Happy Easter!

What a wonderful day we had! After Easter baskets and a great church service this morning, we went to my dad's house for Easter lunch & an egg hunt. The weather was just perfect and our children were healthy (quite an accomplishment for us around Easter time!). The kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousins, looking for eggs, and just being rowdy. My stepmom starts gearing up for the Easter egg hunt months in advance, and she really outdid herself this year. It was a really nice, fun day.

Coloring Eggs

The kids enjoyed coloring Easter eggs today. Tyler was much more thoughtful about it this year. He spent a lot of time using the white wax pencil to mark designs on the eggs and a lot of time considering what colors he wanted to use. Danielle is still pretty much in the drop & plop phase.


We made the Easter story cookies before bed tonight. I think a lot of the symbolism is still beyond them, but it was still a good opportunity to talk about the real reason we celebrate Easter.



I worried so much around Christmas about telling the kids the truth about Santa. I thought I was out of the woods for another year once Christmas was past. But, Danielle was so upset tonight because she thought a giant, smiling, furry rabbit (like the one she saw at the mall) was going to come into our house while we were sleeping tonight that I finally pulled her aside and tried to explain that we are really the Easter bunny (but it's our secret). Ron was a little disappointed because he's afraid the kids will figure out the truth about Santa if they know about the Easter bunny. Tyler only guessed what I told Danielle but declared it was simply untrue. After all, "how would we get all that stuff then?" I'm not sure Danielle really understood either. After I told her, she got an excited look on her face, headed to Ron's closet, and said "Where's your bunny suit?"

Paper Mache Eggs, Part II

Although Danielle enjoyed sticking her hands in the paper mache paste the first day, I couldn't convince her to do it again. The eggs just weren't hard enough with one layer of paper, though, so Ron was kind enough to help me put a second layer of paper on the eggs. The situation was pretty funny: I was trying to create a fun, creative activity for the kids yet there sat Ron and I at 9:30 one evening, up to our elbows in flour/water goop! I think we'll save any future paper mache crafts for school art classes.

Anyway, yesterday we put a base coat of paint on the eggs and today we decorated them. The kids enjoyed painting them (and Tyler thought it was really cool when we popped the balloons and pulled them out). Danielle and I also decorated the sliding glass doors with some Easter/spring pictures this afternoon.

Tyler's 1/2 Birthday

Tyler's 1/2 birthday is really this coming Friday, but we decided to celebrate today for a couple reasons. First, Danielle went to a friend's house to play after school, so that gave Tyler & I some time alone. Second, I didn't really want all that cake right before Easter because we're making Easter cookies and are sure to have lots of Easter goodies from the bunny and at my dad's.

We had a really good day! Tyler and I rarely have more than a couple hours a week alone together. (He is on spring break this week.) After we dropped Danielle off at school, we enjoyed breakfast at McDonalds. Then we went to the toy store where he got to pick out a toy (using his saved Christmas money). By the time we got out of the toy store, the rain had stopped and we decided to visit the zoo. We hurried home to pack our lunches and then headed over to the zoo. Since the forecast called for 100% chance of rain all day, there was no one else at the zoo! Other than employees, we only saw maybe 6-8 other people. It was very private and very nice. The old man running the carousel took great joy in giving us an extra long ride probably because we were the only "customers" he'd had all day! Tyler had a lot of freedom to really study everything and even be silly without getting in anyone else's way.



Tonight after dinner we enjoyed Tyler's cake. We still only sang half the birthday song and gave him 6 1/2 candles, but I did make a whole cake. Tyler requested a whole cake, reasoning a half cake just wasn't enough. It's hard to argue with logic like that, especially when the request is for chocolate!

Easter Story Cookies (to be made the night before Easter)

My aunt gave this recipe to me several years ago (before Danielle was born) and when Tyler was still too young to appreciate the significance. I am looking forward to trying it with them this year. I pulled it out to reference while making my grocery list this evening and thought I would go ahead and post it here in case anyone else wants to try it. (Please keep in mind that I have not tried it yet, either. I am just copying the recipe I intend to follow.)

You need:

• 1 cup whole pecans
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• wooden spoon
• tape
• Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (This is important - don't wait until you're half done w/the recipe)

Place the pecans in zipper bag & 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 into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, he was given the 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 & 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 the sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalms 34:8 and John 3:15.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12-15 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 & John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. 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 Easter morning, open the oven & give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface & take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

Update

To finish off Right to Read Week, the kids were supposed to go to school in western wear today. This was as western as we could round up, but Tyler was pleased with it.

He said there were only 3 kids in his class who actually completed the reading log. I think he was proud of himself for being one of the 3. They got a little certificate (that did NOT say I love books) and a 5 Little Monkeys book.

Learning to Read (a little more bragging)

I mentioned last week that Tyler started an accelerated reading program at school. I had to laugh the first day he picked out a book to bring home. When I asked him what he picked, he said, “I don’t know. I can’t read the cover.” Turns out it wasn’t a common word, so he wasn’t truly in over his head.

He chose Grizzwold, by Syd Hoff. Hoff is the guy who wrote the Danny the Dinosaur and Sammy the Seal books I read when I was little, but I never read this one (that I remember). This book was about a big bear whose forest was chopped down, causing him to search for another home. It was 64 pages long, and Tyler insisted on reading the entire book in one sitting! He just had to know what was going to happen to that bear. I only helped him with a handful of words, which I thought was amazing.

His class is also celebrating Right to Read Week this week. Last Friday he brought home a paper to keep track of all the books he reads for one week. The note attached to it said if the paper was completed by this Friday (tomorrow), he would get a prize. Tyler mumbled the prize would probably be something exciting such as a sign that says “I love books”, but he has been persistent about filling that paper up anyway. (Our neighbor thought it would probably be a bookmark, which is probably more accurate and equally as exciting to a 6 year old boy.) We have only written down the books Tyler has read by himself, and tonight he finished his 20th book!

When my brother was over for dinner the other night, Tyler read a book to him. My brother said he remembers how annoying I was when I was learning to read. I insisted on reading everything I saw. It seems like Tyler is doing that, too. Signs at the grocery store, street signs, things in the house, things on my computer (over my shoulder); it’s all fair game. Tonight he was examining the paper mache balloons we made earlier this week and was apparently reading the newspaper strips. He suddenly put the balloon down and asked, “What is this about school shooting? What does that mean?” I guess we need to be careful about what we leave out now.

I remember how lost I felt when we were in Japan and I couldn’t read any of the signs. Once in awhile we would see a sign with the English translation, and the words I recognized seemed to jump out from all the garbled letters and symbols around it, suddenly making sense. I wonder if that’s how people just learning to read feel. Random lines and shapes are suddenly recognized as letters. Then one day the seemingly miscellaneous letters suddenly come into focus as a word, and it all makes sense.

A nice thought, I suppose, but probably not really how Tyler feels. Knowing how to read just makes it easier for him to read the instructions for his video games and ultimately means Mom will probably expect a little more out of him.

Hallelujah

I initially took this video because I was so amused at Danielle's pronunciation of "hallelujah". When I watched it again, though, I noticed just how "girly" it was and how well it captured Danielle's personality (something she certainly has plenty of!).

A Wee Little Man

The best time to talk to Tyler about his day at school is the first 15 minutes after he gets off the bus. After that bits and pieces slowly come out the rest of the day. Danielle’s window of opportunity is usually the first 5 minutes after I pick her up, assuming I remember to turn the tv off before she gets in the van. After that first 5 minutes, she doesn’t usually have much to add until Ron gets home. Then he gets about 2 minutes. Sometimes I catch her singing a song she learned at school while coloring. That’s about all we get out of her.

She was pretty good about telling me about her day today. It’s fun to hear her retell the day’s events from her perspective and without Tyler interrupting. I especially enjoyed this part of our conversation today:

Me: What was your Jesus story about today?

Danielle: It was about zucchini.

Me: Zucchini? I don’t know that story. What was it about?

Danielle: It was about this person who was really really tiny.

Oh! That Zucchini!

Paper Mache Eggs

I have wanted to attempt paper mache with the kids (yep, I'm nuts), so I thought a nice, easy project would be to make giant Easter eggs.

After seeking advice and looking up recipes on the internet, I decided not to spend any money on a project that may or may not work and opted to make my own paper mache paste. I used a mixture of water & flour. I don't know how well it will harden yet, but it was easy enough to make & work with, and was very easy to wash off our hands when we were done. I don't intend to store these after Easter, so I wasn't worried about our projects getting moldy either.

Turns out Tyler likes sticking his hands in paper mache paste about as much as he likes sticking his hand in pumpkin guts - not one bit! He tried one strip and declared he'd had enough. Danielle really enjoyed it, though. Here are some pictures from our first layer. I'll post more when we get to the painting phase.

More Snow Pictures

The day after the blizzard (yesterday) was a beautiful, sunny day. Most everything was still shut down, so it was a good day for people to starting digging out. While Ron shoveled the mess leftover from the snow plows at the end of our driveway, the kids and I worked on a couple snow tunnels. After awhile our neighbors came out to play, too, and we all attempted a snowman. (The kids were saying "snowballs" in the group picture.)

The sun was out again today and temperatures got up to around 40, causing the snow to start melting. Things are going to get very very muddy over the next few days. Guess I'll hold off on mopping the floors (like I was going to anyway!).

Today's Blizzard

We set a record for snowfall today with the most snow in almost 100 years. It was hard to get an accurate measurement because there was so much drifting and blowing, but we think we got around 16" at our house. Ron and I always complain we never really get a good snowfall. Today we finally did!


It was really bad this morning - very windy and very cold. (I guess that's why it's called a blizzard.) We went out to shovel this morning because Ron opted not to start shoveling last night and was afraid he'd be too far behind if he didn't get started. Of course, he started behind. In some places, there was already over a foot of snow on the drive. He had to shovel 2 more times today and probably removed another 4 to 6".




The kids like the snow but I think they were surprised at how difficult it was to walk (because it was so deep) and how cold it was. When we went out this morning, it felt like 4 degrees with the windchill. It warmed up to 8 or so when we went out later. Normally I don't take the kids out when it's this cold, but it was really hard to pass up this much snow!


Ron thought it would be fun to make snow ice cream, so we looked up a recipe and found we had everything on hand. Ron remembered making snow ice cream with his grandma when he was younger. Ours turned out pretty good, but a few bites were more than enough. As Ron said, the snow just isn't quite as pure now as it was 30+ years ago. The kids enjoyed making and trying it, though.


Even the goofy dog enjoyed the snow. Once she got tired of leaping through the snow, she decided to roll around in it. The kids laughed themselves silly the first time they saw her do this.






















As we were eating dinner tonight, the snow suddenly stopped and the sun broke through the clouds. It was beautiful. For the third time today, we suited up the kids and headed out for a few minutes. It wasn't nearly as windy this time and the kids had a really good time.




















After all the playing and shoveling, I think we will all sleep well tonight albeit with one less hour. (Don't forget to set your clocks ahead!)