When I'm With You

Last weekend, the girls and I went on a road trip with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to visit some beloved Aunties.

This is always a wonderful getaway for me as there are so many others around who are more than willing to jump in and help, providing me with a chance to unwind and relax a bit!

I generally unplug, too.

Very little computer time, no camera.

I do splurge a bit and enjoy the luxury of cable while I'm away...:D

But overall it's nice to take a break from everything!

I may have enjoyed it all a little too much because the rest of the week since getting back has been super lax.

We pretty much mosied through each day - visiting the library, the park, Walmart (yes, around here we get excited about trips to Walmart!).

It's been wonderful!

It wasn't totally unproductive as I did do some major decluttering in preparation for a yard sale but even that was delightful since I LOVE organizing our space!

Next week is going to be much different.

Back to school for the girls, back to an exercise regimen for me.

Blah to exercise.

But Jillian beckons and at 3 months post partum, it is time.

Hubby has already been forewarned of the grumpies that will likely ensue.

Anyhow, that's still 2 sleeps away so let's not dwell on it, OK??

Instead, here is a song I just love and pics taken by Aunties last weekend!

(Plus one of Tait from the science fair that just melts me!)

Enjoy!

When I hold you in my arms, Love
Something changes
It's the strangest feeling
The things that used to matter
They don't matter to me

When I see you
And you're smiling
How my heart aches
So full it is about to break
You make me believe in love

I could never count all the ways
That you change me, Baby
Every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue
When I'm with you

 

When I hear you, and you're crying
It resonates, Dear
In a place I didn't know was there
You make me believe in love

 

I could never count all the ways
That you change me, Baby
Every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue
When I'm with you

Beautiful baby
You're sweeter than strawberry pie
Just like the morning
Your smile brings the sunshine

 

I could never count all the ways
That you change me, Baby
Every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue
When I'm with you

I could never count all the ways
That you change me, Baby
Every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue
When I'm with you

Picturesque Paques!

I've already told you about our egg dying adventures.

Now here is the rest of our Easter filled week!

Egg hunting for letter sounds and colors!

Making Easter egg prints

 

 

Sorting Jelly beans...

 

Counting jelly beans....

 

And taste testing jelly beans to find a favorite!

Painting bunny cards with marshmallows!

 

Building Easter eggs with pipe cleaner and beads!



(Which inevitably turned into new accessories for Wobble the penguin.)

Counting mini chocolate bunnies!



A live performance of "The Sugarplum Fairy and the Easter Bunny" for Daddy!

 

Making Resurrection Rolls!



(Such surprise!)

 

Telling the story of the Crucifixion and Resurrection using Resurrection Eggs!

 

Dressing up as Easter bunnies!



Putting up with Mommy's idea of cute! (Hehe!)

 

Easter Egg Extravaganza 2012

Egg dying.

I love it and I hate it.

On the one hand, it sounds like an exciting endevour.

Until you plop an egg in some colored water and fish it back out.

The end.

(Ok, so I like the pretty colored eggs that result but they're never as pretty as the pictures on the box.)

The more I thought about it the more I was convinced there had to be a better way.

So last year we naturally dyed our eggs.

Which was alright.

They weren't quite as pretty as the boxed ones.

And were more work.

And we had to wait a whole day to see any good results.

This year, I have Pinterest!

Thus, the endless egg dying possibilities!

I narrowed it down to two for us to try....

Again, we went the natural route.

I have a tendancy for that kinda thing.

But I had a feeling that this method would work out far better for us.

I was right.

First, I set out ingredients for dying the eggs:

Carrot peels, spinach, blueberries, raspberries and onion peels for color.

Lentils, rice and spaghetti noodles for texture.

 

We each got an egg, placed it on a piece of cloth and piled the ingredients onto it.

Then we wrapped it all up, tied it closed and popped them in a pot of water and vinegar, letting them come to a boil for 10-15 minutes.

Once they cooled, it was time for the big reveal!

 

 

Ta -da!

Beautiful marbled Easter eggs!

 

I was impressed with how easy this was and how well they turned out!

The onion peels and blueberries did an amazing job of dying the egg and I quite like the marbled effect!

Our second egg dying venture was to combine Easter crafty fun and science -

Volcano eggs!

First, I used baking soda, food coloring and water to make paint.

The kids used this to paint their egg.

 

Then I gave them a cup of vinegar to pour over the eggs.

Of course, this caused sheer amazement from the girls as the vinegar reacted with the baking soda and began bubbling and making crackling sounds.

To my own surprise, the end result was not just a cool reaction but some pretty great looking eggs, too!

And so, my love for dyed Easter eggs has been rekindled!

(And we got to have some pretty awesome egg salad sandwiches for lunch today. BONUS!)

Oh Happy Day!

Last night the girls and I made resurrection rolls since I knew we'd have no time for it today. These were so simple to make and turned out perfectly! Here's what we did:

First, they each took turns dipping a marshmallow in butter then rolling it in sugar and cinnamon.

Next, they placed it on a piece of Pilsbury crescent roll dough and wrapped the dough all around.

We popped them in the oven for 15 minutes.

When they were done and cooled off enough, we broke them up and 'ta-da'! They were hollow! The whole time we were making them we talked about what happened to Jesus after He died - did He stay dead? What did the disciples find when they went to His tomb? What does Jesus rising from the dead mean for us? Then when we broke open the hollow resurrection rolls, we cheered - "The tomb is empty! Jesus is alive! Whoo hooo!". This was a 'sweet' object lesson that we will certainly be doing again in years to come! Did any of you try out the Resurrection cookies? How did they turn out?

Sunday morning we did an egg hunt with the kids after they opened their Easter baskets.

They're getting REALLY good at this egg hunting buisness!

Once they were all found, they took turns opening them. I had them all numbered so they would be opened in the right order. These were Resurrection Eggs that I had put together the night before. As each egg was opened we told the part of the story that each item pertained to. Piper listened very intently and loved the surprise of what was inside each egg. The best part though was when she opened the last one and there was nothing in it! She gasped and looked at me like I had made a mistake. Then when I asked her what was in Jesus' tomb when the disciples went to look on Sunday morning, understanding dawned on her - "Nothing, Mama!" That's right, baby girl, Jesus is alive!

(I think it is so important to make sure my kids understand exactly what Easter is all about. That doesn't mean that we can't have fun or eat chocolate. In fact, I think teaching the importance of this holiday should be wrapped in sweet memories and kid oriented activities. This should be an exciting day for us as Christians, full of joy and celebration!)

The greatest day in history, death is beaten
You have rescued me
Sing it out, Jesus is alive
The empty cross, the empty grave
Life eternal, You have won the day
Shout it all, Jesus is alive
He´s alive!!!

Then we got all dressed up and went to church to celebrate! Daddy graciously took a picture of us 3 girls all prettied up but he looked very handsome himself! ;) Just sayin'.

So in case you haven't heard,

Jesus is alive!

Oh happy day!