Pascha Baskets for 2014

My Pascha cookies!

A special gift from friends at Christmas that

I told them we will keep till Pascha and have blessed...

Italian chocolate from the town where 

St. Benedict is from!

Four different cheeses for our Pascha basket!

Funny, but I was getting the baskets ready

in our hotel suite and kept feeling disappointed,

because our Pascha baskets seemed to be lacking...

and then I realized I forgot the many cheeses I had 

bought earlier in the week!

Then the baskets seemed great!!!

 The large basket with cookies, with

a white linen cloth... the linen is a heirloom

I found of Mr. Husband's Mother's Mother,

Grandma P, ... when I saw it 

I knew I would use it for Pascha this year!

I used my Ukrainian Rushnyk again this year

that my beloved Ukrainian family gave me as

a wedding gift... this one they gave me was for my Pascha 

basket and I think of them very much when

I am getting ready for Pascha... 

*

I am so very glad to be married to Mr. Husband...

and I love my new Parish...

but of course I love my Ottawa Parish too 

and missed seeing them on Pascha... but!!!

I knew we were all spiritually celebrating together

and I lit many candles for them all on Pascha...  

and told some of my new church family about 

Pascha things we did in Ottawa and that helps 

me feel connected to my beloved past church and 

my beloved new church...

*

Mr. Husband's spiritual father wisely told me

before we were married that I was not 

losing my Ottawa church family

but extending my church family...

it was to get bigger not smaller!

Our Pascha basket this year!

See the daffodils in the basket next?

I loved that and hope to incorporate it next year, 

DV... I love how Pascha traditions grow with the years...

There were so many beautiful baskets this year!

Our church basement is not that large so 

we did the blessing of baskets outside...

Mr. Husband is in this picture...

he is wearing the white cassock that I got him

for his engagement present on Pascha

the year we got engaged...

*

Already in the years we've known each other,

Mr. Husband and I have so many good memories

together...and this was our third Pascha!

*

Christ is Risen!!!

Truly, He is Risen!