Easter Fun

In the midst of the craziness that has been our life lately, I have been praying about and searching for ideas to focus our Easter celebration on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  I haven't been able to invest near the amount of time that I did during Advent, so I am praying for meaningful, clear ways to share the Easter story.  Here are a few of the things I have planned for this week!


Easter Egg Hunts: We will be hunting ALOT of eggs this week!  I love looking back at the origin of traditions and the origin of the Easter egg had nothing to do with a bunny (that never made sense to me anyway)!  They were meant to be a symbol of new life.  So we will hunt lots of eggs and talk about the new life we have as believers in Jesus Christ.  For our egg hunt on Easter Sunday, I am going to print and stuff the eggs with these cards and candy from Desiring Virtue.


Resurrection Eggs: I have seen these for several years and I love the idea of them, but I am not in love with all the little pieces inside!  I found this great printable on Pinterest.  It gives you the story without the pieces and the expense. :)

Hot Cross Buns: I am going to attempt making Hot Cross Buns on Saturday morning.  I love the idea of this being a Saturday morning before Easter tradition for years to come!

Empty Tomb: I also saw this on Pinterest and loved that it was so similar to what we did with the Nativity at Christmas.

Resurrection Cookies: We will be spending most of Easter weekend at my in-laws house.  I am excited to make these resurrection cookies at their house on Saturday night/Sunday morning since my mother-in-law is the one who first told me about them!


Since celebrating Advent this year, I have been more excited than ever for this Easter season.  I love the renewed excitement I feel about my Savior.  I love focusing on the truth that we serve a Savior that is ALIVE!  I am praying that each of you grasp the importance of that this week as you serve your families!

Random Friday

1) Have you missed me?  :)  I have SO missed blogging, but life has been NUTS lately.  My transition to two has been pretty easy up until the last few weeks and then real fun has begun!  My sweet Brooksie has just been cranky.  He is working on a mouth full of teeth and he wants to get up and move so bad!  He has managed to develop an army crawl that gets him where he wants to go and he is making progress on getting his belly of the floor.  He is also pulling up on everything but isn't stable on anything yet, so he has just needed some extra mommy attention.  I remind myself often that this to shall pass!  In the meantime, my time is spent playing with boys during awake times and working on the house, laundry, etc. during nap times.  It actually has been a good reminder of where my time and energy needs to be focused.

Look what I found when I went in to get him from his nap this week!

2) How was your Valentine's Day?  We do V-Day a little low key around her, but it was still a great day!  Drew had a fun party at his Mother's Morning Out and Hal picked up dinner on the way home. We had cooked steaks together on Sunday night and are hoping to get a Date Night this weekend.

The best pic I could do on V-Day!

3) I put a new verse on my chalkboard in the kitchen this week.  I need this reminder daily if not hourly. Whether it is in regards to disciplining my toddler or getting myself out of bed in the morning to be in God's word, I need to remind myself that I will reap what I sow.

^"8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Mom's Memory Book

I have mentioned that I might have done just a little shopping in DC! :)  I found a great deal on new black boots and I was also able to pick up a jean skirt and black pants that I had been wanting, but my favorite find was this precious little book: "Mom's One Line a Day, A Five Year Memory Book."

Before I started on R&R, I was much better about keeping up with milestones on my personal blog, but working on this blog combined with adding another child to the mix, I just haven't recorded as much as I would have liked.  I found this book in a neat store in Old Town Alexandria. It gives you just enough space to record one or two things you want to remember for the day.

I am looking forward to remembering the funny things they say and they days they reach big milestones like crawling or walking but I am also going to record the days we face challenges!  Lately, I have read more than one blog post that almost sound negative about what we face as mothers and want to tell you that it is okay to complain.  Yes, there are LONG days that I am grateful when I put them to bed and have quiet time with Hal, but I am convinced that scripture tells us to find joy in ALL circumstances.  Even the hard days ... we can experience joy. The Lord gives us the grace to experience joy even when we are still stuck in the circumstance. So, I am looking forward to recording the hard days filled with discipline and correction and the days filled with laughter!

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Random Friday

A few random thoughts for this chilly Friday morning!

Carrots:  I am pretty sure I had forgotten what real carrots looked like or what they tasted like!  It had been YEARS since I had purchased a whole carrot.  A recipe I was working on called for large carrots, so I grabbed a bunch, peeled them, and roasted them.  They tasted so yummy and different than baby carrots.  And, I hate to burst any bubbles but I have learned that baby carrots are really just regular carrots cut down.  So, go grab a bag of plain ole’ large carrots, pull out your peeler, and save a few $$$. 

Travel:  One week from today, I will be in DC!  I am leaving next Thursday to spend a long weekend with my good friend Sarah! (And her husband Jay, too!)  I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to some good girl time.  This is the longest I have been away from either one of my boys.  I know I am going to miss them like crazy, but I am looking forward to getting a little rest and good encouragement from a friend who challenges me to grow spiritually.  I am sure we are going to squeeze a little shopping in some where. :)  My mom will be coming down to help Hal with the boys.  Between daddy and grammy, I am leaving them in very capable hands!

On Sarah's wedding day ... I need a better picture. :)

Menu Plans: I am working on my menu plans for the next 3 weeks today!  Since I will be out of town next week, I am trying to make things easier for my mom and Hal.  The next two weeks after that are going to be a little nuts, so I am trying to go ahead and get those planned out as well.  We will see how it goes! 

Books:  Don’t forgot to enter the giveaway for Money Saving Mom’s new book!  Just click here and see how to enter.

Have a great weekend my friends!

25 Days of Christmas: Get Out and Serve

No matter what the age of your children, find a way to serve others this month.  Last Friday night, we took the boys to Kroger and filled our cart full of canned goods to donate to the food pantry at church.  I actually let D out of the cart to fill up the basket with goodies ... I hope I don’t regret it when he wants to help the next time we go to the grocery store! We made sure to remind him numerous times while we were in the store why we were there and that we weren't buying things for ourselves but for those who might not be able to come to the store every week like we did. He was excited to take the groceries to church on Sunday.  He constantly reminded us on Saturday that we had to "wake up, go to church, and take food."

Jesse Tree in Action

Christi from Witty Words posted this great story on the Rubies and Rewards Facebook page earlier this week. 

I have to tell you this story...after seeing the link on your site for Jessie Tree, I decided we would do that this month and then just keep doing family devotions once Christmas is over, too. After only 2 nights of reading the Bible stories about God making everything, Mary-Allison made a mobile to represent creation ALL BY HERSELF! She told me she was making "something" and asked if I could cut out pictures of animals, food, sun, moon, and stars. So I found black/white clip art and printed them out. She colored them, and I helped her cut them out. (She wouldn't tell me what she was making, even though I was helping!) Then she got the hole punch out to use one each one. Got ribbon and asked me to tie each in the hole and then tie the other end to a hanger. When she was all done, she explained to me what it was all about--God making everything! So now we have a hanger hanging from our kitchen light above the table with her "mobile" on it!! Kids learn quick and reading the Bible makes an impact on their little lives! Thanks for all your encouragement this month!!

Mary-Allison's precious mobile!

10:53 AM

We interrupt this Advent Season to bring you ... pneumonia. Praying big brother is well soon!

2:10 PM

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes with a good friend!

Praying for Our Children

This week we have talked about prayer: Growing in our Conversations with God, Biblical Models, and 31 Things We Can Pray for Our Husbands.  Today, we will look at a few resources that can help guide us in praying for our children.  In last week's "Meet  My Friends" post by Erin, she gave another suggestion for things we can pray for our children.

This particular list of items to pray comes from a Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) Home Training Lesson.  There are 12 items, so you can pray one for an entire month.  I also knew of a friend recently who prayed a different scripture each week while she was pregnant.

If you would like  to pray along with me, I will be posting the new request and scripture each month as a reminder. I am hoping that surely I can remember one thing to pray ALL month even with my scattered, crazy brain!

To help me remember, I wrote the request and a verse on the picture over B's changing table.

1. Enjoy Bible Stories now and that, when old enough, he will make and keep a commitment to study the Bible every day of his life. (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:11; 3 John 4) Let's pray this one for November!
2. Understand who the Lord Jesus is, fall in love with Him, receive Him as Savior, and be passionately devoted to Jesus all his life. (2 Timothy 3:15; John 6:68-69; Psalm 71:17-18)
3. Boldly speak about Jesus and become a leader and standard-bearer for the cause of Christ rather for causes of the world (Galatians 6:14; 1 Timothy 6:17)
4. Never be without godly friends and role models, be discerning in choosing both friends and lifestyle--caring as much about inward beauty as outward appearance and achievement (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 1 Samuel 16:7; 20:42)
5. Understand he is created by God, be content and confident with the way he is made (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) (Psalm 139:13-16; Phillippians 4:13)
6. Be protected from immoral and impure people and activities, maintain virtue, and have a zeal for righteous living (Psalm 91:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Matthew 5:6; 2 Timothy 2:22)
7. Recognize, abhor, and flee sin; reject temptations to do evil (Psalm 19:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; Romans 16:19)
8. Love to give and serve; be a glad, grateful, and generous giver to the world; not just a taker (Matthew 20;26-28; Acts 20:35; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
9. At an early age, learn and love to pray, develop an intimacy with God, and become a true worshiper of Him (Psalm 63:1; Colossians 4:2)
10. Treat people with Godly kindness in a meek and gentle spirit, without losing ability to take a stand for what is right (Matthew 5:5, Romans 12:16, Ephesians 6:10-11)
11. Readily seek forgiveness when he sins and be quick to forgive others (Matthew 6:14-15; Ephesians 4:32; 1 John 1:9)
12. Grow spiritually as rapidly as he does mentally and physically (Luke 2:52)

The pictures and changing table
These pictures hung in Hal and his brother's room when they were little. :)