Bloggy Break

I'm dropping out until Monday so that we can concentrate on preparing for and celebrating Easter. We'll catch up on the Love Dare stuff next week. Have a great Easter!

Works for Me Wednesday: Easter Traditions

We are a Christian household. As such, we like the Easter bunny and all, but concentrate more of our energies on the death and resurrection of Christ. Oh, it's not to say we don't do the bunny. We have Easter baskets-- actually each one of us get a basket. I hide the plastic eggs. (Mom hid the real ones when we were kids, kept the eggs out on the counter and still does and somehow I remember many Easters with the "stomach flu." Could it have been a good bout of food poisoning?) We do have traditions in between all that, though.

1. We do our Resurrection Eggs. I admit that I bought the real set at Berean many years ago. I've know folks to make them on their own. Either way, it is something that we do with K- throughout the week, but we also read them at my family's Easter Egg Hunt.2. I make Resurrection Cookies. Here's the recipe. I admit that I tweak it just a hair. I don't like nuts. Mini chocolate chips are a good substitute for us.

For this recipe you will need:
1 c. whole pecans or mini chocolate chips
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 c. sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
The Holy Bible

Preheat Oven to 300 F. (this is important - don't wait till you are half way done with the recipe!) Place pecans or mini chocolate chips in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when 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 this 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 that and He wants us to love Him as well.

Read Psalms 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 broken nuts/chips. 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 cookie 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 Sunday morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On Resurrection morning, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matthew 28:1-9. Christ has risen and is alive!

3. We like to read the Legend of the Three Trees.

4. We also love to watch The Veggie Tales An Easter Carol.Oh, and because I was a little freaked out by the Conficker Worm thing last week, I wasn't online Wednesday to post my WFMW to the Mr. Linky. Here's my last week's backwards Wednesday post.

Have a wonderful Easter celebration!

Tales from the Trenches: Poof! And they're gone.

I decided to do the quarterly archive of my photos. As I went, I double checked that they took on the disk and systematically erased not only the photos, but the folder that they were in, in the Kodak Easy Share Program. The disk got to what I thought was the end, I pulled out another disk and continued to save. Prior to clearing the recycle bin, I decided to check the disk. There was nothing there.

UGH!

Now, I knew that the pictures were still there. But, I had a disk that had photos saved on it from the past full year.

DOUBLE UGH!

So, I went into the recycle bin, hit restore and voila! They were back. But! Where the heck were they? I'm not really good with the computer. I admit it. I turn it on. I can put programs on. I can run the virus protection, but if it gets anywhere even slightly toeing the line of nitty gritty, I'm lost.

Hubs saved me though. (Thanks, Hubs.) He found the pictures in some folders somewhere. I proceeded to sit for a couple of hours and save all the photos of the last year-- again.

Lesson learned. Don't use the DVD+R like the neighbor said. Just use the regular CD-R. I have no idea what happened, but the disk was blank. Totally blank.

However, it does bring me to an important point. Make back-up copies of your photos from time to time. I have a few friends who have lost many photos (not just you, Jamie) because they weren't saved on something else. In fact, my one friend had a virus/worm attack her computer so badly that when it did check out for one final time, it zapped everything, including photos of the first 4 years of her 4 1/2 year old's life and the thumb drive that she had 30 pages worth of paper writing on. Nothing was left. She wept.

Back it up, my friends. Put a copy in your fire box.

This PSA brought to you by your largely computer illiterate bloggy friend.

Day 18: Love seeks to understand. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding. -- Proverbs 3:13

Prepare a special dinner at home, just for the two of you. The dinner can be as nice as you prefer. Focus this time on getting to know your spouse better, perhaps in areas you've rarely talked about. Determine to make it an enjoyable evening for you and your mate.

Picture Monday: The Easter Egg Hunt

If you look really close, our front yard is dotted in colorful Easter eggs. I hid the eggs, a little harder than usual, but when your yard is 40' x 120', your house and driveway are plunked in the middle, it doesn't leave a whole lot of extra room. After a while, you give up on hiding places (because frankly, there aren't anymore) and you do the creative flip the eggs through the air and they land where they land.

Oh look! I "hid" them in the tree!

I hid them in the daffodils.

The backyard is dotted in Easter eggs, as well. Have I mentioned that the kids never find all the eggs and I usually find them through August?

Then there's K-. The girl managed to get 2 full buckets of eggs. I don't know how she did it! She is the youngest and I think that she got the most. She was a girl on a mission, though. She was out for eggs. She didn't care what anyone else was doing. That's the key!

Our day was beautiful! We were able to send the kids out to play in the backyard, which was great. Our house is little, the kids aren't getting any littler and they are all fairly high energy. We let them go and burn some energy together. We did have a chili lunch and decorated cupcakes in between time. Here's to hoping that I sent the kids home tired.

We had a really great day! It was in the 60's Sunday. We're under a snow watch today. Eeek!

Day 17: Love promotes intimacy. He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. -- Proverbs 17:9 NIV

Determine to guard your mate's secrets (unless they are dangerous to them or to you) and to pray for them. Talk with your spouse, and resolve to demonstrate love in spite of these issues. Really listen to them when they share personal thoughts and struggles with you. Make them feel safe.

K-'s Annual Bamily Easter Egg Hunt

No, it isn't a typo. My child replaces her "f" sound with "b." She has always done that and the title has just kind of stuck.

Anyway. K-'s siblings are coming over today! They are! We are having the annual Easter Egg hunt. I filled the eggs, and admit that it took me about 3 hours to do. There are 375 of them. I counted. So what's in them? Oh, things I've picked up over the last few months. Little kaleidoscopes, bouncy balls, stickers, tattoos, rings, maze games, pop-up flowers, rings with lip gloss in them, hair ties, army men, sets of jacks, spinny tops, erasers, little pastel colored binder clips, Sixlets (a favorite of mine!), Sponge Bob Easter crabby patties, gum balls (individually wrapped), Starburst, and Cry Baby Sour Gum Balls.

We all get together, have a good hunt (but they always miss some, so I usually find them through August!), go in and shell the eggs for loot (yes, I save the eggs and reuse them), then have a nice lunch together. What am I making? My Sweet Kielbasa Chili. I picked the ingredients up for it on Friday, have pre-cooked some things and have it cooking now. It's good stuff. Since I end up making a vat of it (or at least my largest crockpot full), I really need to make it for a lot of people. I can't eat that much of it on my own in just a few days time. My heartburn alone would beg to differ. Besides, Hubs can't eat it. So sad. He'll have a soy burger.

We'll be watching the movie "Easter Bunny is Coming To Town," as well as decorating their own cupcakes and having a bunny building Play Doh contest.

So, think of me on Sunday afternoon as I have 5 extra kids with their egg collecting buckets excitedly descending upon our home. Remember, I'm used to only one.

It'll be so much fun. We can't wait! K- has been jumping up and down for days in eager anticipation. She loves her BAMILY!

** I forgot to add-- family you ask? K- has a sibling relationship with 3 of her older siblings. J- is 9, L- is 7 and D- is 6. We consider the sibs of J-, L- and D- siblings as well, so we have R- who is 9- and Z- who I believe is 8. Yes, the branches on K-'s family tree definitely branch out a little farther than the general most, but we're good with that! :)

Day 16: Love intercedes. Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. -- 3 John 2

Begin praying today for your spouse's heart. Pray for three specific areas where you desire for God to work in your spouse's life and in your marriage.