Resurrection Sunday

Our Resurrection Sunday started out with some early morning visitors.  Jenny had to be at church early so she dropped off Steve, Karis & Isaac around 7. We enjoyed a quick breakfast of Eggo waffles & fruit then got the little ones dressed.  The girls were in silly moods & fun to photograph....

My mom made dresses for Char & Elo then sent me the extra fabric so I could make something for their hair. I loved the combination of the prints she chose! Way to go big mama! We also had some family photos done a few weeks ago in these dresses that I have yet to post....will get to that soon : )

We went to the 8:30 service to worship & then helped in the 2 & 3 year old class for the 10:30 service.  This means that we were in Charlotte's class which I thought would be a blast....BOY was I wrong!  Charlotte usually gets a perfect report as far as behavior goes but this week, oh my! Let's just say she had a hard time sharing her mommy & daddy with her so-called friends. We (me & Charlotte) took multiple breaks from the action to regroup & re-enter.  We built a tomb out of big blocks & Char took a run at it to "knocky owee" as she says, she pushed the other kids that were sitting in my lap, she loudly said "no" when asked to do anything by us & she had a complete meltdown when we corrected her.  She is 2, sinful & in need of a Savior...similar to me, 28, sinful & in need of a Savior, it just happens to look different when I am selfish, angry, unkind or stubborn.  Thankfully, the Savior we so desperately need overcame sin through his death & is just who we were celebrating : )

After service, we did a switcheroo & took Jenny in our car, stopped by Wendy's for a bite to eat, then went home for nap time. Once the girls were awake, we headed out to the front yard to see where that "easta ahn" we buried on Good Friday was....

What do you know? It was broken open & empty! Read more about the Resurrection Eggs here.  Charlotte was pretty distraught that the paper we left inside was nowhere to be found....again, maybe she will make the connection next year : ) Eloise on the other hand, she is just happy to be fed & snuggled, she didn't care much about the "easta ahns"

Steve, Jenny & the kiddos along with Jose, Mariela & Adrian, a family from our neighborhood joined us for the evening to share a meal & a good time.  We had prime rib, roasted red potatoes & zucchini seasoned with rosemary & thyme, cream style corn & rolls for dinner followed by an incredible assortment of desserts courtesy of Mariela, our dinner guest....

what is not pictured is her first attempt at Flan....it was DELICIOUS!

Here are the three families....

After dinner, it had really cooled off outside so we dragged out some chairs & blankets to the backyard, got cozy & watched the sunset on a beautiful day of celebrating the risen king Jesus.

Resurrection Eggs

Each Easter/Christmas I think about how the following year Charlotte will be SO much older and able to understand more of what we are teaching her.  This year I decided I would just go for it & see how well she could follow.  Shauna, a friend from my hometown posted on her blog how she did Resurrection Eggs with her little ones. I had seen many Resurrection Egg sets that dealt only with the crucifixion & resurrection stories. I loved Shauna's idea to include more of the history of who Jesus is in preparation for the crucifixion & resurrection.  So...long story short, with her permission I adapted her writings to fit The Jesus Storybook Bible which means I used some of the days/items in eggs  & added some of my own to include stories that are in our specific children's bible.

Click here for the link to the original post on Shauna's blog.

Here is what I came up with....

the goodies inside the eggs

This was my second attempt at the outside of the carton. My first one I spelled Resurrection incorrectly : ) 

I used rub on numbers from my old scrapbook supply for each egg

Day 12: Playdoh- “The name of Jesus”    *Tuesday*
Reading- “He’s Here” The Nativity 

from Luke 1-2. Page 176                                                                                                 

Read the story of the Angel coming to Mary.  Talk about what the name of Jesus - Immanuel “God with us” means.  Talk about the meaning of our own names.  Read & discuss Philippians 2:10 “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”  Open the egg & use the Playdoh to spell out the name of Jesus & child’s name.

Day 11:  2 Swedish fish & bread- “Jesus feeds the 5000”  *Wednesday*                                              
Reading- “Filled Full” The feeding of the 5,000

from Matthew 14, Mark 6 & Luke 9. Page 244                       

Open the egg & let child hold its contents while reading the story. See how many times you can break the ‘bread’ and ‘fish’. Talk about how these people ate until their tummies were full unlike the way we feel after eating such small fish and a cracker : )

Day 10:  Boat- “Jesus calms the storm”     *Thursday*                                                                  Reading- “The Captain of the storm” The storm on the lake

from Mark 4 & Matthew 8. Page 236                      
Open the egg & let child hold boat while reading the story. Make a storm in a bottle* & have child try to calm it instantly.  Talk about how powerful Jesus is that he can calm a storm in an instant.                                                                


*fill up a bottle 2/3 of the way with water, add ½ cup of vegetable oil & 5 drops of blue food coloring, reinforce with tape. Shake & ask child to make the “storm” stop right away.

**I did a little piece of mulch with Sharpie drawing on it for the boat...Shauna's great idea!*

Day 9:  Band aid & Blindfold - “Jesus heals people”  *Friday*
Reading- “A little girl & a poor frail lady” The story of Jarius’ daughter

from Luke 8. Page 214                             

Read the story & discuss.  Open the egg & let them put the band aid on. Talk about we use band aids when we are hurt. Supplement reading with other stories of Jesus healing people such as the story of Bartimaeus in Luke 18. Let child wear blindfold to simulate being blind & talk about how incredible it must have been to be healed by Jesus.                                                                   

Day 8:  Time Coupon- “Jesus loves children” *Saturday*
Reading- “The friend of little children” Jesus & the children

from Matthew 18-19, Mark 10 & Luke 18. Page 256      

Read the story.  Help child name other adults in their life that love them.  Ask: How do you know they love you & what do they do to show it?  How did Jesus show his love?  How would you like me to show my love for you & show that I value spending time with you?  Open egg to find coupon that entitles child to playtime with Mommy doing their favorite activity.

Day 7:  TWO pieces of candy… “Jesus spends time with Zacchaeus” *Sunday*

Reading- “The man who didn’t have any friends (none)” The story of Zacchaeus 

from Luke 19. Page 264                   

Read the story. Discuss why people did not like Zacchaeus & how life transforming it was for him that Jesus chose to spend time with him.  Open the egg to find two pieces of candy. Talk about how Jesus loves people that seem unlovable & that by His power, we can love them too. Find a friend to share the extra piece of candy with.

Day 6:  Sparkly Jewels or jewelry- “The hidden treasure” *Monday*
Reading- “Treasure hunt!” The story of the hidden treasure

from Matthew 13. Page 250                                              

Open the egg to find a sparkly ring (a “treasure” in the eyes of a little girl).  Tell the child you are going to read a story about something even more wonderful than that treasure. Read story & talk about things that we consider valuable & how they fail in comparison to Jesus being the greatest treasure.    

**You could do gold coins or something if your sweet boy doesn’t want to wear sparkly rings!**    

                                                     

Day 5:  Perfume - “Mary Magdalene and the perfume”  *Tuesday*        

Reading- “Washed with tears” A sinful woman anoints Jesus

from Mark 14, Luke 7 & John 12. Page 280                             

Open egg to find perfume. Talk about how good it smells & how in Jesus’ time, perfume was very expensive & valuable.  Read the story & talk about how breaking her bottle of perfume over Jesus’ feet was an act of worship.  Talk about Jesus’ response to those who were angered by his kind response to the woman & how he forgave her sins.

*I sprayed a sponge with it so it would smell & not be messy, you could also use scented lotion*

Day 4: Crown (tiara) and Soap- “Jesus washes feet”   *Wednesday*
Reading- “The Servant King” The Last Supper, from Mark 14 & John 13-14. Page 286                                             
Talk about what it means to be a king or queen & what kind of things these people might do on a daily basis.  Share with them that Jesus is called the king of kings & discuss what that means. Read the story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples & talk about how he came to serve others. Is that what you’d expect from the King of Kings?  Open the egg to find the tiara & soap.  Take turns wearing the tiara & washing each other’s feet. Talk about how we can serve others the way Jesus did.

**Shauna's post had a homemade paper crown**

Day 3:  felt Heart- “Jesus’ last night”      *Thursday*
Reading- “A dark night in the garden” The Garden of Gethsemane

from Luke 22, Mark 14 & John 18. Page 294           

Open the egg & let child hold the heart while you read the story. Talk about how it looked for Jesus to take our sin upon himself; “God was going to pour into Jesus’ heart all the sadness and brokenness in people’s “hearts.*” Talk about how Jesus was sad but trusted God & was willing to sacrifice his life for us.  *Quotation from the Jesus Storybook Bible, p. 294.

Day 2:  Crayon and a slip of paper … “Jesus died for us”      *Friday*
Reading- “The sun stops shining” The Crucifixion

from Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 & John 19. Page 302            

Read the story of the crucifixion. Talk about how people that loved Jesus felt & what the other people watching must have been thinking. Open the egg & write the word that you feel on the piece of paper, put it inside egg #1 & bury it somewhere nearby.

**Day 2 will fall on Good Friday.  It will make sense to bury the egg on the same day that Jesus was placed in the tomb & then have to wait until Sunday to find the empty egg. After 11 days of excitement with all the eggs, they now have to wait just like the followers of Jesus did after his death. On Saturday, recap the past couple days stories & activities while talking about how sad the people must have felt to have seen Jesus die & remind them of the joy that comes on Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.**

 Day 1:  the egg is empty … “He is RISEN!”   *Sunday*
Reading- “God’s wonderful surprise” The Resurrection

from Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 & John 20. Page 310          

Recap the crucifixion story from the previous day reminding the child of how the egg was buried & then read the story of the resurrection.  Go find the egg (which has been unearthed, broken open & is now empty) Talk about how exciting it was for Jesus’ followers that the tomb was empty & he was alive. Talk about how Jesus loved us SO much that he took the punishment for our sin.  He did this because he loved us & not because we did anything to deserve it.  He rose from the dead, is alive & calls us to follow him.

Overall, it was a hit. Charlotte will be three this summer so again I thought about how next year will be even better with her hopefully longer attention span.  She was obsessed with opening eggs so I had to hide the carton when we finished each time : ) I kept reminding myself that although my role in teaching her is important, the Holy Spirit is the one that will soften her heart to embrace the truth of Jesus coming to die for her & allow her to understand how each story in the bible points toward Christ.  


Believing that really takes the pressure off of feeling like I have to explain each story perfectly at a 2 year old level & have her repeat it back to me & tell her friends...haha!  I loved seeing her grasp even an ounce of what we were sharing with her...even if she was more interested in searching the house for more band-aids to cover herself in or would rather eat both pieces of candy instead of sharing with a friend : ) One favorite thing is that she pronounces "Easter Egg" - "easta ahn." SO cute. 

Great 12 days with some structured learning plus, all those extra eggs made for some fun entertainment over the course of the week...

the uncut grass made for a pretty backdrop to our eggies

She tried one of every color as if they tasted differently!

grouchy faces haha!

"this fits nicely here!"

"your turn sissy!"

Never leaves mommy out of the fun!

loving learning and playing with these little ladies!

Thank you Shauna for sharing your heart for leading your children to treasure Christ & also for sharing your creativity! We will be using our Resurrection Eggs for as many years as we have : )

project 365: [days 92-98]

April 1st- Slip n' slide hysteria

April 2nd- Took some photos of Karis & Isaac

April 3rd- Unexpected visitor moving very slowly across our yard!

April 4th- One of the many "chicken houses" that have been built by Char & her Daddy this week.

April 5th- Macy Grace & Charlotte Grace flying down the slide of the bounce house.

April 6th- Buried our resurrection egg on Good Friday. 

*April 7th- After another notice was received from the HOA, Rob cut the grass : )

Slippin' & Slidin'

There are not many words needed to express how much fun a $12 slip n' slide can bring to a family.  Rob first set it up on a Saturday when I was at work and sent me video after video throughout the afternoon that made me want to fake like I was sick and check out early ; ) 

So, the following day, we invited the rest of the Valentine clan over to join in the slippin' & slidin'.

We will start with a video showcasing the best trips down the hill...

and some still shots of the sliders & watchers.....

Baby sis rockin' the sunnies

Uncle Rob & Kar-Bear

Aunt Jenny Girl & Isaac showing off his muscles.

My pretty little ladies...

Elo- weasel

Charlee-noodles

After using up all our energy on the slip n' slide, we enjoyed some delicious watermelon.  It was Karis' first go round with sliced watermelon & to say she loved it would be an understatement.  She ate 2 of her own slices & one of mine! 

When she would take a break,  the slice fit perfectly right here.... haha!

Here is the super fun dad that set up the mini water park in our backyard.

Only down fall of this..Char wants to slip n' slide EVERY day now! I kind of do too ; )

Love those Machesneys!

Back in the early 80's my parents moved from Dallas & bought their first home together in Kingwood, Texas. They happened to become next door neighbors with a couple that would remain close to their hearts for a lifetime.  Mike & Marybeth have known me longer than anyone other than my family & from what I hear, doted on me as a young child.... 

During my first year of life, they opened an Ice Cream shop in Kingwood called Chezzie's Cones.  This was before the time of Cold Stone Creamery and various other Ice Cream shops on every corner. They were one of a kind & quite popular! I got to be their model for the newspaper announcement of the grand opening    which occurred the day before my 1st birthday. Here is my mom & me in 1984....

I think Char looks a bit like her mama ; ) 

It was a sad day when the Machesneys moved back to Boston but over the course of time, many more visits would follow to maintain a special friendship. 

Mike & Marybeth added 3 to their family after moving away. Nick, Meredith & Elizabeth- such lovely combinations of their mom & dad. Here are the six of us in 1993 (or close to that year) when they visited Kingwood. 

Our last visit was in November 2010 when my mom, Char & I spent about a week in their home in Virginia while I was a part of my friend Amanda's wedding. See post here.  Now, here we are in 2012.  Mike & Marybeth just so happened to be in Orlando so Mike could attend a conference for work.  I was super excited when I got a message from MB wondering if we could get together while they were in town.  So, last Friday morning, the girls & I headed over to their resort to meet MB for a swim. 

The water was the perfect temperature & the girls LOVED the zero entry access to the pool. Although Eloise could crawl all over, she still enjoyed a little snuggling with Marybeth. I think someone else enjoyed it too ; ) 

We swam & swam & swam. Charlotte did LOTS of jumping in from the side of the pool. It was hilarious! She would shout from the side numbers at random sounding something like this..."9,6,3,7,4,2,1 LIFT OFF, YOU READY MOMMY?" I would shout back "I'M READY CHAR" & she would leap into the pool squealing the whole way. I was letting her go all the way under water with each jump & she did great. She had us along with the row of people catching rays in the chairs behind her laughing each time she prepared for lift off.

After swimming, MB treated us for lunch outside under an umbrella. Eloise fell asleep for a quick snooze in the stroller & Mike joined us after his conference finished up for the day. The girls were wiped out so I had to bribe Charlotte with a lollipop to stay awake on the way home : ) She made it home awake & in turn had a really difficult time settling in for her nap. Serves me right I guess, attempted bribery...that sounds like a misdemeanor ; )

Since our swimming & lunch date provided no where near enough time with this sweet couple, we convinced them to join us for dinner at our home.

They came bearing gifts for the girls...

Char had never seen a PEZ dispenser before & this picture makes me laugh! It's like she is thinking "all I have to do is lift this bunny's head & I will have a life time supply of sugar!"

followed by her face in response to some animal crackers that were also in the gift bag : ) 

We enjoyed dinner & some entertainment by Charlotte which included placing her ladybug headband on Mike.  You can tell this man has had some daughters in his life. He knew all the right things to say to a little girl dressing up as a princess & involving him in the process. He took it off once during our meal to let Charlotte wear it but she quickly insisted that he put it back on.  He wore it all evening, past the time that the girls went to bed. MB and I were laughing hard when he was standing in the garage with Rob discussing woodworking with those little antennae bobbing around : )

Another funny thing is that Mike kept trying to call me "Susan" (my mom) & Charlotte "Lauren."  I am guessing the resemblance in looks, mannerisms and laugh contributed toward that. He said he felt like it was yesterday that they were spending time with my parents & me.

The girls took to these two right away, like they were just another set of grandparents!

Ah, it was such a wonderful day! I called my mom that night & told her that I knew exactly why those two were their best friends.  They are sweet, genuine, caring people that are so enjoyable to spend time with. We are so thankful they were able to visit with us during their stay in the sunshine state.

project 365: [days 85-91]

March 25th- Celebrated with this cake....and a real cake!

March 26th- lunch at a favorite place with a neighbor & her son.

March 27th- Evening trip to Sea World so Charlee could ride some rides with Daddy. 

March 28th-  Char & Kat colored with chalk while I was working.

March 29th- Baby Isaac gettin' some lovin' from his big cousins.

March 30th- Enjoyed a day with the Machesneys....swimming & lunch at a resort  then dinner & time to catch up at  Hotel Valentine.  Mike wore the ladybug headband the entire night : ) 

*March 31st- Elo chowing down on some watermelon.