First Day of School (for me)

It’s official; I am now Baylee’s teacher for the next eight weeks because her sweet teacher, Mrs. Runyon gave birth to her son Kade on Saturday. Everyone needs a first day photo, right? Well here we are just before heading out.

Instructing the twenty precious children Kelly entrusted in my care will be wonderful. They are all so very dear. I treasure this divine time the Lord set before me to teach and take it very seriously. As I did when I was a full time teacher in my own classroom, I begin my day in prayer before the kids fill the building, specifically naming each boy and girl by name.

P.S. Pray for Owen, this is a very hard adjustment on his part. He's sacrificing a lot for his sister's gain. A huge thank you to Denise, Laura, Nana/Papa D, and Lisa for helping me with my little OJ!

The Full Armor of God-Blast Xtreme 2008

Here are my soldiers, ready for duty in God’s Army! Have you been recruited? Each day last week, the kids and I enjoyed our church’s Vacation Bible School with this year’s theme, “God’s Army Training Camp”. I don’t know who learned more, the kids or me (as the 2nd grade class teacher). Here’s what we studied and the verses we memorized:

On day one we learned that Jesus calls the disciples, just as He’s called us and no excuses are allowed! It’s an invisible war but the good news is that Jesus is more powerful than Satan or anything!
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the Devil!” Ephesians 6:11

Day two we fastened our truth belts as we made the Belt of Truth and Breastplate of Righteousness. God’s belt of truth is important because it holds up when we’re being attacked with lies.
“He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.” Psalm 91:4

Day three, we made sure our feet were ready for the Gospel of Peace and the Shield of Faith was in our hands. We learned our marching orders! The footwear provided as part of God’s armor making us ready as well-ready to stand strong in the confidence that Jesus is LORD and share this news. We can have peace in our hearts as well as true peace to pass on to others. The shied is important to hide behind since there are flaming arrows being thrown by Satan (Ephesians 6:16)!
“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” Proverbs 30:5

Day four, we made our Helmet of Salvations and our Sword of the Spirit! God’s helmet keeps harmful thinking out of our head and loving thoughts in. And the sword of the spirit is the Bible, our special helper!
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

And on day five, we learned the importance of prayer, a special gift from God!
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

On a side note, my class that I taught was amazing! The kids were wonderful and the teaching staff, the best! Three of us were on the same team last year, which made it great and Lesli joined us this year and we were blessed!
(Seena...we missed snapping a photo of you with us...ugh!)

Resurrection Tree

We've enjoyed two weeks of Spring Break...it's been needed in a BIG way! Today, in between four separate playdates, I've gone through our home to wipe off the dust collected in that time, vacuumed, mopped, and much more which were all things I set aside so I could really just focus on playing and enjoying my kids. I'm grateful to have them with me 24/7 and also for a husband who's been willing to look the other way to the condition of the home.

From my cleaning "frenzy", I decided it was time to pack up our Easter decorations as well, one of which was this Resurrection Tree. I use this wooden tree structure throughout the year for many reasons, this Easter holiday I was inspired to create it to tell the story of Jesus' last days and use it as a devotional study with my children. It's been really neat to hear them be able to recall and connect what each "symbol" means and I know I'll do it again next year.

I share this on the blog because all of my LLL2 sisters have this wooden tree structure too (a gift from my cousin Laura and myself during one of our monthly Live Laugh Love evenings) and often times we like to share with one another what we created from it.

My inspiration came from a gal on the http://www.happyhomeclubonline.com.

On our tree we placed many things...here's some of them:
~A Shepherd's Staff since He is the Good Shepherd
~A Donkey for the triumphal entry (Matthew 21)
~A Bottle of Perfume for when Mary anointed Jesus before the Passover (Mark 14)
~A Flat Bread Cracker to symbolize the unleavened break He broke…to remember His body (Matthew 26)
~A Cork from a wine bottle to symbolize what Jesus and his disciples drank at the last Supper…to remember his blood (Matthew 26)
~A Hershey's "Kiss" to symbolize the betrayal kiss from Judas to Jesus in the Garden
~A Bag of 30 Silver coins (dimes), the amount of money Judas agreed to take in trade of Jesus' identity...betrayal (Matthew 26)
~Soap since Pilot washed his hands of Jesus’ fate (Matthew 27:24)
~A Rope for the prisoner that was freed instead of Jesus (Matthew 27)
~A Feather to symbolize the rooster crowing three times
~Clipart of an Olive and Skull...location of this event (Matthew 27)
~A Purple Cloth that symbolizes the robe they made Him wear
~Chains
~A Nail since HE was nailed to the cross for our sins
~A Crown of Thorns the soldiers made for Him to wear as they mocked Him
~A Sponge that was dipped for Him on the cross as Jesus’ thirst (Matthew 27:48)
~A Dice for the lots the soldiers cast (Luke 23)
~A Lamb because He was the Lamb that was Slain
~A Sword (cocktail sword) that was used to pierce His side (Luke)
~A Tissue to symbolize the tears that were shed over His death
~A Sign that says, "This Is Jesus, King of the Jews" (Matthew 27:37)
~A Rock that was rolled away from the Tomb (Matthew 28)
~A White Cloth that they wrapped Jesus' body in to bury Him (Matthew 27:59)
~Cloves to symbolize the spices the women brought to anoint His dead body (Luke 24)
~A Happy Face to symbolize they joy that His death/resurrection has brought

If you have any other ideas on what I should consider adding next year, I'd love to hear it!

Treasuring the Reason for This Season

Many of you know how much I enjoy traditions, especially those that teach my children about our Lord and Savior. There are no exceptions for Easter, it’s the core of my faith and a vital event/s for my children to understand and take to heart. After all, Jesus never commanded us to remember his birth (Christmas) like so many do but instead, to remember his death and resurrection. For Easter and the days that lead up to it, our family holds many dear traditions. I’ve been asked by several if I’d share the Easter Cookie “story/recipe”.

We have yet to do it this year, we wait until Saturday night (the night before Easter) to make them, however if I wait to post it then, you’d lose out on the chance to do it this Easter. Let me know if you end up making these with your kids. I have no idea where to give credit for this…it’s not originally mine. I’ve just been blessed by having this and you will too!

Here's the recipe to get your family started on this special season of “life” and the incredible power of Christ and his love, something much more fulfilling than chocolate bunnies and jelly beans.


You will need:
1cup Whole pecans
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar
3 egg whites
Pinch salt
1 cup sugar,
Zipper baggie, wooden spoon, packing tape, and the most important of all "THE WORD OF GOD" (Bible)

Here’s what you’ll need to do. Preheat oven to 300°F.

Step one- Place pecans in zipper baggie and let your children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
Illustration- Explain that, after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Read John 19:1-3.

Step two- Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Illustration- Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar to drink.
Read John 19:28-30.

Step three- Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life.
Illustration- Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.
Read John 10:10-11.

Step four- Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.
Illustration- Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.
Read Luke 23:27.

Step five- Add 1cup sugar.
Illustration- 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 Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Step six- Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.
Illustration- 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.

Step seven- Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons (approximately 24) onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Illustration- Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.
Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Step eight- 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.
Illustration- Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.
Read Matthew 27:65-66.

Step Nine- GO TO BED! Illustration- 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.

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

By making these cookies and having other Easter traditions I've come up with for our family, it's allowed me to teach our kids how marvelous this season really is. By doing so, my kids can clearly decipher the difference this Christian holiday has over how the “world” tends to shape it with its distortion.

(If you’ve never truly understood what Christ did on the cross for His people and the power and importance of his resurrection, I’d love to share it with you. This can be the most significant Easter’s ever for you!)