Resurrection Eggs

Today is the day we are starting our Resurrection Eggs!

We thought it would be fun for our kids to open one egg per day for the 12 days leading up to Easter. Since the eggs tell the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, we will plan to review the eggs we've already opened on previous days and then be able to review all of them on Easter Sunday. It's similar to our preschool Advent calendar that told the story of Jesus' birth.

Ours are "homemade" since the branded kind are so expensive! We made them with our MOPS group for less than $2 a piece, as compared to $20! Here are some pics:

The things that we had to gather up were:

Palm Branch
Silver Coin
Cup (we used a little plastic communion cup)
Praying Hands (we used a laminated picture)
Piece of Leather
Thorn
Nails
Dice
Spear (we used a small lego sword)
Linen
Stone
Egg Cartons
Plastic Eggs

Here are the scriptures we are using with the items:

1. Palm branch

“Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,’Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.’”


The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks (coats) and sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road."
Matthew 21:1b-3, 6-8

2. Silver coins

“Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”
Matthew 26:14-16

3. Cup

“Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying,’Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”
Matthew 26:27-28

4. Praying Hands

“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’" he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’ Mark 14:32-34

5. Leather Whip

“ Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged (whipped) Him.” 
 John 19:1

6. Crown of Thorns

“Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.”
Matthew 27:27-29

7. Nails in the Cross

“So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”
John 19:16b-18

8. Die

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
‘Let's not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let's decide by lot who will get it.’
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
‘They divided my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.’ So this is what the soldiers did.”
John 19:23-24

9. Spear 

“The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” 
John 19:32-34

10. Linen Cloth

“As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”
Matthew 27:57-60

11. Stone

“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”
Matthew 28:2-4

12. Empty

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’”
Matthew 28:5-6

It's not too late to make your own! This is a great activity for Easter Sunday if you can pull it together before then.

What a Wonderful Weekend...

We spent some time in Dallas this weekend to participate in the events surrounding Cathy (Allen's sister) and Ryan's wedding. We had such a lovely time with our families and celebrating this wonderful couple as they said "I do." Allen officiated the wedding and it was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Since Cathy and Ryan are both graphic designers and super-creative, it was really fun, trendy and every aspect well thought out. I didn't get too many pictures from the actual wedding, but many from the rehearsal and dinner. A special thanks to Nanny, Papa and B for taking care of the kids while we were celebrating!

A free picture slideshow by Smilebox

Taylor Joyisms

(laughing) Easton's trying to lick my fingers! He thinks it's an envelope! (uproarious laughter)

Mommy, I want to get a picture of you making dinner. (SMILE! CLICK!) That's a cute picture. It's not really really cute, but it's kinda cute.

(Allen and I kiss...I know, let's keep it G-rated, folks) Why do you and Mommy love each other? Is that why you have wedding rings?

(during prayer) I just pray that Daddy will come home for lunch and that when he comes home he won't growl at Mommy. (for the record, this has never happened)

The newest thing has been pretending she is a salesperson. She will come and ask us what we need and we'll look at her store "shelf" and say, "Hmm... I need a gift for a baby boy." She'll pick out something fitting for a baby boy, give it to us along with money from her cash register and say, "Have a good day!" Awesome! I wish shopping was really like that! I get products, money and sweet service!

"Daddy, I didn't want to enter you up." (interrupt you)

"Beckett needs a tissue! He's running his nose!"

"Mommy, I just dreamed that my hair was turning to blonde! (really very distressed) I just don't want my hair to turn to blonde! I want it to stay red!" (what a horrific nightmare to have blonde hair!)

Message Board Tiles

My friend Amanda (from my MOPS group) had a fun craft night a few weeks ago and we made these tile message boards for our hubbies. They are a fun way to "flirt" with your husband if you keep it in the bathroom and write messages back and forth. These are especially helpful when you and your husband wake up and go to bed at different times. The are simple to make.

Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy ceramic tile (that's smooth on the top) for $1 or $2. You could make a bigger one if you have more room to place it.

Paint with acrylic paints or paint pens and decorate as you wish. The little "D" is actually a rub-on that I used.

Buy a dry-erase marker and start messaging your hubby!

The Family Together in God's Presence

Allen made reference to this at our business meeting on Tuesday night, but it is worth reading the article in full if you haven't ever done so.

The Family Together in God's Presence was written by John and Noel Piper in the 90's but I feel like it could have been written 50 years ago or 3 years ago. In my experience, families used to do this back in the day and families just started doing this 3 years ago. We are some that started doing it 3 years ago and have learned so much since then.

I think Piper sums up what we have learned very well and Noel gives some wonderfully practical tips on how to do it.

Armadillo Dash

Some members of our church went out to the Armadillo Dash half marathon last weekend dressed in our 80's gear. We hosted a water/Gatorade stop with our rockin' theme, the 80's! Not only was it a blast, the fun outfits, 80's "cover" band (our worship team singing 80's songs), and encouraging comments as they passed by seemed to be a huge hit with the runners. It may have just given them the extra "oomph" that they needed to continue on. I sure hope so! Here are some pictures from the craziness that ensued...

Sure do love these people...

The Danger of Self-Deception

Hubby preached a powerful sermon on Sunday that, by God's grace, led many to faith and repentance. I urge you to check it out.

The Danger of Self-Deception

Picture Update

As I said in the last post, our wonderful friends, the Bridenstine's came to visit us last week and we had such a fun and refreshing time together. We love them so much and they are so dear to us!

Here are some pictures from our time together:

Taylor Joy and Will

Ready for our double date.



Easton playing with Natalie (the Arbuckles' newest little one)


Also, here are some pictures of the fun being had in our unexpected snow on Tuesday!

Charlie Bit Me

On a lighter note, and for 28 seconds of your time, watch this hilarious video. We've been hanging out with our wonderful friends from North Carolina, The Bridenstine's, and they have exposed us to some funny videos. The kids and I are loving this one. What a refreshing time to have them spend the past few days with us. Enjoy!

Blogging

After listening to Allen's sermon last night about Deviants in Disguise, false prophets from the Sermon on the Mount, I am painfully aware that as my blog has grown from just a place to post pictures of the kids, I have more responsibility in what I am posting on here. Here's a wonderful article that I found very helpful as well.

Here's what I'm NOT doing:

I'm not advocating you to check my blog every day. I don't post everyday anyway.  It's a miracle if I can post twice a week (after all, I have 3 kids under 4 years old). Use Google Reader and check it when you can. And not to the detriment of other things.

I'm not saying I'm the final authority on anything. I'm not an expert book reviewer, crafter, cook, pastor's wife or mom. Quite the opposite, actually. I learn from so many other women, bloggers and experts on these issues and areas of life. I am so thankful for a community to learn and grow in these ways.

Here's what I am doing:

Desiring to communicate my heart to friends, family and others who are interested in our family. I don't think you are a blog-stalker if you found our blog and keep up with it. I invite whoever is interested in us and who isn't doing/thinking the above things (the NOTs) to join us as we journey through life, by God's grace.

Blogging to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." I think that includes blogging. I'd like to serve you with resources, books, quotes, any other helpful material that would be meaningful for your life. I hope it encourages you, draws you closer to God and brings glory to God.

Here's a quote from Bob Kauflin's 17-year-old daughter who started a picture blog:

"If you ever have any free time and you're wondering, "What in the world am I going to do now?" don't go to my blog. Have extended devotions, or read some good book on our Savior, or serve your family. And once you've done that, come and visit my blog."

Such wisdom in her youth! I pray these same things for you as you explore the blogosphere.

Easton on the Move

Easton has been trying for a month or so to crawl and I can't deny it any longer...

He's crawling! It is super-official!

He is the earliest of my three to crawl, coming in at 6 1/2 months. How did this happen?

Checkout the video below:

(by the way, that high-pitched squeak you hear in the background is actually Taylor Joy!)

Valentine Pops

A cute Valentine treat that the kids and I made and decorated to give to our neighbors...hope you enjoy the recipe!

Rice Crispy Valentine Pops

• 1 stick  butter or margarine
• 1 package  (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
•  Food coloring
•  6 cups  Rice Crispy cereal
  
•  12  wooden ice cream sticks
•   Flaked coconut
•   Multi-colored sprinkles
•   Semi-sweet chocolate morsels, melted

Directions:

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring, if desired.

2. Add Rice Crispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using 1/2-cup measuring cup coated with cooking spray divide warm cereal mixture into portions. Using buttered hands shape each portion into ball. I found that it was better to wait until it had cooled down quite a bit before trying to form the balls. And, it took forming them several times for them to stay.

4. Insert wooden stick, if desired. Decorate with coconut, multi-colored sprinkles and/or melted chocolate, if desired. Let stand until firm. Best if served the same day. We also wrapped them in cellophane and tied a ribbon around them.

5 Cities That Ruled The World

I signed up to review this book because of several thoughts that went through my head when I saw the cover and what it was about.

First, Douglas Wilson! He's a great writer and has an amazing wife who ministers to me greatly over at the Femina blog and as a recipient of her monthly Minister's Wife newsletter. He has also written highly recommended books, one such book is Persuasions that has been recommended to me recently. Second, it's a history book written by a Christian. Wow, I might actually like this.

Since Allen is a history buff and loves all things history, I often feel out of the loop when he's giving details about something I should know in depth, like say, the Alamo. I've told him this before, so this isn't news to him, but it's often hard to go to historical places with him because he loves to read every piece of writing on every wall, inspect every historical item and listen to every account that is given of said piece of history. I like to look around and see the sights. I don't want to be bound to learning every single thing. That doesn't feel much like a vacation to me.

So for those reasons, I snatched up this book. I am sad to say that I was pretty disappointed. Although Doug's writing skills are top-notch and his historical knowledge seems to be unsurpassed, I wouldn't recommend this book for several reasons.

First, it failed to hold my attention. I really wanted to like it and to get some background on these cities, I wanted to be enamored with the way it was written and the history that is behind these cities. The way it was written is very educational and far from relate-able. I felt like I was reading a textbook and that I was in the secondary course needing a better background for what I was reading about.

Second, it seemed to me that the way the information was presented, as to a student from a professor, it would be more beneficial and more complete to read up on these cities in a history book that included the entire history of the city.

I value the intention of this book, which is telling the story of how 5 cities, Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London and New York have shaped the course of global history. I enjoyed reading about Jerusalem since it is so relevant to what I read on an everyday basis, the Bible. I loved it when he tied in background or historical information that helped me to understand the background of scripture better, and thus aid me in my Bible study.

I appreciated the Epilogue as it tied together all the loose ends of these cities in relation to scripture and the future heavenly city. He says that the prince of that city, Jesus, is Immanuel, God with us. He's not distant, not far-removed, but right here with us. Wilson says that the kingdom of God works "quietly, over the course of many generations...His power has been working, and His work will be accomplished." He closes with a scripture (prophecy) about the future city that believers can look forward to in Heaven one day.

On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
       a feast of rich food for all peoples,
       a banquet of aged wine—
       the best of meats and the finest of wines.

On this mountain he will destroy
       the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
       the sheet that covers all nations;

He will swallow up death forever.
       The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
       from all faces;
       he will remove the disgrace of his people
       from all the earth.
       The LORD has spoken.

In that day they will say,
       "Surely this is our God;
       we trusted in him, and he saved us.
       This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
       let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

Isaiah 25:6-9


I am grateful for the opportunity to expand my horizons beyond the usual that you would see on my bookshelf: Shopping for Time, Feminine Appeal, Gospel Powered Parenting, Discipline of Grace, etc. It was beneficial for me personally to open up my mind to history and learning in an educational way that I haven't done for the past 5 years.



(This is a review through Thomas Nelson's Book Sneeze program.)

Heart Headbands

My hip friend, Stephanie, came to church on Sunday night with a totally cute headband in her hair. It looked make-able. I asked her if she made it. Nope. It was the ribbon from an Anthropologie package! It was ribbon with circles of felt threaded onto it. So cute!

I thought it might be fun to make a headband with hearts since Valentine's Day is coming up. Here's what I came up with.

Grab a few old wool sweaters that you don't wear anymore (or that shrunk up in the wash). Wash and dry them on hot. (or go pick up quality felt from the store!)

Cut out a cardstock heart, like the little one I made. It can be smaller or bigger than mine, just depending on preference.

Use a fabric marker to trace the heart (on the wrong side of the sweater) and cut out a few hearts.

Now grab some ribbon and elastic. Measure your head using the ribbon and pull the ribbon around your head (like as tight as you would want a headband) and leave 2-3 inches for elastic. Either fold over or burn the edges of your ribbon and sew back and forth a few times to secure ONE edge.

Fold over hearts and carefully cut two slits in each heart...one towards the top and one towards the bottom. The ribbon should be able to slip through here without being bunched up.

Now, slide your cutie hearts onto your ribbon how you would like them and sew up the other side.

The final product!

Tree of Thanks Placemats

After November's Tree of Thanks, where each family member wrote something they were thankful for each day during the month (we missed several), I decided I wanted to remember the things that we said.

Result?

Thanksgiving placemats!

Because of all the Advent festivities, these just got laminated (here in February) and ready to pull out next November. I photoshopped pictures of all of us with our name and a caption that says, "is thankful for..." and pasted all of the coordinating thankful leaves onto a piece of poster board. Then, off to get laminated, of course.

I think they turned out really cute and I think I might start making placemats for many different holidays throughout the year. You could definitely do something like this for Valentine's Day with the valentines that each family member received and maybe a quote, "Taylor Joy is loved..." and reasons why we love each family member written on scrapbook paper hearts.

More Valentine's fun to come...

Kids' Concert

Ever since Beckett's birthday when he received his guitars and Christmas when they received their microphones, there have been a plethora of concerts taking place right inside of our house! It has been precious to watch.

And for the record, they have no idea what High School Musical even is.

Easton's Half Birthday

Easton Brooks celebrated his half birthday yesterday.

It may not have been the most delightful celebration. We started the day off waking him up around 5:15 am to get him ready to go to the hospital. It would have normally been time for him to eat, but he wasn't allowed to eat after 1 a.m. So he was just tired, hungry and cranky (as are most of us at 5 am).

We arrived at the hospital, waited around for awhile and then he went in to get tube in his ears around 7:30. He came back, tubed up, around 7:45, ate and was still pretty cranky. We took him home, he took a 3 hour nap and woke up a new baby. The doctor told us he was able to clear out lots of yucky fluid in his ears and so I am sure that helped. The tubes will now help whatever fluid accumulates in there to empty itself out, as it had been unable to the past 2 months that he's had constant ear infections.

While not the greatest thing to have done to your 6 month old, it is definitely an answer to prayer. There have been many naps and many nights where I have just had to pray and ask the Lord to take away any pain he is experiencing. It's awful to know your baby is in pain and not be able to do anything about it. So, all that to say, this is a good thing and I believe his world is getting back to normal. The happy, "easy E", as we call him is back.

He slept great last night (all through the night) and I am sure that's why. It's been months since that happened.

As far as milestones this month, our little man is almost crawling. I can't believe how big he thinks he is. I guess he sees the other two and wants to do what they are doing, but I am tempted to push him down when he tries that crawling action. Not cool for a 6 month old. He's not trying to sit on his own yet and we haven't tried solids yet. He grabs at everything and is actually very coordinated. He did not get his great hand-eye coordination from me, that's for sure.

Here are some pictures of the precious fella:

And a few of the other two cuties:

Gospel Powered Parenting, Ch.1

I LOVE this book.

I am not one to just swallow a book whole, but this one I did and will continue to.

This is the ultimate parenting book. I love Shepherding a Child's Heart and it is my old favorite, but I think this book is so foundational that it wins out. Every chapter in this book brought me back to the Gospel and seeing all aspects of parenting in light of the cross, seeing ourselves in view of God's character and His great mercy toward us.

The author, William Farley, talks often about the importance of the father on your children. As a matter of fact, much of the book is directed specifically to the father. He says this,

"The common denominator between success and failure seems to be the spiritual depth and sincerity of the parents, especially the spiritual depth and sincerity of the father."

Farley says we "need the grace that comes to (us) through the Gospel" since parenting is difficult and because we are imperfect. I have often wondered how people raise children without the Lord. I have so many days where I just want to give up...I think I would despair if I didn't have God to turn to...if I didn't have a refuge.

God is sovereign but he uses "means" (parents) to reach our children. Holding God's sovereignty and man's responsibility in tension is what Farley emphasizes in the first chapter. He says, "It is fatal to presume upon God's sovereignty by neglecting parental faithfulness. Yet it is also a mistake to assume that it all depends on us."

He also takes a stab at those who shelter their children from the world and taking a defensive standpoint when instead he says we should take the offense and equip our children to overcome the world. He says it is our job as parents to give our children a God-centered worldview by "going after their hearts."

A few questions he asked and I had to ask myself:

What assumptions have affected my approach to parenting? (am I assuming parenting should be easy, am I assuming God is sovereign and I am responsible and holding those two in tension, am I pursuing my childrens' hearts and making the Gospel attractive, am I assuming my children are believers just because they do or say the right thing, is my house child-centered or God-centered)

Which pressures from our culture make these assumptions difficult to believe or apply?

What do you think? Have you learned or are you learning this through your parenting journey?

Happy Birthday to him...

to the one who jumps vigorously...

to the one who samples lots of concoctions...

to the one who "catches" butterflies...

to the one who consents to my decorating whims...

to the one who loves and gives and serves his heart out...

yeah, you. Plus 28.

Happy Birthday.

We love you.