Easter Fun and Other Things

The Coconut-Lemon Cake that I made for our Good Friday dinner. It was actually really good! Here's a link to the recipe if you're interested: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/coconut-lemon-cake-10000001665336/

The cream scones that I made for the Easter tea that I went to on Saturday. Many thanks to Stacy (my wonderful, talented sister-in-law) for sharing her recipe! They are the best scones ever...no joke!

Saturday evening we dyed eggs. This is always such a fun activity and the kids are always really excited about it! This was Lizzie's first go at it. She has a ways to go in the art of handling eggs and cups of dye with grace and calm.

She kept sticking her fingers in the dye and licking them. Yum...colored vinegar water! By the end of the night she looked like her face and hands had been tie-dyed! Hey, I just realized that she was actually wearing a tie-dyed dress that evening! Too funny!

Spill #5, I think. 

Daddy steals a kiss...

The speckled-egg look...my favorite.

This is what happened when we told Lizzie to be gentle when she set her egg in the dye. It was more like a hasty kerplunk than a gentle set. 

Can you tell which eggs are hard-boiled and which ones aren't? I boiled 15 eggs for the kids but quickly realized the 5 eggs a piece was a teaser. So we got gutsy and pulled out a bunch of un-cooked eggs and ever so carefully dyed those! Believe it or not (Lizzie was in bed at this point!) not a single egg got broken or cracked!

Aden's basket 

Hint: back in October I got these three mint condition Beanie Baby lambs on eBay for $0.99 each. They're darling and the perfect size for an Easter basket. They are all different years (for collectors' sake) and therefore were all different in appearance. This made it possible for the kids to get the same thing but with a uniqueness to each of their own lambs. 

Jonathan's basket 

I was excited to find the BBC production of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit DVD Collection at Costco. There were three DVD's in the set which meant I could put one DVD in each of their baskets. Perfect! And perhaps you're wondering about the mouthwash? Well, my kids love their "candy fluoride" but I always get the generic brand because it is literally half the cost of ACT. It is pink and tastes like bubble gum/candy. Well, the kids are always asking for the "Sponge Bob" ACT because it is blue and because they like Sponge Bob (I mean, I guess they like Sponge Bob...they've actually never seen the show but you know how marketing goes...guys like Sponge Bob show up everywhere...cereal boxes, band-aids, stickers at the doctor's office, etc.) So, as a treat I paid twice as much and got them the blue "candy fluoride" for their Easter baskets. It turns out getting them a cavity-fighter was a good idea...just wait until you see the loot they got at the church's egg hunt!

Elizabeth's basket

The two littles

Sweet Jonathan was holding Elizabeth's basket for her while she gathered eggs. It was a little too cumbersome for her to manage the balloon on her wrist and hold a basket all the while trying to gather eggs. And since Jonathan was just waiting for the "big kid" egg hunt to start he was willing to help her.

The super cute Easter dress my mom made for Elizabeth. She looked darling! I tell ya, my mom is getting quite a reputation among the ladies at church for making adorable dresses for little girls! Thanks Mom!

Cutie Pie

FYI: I DO love my boys but because the church held separate egg hunts for the different age groups I was with Lizzie with the camera and Daniel was with the boys without the camera. Thus, no egg hunt pictures of the boys. =(

I thought she was fishing for an egg...

...but she had her sights set on the sand toys. The eggs were fun and all but she was ready to move on. Turns out it was a good thing because this is how much candy the kids collected as it was:

Can we say ridiculous? Seriously. No wonder obesity is such a problem in our country! Don't worry, our children won't be eating all of this!

And then some non-Easter pictures

She loves to dig through my purse and find fun things to play with

The other day she emptied out the snack drawer and laid everything at my feet all the while saying, "aw me" (help me) and signing "please". Yeah, that was my cue to get started on dinner. Poor starving child.

And then drama entered when she was unable lift the Costco-sized (ie. heavy) jar of peanut butter out of the drawer.

She's frustrated (and desperate, can you tell?) because she can't hold ALL of her toys and open the door at the same time. Like my friend so perfectly said, "Oh mama, the drama!"

She loves to pull clean (and nicely folded, of course) clothes out of the "waiting to be taken upstairs" basket and put them on in layers. It's hard to tell but in this picture she has on her pajama bottoms, a pink skirt, Jonathan's denim shorts, and she is attempting to pull up one of Jonathan's t-shirts as if it were another pair of shorts. She definitely likes the layered look. The funny thing is that she has also hit the stage where she likes to be naked and sometimes I'll turn around to find her cruising the house completely nudey! Not even a diaper! Is that what you call someone who operates in extremes?

We pulled the bounce house out a few days ago and the kids have been having a blast with it! They play in it for hours (seriously) every day! Lizzie's old enough now (and tough enough) to "hang" with the big boys without getting hurt (for the most part). And whenever someone gets hurt and comes in crying I say, "OK, maybe we should take a break from the bounce house for a while." But, as soon as those words leave my mouth the tears miraculously dry up and the "injured/victim" goes tearing back outside giggling and squealing like nothing happened.

Last night Aden came in from playing in the bounce house and he was literally dripping with sweat. It was crazy! His hair was so sweaty it looked like he had taken a shower! And the back of his shirt was totally sticking to him. Needless to say we directed him right to the shower so he could get all cleaned up.

And here they are in all their post-shower pajama cuteness!

Nothing But [His] Blood

To most people Easter is a fun Springtime celebration...tulips and lilies, children dressed in sweet, pastel-colored clothing, colorful eggs, soft bunnies and fluffy chicks, and jelly beans and Cadbury eggs. I would guess that in most homes Easter comes and goes without much talk about Christ at all. How tragic!

Over the past few years I've had an increasing desire to honor and celebrate Easter for the "holiday" that it is. As a parent I want my children to see Easter as the Christian holiday. Not Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I know we wouldn't have Easter if it weren't for Christmas and of course I want my children to approach the Christmas season with as much awe and gratitude and humility as they approach Easter but I want them to understand early on just how significant Easter is. The whole of our Christian faith rests on the events of Easter. Christ was sent to the cross to die for our sins that we might have eternal life, and on the third day He rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven where is seated at the right hand of God. He paid our debt and because of Him we have the hope of Heaven! I want my children to honor Good Friday with a reverent, somber spirit. I want them to understand the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice. I want to sing "Oh Sacred Head Now Wounded" together and I want them to be humbled by knowing what Jesus bore in their place. And then I want them to rejoice and celebrate come Easter morning. I want to them wake with the words "Hallelujah, He is risen!" on their lips and I want to sing together "Christ the Lord is Risen Today". I want them to be humbled by God's power and God's promise of Heaven. 

 One of the activities we did this week was a scavenger hunt. (Thanks for the tip Christina!) We set out a picnic blanket under a cluster of trees on our property and ate lunch while casually talking about Easter. Then we read the Easter story in the children's Bible, discussed it, and made a list of things to hunt for outside that could represent different parts of the story. It was awesome! Not only did we all really enjoy the activity but the kids truly seemed to understand a lot more about Easter by the time we were done. [No joke, when we sat down on our picnic blanket I asked the kids what Easter was about and Jonathan (my 3-year old) went on to say that it was about eggs and candy and how you go looking for eggs in the grass and the bushes and how you can open the eggs up an eat some candy and how sometimes there's a big golden egg and on and on about eggs and candy. He really seemed to have no idea that God was a part of the day at all.] 

Anyway, the best part of the activity is that all of our findings are displayed on the window sill next to our kitchen table so we have talked about them at nearly every meal since our hunt. What a great (and easy!) way to reinforce the concepts we learned!  

We found sticks and made crosses

We used dead palm fronds and pokey twigs to make crowns of thorns...the glue gun came into play for this one! And the nails...how awesome it that?! They were out in the dirt under the trees, and the fact that they were badly rusted made them look pretty authentic.

Rocks to represent the tomb and the stone that was rolled away

Our bowl of symbolic "treasures":

black garden tarp = sin

red berries, flowers, and ribbon = Jesus' blood

white cotton balls and ribbon = a clean heart

green leaves = life and growth in Jesus

Oh, and some Palm Fronds...like those that the crowds waved as Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. 

They shouted "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

And probably one of my favorite moments during this activity was when I was trying to explain the concept of black symbolizing sin and white symbolizing the idea of being cleansed and pure. I mentioned the refrain from the hymn "Nothing But the Blood":

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

And the boys immediately started singing the hymn along with me and the concept of the black and the red and the white seemed to click. 

I love hymns! They are so rich in theology and I am so thankful that we have made knowing them and singing them a priority in our family.

This particular hymn just happens to be Aden's all-time favorite hymn. How appropriate to share it with you on this blessed Good Friday.

Nothing But the Blood - Robert Lowry

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.


Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.


For my pardon, this I see
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Lately

 Their favorite mid-morning snack: yogurt and graham crackers. Since they were outside I let Lizzie hold her own yogurt. She's still learning how to manage that. (note the "yogurted" cement)

 I love seeing the three of them play together. Here they are huddled under the slide...

 According to Jonathan the slide needed some fixing. And yes, she's still in her pjs...at 10:00 in the morning despite being up since 6:00!

So, do they count as safety goggles if the lens is missing? 

 My silly, sweet, happy, monkey boy

 They play on this thing all.the.time. The "every day, several times a day, for long periods of time" version of "all the time". Woo Hoo! Hooray for swings and slides!

 The boys on are a coloring kick. Big time. They spend at least an hour a day coloring. I love it! It is a calm and quiet-ish activity, I genuinely enjoy coloring with them (as opposed to me pretending, for example, that I am excited to play Cootie for the 4th day in a row), and they have improved DRAMATICALLY in their coloring skills (and there is nothing quite like seeing your kids make progress, right?!) So, I am doing what I can to encourage them in this current passion of theirs. Don't be fooled by this picture though. Although Jonathan has improved significantly in his coloring abilities, in this picture he was actually helping me finish up the pirate ship that I started.

 Pink karate people. Sweet.

Another super fun thing that we have been doing lately is K-PAL Basketball with Aden. Daniel, Dave, and I are coaching and it is A LOT of fun. It is a great league. The focus is to have fun while introducing the kids to the game. It only costs $25 to participate, we practice for an hour on Tuesdays and have two 30-minute games on Saturdays, and the season is only 6 weeks long. Then, because we are the coaches, Jonathan gets to practice with us and because I am helping coach, Carolyn comes to the practices and games to help with Lizzie. Seriously, the whole family is involved. It has proven to be built-in family time for us and I for one will miss it when the season is over. 

 Coach Dan with the sweetest (and youngest) player on the team

 Their first game. We are the orange jerseys (Aden's choice) and we are the Kilauea Pacers (Daniel's choice.) Aden is there at the top of the key and Daniel is the referee. I wish I had some better pictures of this whole basketball experience but I have found that between coaching the players, tending to Lizzie, and only having a simple point and shoot camera with no real zoom makes getting some good shots nearly impossible. Maybe I can put Dave on the task at the next game.

 Coach Dan and Cheerleader Lizzie...sucking her thumb, as usual.

She's giving the team a pep talk

 If she only cared half as much about her crazy hair as she does about her bling and jewelry...

She is a serious ragamuffin.

 Unfortunately she actually learned how to blow that football whistle that is dangling from her neck. Good times.

Check out the rings on her thumb...

I'm ready for Mardi Gras!

 She even tries to pass these rolling pin rubber thingys off as bracelets!

 The "goatie goats" as we affectionately call them. They love to be fed palm frawns. Thankfully we are surrounded by them and therefore have an endless supply of goat food whenever we feel like hanging out with these cute and frisky neighbors of ours.

Story time with Grandma. Look at Aden boy hold his sister. Melts my heart!

   Um, did I mention that Grandma was here? How could you tell?

On Thursdays we have Bible Study at our house. The kids are quite helpful in getting the house ready for the evening. 

 Here's Aden on mop duty...

 Lulu with the broom, and Jon Jon with the vacuum. They are the floor crew and I am thankful for them.

 A woman on a mission. Always.

 Who doesn't love a tuna SANDwich? This is why it is good to eat, THEN play.

 I wonder what she sees?

 Hi there!

  Nearly nine months later and the dog ears are still a regular part of his wardrobe.

 Not sure what is cuter, the fact that she put her brother's shorts on over her clothes (along with the hat) or the fact that she has a Bible tucked under he arm.

 My feisty (but spiritual) fashionista

Last weekend we took the Jr. and Sr. highers up to the mountains for a retreat. We left Lizzie and Jonathan with Dave and Carolyn and took Aden with us. It was great! The little ones had a great time with “Grandma and Grandpa” and Aden LOVED hanging out with the “Big Kids” at the retreat. Of course, all the girls adored Aden and took turns giving him piggy back rides and playing games with him. I hardly knew what to do with my time. Aden is such a big boy now I barely even had to look after him…especially with all those other “mommies” on hand to take care of him. It was really nice and proved to be a true “retreat” for this mama! =)

 Here he is...such a big boy walking from his cabin to the main lodge by himself

It rained and rained and rained while we were there and it was MUH-DEE but the kids had a blast regardless. On Friday they did some "community service" type jobs around the camp and they got filthy! And wet! And cold!  

 Can you see the mud?

 "Mr. Moore" hard at work.

Shoveling mulch piles

Aden jumped right in and helped. He was definitely in his element. Look at his filthy, barefoot/in flip flops feet and the too-big gloves on his little hands. Too cute!