Abby at Home

I have been saving up pictures over the last month or so of some of Abby's memorable and yet commonplace moments.  Just wanted to have a picture diary of what having these days of Abby at home have been like.

She had so much fun helping me set the table for an after school tea party with Isaac and our friend Calli.

Abby "helping" me fold the clean laundry.  Over her clothes, she put on her brothers shirt, a pair of Dora panties, her dad's underwear, and her dad's socks.

Abby "standing still" for a picture.

She is officially over naps, but on days after she's had a rough night's sleep, or when she's not feeling good, this occasionally happens:

Playing with flour while mom works in the kitchen.

Add a little water and see what happens.

Hamming it up for the camera.

She loves picking flowers and will often go in the backyard and bring in an arrangement from our crop of weed flowers.  (We have been growing weed flowers successfully for years...let me know if you want any tips on how we do this!  ;)

Bead time.

Lunch time.

She has adopted Isaac's love for crafts.

 She often tapes her masterpieces to decorate my family room wall.

And look at the craft project she took on today:

She colored on my desk!  Ack!  You may wonder where I was while she was doing this?  I was sitting at the desk.  I'm that good at not paying attention to what my kids are up to.  She was coloring it right under my nose, assuming that my lack of prevention was a clear sign that it was okay.  I didn't notice until she started coloring on the top.  Wish my brain worked better sometimes!

Learning how to "look sweet" for the camera.

Sappy, but I'm a sucker for it.

Abby was baking imaginary cookies this day.

Notice the interesting ingredients she has selected.

She was doing a cooking show.

Time for the cookie cutters.

And put the invisible cookies in the oven (no heat).

Easter 2011

Here's a photo summary of our Easter fun this year.

The Easter Bunny brought each of my kids a pillow pet (coveted for years now), a new swimsuit, and some candy.  Isaac said "COOL!  Even thought I know the Easter Bunny's not real." (My policy on all fictional holiday characters is if they ask, I tell the truth...he's an inquiring mind.)

I love how Isaac treats the egg hunt as an olympic sport.

He's going to win.

And he means it.

Abby, on the other hand, uses the egg hunt as a back drop to demonstrate how cute she is.

Gentle and sweet.

My little sunshine.

Half time consultation.

Enjoying the plunder.

Easter boy (with his bunny in a sock-sleeping bag).

Shoes!

Easter girls.

Easter cousins.

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

Resurrection Cookies Recipe

My friend Heather sent me this recipe and I didn't get to it this year in the midst of all the other busyness of our Easter preparations.  (It has also been recommended to me by several other friends and even my grandparents!) I am recording it here because I want to try it next year.

To be made the evening before Easter.

Ingredients:
1 c. whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 c. sugar
Zipper baggy
Wooden spoon
Tape 
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place pecans in zipper baggy and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.  Explain that after Jesus was arrested the Roman soldiers beat him.  Read John 19:1-3.

Let eat child smell the vinegar.  Put 1 tsp vinegar into mixing bowl.  Explain that Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.  Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.  Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.  Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.  Explain that it represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.  Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.  Add 1 c sugar.  Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.  He wants us to know and belong to Him.  Read Ps 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.   Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.  Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in the broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.  Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.  Read Matthew 27:57-60.  

Put the cookies sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.  Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.  Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.  Read Matthew 27:65-66.  

GO TO BED!  Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.  Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.  Read John 16:20 and 22. 

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow!  On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.  Read Matthew 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!

Preparing for Easter, Part 2

This is a continuation from a previous post, Preparing for Easter, Part 1

WEDNESDAY

• Read the story found in John 13:1-17 (can find this story in a children's Bible too).
• Fill a bucket with water and grab a towel. 
• Take turns washing each other's feet and praying for each other.

After reading the story of Jesus, the Servant-King, washing his disciples' feet the night before his crucifixion, it was special for us to get to wash our kids' feet and pray for them.

Mommy washed Isaac's feet.

Daddy took care of Abby.

The kids enjoyed the chance to wash Mommy's feet too.

(And things got rather silly when they tried to wash Daddy's feet because his feet are too ticklish).

A link to the post of this lesson from 2012.

THURSDAY

• Visit a garden or park.
• Read Luke 22:39-46 (can find this story in a children's Bible too).
• Have your kids talk about what plans they have for tomorrow.  How do they feel about their plans?
• What do they think Jesus may have been thinking/feeling on the night before His crucifixion?
• Pray together.

I liked doing this one at night in our "garden," as the darkness may have reflected more of what Jesus may have experienced.  The downside was that I waited so late that the kids were too punchy for a serious conversation.

FRIDAY

• Place a white carnation in a vase.  Read 1 Peter 1:18-19 (or the story of the crucifixion from a children's Bible).
• Discuss with your children what it meant that Jesus was a "lamb without blemish or defect." 
• Add a dozen drops of red food coloring to the water.  Watch what happens over the next few days.  Use the red flower petals as a reminder that Jesus took our sins upon himself when he died on the cross.

Jesus, the "lamb without blemish or defect."

Each kid added some drops of red food coloring to the water, representing their sin. (By the way, that is my dad's hairy arm in the picture below, not mine!  ;) 

Two days later, we look at what happened to our white flowers and talk about how Jesus took our sin upon himself when he died for us.

A link to the post of this lesson from 2012.

SATURDAY

• Let your kids help you clean the windows.
• Talk about how much better they can see through them afterward.  
• Read Luke 18:31-34 (or find the story in a children's Bible of when the disciples were sad and confused after Jesus died).  
• Explain that the disciples did not see clearly at first.  They did not understand that Jesus had to die and rise again--until He did!

I left this muddy window up for a few hours before our actual lesson time to get the kids to really wonder what a muddy window had to do with Easter.

They had fun scrubbing it off.

And hosing it down.  And after it was clean, they seemed to get the idea that it wasn't until Jesus' friends saw him alive again after his death that they understood why he had to die.

EASTER SUNDAY

• Read Matthew 27:57-61 (or find the story in a children's Bible of when Jesus' friends discovered his empty tomb...especially the sections of his burial and resurrection that mention his grave clothes or wrappings). 
• Wrap a child volunteer in toilet paper or "grave clothes" and have them break free from the toilet paper.
• Talk about how happy the disciples must have been when they saw that Jesus had conquered death.
• Use a trick candle to show how Jesus, the Light of the World, appeared to be extinguished, but wasn't.  He was dead, but He came back to life!

Wrapping up Isaac in "grave clothes."

He thought it was pretty funny.

In his "tomb."

And he loved breaking free.

We didn't plan ahead to get the trick candle but I think that would be a great visual for the concept of Jesus coming back.  This was a lot of fun.  Looking forward to next year.