Easter At Our House

Decorating Eggs

Easter Basket Goodies

Easter Morning~ Baths for everyone and sweet new Easter clothes (Thomas was napping)

Pull out the sparkly dishes (for the first time in about 9 years!)

He's Alive!

Lessons From Today

First, some background...

- I recently heard that if a person would just leave 3 bites on their plate at each meal, that they'd lose 10 pounds in a year. I've been trying to do this. It's amazing how I usually do not miss those 3 bites at ALL!
- I've been exploring our music channels on cable recently. It's so nice to be able to turn on some music in the background while I'm doing chores, and not have to listen through commercials.
- The whole Easter egg and Easter bunny thing has been bothering me a bit lately. The resurrection of Jesus is really what we're all about, and it seems that all the kids care about is the candy. I've been trying to figure out a way to make it all work together.


Now that you know all that, my little lessons from today will make more sense:
1. I have terrible will-power when it comes to food. I almost cried as I forced myself to STEP AWAY from the fresh guacamole and nachos I made myself for lunch. But sure enough...after a few minutes my mind and taste buds had moved on to new things (like a nice piece of dark chocolate...hey I never said I'd give up chocolate!).

2. Thomas loves Reggae music! He also really loves to dance - he's loved is since he was a day old. Back then he'd fall asleep in my arms as we swayed around the kitchen. Now he stares at me, wide-eyed and smiling as we bop around to the music.

3. Along with the 3-bite diet I've put myself on...I should also add a daily dose of "dance with smiling 18 pound baby". It's a workout!

4. Discuss the importance of a holiday with the children, but do it while they're not eating their holiday candy. The kids were eating candy from the eggs they got at school today. I thought it would be a good chance to talk to them about the holiday.

"Hey, why do you guys think we do stuff with eggs on Easter?"
"I dunno. Why? Hey, I want that red jellybean!"
"Well, what comes out of eggs?"
"Candy!"
"No, I mean...when an animal like a chicken lays and egg, what comes out of that egg?"
"A baby chicken?"
"Yes, that's right. A new chicken...a new life...comes out of that egg."
"Yuck. Black jellybeans are gross."
"So what happens on Easter?"
"We get candy!"
"Yes, but what else? What about Jesus?"
"Jesus rose from the dead on Easter."
"Yes! So Jesus got new life on Easter. And what happens to us when we ask Jesus into our hearts?"
"He comes."
"Good. Yes, and what does Jesus do when he comes into our hearts?"
"He just stays there. He's with us then. Hey! No! That pink squishy thing is mine!"
"Yes, he is. But he also does some cleaning, right? Our hearts are kind of a mess before Jesus comes in, and Jesus cleans them up for us. He gives us a new heart. He gives us new life."
"I'm thirsty. The black jellybean taste is still in my mouth."
"So the new life that Jesus gives us is sorta like the new life that comes out of eggs. And that's why we do stuff with eggs on Easter!"
"Uh huh."
(pause)
"So now can you tell me? Can you tell me why we do stuff with eggs on Easter?"
"Why?"
"I just told you why!"
"'Cause you can put candy in them?"
"NO! The new life remember?"
"New life? Um. My candy is kinda crunchy. I couldn't really hear you when you were talking about that part."
SIGH

I guess maybe we'll go over it again while we're painting our eggs this weekend. But the Easter bunny? And why a bunny has eggs? I just don't know what to do with that one...

On This Good Friday...

...Thank you, Lord, for loving me so much.

Me & Coffee...We Just Don't Get Along

Ahhh, coffee. I love how the stuff smells. Sometimes I like to just pull the big tin of coffee out of the pantry and give it a big whiff.


I've never really been a coffee drinker though. My first real experience with coffee was when I was in high school. I had a student internship at a local high tech company, and coffee drinking was a way of life. I decided to give it a try. I loaded it up with chocolate, sugar, an cream. I actually enjoyed how it tasted! I had several cups, and felt like quite the real grown up sitting there with my cup of coffee.


And then...I learned something very important about coffee. There is a LOT of caffeine in coffee. And do you know what caffeine is? It is a very...I mean VERY...effective diuretic. Especially for a young girl who is not a coffee drinker. I spent that day...well...not being a very productive employee. That's enough about that!


My relationship with coffee would take yet another turn during our first year of marriage. We hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house (maybe Christmas? can't remember...must have blocked it out). There was the two of us and 5 other adults...hubby's mom, grandparents, brother, and sister-in-law. We had a nice dinner despite the hideous gravy and dry turkey. I gained a new appreciation for my own mom and her amazing ability to put a spectacular dinner together.


One thing that I was really proud of was my pies...homemade...from scratch...beautiful and delicious! But everyone knows you have to have coffee with your pie, right? I had thought of everything - even the coffee. I set the coffee to brewing while I cut the pies and whipped the cream. It was going to be perfect!


All I can say is that hubby's family is very gracious. They choked down that coffee with their pie without a word.


It wasn't until it was time to do the dishes that I realized that something was wrong. I went to clean out the filter and grounds from the coffee maker....but there was nothing there! Sure, there was a filter...but it was totally empty. I was baffled.


"Hey, I thought that there was usually coffee grounds left over after brewing coffee?!"

"There should be!"

"Well, there's not anything here!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Look for yourself!"

"What the...well, let me see the coffee you used."

"It's this stuff" (I hand over the container of coffee)

"Daiquiri...this is instant coffee!"


I wish I could say that I immediately understood what that meant, but it took someone explaining the difference between normal coffee grounds and instant coffee. Ah, put the coffee maker away. I'm not doing that again for a while.

But coffee just will NOT leave me alone. A lot of people drink coffee. For a long time, I cited ignorance (I don't drink it, and don't know how to make it) for not brewing a pot of coffee. But then we started hosting a weekly Bible study at our house, and the coffee maker came out again. I finally figured out how to make coffee that most people seem alright about drinking.


Every now and then, though, the coffee gods have to show me who's boss. My brother and sister-in-law are in town again (ironically, the same couple who witnessed the Instant Coffee Fiasco of '97). I went to brew coffee for them before they came downstairs. I don't know how it happened, but I ended up dumping a giant Costco-sized container of coffee on my kitchen floor and rug.





Coffee is of the devil, I tell ya. The devil! (But I admit, it's pretty yummy with some caramel creamer)

Fun St. Patrick's Day Treats

( Actually much yummier than they look!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I have to admit, this is one of those holidays that I really never paid much attention to...until I had kids. Boy whoever said that kids change everything - they weren't kidding!

In fact, I didn't even really know what it was about (besides all things green, of course). I found THIS, which told me everything and more.

In keeping with the green spirit of things today, I made some fun snacks for Clara's preschool class...green rice-crispy treats! They were simple to make - just mix some green food coloring in with the melted butter and marshmallows before dumping in the cereal. I also sprinkled them with some green colored cookie sugar, which made it a little extra special.

And I don't know...I was in a mood last night...and I decided to wrap them each up like a little present. I wrapped them in waxed paper, and tied a green or white ribbon around each "package". This was a simple way to dress up one lone rice-crispy treat, and was a fun surprise for Clara.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of making these our "all occasion" treat. RC treats are so cheap and easy, and such a fun project to do with the kids. Let's see...pink for Easter, orange for Halloween, red for 4th of July...I''m going to make a name for myself as the "Rice Krispy Treat Queen" yet!

Here's a picture of my little creations from last night:

Lenten Sacrifice

First things first...a confession...I didn't sacrifice anything for Lent this year. If I had, I wouldn't be writing this post! I'll explain why in a minute.

I grew up Catholic. Lent, for my little girl brain, was a time of eating fish sticks on Fridays and wondering what sort of goodies I'd find in my Easter basket. I know...not exactly what Lent is supposed to be about. But it's the truth.

I remember Palm Sunday - not for the message in church, but for the little braids and crosses I'd try to make after church with my palm branch. Oh yeah, and for the getting sprinkled with holy water by the priest.

I remember Easter Sunday. The frilly dresses, the Easter basket hay that stuck to everything in sight (for the next 6 months), the smell of hard-boiled eggs, coloring eggs with my family, and the chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

One year was particularly memorable because our dog got into my Easter basket of goodies while we were at church. I found everything that wasn't edible strewn all over my bedroom...and every morsel of jelly bean and chocolate was gone.

My first reaction was "Oh no! The dog's going to die of chocolate poisoning!"

My second reaction was "Oh no! There's no chocolate left for me!"

My third reaction was "I hope the blasted dog dies of chocolate poisoning!"

I'm so spiritual.

And every year, I "gave something up" for Lent. Not because I wanted to or even understood why I was doing it, but because I knew it was something that was expected of me. By who? I don't really know. My parents certainly never had any "must sacrifice for Lent" rule. It must have been that unspoken, slightly uncertain, yet very real Catholic guilt :)

Somewhere along the line, the real lessons and messages of Lent started to sink in. I began to understand what the season of Lent is about. I began to think more and more about what Jesus went through in those days and weeks leading up to his time on the cross.

I would hold that palm branch in my hand on Palm Sunday, and I'd close my eyes and imagine a branch very similar to the one in my hand being walked on. Walked on by a lowly donkey, which carried my Savior on it's back.

And I would sacrifice something for Lent that was a little more painful for me. It was usually something pretty silly and superficial like a particular food, or a particular TV show. But I always tried to choose something that stung just a little bit when I missed it. I wanted the regular reminder that this was a time to be preparing my heart and head for Easter.

And I would always keep it private. I didn't want my Lenten sacrifice to become a "woe is me" type of thing (that's what I was referring to when I said that I wouldn't be writing this post if I had given something up.)

And now I'll stop rambling about my memories, and get to the reason I started this post in the first place!

There was one season of Lent that was so special to me. I learned a lesson during that season that has stuck with me to this day.

I had given up chocolate. I was an adult, and therefore eating chocolate whenever I darn well pleased! Giving it up was tough on me. I REALLY missed my friend, I mean chocolate!

Well, there came a time when I forgot that I had given up chocolate, and had a piece. I immediately thought, "Oh well, no big deal. I guess I blew it...back to chocolate!" That was my pattern: sacrifice, make a mistake, totally give up.

Remember me? I'm the real spiritual one.

But there was something different that year. I went a day or two - I ate chocolate like I had never given it up - but I felt a strange twinge every time. My conscience wasn't clear. I wasn't enjoying the chocolate. Well...I was enjoying it...but not with that totally guilt-free type of enjoyment.

It was as if the Spirit was saying "Hey! We had a deal, you and me!"

One day it dawned on me...I consider myself a very trustworthy and loyal and dependable person. If I tell you that I will (or will not) do something...I will do everything- EVERY thing- in my power to keep my word. You can count on me.

So why didn't this wonderful dependability of mine apply to my relationship with God? I realized that until that very moment...until I really thought about God as someone that I am in a real and personal relationship with...until then, I don't know that God was REAL to me. He was sort of this nebulous cloud of spirituality and love...but not entirely real and up-close-and-personal for me.

In that moment he became real. He became up-close-and-personal. He became someone who mattered to me. He became someone that I needed to keep my word with. He became my friend. He became my LORD.

I confessed to him that I hadn't been real with him ("I know"). I asked his forgiveness ("already done"). I renewed my desire to sacrifice something during Lent so that I could regularly contemplate what he had sacrificed for me. And I'll tell ya what...I stuck to that sacrifice. Not because I'm so holy or good. Not even because I wanted to remember what Lent was all about.

I stuck with it because I made a promise to someone who matters to me. Someone who is real. Someone who is disappointed and hurt when I don't follow through on my promises to him.

Someone who I love. ("I love you too")

An Ode to Hallmark...I Mean Chocolate...I Mean St. Valentine?!?

What the heck is this day all about, again?

Oh yeah, LOVE!

Ahhh, V Day (was going to call it VD, but that sounded more like something a person might catch if they were very lonely and not very careful on Valentine's Day!)

I have sweet memories of Vday as a kid. Dad always got "his girls" chocolates in those little heart shaped boxes. I can very vividly remember the sound of the packaging as I opened it, and the smell of the chocolate when the lid came off. And the mystery! What would you find with each bite? So fun!

And then, of course, there was the Vday celebration at school. It's fun to compare notes with my hubby. He was the 5th grade boy who was forced to give a Valentine to every person in his class. He'd very carefully choose the most bland cards to give the girls - didn't want to send the wrong message! He inevitably had some poor, lovesick girl following him around trying to kiss him for a month afterward.

And me? Well, I was the 5th grade girl who could not WAIT to see which Valentine that cute boy chose just for her. It was obvious by the very romantic words "Happy Valentines Day" on the card he gave her that it was Love...true love...must...kiss...that...boy!

How many times was my heart broken? Oh, at least 643 times...by age 12.

But then...then I found my One And Only.

He was IT.

He was the man who swept me off my feet.

He was the one whose voice turned my insides to jello.

He was the one who made me feel safe and warm with those broad shoulders and strong hands.

He was the one whose name I would take.

He was the man who would father my children.

And his face.

Oh, his face.

I mean really...how could I possibly resist this man?

"Gimme a kiss, baby!"

The kids take after him, don't you think?

Yes, that's really him! Did I mention that my One and Only also has a killer sense of humor? Oh that man can make me laugh! We've been together for over 12 years and he still surprises me!

Anyway...Here are some images from our house today: Happy Valentine's Day!

I stayed up late last night making heart shaped cut out cookies for my sweeties. I sandwiched two together with strawberry frosting in the middle. Then I topped them with cream cheese frosting, sprinkles, and initials. So fun! I can't wait to surprise the kids with them :)

We had some cookies left over. Hubby and I decorated them together. He made my favorite..the L+D...awwww.

Can you guess which chocolate, I mean cookie, I decorated?

Can you guess who did the super-duper frosting one? Yep, that would be hubby! By the way...does anyone know what "duper" means? I mean really, what a strange word!

My boys...be still my little heart!

And here's a little love for my family in good ol' Wisconsin:

Have a great day everyone!

Homemade Valentines

I read this post recently, and thought it was a great idea!

I was thrilled to find a great deal on some cute pencils at Target this morning: 10 for .50 (yes, 50 cents!). I bought three packages, and had enough for both my kids' classes.

That's all I had to buy. I had the rest of the supplies I needed in my scrapping stuff...fun scissors, 2 sided tape, and fun paper. Clara got a kick out of helping. Ben was irritated that I didn't do it his way (which would have required a trip to the store for approximately 2 miles of tape, some special buttons, and rubber bands).

I'm happy with how they turned out...and I finished them a whole 3 DAYS before Valentine's Day!!

New Blog Title???

I'm feeling compelled to clarify my header a bit. I hope it's obvious, but the description of the woman in my header is who I aspire to be...NOT who I am today!

Ahhh...in fact, lately I've been thinking that this blog should be titled "Call Her B?&#*y" instead!

I think the holidays have taken it out of me. Or I should say, I've let it take it out of me. I'm short with my kids, irritable toward my husband, resentful of no "me time", and just plain TIRED.

It's times like this that I realize just how small and weak I am. I'm sure thankful that I can rely on His strength and grace. I could never be good enough just by trying! He is so good to love me anyway...I hope the rest of my family does too!

Christmas At Our House

Christmas was a wonderful time for our little family. Here are some of my favorite memories:

The kids decorated cookies. I decided to offer *zero* artistic input this year. In other words, I would not tell them to put fewer sprinkles. They could sprinkle to their little hearts were content. Can you tell?

This is the way my little Thomas spent most of the holiday season...in the front carrier. How else could I clean the house, shop, bake, AND smell his fuzzy little head all day long? I'm so thankful for my little snuggler.

Santa was here! I admit, I'm one of those "Toys R Us" shoppers at the holidays. But...we paid cash for everything as Dave Ramsey would recommend. We put money aside all year to make sure we can pay cash. No after Christmas bills for us! I really admire moms like Meredith from Like Merchant Ships. That woman can shop!

He left some! Santa left a drop of milk and a bite of cookie behind. At first, Samantha seemed concerned...but she felt OK about it after popping the little bit of cookie in her mouth :)

Don't you just love getting a reaction like this?! Needless to say, Clara loved her new teddy. Her favorite gift though, was her new guitar. She promptly decorated it with stickers to make it her own. Any musical talent our kids might have is a gift straight from the Lord...certainly not an inheritance from me or their dad! (although I heard Luke singing "Jesus Loves Me" to Samantha last night...he's been holding out on me...he really has a beautiful voice.)

Ben's big gift this year was a GIANT airplane made of some sort of styrofoam type material. Was pretty inexpensive, but lots of fun!

Don't have words for this one...isn't he sweet?


Samantha's big gift this year was a doll house. She loves to pretend. Here she is peeking through the front door of her new house.

We all enjoyed having Daddy around more. We hate it when he has to go to work! He's such a fun Daddy. He's reading the gang one of Samantha's new books here.

Did I mention that my husband is wonderful? I got to escape all by myself for a couple of hours on the 26th to hunt for bargains. I found this cute winter decoration for only a few dollars at Michael's. Gotta love those "70% OFF" signs!

The Best Ornament

I just had to share this...one of my most proud and precious moments as a mom just happened. Clara pulled out the new art supplies she got from Grandma and Grandpa, and she selected a simple white paper and pencil. She studied that paper for a long time, and finally said, "Mommy, how do you spell 'Happy Birthday Jesus'?" She had a good start on it, then asked me to write it once she realized how many letters there would be ;) So we wrote it together.

Then, all on her own, she went to my drawer and cut a piece of string. She threaded it through the hole in her paper and asked Daddy to tie a knot for her. Then she simply and quietly placed it on our tree.

That little white paper and pencil note nearly brought me to tears! I hope Jesus takes as much joy in it as I do.

Clara is such a gift...

Christmas Jammies

Hey everyone! Only a few more days until Christmas...yikes, I have some shopping to do!

I just thought I'd quickly share this picture of Thomas in his Christmas jammies. They were a gift from my friend, Paula. How cute are they?! Thomas and I went to Ben's Christmas party at school yesterday. It was a "Polar Express" party, so all the kids got to wear their jammies to school. It was fun! The smiling picture is from that party.

Have a great weekend, all.

My New Best Friend!

My glue gun and I have become best buds lately! I've had so much fun decorating my house for Christmas using cuttings from our tree along with ribbon and used floral stuff I had in my craft room.

My first project was in our small bathroom - the bathroom that gets the most use when we have guests. I already have a wreath hanging in there - just small white flowers. I took it down and stuck pine branches and acorns in it. I didn't glue anything here because I want to be able to take it down after the holiday. I did glue together a little arrangement to spruce up the towels though. I was just hoping to make it look nice without spending any money...an added perk was how fresh it smells in that room with all the pine. Now, to just figure out how to help it survive with 3 little ones (not including their friends) using that bathroom every day!


(Sorry for the dark photos...light was just bad. I'll figure out PhotoShop one of these days!)

My second project was to make plain gift bags a little more special. I love pretty packages, and I was especially proud of these. Again...just clippings from our tree, a little ribbon, an occasional pine cone from my floral bin...and of course, glue!

Jesus In My Purse

My two year old Samantha just adores the nativity scene we put out for Christmas. She loves to take all the characters and line them up on the floor and just smile at them. She also likes to shuffle them around in the "manger" while mumbling under her breath...playing house I suppose. It's pretty sweet.

Well, this morning I caught her trying to take the baby Jesus ("Yeeyah" as she calls him) and put him in her little purple purse along with her "cool dude" shades and Batman phone. I'm working really hard to make sure that none of the figures from our nativity set is lost in the abyss that is our playroom, so I said, "No, Sammy. You can not put baby Jesus in your purse."

Did I really just utter those words?

After giggling to myself, I realized how profound those words really were. OK, well, maybe not profound...but interesting at least!

It got me thinking about how we so often try to "put Jesus in our purse". We try to put him in a nice tidy package that we can fully comprehend and understand. We try to define HIM...the great I AM, the Everlasting and Almighty Creator of the Universe...and it just can't be done!

As I contemplated all of this, I felt drawn to my Bible (I am so incredibly thankful that God put all the important stuff on paper for me!). I wanted to be reminded of who God is. Here are some of the words that blessed me this morning:

"In the beninning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end." Psalm 102:25-27

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Amen!

When I really try to get my brain around who He is and why He came...I just can't. In my humanity, I just can not fathom eternity. I can not fathom a being so marvelous that all He had to do was speak, and the universe was brought forth. I can not fathom a love so great as to bring God to earth to die for me. I can not fathom it, but I accept it. I accept that God just IS...He is who He is regardless of my inability to fully comprehend Him. As a wise friend once reminded me, (roughly quoting here) "If God is small enough for me to understand, He's not big enough for me to worship."

So I praise God today for being too big for me to understand. Jesus doesn't belong in my purse anyway...

Decking the Halls

This post is for all of you picture-hungry grandparents! We put up our tree and finished decorating it this past weekend. It was great fun! We're sticking with a fresh cut tree. The fake ones are more frugal and more tidy...but you just can't beat the smell of a fresh tree. And really...what's Christmas without needles all over the house, and then a clogged vacuum when you try to clean them up?!

Last year we put the discarded tree in our backyard after Christmas. It stayed there for a bit, and became nice shelter for the birds that enjoy our bird feeder. I'd like to do that again this year.

Isn't Thomas' itty bitty stocking the cutest? (not to mention his dimply smile!)

New Holiday Tradition

Last year after Thanksgiving I showed my big kids how to cut paper snowflakes. We had so much fun, that we just kept making them for hours. I decided at the last minute to tape them in our front windows. I was so happy with how they looked! We even had compliments from the neighbors (looks pretty from the inside too). It looks especially nice when it's starting to get dark outside and we have the lights on inside. What a frugal and unique way to decorate the house for the holidays!

So it's official...we did it again this year and we're calling it a Tradition with a capital "T". The kids still love it (they've been pestering me since June to do it again!). I'm looking forward to next year when Samantha will be old enough to use scissors and join in the fun.