He is Risen!

Easter was this past weekend. It was an interesting weekend for us overall. Easter didn't seem like Easter so that made it kind of weird. We also attend a chuch that isn't very traditional since they're trying to focus more on relationships than religion and reaching unchurched people (which is what the church should be doing) so that makes things feel different as well. For example, while in Grand Rapids we were used to attending a Maundy Thursday supper, Good Friday service and Sunday morning services where people would greet and respond with "He is risen!" "He is risen, indeed!"
Thursday night Tim read to Noah out of one of his children's Bibles the stories of The Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane. Even though Noah isn't totally grasping these things yet, it's important to us that we are starting these traditions and talking to him about God and Jesus at an early age.
Friday Tim read about the cross. Before bed, Tim and I read together (well, I read out loud while he rubbed my back and listened) from the book of Mark. I had just randomly picked that book to read from, mainly because I had opened to it. Neither of us must have read the story of Jesus being arrested from Mark, though, because while reading we both were taken by surprise. Mark 14:50-52 says this:

"Then everyone deserted him and fled. A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind."

I stopped reading as Tim stopped rubbing my back and said, "What?! I have never heard that before!" It is so random you wonder what - if any - is the significance of it? Tim thought it was interesting how all the disciples deserted Jesus and yet this young man stays with him, that is until he is seized...in which case he takes off and leaves the garment in their hands pretty much. After discussing it a little bit, as well as laughing at the fact we've never noticed it before, we moved on and read the rest of the events that happened that significant Friday.
My parents came on Saturday afternoon bearing gifts galore for Noah and Ellie. I thought Tim was going to have a stroke when he looked around and said, "Look at all this pink. I've never seen so much pink." After opening gifts and Noah playing hide-and-seek-the-plastic-Easter-eggs with my dad and Tim, we grabbed a pizza and took it to my parents' hotel room. Everyone but me played in the pool. I took pictures. I think we're going to look into swim lessons for Noah. He kept climbing out and jumping back in (with either my Dad or Tim catching him of course.) My mom said, "I think even if no one had been there to catch him, he still would have jumped in." He would have. I know this because last summer whenever we went to the beach we had to have a hand on him at all times or else he would have run straight into the water without us. This year we're investing in a life jacket...and possibly swim lessons....and probably just a plastic pool in the backyard where I can monitor him a little easier.
Sunday morning was church. We went to the early service. Well, Tim had to be at all three, but the rest of us went to the early added service, mainly because it was a Panera breakfast. Not just bagels either - muffins and yummy pastries were there as well. Unfortunately, it was the one morning that week that Noah decided to not wake up before 7:00am so we had to wake him. We told him "Happy Easter" as we turned on his lamp and started pulling his blankets off him. He responded with "No happy Easter." Yes, that's our cheerful child. Now he knows what we feel like when he wakes us up. Tim told me later that he said, "He is risen" to a couple people. He stopped when all he got were blank looks and "um, yeah" as a response.
My mom is reading a book right now called "Pagan Christianity." I'm not quite sure all it's about but I know that she and some friends are thinking about just starting a kind of home church to meet with each other. She made a point of telling me last week that the community group Tim and I are in is more of what a church is supposed to be than what church services are. I was a little, nervous maybe?, of how she would respond to the service since she's been reading this book. While we were leaving she said, "Well, I can see things in your church that the "Pagan Christianity" book talks about, but if I was going to attend a church I would want it to be like your's. It was a very good service and I liked the music. Your friend, Stephani, has a beautiful voice." I guess I'll take that as a good thing overall. It's just very different for me to see my mom with all these new opinions.
So anyways, after they checked out of their room and Tim finished his part in the last service, we went to Bob Evans for lunch. That's right - no cooking or cleaning for us on Easter this year. I think that is what also contributed to it not feeling like Easter though. Afterward we came back to our place, I packed a suitcase for Noah, and my parents were off - taking Noah with them. I thought it would probably only be until Friday but they said they want to keep him until Sunday. Fine by me! This will be the longest we've ever been away from him though. It's usually just a few days, or a weekend. Not 8 days! It has been so quiet around here today that I keep thinking I need to check on him in his room, then I remember he's not there.
Well this has been a very long post. I have a doctor appointment this afternoon so we'll see if the blood pressure is still down. I was lectured by 2 nurses at church yesterday - separately - on how I need to continue to take it easy and rest because preeclampsia could come on suddenly at any time, especially since I'm already borderline. One of them, our friend Josh who is also in our small group, said that I need to stay away from foods high in salt and I should limit my carb intake. I told him I don't really like salty foods, so that part is not a problem, but we might have a problem with the carb intake side of things. So far today this child has been extremely active and I feel like my internal organs are sporting bruises as a result.