Christ is Risen! Pascha 2010 pt.1

Ok a bit late, but I wanted to get rid of the other pics before posting up these ones.

On Friday night I got to my parents place at about 6:30 pm. I knew there was an evening service that started at 6:00, but only remembered at 7:00, and when I asked my mom how long it lasted she thought it only lasted an hour so it must be over already. So I relaxed and talked with my parents a bit, and then went outside on the front porch with the dog to listen to the robins singing. But I also heard other singing. My parents house is a few hundred yards down the street from St. Seraphim's, and I wondered if it was them I heard singing, since I thought the service was over. But then I recognized what they were singing and decided to go over there. Apparently what I had heard was the singing during the procession around the church.

It ended at around 8:30 or 9:00pm, I walked back home and plugged in my laptop and went on the internet the rest of the evening I think. On Saturday morning there was St. Basil's liturgy that I arrived at halfway through since I felt like I was getting a cold, and then afterwards I went to the church hall to help Matushka Katherine set up for the feast after the vigil that night. After that she drove me home, I went to the store for some stuff to make the potato salad, then I went to her place to help her and Elena make 20lbs of potato salad and a bowl of broccoli salad. Katherine, me, and Elena:



By the time we finished it was already 6:00pm so she drove me home again and came in to have coffee and talk a bit, and then I laid down for a nap to rest up for the vigil that evening. I didn't sleep but it was sooo nice to rest, I was exhausted. Katherine came to pick my mom & I up to bring us to church at 8:45pm, and as soon as I walked in I was given the job of reading before the vigil began. Once it started I took this picture of the darkened church:



Soon we all made our way outside singing and holding candles for the procession around the church, and I got to ring the church bell during the procession :D Once the procession was over we all gathered in front of the church before heading back in and I took these:





Once back inside the lights were turned on again:



After the vigil ended at around midnight we had the blessing of the food:





And then we went and feasted! The food was sooo good. Read more about what we ate here. After that I was feeling very full and exhausted so we went home to bed.

On Sunday morning I got up and made myself a delicious breakfast of bacon, an egg, and a grilled cheese with basil fried in bacon fat:



I discovered the paper towel had left a nice lacy pattern of bacon fat on the plate:



And Toby helped me finish off my breakfast:



Then it was off to the church hall again to help set up:



Here are the other women setting up:



And some beautiful red eggs:



And I would have liked to add the videos I took too but I'm trying Vimeo out for the first time and I didn't know you had to wait half an hour AFTER you've uploaded it for it to start processing so I guess I'll do that tomorrow cause I have to go to bed soon.