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!

Learning to Crawl

It has been a long week around here.  I told a friend on the phone this morning that I am pretty sure this has been the most difficult week I have experienced since Brooks was born.

Getting ready to go

It was our first week back in our routine after a few weeks of craziness which definitely had something to do with it, but my sweet Brooks just had a rough week.  The little man is working on 4 teeth, but most of all he is trying so hard to crawl.  

 

I have seen him push up from his belly a few times and he has mastered going from sitting to all fours, but just can’t get going from there.  

He has figured out how to get both legs under himself but...

He falls to his belly :(

And this is how he usually ends up ... sweet baby!

He wants to pull up on EVERYTHING but isn’t quite stable when he gets up.  He is frustrated and ready to move on his own.  

Doesn't he look proud??

With both of my boys, I have noticed that right before they reach big milestones like sitting up, crawling, or walking, they experience times of frustration.  I can relate to their frustration.  It seems that I experience similar emotions as I face milestones in the process of sanctification.  Whether it is conviction of sin that I must rid my life of or learning and understanding a spiritual truth on a deeper level, the learning times are hard.  Often we can see a glimpse of what is ahead, yet we just can’t get there.  But the Lord is a gracious father who is patient with us and walks us through these times.  Just as Brooks will learn to crawl, if I preserve in the times of learning, I too will learn and overcome the sin or grasp the truth.

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me ... the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." Acts 20:24

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

What To Do With The Rest Of The Year?

“Momma, where are you putting baby Jesus?” Drew asked, as I put away the nativity.  “We will put Him up and bring Him back out next year.” I replied.

“Momma, let’s listen to Christmas music,” he asked as we pulled out of the driveway.  “How about Veggie Tales instead?” I asked.  “No! Christmas music ... for baby Jesus’ birthday!”

Goodness have I been challenged by my little man over the last few weeks.  Have you tried to explain to a three year old why we only leave the nativity scenes out for one month of the year and why we don’t listen to “Silent Night” the other eleven months?  As I wrapped baby Jesus and put Him in the box amidst his questions, it hit me.  Is that how often I dwell on the birth of the incarnate Savior?  Once a year?  

Not only am I challenged by the amount that we focused and talked about Jesus in the month of December, but it has also caused me to stop and take a look at how much I am really teaching him about the Bible.  It is easy to use the excuse that he is three, but that just won’t work anymore.  As I put away the Christmas decorations, including the felt board we had done, I asked him to tell me the story and he did.  Granted, it was in the words of a three year old so every little detail wasn’t precise.  But he got it.  He knew that an angel appeared to Mary and told her she would have a baby.  Then he put Mary on the donkey and told Joseph they had to go to Bethlehem.  He then placed Jesus in the stable and brought the shepherds (who take care of sheep) and the wise men to see Jesus.  He then said, “Today in town of David, a Savior been born. He is Christ Lord.” Luke 2:11  He got it ... on a three year old level, but he got it.  And so did his momma.  These years are precious and they are few and that mind is a sponge.  What am I putting in it?

Mary on the way to Bethlehem.

So we will focus this year.  Focus on training and teaching.  My good friend Kim who did a lot of Advent activities with her boys is going to focus on a different story each month.  I am thinking we may tag along with that and keep up the felt board fun.

And we will listen to Christmas songs all year long if that is what he would like to listen to.  Besides, it will really never get old to hear him sing “Gloooooria, in exces e deo” from the backseat.

12:17 PM

Happy Birthday Jesus!

25 Days of Christmas: If At First You Don't Succeed .. Try Again!

I have learned a lot in the last few weeks about what works and doesn't work for teaching toddlers ... at least my toddler!  I mentioned in this post, that we planned on using a wooden Advent calendar.  I loved the way my cute calendar looked, but of course he was way more interested in getting the candy than reading the verse and I didn't feel there was enough repetition for him to really "get" what we were teaching.  I decided to go "old school" and make a felt board.  I went online and printed out characters and headed to the teacher supply store to have them laminated where I found this wonderful bulletin board set that I decided to use instead.  I was able to get felt and Velcro at Wal-Mart and our felt board was done!  We have really loved using this board.  We walk through the scripture each night and move the pieces on and off the board.  I have gotten over the fact that it isn't the most beautiful holiday decoration.  This works for us this year and next year may be a totally different story when I have two different ages trying to learn.

Our story pieces

The felt board

Mary riding on a donkey with Joseph to Bethlehem.  Of course this doesn't look quite right, but a 3 year old doesn't know that!

D placing the shepherds

And Baby Jesus

I have also see a few other ideas in the blog world that I think are great and that we might use next year!  This Advent Book that Grace Full Mama shared builds on the passage in Luke each day so that by the end of the month, the kids have mostly memorized the scripture.  I also love Truth in the Tinsel.  Each day you read the Christmas story from the  Bible and make a craft or ornament together.


What have you used to teach your children this year?  Do you have ideas for teaching toddlers?  Older children?

25 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread Nativity

Pinterest strikes again and we are going to make this one a Ramsey tradition!  Instead of making a gingerbread house, we made a gingerbread nativity scene. I went the easy route and we used pre-made icing and crackers instead of gingerbread.  I love this idea because you can be as creative as you want to be!

The graham crackers were small squares so we headed to the pantry and used Wasa crackers!

Tasting the sheep. :)

Daddy's donkey turned out great!

Showing momma where Joseph goes

Our creation!

Having fun with licorice

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!