We had a wonderful Easter celebrating at Grandpa and Grandma’s house with family! He is Risen!
Time to hunt eggs!
Rilyn found the “golden egg” which had $5 in it!
confetti egg time!
Even aunt Jessica wasn’t safe!
Time to open up all their eggs to find candy and other goodies!
Grandma always has fun Easter baskets for the kids!
Look what I got!
Look at the size of that chocolate bunny!
Asher is really into states right now, and was so excited to get this puzzle!
dyeing Easter eggs! Asher didn’t want to dye his fingers! LOL
Easter morning the kids woke up to the Sinning Stones basket full of things of LIFE! He is Risen!!!
Uncle Allen photobombing of course!
After church, we drove to Temple to celebrate Easter with my family!
Easter egg hunt!!
Confetti egg time!
getting Grandpa!
Ella is so sweet letting her little cousin get her with confetti!
Some of the many ways we celebrated Easter this year!
Egg hunts at school!
A visit with the creepiest Easter bunny I’ve ever seen!
Another egg hunt with Asher’s soccer league! (I love how Rilyn ran like her life depended on it for the eggs!)
Rilyn was sick on Easter Sunday, so grandma came after school last week to bring her Easter goodies to us! Right after the kids got off the bus, they got to have an Easter egg hunt!
Grandma hides a “golden egg” that has a jackpot inside-a $5 bill!! This year Ella found it!
Asher was not too happy!
He started crying and refused to participate in the egg hunt! He wised up after a minute though when he realized his sisters were finding all the eggs while he was throwing a tantrum!
I wanted to include this picture of Rilyn because this is what she likes to wear to school these days in 3rd grade. A fake pony tail and high top shoes! Interesting trends…
After the egg hunt, grandma showered her grands with goodies!
Happy Easter! We finished our 40 days of sinning stones yesterday, and this morning the kids woke up to a blessing basket full of life! The tomb was empty! Hallelujah! He is risen!
The day before Easter. Our sinning stone basket is full. To see what sinning stones is all about, click here.
Easter Sunday. The stone has been rolled away! He is not there! He has risen! The sinning stone basket has been replaced with a blessing basket full of things of life because he took our sins away by dying on the cross and gave us a new life in Him!
Things I included in the blessing basket: bug catchers/viewers, mini potted plants to grow (found at the Target dollar spot), gardening tools, spray bottles (Jesus is the living water!), and a ladybug land to grow ladybugs soon!
*We made the tomb a few Easters ago using an old, clean can and pressed salted dough around it. We baked it and then painted it.
Life has been BUSY this month, with no slowing down til mid June (when we take a road trip to Colorado-yay!) A quick glimpse of what we are up to! We started our gold verses for St. Patrick’s Day on March 1st. The kids love hunting for the gold chocolate coins each day and I love etching Scripture on their hearts. We also have been going through a sinning stone each day since Feb. 13th for Lent. It’s been going well, and each day as we talk about the sin, we confess, and repent as a family. This morning’s stone was “criticism”…gulp. Being critical is something I am very good at. 😦 We talked about just because someone doesn’t do something the way you would do it, doesn’t mean you have the right to be critical of them. We should speak kind words of others and not judge. Zechariah 7:9
And on March 14th, we will start the Easter countdown! Yes, we will have 3 things going on at once, but it’s only for 3 days, then we finish the “gold verses!” 🙂 You can find such fun ways to incorporate Scripture in the holidays!
Rilyn is finishing up her Dazzler season dancing during halftime at the Manor Falcon basketball games. She loves it, and loves performing. You can’t tell by these pictures though, right? 😉
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| Rilyn on the far left |
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Asher just had his 2nd soccer game!
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Malachi is the oldest on the team, and sometimes has to help coach the other boys, like Asher, on which direction they are going!
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This is Asher and his cousin when they are on the sidelines “taking a rest”.
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Go Rolling Stones!
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Lent is just around the corner-Feb. 13th. Our family has never really observed Lent before and this year, I wanted to (in our own way). A couple years back, I heard of an idea that I knew one day, when my kids were a little older, I wanted to do. This year, we will start!
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1 John 1:8-9
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Each day of lent (40 days) we will focus on a sin and a scripture verse, and talk about how God forgives us that sin. (I have included the list of sins and scriptures that I made below.) Write each sin on a “sinning stone,” (I used a silver Sharpie on 2 bags of Panacea 70033 River Rock, Black, 2 Pounds
Sinning Stones and Blessing Baskets
(the 40 days of Lent)
ANGER-James 3:5-6
CONTROL IDOL- Proverbs 3:5-6
POWER IDOL- Genesis 3:1-24
COMFORT IDOL-Romans 1:21-25
APPROVAL IDOL-Matthew 10:32-33
TEASING- Proverbs 18:6
HITTING/TANTRUMS- Proverbs 16:32
BRAGGING- Proverbs 27:1-2
CHEATING-Amos 8:4-7
COMPLAINING-Philippians 2:14-16
CONFORMITY-2 Kings 17:15
CRITICISM-Zechariah 7:9
BEING DRUNK/DRUGS- Proverbs 23:29-35
DOING EVIL- Romans 12:21
FAKING IT (HYPOCRISY)- Matthew 7:1-5
UNFORGIVING- Colossians 3:13
WORRYING- Matthew 6:25-34
GOSSIP- Proverbs 11:13
GREED- Luke 12:15
HATRED- Leviticus 19:17
DISHONOR- Galatians 5:14
DISOBEDIENCE- Ephesians 6:1
REBELLION AGAINST AUTHORITY- Proverbs 30:17
JEALOUSY-Proverbs 14:30
JUDGING OTHERS- Matthew 7:1-5
NAME CALLING- Proverbs 4:24
DISRESPECT- 1 Peter 5:5
LAZINESS-Proverbs 28:19
LYING- Proverbs 12:22
PREJUDICE- Galatians 3:28
PRIDE- James 4:6
IMPURITY- 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
REVENGE- Romans 12:17-21
STEALING- Ephesians 4:28
UNREPENTFUL- 1 John 1:8
WORLDLINESS- James 4:3-4
GLUTTONY- 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
LACK OF FAITH- Romans 14:23
NOT RESTING- Exodus 20:8-11
MURDER/ABORTION- Genesis 9:5-6
After Easter service in Austin, we drove to Temple to celebrate Easter with my parents and to celebrate my brother’s 30th! My mom can’t help but go overboard when it comes to buying gifts for her grandchildren. I keep reminding my kids how spoiled they are! This is NOT normal kids!
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| ages: almost 8, 6, 4, and 2 |
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| Look what I got! |
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| grandma and grandpa with their grandloves! Soon to be five in June! |
After the baskets were opened, we had the Easter egg hunt!
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| I see you up there pink egg! |
Rilyn perfecting the art of double fisting eggs!
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Not sure why James chose to hide eggs up in trees…
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| Can you find it Asher? |
Rilyn found the “golden egg” this year which grandma fills with change!
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| check out my loot! |
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Then we all ate take out Chinese food, (Jeff’s choice!) and celebrated his 30th!
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| my younger brother with his nieces, nephew, and son! |
Our family night activity tonight was found (for free!) here! James and I thought of verses in the Bible that were especially meaningful to each of us. We then put one of those verses in each egg and hid them around the house! The point of the egg hunt was this conversation with the kids:
“What makes the Bible different from other books? The Bible is the word of God. The Bible is
living.
How can a book be living? It doesn’t eat. I don’t see it breathing. It is living because God
uses the words in this book to speak directly to our situation and our lives. I have read the
same part of the Bible many times but one time that same part will leap out like never
before, it comes alive, and I learn something directly from God.
Did you know that God wants us to read and search the Bible looking for treasure with the
same excitement we search for eggs? Finding wisdom in the Bible can be challenging,
exciting and just like finding hidden treasure.
We are going to hunt for the eggs, but I am going to put “treasures” from the Bible in the eggs. These
are parts of the Bible that through the years have stood out, come alive, to teach me and your mom
something about God.”
I thought it was neat to share with the kids all our meaningful verses and I wanted to have it recorded in a special place-so here it is!
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (This verse was one of my favorites growing up because whenever I felt anxious about my future, specifically moving to Texas, getting married one day, having children… I would read this verse.)
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (This was one of the first big Bible verses that I memorized and recited to others when I was baptized around age 12.)
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| This is me being baptized in the backyard of one of our friend’s houses! |
Mark 14:36b Yet not what I will, but what you will (This verse was at the top of my theraputic art that I did when I was broken up with James while we were dating. You can see the story and art here.)
Jeremiah 33:11 the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord: “‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’ For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord. (This verse was given to me from the Lord in August of our “dating breakup” that lasted from April-November of 1999. With hope and faith I prayed as if James and I would be getting back together one day!)
Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (These were the verses James read to me right before he proposed. James washed my feet in a park before he got down on one knee as a way to live out this verse!)
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| James washing my feet, while my future mother in law was taking pictures hiding behind a tree! |
Psalm 82:3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. (This verse was the fuel that sparked my involvement with the sanctity of life. I started volunteering at Austin Life Care to help women in crisis pregnancies, have prayed in front of abortion clinics, and I am involved with Life Care’s PALS (Partners in Affirming Life) program.)
Happy Ash Wednesday! Although we don’t celebrate Ash Wednesday, it does mark the beginning of celebrating Jesus’ death and resurrection for many!
And this year I want to make an Easter countdown for my kids. I know Easter changes each year, but I still want to anticipate the big day by reading the true Easter story from the Bible in the weeks leading up to Easter. After some thought and research, I decided that we are going to teach our kids about the prophecy of the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection in the Old Testament and the prophecies fulfilled in the New Testament. There are 18 main prophecies, so therefore I am making an Easter countdown for the 18 days before Easter. This year, the countdown will start on March 22nd.
| 1 | Jesus would be betrayed. | Psalm 41:9 Zechariah 11:12-13 |
Luke 22:47-48 Matthew 26:14-16 |
| 2 | Jesus’ price money would be used to buy a potter’s field. | Zechariah 11:12-13 | Matthew 27:9-10 |
| 3 | Jesus would be falsely accused. | Psalm 35:11 | Mark 14:57-58 |
| 4 | Jesus would be silent before his accusers. | Isaiah 53:7 | Mark 15:4-5 |
| 5 | Jesus would be spat upon and struck. | Isaiah 50:6 | Matthew 26:67 |
| 6 | Jesus would be hated without cause. | Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4 |
John 15:24-25 |
| 7 | Jesus would be crucified with criminals. | Isaiah 53:12 | Matthew 27:38 Mark 15:27-28 |
| 8 | Jesus would be given vinegar to drink. | Psalm 69:21 | Matthew 27:34 John 19:28-30 |
| 9 | Jesus’ hands and feet would be pierced. | Psalm 22:16 Zechariah 12:10 |
John 20:25-27 |
| 10 | Jesus would be mocked and ridiculed. | Psalm 22:7-8 | Luke 23:35 |
| 11 | Soldiers would gamble for Jesus’ garments. | Psalm 22:18 | Luke 23:34 Matthew 27:35-36 |
| 12 | Jesus’ bones would not be broken. | Exodus 12:46 Psalm 34:20 |
John 19:33-36 |
| 13 | Jesus would be forsaken by God. | Psalm 22:1 | Matthew 27:46 |
| 14 | Jesus would pray for his enemies. | Psalm 109:4 | Luke 23:34 |
| 15 | Soldiers would pierce Jesus’ side. | Zechariah 12:10 | John 19:34 |
| 16 | Jesus would be buried with the rich. | Isaiah 53:9 | Matthew 27:57-60 |
| 17 | Jesus would resurrect from the dead. | Psalm 16:10 Psalm 49:15 |
Matthew 28:2-7 Acts 2:22-32 |
| 18 | Jesus would be a sacrifice for sin. | Isaiah 53:5-12 | Romans 5:6-8 |
Here is how I used the Scriptures above in a countdown. I wrote the 18 OT prophecies on a cross that I cut out of poster board. Then I wrote the 18 fulfilled prophecies on scraps of colored cardstock. Each day, starting with #1 Scripture above, we will first read the OT prophecy and then we will read the NT fulfilled prophecy.
(I used black velcro to adhere the colored cardstock to the cross)
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Then I will let the kids adhere the colored cardstock on the cross after we read the Scriptures. (I lightly wrote the same number on each yellow shape and the matching colored shape so I wouldn’t get confused.) By Easter morning, our cross will look like this:
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| Happy Easter! |
We had a great holiday weekend with my family! First, the girls went to a local church’s egg hunt on Saturday.
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| From April 2009 |
Next, their aunt Jessica let them do their own make-up (and hers!)
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| From April 2009 |
Then, the kids got to open their Christmas presents Easter baskets from Grandma.
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| From April 2009 |
Then we ate a pre-Easter dinner with my whole family.
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| From April 2009 |
Then Ella ate her hollow chocolate bunny like this.
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| From April 2009 |
We made Resurrection cookies next. (I really recommend this activity!)
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| From April 2009 |
The girls dyed eggs. And Ella dyed her hand.
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| From April 2009 |
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| From April 2009 |
We woke up Easter morning and got ready for church!
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| From April 2009 |
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| From April 2009 |
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| From April 2009 |
We had another egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa’s house because the weather turned gorgeous.
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| From April 2009 |
This is how Asher ‘hunted’ his eggs.
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| From April 2009 |
He is Risen!!
the paquettes 