings from Scripture - Isaiah's Suffering Servant and the psalmist calling out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"especially, the music asking us "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" and it's something about that "oh-oh-oh-oh" that is so haunting and always makes me cry... all of it works together to prepare us for the gifts we recieve on Holy Thursday of the priesthood and the Eucharist, the sorrow and shame (our shame) that comes on Good Friday, the loneliness of Holy Saturday, the magnificence of Easter Vigil, and the JOY of Easter morning. 

I love Holy Week.

I have a special love for converts, reverts, and fallen away Catholics. There is nothing I love more than my God and His Church and I want nothing more than for everyone to feel the same. I want you to be Catholic so you can experience all the gifts it offers: the Sacraments, the saints, the feasting and the fasting, the redemptive suffering, the respect for life, the answers to all the questions which are all steeped in charity and clarity and reverence for God. 

I love that in Holy Week new Catholics are welcomed into the Church and old Catholics return. If you are a convert or a revert please know that I am SO HAPPY for you!!! I am praying for you and I hope that my silly little blog and I can help you live our your faith joyfully and in a community. 

Thanks for being here, guys. God bless you.