How we spent the Easter Triduum and Easter Sunday :)

A blessed, beautiful Easter to all of you! :) I hope the glorious joy and peace that comes with Easter is still very much evident in your hearts and homes — after all, Easter has just begun! (We're celebrating for 50 Days, how awesome is that!)


Anyway, I know I shared with you in a previous post how we planned to "do" the Easter Triduum and Easter Sunday, so I just want to share what we actually ended up doing.


On Holy (or Maundy) Thursday, we ended up attending the Mass of the Lord's Supper at Sacred Heart Parish, a church near my in-laws' place, instead of at our parish here in our village in Cainta. You see, hubby's grandmother, who is bedridden and ill, also celebrated her birthday on the same day, so we went to their place for her birthday celebration with family members on hubby's side.


We ended up staying longer than planned, even staying overnight (the kids were having so much fun playing with their cousins and bonding with family, they didn't want to leave anymore). So we weren't able to do our own washing of the feet ceremony as a family and also skipped the online Visita Iglesia. We did try to teach the kids about the symbolism behind Jesus' washing the disciples' feet (love and servanthood) and also watched these videos with them:





For Good Friday (God's Friday!), we went back to our apartment in the morning and attended the Good Friday/Veneration of the Cross service in our parish. The kids were kind of tired when we got home, so we didn't do any crafts but just enjoyed spending time together. I'm grateful that Tim was mindful of the fact that we were fasting/abstaining on that day, and he contributed in his own way by "fasting" from the educational computer games which he loves to play.


Holy Saturday was spent cleaning up our apartment in preparation for our Catholic group's prayer meeting on Holy Monday. It was "summer cleaning," for us, since we don't really experience spring here. :) I also prepared the eggs and stuff for the kids' Easter Treasure Hunt, a modified version of the traditional Easter Egg Hunt. :) We didn't get to go to the Easter Vigil though. Hopefully next year.

Easter Sunday saw us attending morning Mass at our parish and going to my dad’s for lunch. We were joined by my youngest brother and a few Youth for Christ (YFC) leaders and missionaries from Timor Leste, who are here for the YFC International Leaders Conference this weekend. It was great to catch up with them and speak in Tetun again! (We used to be based in Timor as missionaries).

The kids had a blast hunting for goodies on their Easter Treasure Hunt and eating the Easter cake their Tito Jay brought for them. 

All in all, it was a truly blessed Easter for our family. I only hope and pray that the seeds of love and life in Jesus will continue to be sown in our kids’ hearts, as well as our own, throughout this Easter season and beyond, and eventually, bear good fruit. In the future.

Enjoy the rest of Easter, everyone!

P.S. Sharing some of our pics with you. :)

I forgot to include this pic in my last post. :) These love notes from Jesus were the last Easter "treasures" in the kids' treasure hunt on Easter Sunday. 

Hubby, me, my dad and our Timorese brothers and sister

Alleluia! :) Kids with their Tito (Uncle) Jay

Ready for our Easter Treasure Hunt! :)

Treasure under Lolo's pillow 

Where to next?! :)

Treasure under their cousins' pillow (The cousins were not present, though..)

More treasures! :)

Our Easter cake. C/o my brother. :) Store-bought from Red Ribbon, hehe!
Didn't have the time to make a genuine Resurrection cake, but I hope we could do it next year! (If we have an oven by then! LOL!)

Of course, we had to have a candle-blowing ceremony! :)

The kids enjoyed playing checkers with their Tito Jay back in our humble home. :)

A blessed Easter to all! {We're going on a treasure hunt!}

Image source here.

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Corinthians 15: 55-57)

Although our Lenten and Holy Week plans and promises did not all go according to what we had hoped, we are nonetheless grateful for how God has brought us to this wonderful day — Easter, when we celebrate Jesus' rising from the dead! :) Thank God we have 50 days to celebrate this beautiful, blessed occasion!

Here's a peek at what the kids will be getting today at our "Easter Treasure Hunt," which we will have during our planned Easter party later at Lolo Mon's house. We'll be having lunch with my dad, my youngest brother and our young "family" members from Timor Leste, who are here for the Youth for Christ International Leaders Conference next weekend:

I reused the plastic Easter eggs we bought last year for our Resurrection Eggs set and placed different "goodies" in each egg — the pink and purple ones are for Rysse and the green and blue ones for Tim. I also bought some Catholic items at our local St. Paul's store.

Can you guess what are inside these eggs? LOL! I think the sticks pretty much give it away! (Lollipops! Tee hee!)

I bought these little books about stories from the Bible (OK, they're kind of NOT related to Easter, but we don't have that many choices here in the Philippines!). Then, I taped Easter eggs to the covers of the books, with each egg containing a one-peso coin. :)

These eggs contain small glow-in-the-dark statues of the Sto. Nino (for Tim) and of Mama Mary (for Rysse).

The last and greatest "treasure" in our hunt will be these VCDs of Saints Stories with holy picture cards of the Resurrected Christ, the Holy Family and St. Therese (for Rysse) and St. Michael (for Tim, they didn't have a St. Timothy card at St. Paul's). The Easter eggs contain a jelly candy each.

I taped the eggs to the kids' favorite snack foods - choc chip cookies for Tim and cheese crackers for Rysse. The eggs contain, again, one-peso coins. :)

We don't have Easter baskets, so I'll just ask the kids to use the bags they got from the CFC Kids for Christ International Kids Village we were blessed to attend last year to gather their Easter treasures. :)

Last-minute additions :) I tried to make a cross out of lollipops, after reading this post about symbolic Easter baskets for Catholic children. How I wish we had Catholic stores that sold Catholic-themed candies and goodies like those featured here! :) 

It's not too late to have a Christ-centered Easter activity for your families, friends! :) Here are some useful links:

Symbolic Easter baskets from Three-Sided Wheel

Catholic Easter basket ideas from Shower of Roses

Easter ideas from Catholicmom.com

While we're at it, let's include the whole family! :) Here are 50 Ways to Celebrate Easter from The Word Among Us website. :) 

P.S. This Easter Sunday, the kids are going on a treasure hunt and we'll be having a simple party. But our only prayer is that they discover the greatest treasure of all, i.e. the Resurrected Christ, alive forevermore! Alleluia! :)

It’s NOT About the Bunny, Honey

Easter Sunday is only days away — it seems like yesterday when we started preparing for Lent. Has it really been almost 40 days since? Gosh, how time flies.

This year, we’re going to try to encourage our kids to get more involved in the Easter Triduum, i.e. the activities in Church starting Holy Thursday up to the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. In previous years, we’d usually skip the Easter Vigil as the children were still quite little then. Although we haven’t decided yet if we’ll do the Vigil this year, we’re not crossing it off our “Easter celebration-to-do list” for now.

What is very definite though, is this: as in years past, we’re going to emphasize again to our kids that Easter is not about the Easter Bunny, or getting Easter eggs, or springtime (which is not really that relevant to us Filipinos anyway).

What we are going to do is remind them that Easter is about the glorious Resurrection of Jesus, just as Christmas is about the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. Rather than focus on the joy of receiving Easter eggs from the Easter Bunny, we will celebrate the joy of spending eternity in Heaven in the future — which is why Jesus died and rose again in the first place.

Photo source here.

Don’t get me wrong, though. We’re not going to be complete killjoys and “deprive” our children of chocolate Easter eggs and other treats. We actually are planning to go on an “Easter treat hunt” in our teeny-tiny apartment on Easter Sunday (or, on second thought, maybe we’ll have it in my parents’ place, tee hee!).

Aside from Easter eggs and other treats, we’ll hide faith-themed little things, like small Christian books from our favorite Booksale branch, stickers of Jesus, Mary and other saints (if these are available), and other cute, novelty items around for the kids to “hunt.” If our budget permits, we may even get them Easter presents, similar to the Christmas parents most kids usually receive.

Photo source here.

Prior to our planned Easter Sunday mini-festivities, we’re planning to attend the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday (today!) and, hopefully, do our own simple washing of the feet ceremony as a family.  We also plan to do the Visita Iglesia Online, a service provided by the CBCP.

On Good Friday, we hope to be able to do the Stations of the Cross and join the Good Friday service and Veneration of the Cross in our parish. I’ll also ask the kids to do one or two cross crafts (taking ideas either from Catholic Icing.com, American Catholic mommy blogger Lacy's fab blog, or The Learning Basket.com, a blog set up by fellow Catholic Filipino homeschool mom, Mariel).

On Holy Saturday, we’ll try to keep our activities as solemn as possible and prepare for the Easter Sunday celebration we have planned.

It’s my deepest hope and prayer that by doing this, our children will not only learn that Easter isn’t about the bunny, but, more importantly, treasure and enjoy living out our faith. I think it’s wonderful that the Church gives us 50 days to celebrate Easter, not just one Sunday! Here’s to more fun, faith-filled activities in our home!

And here’s to a blessed, happy Easter to you all, dear readers! Enjoy your much-deserved break with your loved ones!

On Smart Parenting.com.ph: How to Teach Your Kids about Holy Week and Easter

I'm so blessed and honored that I am able to spread God's message of love through what I do as a writer. I started out contributing to Smart Parenting, a local parenting website here in the Philippines, because I primarily wanted to earn extra money to augment our missionary family's monthly income. Little did I know, God had and still has another plan for me as one of the more regular contributing writers to the site. (I used to contribute under two names, i.e. Teachermama Tina and Tina Santiago-Rodriguez. Starting this year though, my editor asked me to choose just one, so I stuck to Tina Santiago-Rodriguez).

Image from the Smart Parenting website

One of the biggest blessings of writing for Smart Parenting is being able to write about things close to my heart, like my faith, homeschooling, breastfeeding, intentional parenting and other subjects. One of my latest articles on Smart Parenting really blessed me in a special way, because I was able to "kill two birds with one stone," as they say — because of the research I had to do for the article (about how to teach your kids about Holy Week), I was able to come up with ideas for our own family's Holy Week and Easter celebrations.

Image source here.

I'm sharing the link to that article here, i.e. "Ways to Teach Your Kids about Holy Week," in the hope that it will be of help to you and your family. :) May you have a blessed, beautiful Holy Week and Easter ahead! :)

P.S. Oh, and to those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, or part of my Facebook groups, or followers of my Facebook page and Twitter feeds, THANKS OH SO MUCH for praying for my sister and Baby Pia, the latest addition to our family — our "miracle baby," conceived after almost 11 years of waiting, through St. Pio of Petrelcina's intercession. :) (I wrote about that here.) We are truly blessed because of you all! :) God bless you and yours abundantly!

What Kids Should Know About Easter

Easter is THE most important time of the year for us Christians, even more important than Christmas. Sadly though, many people, Catholics and Christians included, often forget about this, and get lost in the hype of Easter egg hunts and chocolate bunnies. Personally, we do not claim to be the perfect Catholic parents, but we hope and pray that our kids will grow up to treasure the wonders and miracles of the Resurrected Lord, and believe in the enduring, saving power of the Cross.

This Easter Sunday, and the succeeding 49 days of Easter after it, may we who are in the ministry of raising up and teaching children (parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, KFC facilitators, kids ministers, big brothers and sisters, etc etc) remember to teach our kids that Easter is all about the Lamb, not the rabbit (the customs of which incidentally, is rooted in pagan traditions). 

Here are a few links to help you understand more about why JESUS is the reason for this great and blessed season, and how you can teach your kids about it:

From the Bible Conversation blog: "Is Believing in the Easter Bunny and Jesus the Same?" http://bibleconversation.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/is-believing-in-the-easter-bunny-and-jesus-the-same/

From Grant's Graceland: 

Top Ten Reasons Why Jesus is WAY BETTER Than the Easter Bunny! http://www.grantsgraceland.org/topten/tp0301.html

From Catholic Icing: Religious Easter Ideas For Kids (It's not TOO LATE to do this, Easter lasts for 50 days you know!) http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2011/04/religious-easter-ideas-for-kids.html

Feel free to share! May the Risen LORD always be in our hearts this Easter and beyond! A blessed, beautiful, bountiful Easter to all!

Rysse "helping " Tim prepare their Resurrection Eggs (idea taken from Catholic Icing)

Tim concentrating on the Resurrection Eggs

The finished product!

Preparing the Last Supper Craft (from Catholic Icing) for Holy Thursday

A cool Catholic way to practice kids' scissors skills

Retelling the Resurrection Story with Catholic Icing's easy-to-do Resurrection Set (Tim can't get enough of it, he keeps asking us to retell it!)

Kids and their Resurrection Set (May your patron saints Timothy and Therese guide you!)

Happy to hear the story of Jesus rising from the dead

(Oops.. forgot this one!) The Last Supper/Holy Thursday craft by Tim and Mama ♥

Lenten Activities For Preschoolers PLUS Holy Week Crafts We Plan To Do

Sharing with you this article I wrote for the Smart Parenting Philippines' website (they published it rather late in my opinion.. hehehe... but still.. I hope this helps you!). Also, I'm posting the links to the Holy Week crafts from Catholic Icing that we are going to do.. I am still gathering materials, but I hope we could start doing them tomorrow, Holy Wednesday. Have a blessed Holy Week everyone! :-) Remember.. JESUS is the reason for Easter, not the Easter Bunny! :-) *winks*


Lenten Activities For Preschoolers


Lent is the best time to introduce your little ones to the joy of Easter and how to prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.  They may not fully understand the concepts of fasting, abstinence, and almsgiving, but it’s never too early to teach our kids about these things. 

For a more meaningful Lent for you and your little ones, try the following activities:

1.    Prepare a “Sacrifice Storage Area”. 
Ask your child to choose something that he would like to give up for Lent and let him keep it inside a special box or other container that can act as a “Sacrifice Storage Area.”  He may choose a favourite book or toy or DVD. Set a good example for him by also choosing something that you will be putting in the “Sacrifice Box.” 

As much as possible, get other members of the family to do the same as well, no matter what their ages. Explain that we make sacrifices during Lent as a sign of our love for God, and to learn to appreciate the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

On Easter Sunday, prepare a simple but meaningful ceremony where each member of the family gets to take out their “sacrificial item” from the Storage Area and say a Thanksgiving prayer.

2.    Make an Offering Box.
Using a makeshift “alkansya”, our family sets aside money during Lent which we will be offering on Easter Sunday to a charitable institution of our choice (most probably, it will be Bo Sanchez’s Grace To Be Born Maternity Home and Nursery, which caters especially to pregnant mothers in crisis).

Making an offering box is a great way to teach your kids about sharing your resources and material blessings with others. Tell your child that instead of spending excessively on things that you don’t need in the first place, donating money will help others in need. 

Tim and his offering box

It would also be good to note that teaching our children acts of generosity is something we should do not only during Lent, but all throughout the year.


3.    Make a Lenten Cross.
This easy-to-do craft will give you an opportunity to teach your children about prayer and thankfulness. This idea is taken from the Domestic Church website and is a fun way to get your preschooler to practice her scissor skills under your supervision. 

First, draw cross patterns on a cardboard then have your kids cut them out.  Make sure you have enough space on the cross for pictures.  Next, let the children cut out small pictures from magazines, old brochures and other glossy printed material of things that they are thankful for and glue them on the cross.  Talk to them about the images on the pictures that they have glued on the cross and encourage them to be grateful for all the good things you have in your life. 

Teach your kids about the Power of the Cross and the Love of the Savior!

You may want to display their Lenten cross crafts in a prominent part of your home, like on the fridge or the kids’ room as a reminder to pray and be thankful for all He has given us.

4.    Make a Spiritual Bouquet of Prayer Petal Flowers.

This is another great idea from Domestic Church, and is a creative way to build your children’s devotion to the Rosary, one decade at a time! 

Using colorful paper, cut out a series of flower petals, stems and leaves for each person taking part in the Rosary. There should be one stem (representing the Mystery), ten petals (representing the Hail Marys), one little circle or centre for each flower (representing the Our Father) and one leaf (representing the Glory Be).

As you pray, glue the “flower parts” that correspond to the prayer until you complete one flower. 

When you do this daily and all the decades are said, you and your kids will end up with a wonderful collection of flowers – a spiritual bouquet of prayer petal flowers. You could offer the prayers each day for a specific person or group, and give them the completed flowers as a colourful and meaningful gift.


5.    Learn about the Stations of the Cross.
The Stations of the Cross is another beautiful devotion that we can teach to our children. It is a good way for them to learn about the events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection. There are many resources available online for teaching the Stations to your kids. Here are several useful links to help you get started:

Online Stations of the Cross for Kids and Families
Family Stations of the Cross from Domestic-Church.com
An article from the Passionists on Teaching the Stations of the Cross to Children
Multimedia Stations of the Cross for Children from Loyola Press

The most important thing to remember about these Lenten activities is that they will have greater significance when parents do them together with their kids. Find time together with your kids and make your bonding moments even more meaningful by enriching your family life AND faith all at the same time.

And now for the links from Catholic Icing (and linkys from other blogs/sites featured there) ! :-)


We plan to do these: (I am hoping to do all of them! Quite ambitious for a disorganized mama like me, but with God all things are possible, right?!)


Holy Thursday - Last Supper Craft, Praying Hands Craft and Washing of the Feet

Good Friday - Stations of the Cross Coloring Activity and Loyola Press' Stations of the Cross for Kids


Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday - Resurrection Eggs, Easter Countdown Calendar, Printable Resurrection Set

Thank the LORD for moms like Lacy who are SO gifted creatively and SO hardworking in putting up posts like these! Super helpful for clueless Teacher Mamas like me! :-) hehehe. Here's to a blessed blessed Holy Week and an even more blessed Easter everyone! :-)