He is Risen!

More than anything I want my boys to know and experience Jesus for themselves. I want them to have real life experiences that translate into greater faith. I want them to understand that the promises found in Scripture are relevant and available today. We try in many ways, both practical and creative, to encourage their faith. We tend to kick it up a notch around holidays!

Since we homeschool we have lots of opportunities to talk about Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit. But we also get to have a lot of fun... and snacks. So here's a little sampling of what Easter looks like at our house.

We started on the first day of Passover by reading Exodus 12 and then cleaning all the "leaven" from our house. This is a great way to get your kids to clean! We also ate "leaven-free" all day.




Each day we talked about the events of the week and read part of the account from Matthew. We took communion to remember the Last Supper (forgot to take a pic). Then we made a special treat. We took a marshmallow (Jesus), broke it in half (His body was broken for us), placed it inside a crescent roll (the tomb), rolled it up and pinched the ends (set a guard). We baked according to the directions and when it came out (3 days later... just kidding it was 10-12 minutes). Jesus body was no longer in the tomb. Really fun for the kids and they got to eat a snack!



We also dyed Easter eggs... without spilling this year!!!! And they got to eat a snack.




Then we used jelly beans to talk about Salvation. I have found with boys every activity should involve some sort of snack to hold interest! :)The boys learned that black represents sin. Red is Jesus' shed blood that cleanses us from sin. White is for our hearts being white as snow. Green represents new life. We didn't have clear jelly beans so we used orange to represent the Holy Spirit. Blue is for Jesus' promises. Finally, yellow represents the streets of gold that we will see when Jesus returns to take us to Paradise with Him! They were really excited to demonstrate their knowledge and then... eat a snack.



On Good Friday we went out to eat with Mooma and Papa and then went to church. The boys enjoyed the service with special music, remembrance of our sin and Jesus' sacrifice and we were able to take communion as a family. Last year we spent Good Friday in the ER with Kaden after he cut his neck. This year was MUCH better! The weather was also very dark and stormy all day. It made our reading of the Crucifixion so much more real and powerful!

We also memorized Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23 and made our infamous cake to illustrate. Which they then decided to share with Mooma and Papa. And this was their snack.



On Easter morning we went to church and then taught Sunday School. The boys were able to listen to the Easter story again and celebrate with their church family Jesus resurrection! Don't worry between services they had a snack!



We had a little Easter egg hunt when we got home and then off to lunch at Emme's. Then Emme had a little hunt for them as well. They watched Mary Poppins for the first time too!





PHEW! I am exausted just thinking about it. I should probably take a nap or better yet get a snack.

Grace's Giveaways!

My itty bitty sister has a giveaway going on her blog. Here's the link... now Grace please don't get overwhelmed by the masses of people treking over from my blog to yours! :)

It's a big week of parallels for us. You on Lynette's blog; me on Stuff Christians Like. You made a vlog; I did the Easter 365 vlog. And those parallels allowed me to use semi-colons! I am complete!

Check it out peeps. GIVEAWAY

We might need security?

The boys cake from HERE made it to
HERE!!!!/

I wrote a way long, way too wordy, way too scary email and now Jon probably has a protection order against me... but he's in good company with Buddy Biancalana.

I can

I can’t believe they took this picture.

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Chocolate theology

My kids saw THIS cake on Stuff Christians Like and HAD to make it! I am not sure if it was more about the cake or the theology but we had a great discussion about it. They are funny, smart and wackadoodle boys. Ladies I am taking applications now for prospective wives. They should be ready in about 20 years. Here is what the boys came up with.




Kaden was glad Anakin was saved. Luke wished God's cake was chocolate because he prefers chocolate. Kaden wanted to know if it was OK to eat Satan cake. Luke thought it was important to have 3 crosses rather than just one. Luke also wanted to add palaces... Satan's is smaller... and didn't really understand why I made him wash the Legos before putting them on the cake.

This was so much fun to make with them. It was super sloppy and not very pretty but they had a good time and we got to discuss their memory verse from last week (Romans 6:23). A perfect Easter-themed activity and includes all a typical boy's must haves: Legos, cake, frosting, messes, more frosting and a bowl to lick.

Shoo Flu

March 1, 2010 where were you? We were fighting the emergence of Spring with a little vomiting! YEAH! Kaden was the culprit. And what a perfect sickie he was. The kid waited to vomit until 645 am! No startling wake up in the middle of the night pukes for him. And he made the toilet or barf bowl EVERY TIME. He only had one sheet changing accident of a different variety but overall this was a positive experience. I did not cry or scream "WHY GOD WHY! Make it stop!" Like I usually do. Ahhh personal growth. SO many positive aspects to consider.

Luke was petrified of throwing up so he would not get near Kaden or the "sick room." He even sat in the hall to watch TV so as not to get too near Kaden. Always full of compassion he begged "When can I go to Mooma and Papa's." He was able to spend the afternoon with them which was helpful so I could clean up and tend to Kaden. Oh and I have another kid too, Jack! He had to eat and stuff too.

At the start of the day I thought "How do Mom's do this? One is puking, another needs to do school and the baby is a baby." Well I figured it out, let a lot slide and we got through. I experienced what is the truth of "the joy of the Lord is my strength." Overall it was a really good day.

I just felt sorry for my little KK. He never cried or complained. He didn't even call me when he felt bad. I would just hear him and go running. He was always over the bowl or toilet and I would rub his back and speak softly to him. He would stop and I would ask if he was done. He would nod and take a drink and lay down. A man of few words, but so sweet and endearing.

Luke drew him a card of all the things he wanted to do when Kaden got better. They were playing basketball, riding bikes and playing soccer. I love brothers!

This is a little video I did for our church's Easter 365 website. I was asked what Easter means to me every day.

HERE