Recap of Time with Family: Part 2

Continuing the recap of our time with family...again, there's a TON of pics in this post!

The boys had a blast playing with Psalm and Pascha. When we couldn't find the two older ones (Psalm and Peyton) we realized they were down in the guest room jumping from the guest bed to the blow up mattress that we'd put down there. Here's some pictures of the action...




We were able to enjoy some grown up boy and girl times which was very fun to just be able to do whatever with out all our little people. The guys went golfing on Friday morning and had a beatiful day on the links!


Us girls went to some antique shops and children's consignment stores...we didn't get a picture of us all because we were to busy shopping cause we were on a mission! Whitney found a great window pane that she's going to re-purpose into a chalk board and put cute hooks on to hang coats, can't wait to see it! We also found some great clothes for all the kiddos which is always a score!

While the guys went golfing we took the kids to McWane Science Museum in downtown Birmingham, it was a lot of fun, though a bit crowded in sections. The kids had a ton of fun seeing and playing at the different exhibits!

The water table was a hit...



Peyton put on a puppet show...


Kiddos were crawling and climbing on everything...


There was a humongous keyboard on the floor that was really fun for them and Gigi even got in on the action with a little ditty of Chop Sticks!



There's a lifesize LightBright that Lawson thought was pretty cool...


They had a two and under area that had soft blocks and padded wedges for little tikes to crawl on and Emerson had a big time in there...



The big kids made a tower out of lifesize blocks and Psalm crawled up and sat right on top, how cool is that?!


Lawson loved the construction vehicle and crane...he enjoyed picking up the blocks and dumping them into the "construction site"...


We moved on to the Aquarium portion, and the kids enjoyed touching the hammer head shark and sting ray...



Here are some future scientists, checking out different size shark teeth under a microscope...


Then it was on to the Dinosaurs...






Me and my sweet little peeps...


They even got to touch a hedge hog and a chinchilla...Whitney was over the top to see the Chinchilla, she's always wanted one!



We had a lot of fun...and there's still more to share...

Recap of Time with Family: Part 1

Well, the last few days have been packed full of fun times, memories made and great food to be eaten! My family, who was planning to come for Easter weekend, ended up coming a few days early in order to be here for the boy's Spring Performance at their Preschool on Thursday...it made for a great excuse to be here a few extra days! We did a lot of fun stuff and made many great memories, so be warned, there are a BUNCH of pictures and I'll have to break up all that we did into several different posts!

I'll begin the recap with the Spring Perfomance at the ELC. I absolutely LOVE the preschool where the boys are. They truly are learning so much but the thing that makes me thrilled with where I'm sending them is that they're learning so much about God, what He's made, and who He is through chapel, story times, music class, etc. The teachers truly are incorporating things that I'm trying to teach at home, and I'm grateful for their reinforcment!

Lawson had a hard time once he saw me up front with my camera...he had a complete melt down and Mrs. Melissa had to bring him down off the stage! Oh, well!


And just keeping it real...here's one of the little girls in his class totally showing off what she's got...then another one just waving to his family, not singing at all...it was all pretty comical!


Peyton did fine, though he sang every song with his hands covering up his mouth. Saying that he's shy on stage, might be an understatement! He sang each song quite loud for me in the car once he was down out of the lime light! : )


After the program finished we braved the torrential down pour to go and enjoy lunch at Chick-Fil-A. The kids had fun...and just when we thought we'd make a run for it, the bottom opened up and we decided to stay a little longer and enjoy some tastey ice cream!

That afternoon, after naps we dyed easter eggs...they turned out quite pretty I must say!


Here's Whitney with Pascha and Psalm...


With all the activities of the day Lawson slept right through this, but Peyton and Emerson had a great time!


And here's the finished products...


We also did another fun craft which I got from here, but before we did that we made a fun snack called Resurrection Rolls that tells the story of the resurrection of Jesus. For the snack you just need: cressant rolls, melted butter, cinnamon and sugar, large marshmellows and an oven preheated to 350. The cressant roll represents the cloth that they wrapped Jesus' body in, the marshmellow represents Jesus, we dipped the marshmellow in the butter and rolled it in the cinnamon and sugar (symbolizing the oil and spices that they put on Jesus at his burial), then we wrapped up the marshmellow and placed each "rolled up/wrapped up Jesus" into the tomb (the oven) and baked it for 8-10 minutes and when we took them out, the marshmellow had melted and "Jesus had risen"...He wasn't in the cloth anymore (the marshmellow melted into the cressant roll and left an empty space in the roll when you open it up...it was a fun activity telling the wonderful Resurrection story and quite a tastey treat as well.





As their snack was baking they made a cross craft out of clay that I found here, and used pony beads to decorate it. I think they all had a great time!




To Be Continued...

Resurrection Activity-Day 5 Good Friday

Today I read to the kids from Matt. 27:45-56. We talked all about the three hours that Jesus spent hanging on the cross and the pain and agony that He went through for us. We used the sense of taste and touch to more accurately understand what all Jesus went through. As we focused on taste, I let the kids experience the taste of wine vinegar, the same thing they put on a soaked sponge, stuck onto a stick and then offered to Jesus...it was terrible, Peyton didn't want to try it at all, just the smell was repulsive...and to think that's what they offered to Jesus as He was thirsty, yet again it was more mocking of Him...it was a terrible jesture for sure, unthinkable!


We talked about the extreme pain He must have felt as the nails dug into his hands and feet. I used a red marker to draw circles on each of their palms and the top of one of their feet, showing where the nails may have gone in on Jesus as He was hung on the cross. As I drew on them I made sure to press really hard and to "poke" them as I did it, asking them "can you imagine how it felt when an actual nail was going through Him?" They couldn't believe all that Jesus had done for them!



Going through these historical accounts of Jesus' last days as I read from my Bible and then again from their Beginner Bible and as we paralleled that by incorporating a "sense" that went along with each day, has been a GREAT way to reinforce what Jesus really did for us, the pain He endured, the atrocities that He went through...even though He could have stopped it all at any moment, was such a great reminder for me as well! I think the boys really were able to absorb these accounts, not stories, I'm very much adament about not calling the Bible accounts a "story" (like it falls in the same category as Llama Llama Red Pajama or a Dr. Seuss book)...the Bible is historically accurate and very much a history book of truth. I want my boys to really understand when I ask, "what book is this?" and they say "the Bible" and I say "And the Bible is God's word"...and "God's word is ____?..."TRUE"! I want them to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God's word is completely true, that they can believe 100% of it and know that He offers us answers if we'll seek Him with all our hearts, souls and minds!

This Resurrection Activity using our senses and leading up to Good Friday and this wonderful Easter holiday weekend, has been great, we will definitely do it again!

Lord Jesus, thank you so much for the sacrifice you made on my account, for the pain you endured even though you could've stopped it all at any point, thank You for being so selfless and for loving me SO deeply! I am grateful that you are my King and my God! (Ps 44:4)

Resurrection Activity: Day 4-Sadness and the Color Purple

Today we read Mark 14:32-51, 15:1-20 and portions of Matthew 26:47-68. The whole time I was reading these accounts I had their complete and total attention. They couldn't believe the soldiers who had come with swords and clubs to beat Jesus, they were shocked that Peter cut off the soldiers ear, but they were struck by all the beatings that Jesus took (with the flogging and then again with the staff).

I decided to read it all to them, the whipping, Jesus' clothes being ripped off, them putting the purple robe on Him, the mocking and spitting, the crown of thorns and the beating with the staff...they were able to absorb most of what I was telling them. Peyton asked lots of questions and even began to personalize the account in the Garden of Gethsemane when Judas betrayed Jesus saying, "Mom, that'd be like Hayes (his really good friend) leaving me all alone in the back yard and telling bad guys where I was so they could come and get me!" By verbalizing it this way, I think he was able to more aptly understand what Jesus must have been feeling as His "friend" gave him over to the authorities.

Lawson kept asking "why did Jesus do that?"...


For our activity, we focused on the color purple and used the senses sight and touch. We talked about how the color represents royalty and how the Roman soldiers were mocking Him when they placed the purple robe on Jesus. We talked about how Jesus truly is the King, our King so we did a "mosaic" of sorts using tissue paper that I'd cut into little squares and glued them to a black piece of construction paper.

I'd pre-drawn the shape of a cross and told the boys to fill it in with the royal color purple-recalling that Jesus is royal because He is THE KING!

And yet again, here's a quote from the blog where I got these ideas, that I thought totally summed everything up very nicely..."The King that was gentle and humble enough to be made fun of, was also strong enough to endure it all and be alive today!" Thanks you Jesus for all you went through on our behalf! We are so grateful!

Resurrection Activity: Day 3-Last Supper

Our Resurrection Activity for Day 3 used the sense of taste as we broke bread together and talked about what it means for each of us.


Again, to show them that what we read from their Beginner Bible is exactly what we have in our "big Bible's" we read to the boys from Matthew 26, portions of Mark 14 and Luke 22. Then Adam read it again from their picture Bible. The boys really did pay pretty good attention.


We focused on the bread and the wine and what it symbolizes. Adam explained that the bread was like Jesus' body that had to be broken for our sins then explained that the grape juice was like the blood that was shed for us. Lawson said, "So is that blood?" We told him "no" it's just a symbol, a reminder of the blood that Jesus bled for us. It was too cute to see him digesting what we were telling him and then to see him asking questions, he really was listening!




I got some of these ideas from here, and I really liked how she concisely explained all of this..."But this is how God will rescue the whole world. It's as if Jesus is saying, my life will break and God's broken world will mend. My heart will tear apart-and your hearts will be healed. Just as the passover lamb died, so now I will die instead of you. My blood will wash away all of your sins. And you'll be clean on the inside-in your hearts!"

The boys have really enjoyed these activities and have really been grasping what Easter is about...I'm praying that their little hearts can absorb just how much Jesus really does love them.