Resurrection Eggs

 

Today we started the Resurrection Eggs (I think I was supposed to start yesterday, but it will work)!!  It's not too late to start if you want to create your own, I found two tutorials for you.  Click here or here.

It is so fun to go through this with the kids.  H of course loved it and I was surprised at how well Bug listened to the story. 

I love this Easter tradition!

Easter Giveaway

**** Contest Closed****

Wow, it is already only 3 weeks until Easter!  Time to start getting ready for one VERY special day!
In an effort to help your family prepare I wanted to host a special giveaway. 

Last year to help us prepare for Easter we used some amazing tools; The Resurrection Eggs and the book Benjamin's Box.  I HIGHLY recommend both!  I would love to give the book Benjamin's Box away to one of you faithful (or new) readers!  The book and eggs are 12 days of preparing for Easter... yikes that is coming up soon!

Here is how you can enter to win:

1. Leave a comment with your favorite Easter tradition.
2.  Become a follower of my blog (and leave a comment telling me  you have done so)
3.  Post on your blog or your facebook status the link to this contest on my blog (leave a comment with a link to your blog or facebook wall).

You can enter one time for each category above. 
Contest will be closed on Tuesday the 5th at 5pm.

Pizza and Movie Night

We recently started a new tradition in our home that has been a huge hit: Pizza and Movie Night!  We start out with Trader Joe's pizza dough, and throw together some scrumptious pizzas.  The kids pizzas always consist of just sauce and cheese.  But Mr. Steady and I have gourmet ones : )  Last nights creations consisted of pesto sauce, with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  Getting hungry just thinking about it : )

Then we watch a kids movie.  Last night it was Bug's turn to pick and she choose "Lady and the Tramp."  Both of the big kids were totally in to it.  Sweet Bug came over and sat in my lap for the last half of the movie.  I loved the chance to snuggle with my little girl!

We dialog a little during the movie, especially since Bug is asking lots of questions.  We are trying to point out honorable character, love and commitment.  It is fun to see them connect the dots between character areas that we are talking with them about and then watching it played out in the movies.  Not every movie has a direct correlation of exactly what we are working on, but it is amazing what you can draw out when you are intentionally looking for it.  It's a great time for dialog; either during or after the movie.  We welcome any chance we can get (or in this case, create) to help shape the little hearts we have in our home!

If you want help in selecting a movie, you should check out Plugged In by Focus on the Family.  They review every movie (not just kids flicks).  They tell you the good and the bad, with even specific details such as how many times they say the word "idiot" in a film. 

You can even download a new App for your phone, by going to your App Store (iPhone or Android Market).  Search "Plugged In Mobile."  Worth having on your phone so you can do a quick search where ever you are!  Just downloaded it on mine : )

Pumpkin Pancakes

This Fall I heard lots of talk about Pumpkin Pancakes... but for whatever reason I never gave them a try.  Then for some strange reason I had an insatiable craving for them this past weekend.  We re-visited our tradition of Saturday Morning Pancakes with a little twist, a sweet pumpkin twist.  I found this recipe on www.AllRecipes.com, I tweaked it a tiny bit.  They were a hit!  Even B devoured the little crumbs we put on his tray!

What you need:
1 cup flour
1 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup pumpkin
2 Tbs Vegetable oil or Apple sauce (I did one of each)

What to do:
1. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl
2. In a different bowl mix eggs, milk, pumpkin and oil
3.  Add dry ingredients to wet, mix well.  If too clumpy add 1 Tbs of water
4.  Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto greased griddle or frying pan. Cook each side until golden!

Enjoy!!

Christmas Traditions

This time of year is rich with traditions. Some traditions you have done for as long as you can remember, others you picked up when you got married.  Some you adopted from friends.  One of my favorite Christmas traditions was started by my sister (Kerri) when I was in college.  Kerri once told me where she adopted the tradition from, but to be honest, I can't remember where... so I am truly sorry to whomever deserves the credit...

This special Christmas tradition is a "Baby Jesus Gift."  It is the only present that we get to open on Christmas Eve.  But it is not just any gift, all Baby Jesus Gifts are to encourage spiritual growth for the year ahead.  Some of the gifts that have been given in our family include Bibles, devotion books, worship CD's, and books.

The other key to  Baby Jesus Gifts is that they are wrapped in Gold.  The best looking gifts under the tree, beckoning to be opened!

Do you have any traditions when it comes to Christmas gifts?  The other day my friend Megan was telling me that they give their kids 3 gifts, just like how Jesus was given the 3 gifts from the wise men.  I did a quick little search and you can read more about the tradition here.  I think we will adopt this tradition for next year... (already did my shopping for this year).

Whether your traditions are small or grand, new or old, I hope that your Christmas will be full of joy!

Anticipating Christmas

Oh, how I love Christmas time!  The beauty of Christmas lights, the smell of evergreen, all of the yummy tastes of the season.  I love the gift giving, Christmas carols, receiving Christmas cards in the mail... I LOVE Christmas!  I love advent and the anticipation in Christ's birth. 

Do you celebrate Advent?  I know we are now 7 days into December so maybe not prime time to start Advent.  But it is not too late, our little ones won't know that we are a few days behind...

Here are some ideas for celebrating Advent-
Jesse Tree Devotional:

Fun activities with pre-schoolers-
Nativity Learning Pack from 1+1+1=1.blogspot.com
Preschool Christmas Activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler

Christmas books the kids we are enjoying:
 

And books we want to get:
 

Movies:

(just because it is so funny)

And reading for mama too:


I pray that as we are in the midst of a busy time of year that you are intentionally taking time away from the hustle and bustle to fully soak in the joy of this holiday season.  As you look forward to Christmas may your focus be on Christ, His birth and the reason for true joy!

Thankful-1

I want to be intentional at reflecting on all that God has blessed us with.  It is easy to go through a day without seeing all that we have to be thankful for.  So here is my attempt to be more intentional at noticing and relishing in all God's blessings.  We have so very much to be thankful for! So for a week (thanksgiving being in the middle) we are going to let you know what we are thankful for.

I asked my little family, "What are you thankful for today?'
H: "Legos, and getting to build with them."
Mr. Steady: "Our health and healthy kids."
Bug: "Bro!" Then she looked at H and smiled (oh, melted my heart)
Me: "Warmth! Warm clothes, Uggs, warm house, warm hugs.  I am thankful to be warm!
And if Baby Bro could talk... I am guessing his answer today would be, "My mobile!"

Beach Bonfire

We had a first as a family this weekend... we went to the beach with our friends and had a bonfire.  It kind of reminded me of fun times doing this in college... but I must say with 3 little ones it was a little more chaotic : )  The kids loved it (other than BB, he didn't think the wind in his face was very fun). 

 Bug, H, and Ev

 I think these 2 might get married some day... they already argue like an old married couple... but at other time they get lost in each other's eyes : )

 Bring on the S'mores

Bug was lovin' the S'mores!

We will definitely be doing this again soon... 

anyone want to join us?

Mommy & Daddy CD/ playlist

I read a book when H was just 1 year old called Creative Family Times.  You can get it for DIRT cheep on Amazon.com (less than $1).  It is full of many amazing and yet super practical ideas for parenting, teaching our kids, talking about God, and cultivating open communication with our kids.  It is a very quick read and a great resource to have around.

 

In this little book there is a chapter called "Tape Time."  (Can you tell this was published in the late 80's... when most of us were still kids ourselves... too funny).  The idea in this chapter is to make a tape, (I will just say CD) for your kids to listen to when they go to bed at night.  The content of the CD is up to you, but the intent is to let this be a teaching time for your kids, so to think through what you want them to learn.  The author gives multiple ideas for content such as critical information (address, phone number...), memory verses, children stories, kids songs, manners, and godly character.  She even gives specific scripts, which are super helpful!  {I want to reiterate again that this is a great resource to have}

We made the first CD for H when he was 16 months old.  He loves them and still asks to listen to some of the first the Mommy and Daddy CD's.  He has the stories memorized and has learned so much scripture though this too.  One of my favorite parts to some of his CDs is when we talked about all of the things we love about him.  Everyone could use the reminder of how lovable they are : )

If you have a Mac it is really easy to make the CDs in the program called Garage Band.  I am sure there are programs to do this on a PC, I just don't know the details.

Here is a quick run down on how to make these in Garage Band
1.  Once in program click on create a "New Podcast Episode"
2.  A screen will pop up to create a file name to save as.  I have found that it is best that I write in the exact content of what I am recording.  Such as "Golden Rule verses."
3.  Click on what kind of track it will be, I click on "Female Voice"
4.  Then click on the large red circle to start recording
5.  Click the red button to stop recording
6.  Save
7.  Click on "Share" then "Send Podcast to iTunes"
8.  Once in iTunes create a playlist and burn the CD

It does take some prep to get all of your books ready to read, verses out and list of things you want to talk about on your CD.  However much time it takes for you to prep will be worth it!  Your kids will love getting to hear your voice as they fall asleep; what an amazing way to end their day : )

Pre-school... Easter

Hello world!  Sorry that I have been MIA this last week.  It was a busy week full of life, friends visiting from back home, Mr. Steady's birthday and lots of fun as a family!  We are so looking forward to celebrating Easter this weekend.  I pray that God will bless you all, and that His grace is more real to you each and every day!

We have been focusing on Easter for all of H's school time.  This is what we have been up to...

Coloring Pages for Easter, we printed off these coloring pages that tell the Easter story.  I printed them at 50% so that it could make a mini book.

Cross Math (addition), I printed it from here.  I was hoping that this would be an activity for next year as well.  However, H did it a little fast, guess I need to come up with a little bit harder ones for next year.

Resurrection Eggs

We purchased the Resurrection Eggs last year, but did not get them in time for Easter.  So this was our first year using them.  What an amazing tool to help tell the story of Easter to kids.  We went through the eggs with the book "Benjamin's Box" which I would highly recommend!  I kind of think that 4 was a good starting point for H for using this book, last year might have been even a little early for him. I am thinking for next year I will get "The Story of the Resurrection Eggs in Rhyme and Song" for Bug since that looks like it is more geared for little ones.


Either way, if you just get the eggs or you get a book to go along with it.  It is an investment in your kids faith for sure!

Here is H on day 2 with the "coins"... well that and maybe a little breakfast still on his face : )

Tiny Tot School

I am trying to start school time (aka blanket time) for Bug.  She is not such a big fan, but we were able to get some "blanket time" in this week.  She is up to about 12 minutes on the blanket, but for the last 3 minutes is usually a dramatic protest.  To moms of little ones... don't make the mistake that I did and wait until your little one is 14 months old to start this!  We started early with H and he did great at blanket time.  With Bug the chaos of our move started when she was 9 months old and I never was intentional at doing this with her.  It is never too late to start, just harder process since we waited.

Happy Easter!!!