The Latest, but not particularly greatest

Let's see, how are things on the Dunn home front, eh? Well, it has been interesting to get to the middle of March without so much as a blink of an eye. We are involved in shows for St. Patrick's Day (n.s.) with Heritage Irish Stepdancing and Kat and I will both be in a show, 'The Jigcracker', in a week for the weekend. Katherine has gotten the performance bug and looks forward to being up in front of people doing her dances. It is funny because she is more concerned about dancing in front of me than she is a large audience full of people. I guess that is a good, reverse sort of problem to have and she does love to dance. She asked tonight if maybe one day she could be a champion dancer too. :o) Papa told her that if she practices and puts in some hard work, she would have a good chance. I am rather impressed by her ability to keep her chin up as she dances, arms down and she does alright staying on the right step. I heart my little dancing girl!

We have recently begun great lent and now have embarked upon the journey toward Pascha or, in our case, Pascha and my brother in-law's wedding. That means that as we prepare for Christ's resurrection, we also have to be prepared for the wedding. I am trying to focus on immediate things to accomplish so as not to feel overwhelmed, but it is tricky just trying to get through this week and all the dancing. After that I hope to settle into more preparations. A family friend was hit by a car as a pedestrian on monday and he died yesterday. He was a great friend to my parents and the dad of one of our friends. We have know them since I was a baby and I am sad that he isn't with us anymore and that the family has so much grief to process. May they have some peace in their path. I know everything is as it should be, but that doesn't make it easy. They have been in our prayers and on my mind a lot lately, so I get a little preoccupied.

In 2 weeks I will be celebrating my 33rd birthday and, for some reason, it is more significant to me than most other birthdays. 30 was sort of a milestone, just because it's 30, but 33 is more for a few reasons, I think. It means I am nearly in my mid-30's and I think I feel more like an adult than any of the other times in life, but more properly put, I think I may have gleaned some wisdom that has wedged its way into my being and stuck. It was 10 years ago tomorrow, nearly 1/3 of my life, that I met Jay. I was young, but ready to find my prince and settle down. I always wanted a family and I have one that surpasses all my expectations. At almost 33, it is funny for me to look back and see how life has unfolded as an adult. I feel more planted here at home in CO. We have a warm and caring church family, irreplaceable friends, wonderful homeschool families and friends, even our local health food store knows us well enough to chat about random things in life. We can't forget that my birthday falls on the sunday when we celebrate the veneration of the Holy Cross, which also marks the midpoint in lent. Last year my birthday was Lazarus Saturday and this year, the Holy Cross! My mom said that I am the only other person she knows that actually likes it when their birthday falls on a feast. Some of that may come from the fact that it is always during lent, it will never NOT be, so it is a bit special that I get to celebrate a feast day at church. I also don't think too much of birthday's in general, but it is a good excuse to get friends together and hang out. So, we shall see what this year of 33 brings...

On a completely different note, kind of, I have noticed a lot of church billboards advertising ash wednesday and various lenten activities. What get me is that they are not always only on Roman Catholic or Lutheran church boards, but varied protestant ones all over town, as well as, people of differing christian backgrounds stating that they, too, celebrate lent. Can someone please explain to me why so many people have decided that partaking of great lent, in some form, is now a popular thing for people to do? It also boggles my mind that, though there are many protestants participating in lent and they, to the best of my knowledge, do not identify with most Roman Catholic beliefs, they choose to hold services that mirror a Catholic tradition and practice. I would write more, but I do not wish to offend anyone, though I may have already (please forgive me, if I have).

Hmm, the weather has been nice and springy and we are looking forward to some great days out of doors, but that means I have to schedule in my time for the things I need to get done inside. We still need to start our seedlings, but I can't say for sure if they will survive when we go to Oregon for the wedding. We may have to start things as soon as we are home again, but I do love to watch things sprout and grow, it satisfies a small piece of me to watch new life begin and spring is so perfect in that way.

Ok, it's late and it is the day/night for changing the clocks ahead an hour, so I had better sleep, since I am already getting less sleep with every key stroke. Well, good night all