Resurrection Bread

This is a tradition that we've been doing at Easter for the past few years. We didn't do it last year...we had just moved here the week before, and it was a rough time for me. I was doing good to get them dressed and to church that day. Thankfully, I'm much better now, :) and we are back in our normal swing of things. Whew.

Since each of the boys were born it's been very important to B and me to be intentional when it comes to celebrating holidays. To make sure the boys understand the real meaning of Christmas and Easter especially, but even to make sure they understand why we have Thanksgiving and Independence Day. And we're all about doing that in a fun, kid-friendly way.

We want to make sure that the boys understand, each on their own level, why we have Good Friday, and all we get to celebrate on Easter Sunday. The resurrection bread helps them get the concept pretty well:

Ingredients: one can of Grands biscuits, marshmallows, melted butter, cinnamon and sugar

Simple. :)

Step One: Flatten out a biscuit. The biscuit represents the tomb where Jesus was placed.

Step Two: place a marshmallow in the middle, and wrap the biscuit around it. The marshmallow represents Jesus.

See? Like this. ;)

Step Three: dip the biscuit into some melted butter, then the sugar and cinnamon.

Place them on a cookie sheet, seam side down, and bake according to package directions.

After you let them cool completely, you'll see that the bread is now hollow inside.

The tomb is empty! Jesus is alive. :)

Or according to Hunter, Jesus ate the marshmallow. Symbolism is hard to understand when you're 4. ;)

Happy Easter!

Good Friday

Each year, as I get older, I tend to reflect even more on the magnitude of this day. On what my Savior did for me. What He did for all of us. And I try to express these feelings, the emotions inside in just the right way...and realize that being thankful doesn't even begin to cover it.

I don't usually have music on this blog...used to, but realized that not everyone shares my taste in music, and sometimes I think it's a distraction, so I took my playlist down. But this weekend I'm going to keep this song playing again and again. I'm a huge Chris Tomlin fan...the Lord has used his music time and time again to minister to my heart. But I had never heard this song until last week when Harrison's grade did a performance of the life of Christ at school. It blew me away. This song, "The Mighty Power of the Cross" is the last song of the three included in their performance, and the two times I've seen it, well....there is no getting away without some tears being shed. And that's okay. It's good.

Growing up, and after I accepted Jesus as my Savior and asked him to be Lord of my life, I had a hard time understanding why today is called "Good Friday." Thinking about the gravity of what this day entailed for Jesus, how He had to suffer for us, so that we wouldn't have to...well, it's just more than my brain can handle, and there didn't seem to be anything but horrible and sad about it. But the older I get, the more I understand that Jesus did this for the greater "good," knowing full well what was going to happen on the third day, the day we celebrate His resurrection, and the promise that He will come back for us some day.

And so we honor this day, thanking Him for what He did for us....knowing that being thankful is never going to be enough, but because of God's great love for us, it somehow still is.

Impromptu Egg Hunt

This morning I told H3 that we were going to his brothers' school for the Easter service, and then we would go to their parties and egg hunts. Which led to this question:

"When is my class party, Mommy?" :(

I explained to him that we were going to a fun Easter egg hunt celebration at church on Saturday, and that NEXT year when he's in preschool he would have a party too.

That was good news, but there was still some sadness. ;) So we had our own little egg hunt this morning, in our family room. It stormed hard all night last night, so things are pretty soggy outside today.

He was a great egg finder, and of course I had to snap a few pics of our fun.

And then, in true Hunter form, he insisted that I have a turn. With pictures too. :)

A little blurry, maybe, but not bad for a 4 year old. :)

And then it was his turn again, and then mine, and then his, and then...well, you get the idea. ;)

I love this kid. Hard.

The boys are out of school tomorrow for Good Friday, and we will turn our attention off of egg hunts and such (as fun as that is!) and turn it instead to the reason we have so much to think about tomorrow, and so much to celebrate on Sunday! I will share our "Resurrection Bread" recipe, why we make this each year.

He is risen! He is risen indeed. :)

Our Week in Pictures

It's been a little crazy here these days.

But honestly, it's pretty much always crazy here, so that's really no excuse. ;) The littles and I just got back from a week in Texas visiting family and friends, relaxing, and enjoying a break from the crazy. Not that we mind the crazy....it keeps things fun and interesting. But a break here and there is good. :)

Before we left, Hud lost his first tooth. I pulled it out at dinner, at church on a Wednesday night. It was hanging on by a thread (or two), and was making it hard for him to eat. I decided it was time to get it out...so we did. Right there in the middle of the dining hall. I'm afraid that I might have scarred him for life. ;) Thankfully the $5 the tooth fairy left for him healed the hurt and lessened the trauma. ;) And since then he's lost the one next to it, and it was a much easier experience. Whew.

While taking Hud's toothless pic, Hunter asked me to take one of him. I happily obliged...why not? He's super cute. Can't have enough pics of these kiddos. :)

Two weeks ago marked the first anniversary of the boys and I joining Brian here in our new home. It was a weekend of mixed emotions for me. I'm thankful for how far God has brought us, for how He has taken care of all the details. And really, I love this beautiful place. :)

The Chattahoochie River...Brian's favorite fishing spot. :)

Hunter and I planted some new flowers in some pots...there is lots of yardwork to be done this spring, and I am so ready! Love it.

This tree is in my next door neighbor's backyard, and it's my absolute favorite. I do love a cherry blossom tree. We're planning to plant on in our yard this Spring too.

Then we headed to Texas. Here's a pic with my mom and sisters...love them so very much. Missing them already. We had SO much fun together. So much fun.

The boys spent lots of time playing outside, helping Papa at the farm, playing at the farm too. Here's Harrison driving the RTV. He drove me around in it for awhile...crazy having your 10-year-old drive you around.

Two cool guys hanging out. ;)

Hud is growing up so much....he did great driving the RTV too.

And he decided he was brave enough to drive the razor car. Papa taught him what to do, jogging along beside him ....until the daredevil sped off at full speed. ;)

There he goes!

And....the cows. Who are cute...but dont' get too attached. They'll be dinner soon. ;)

And in true Jaclyn form, I didn't take nearly enough pictures. I am determined to do better when we come back this summer. Everyone is going to be sick of that camera, I promise. ;)

Thursday

Enjoying a quiet morning with the littlest H.

With mismatched jammers and bedhead.

'Cause that's how we roll. ;)

And because he has a newfound interest in dressing himself, and I'm letting him run with it. Mostly. Have to admit that I'm impressed with the way he matched the colors. :)

We spent our morning playing made-up domino matching games.

Building REALLY tall towers.

And a game of Buzz Lightyear Operation.

I'm sorry to say that with all the buzzing and lights that were going off...

I don't think Buzz made it. ;)

And now, at 10:45, the little man has announced that he's starving...off to fix a snack.

Happy Thursday to you!

Another Stream of Consciousness Post

Because there is a lot swimming around in my brain right now, and it helps me to blog about it. I've been dealing with some health-related stuff lately. Thankfully nothing really serious or anything...more of a quality-of-life thing. Been having to make some decisions about medication vs. surgery...or maybe both. Trying the medication route for now, and we'll see what happens. Realizing how important these decisions are, and worried that I'll make the wrong one. But because I've been feeling pretty yuck and have had a lot of down time these days, it's also given me a lot of time to think, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, it's also given me a lot of time to over-think, which for me isn't so good. So far I think we've made the right decision, but the jury's still out. Time will tell.

Thank you for your patience. ;)

Things are hectic, and yet somehow still relaxed. Don't know how that works, but it does.

The littles watched a 3D movie at home...I had more fun watching them watch the movie.

See that white and black flowered thing behind the couch? That would be our ironing board. Which unfortunately seems to have become a permanent fixture in our family room these days.

*sigh*

I'm working on making sure to stay on top of the never-ending pile of ironing. Or learning to let go of my obsessive need to have everything in our house be wrinkle free.

I'm also considering buying a new ironing board cover that matches our family room decor. ;)

Hud started taking a cooking class at school. This kiddo loves to cook, and right now says he's going to be a chef when he grows up. I love that.
Mimi and Papa sent him an apron for him to wear to his class, with his name on it and everything. He is super proud of it and is loving the class.

Last night he helped me make dinner. We made one of the recipes he had made in class last week. Herb Chicken with Honey Butter. It was delicious. Eat your heart out, Bobby Flay. ;)

I made these blocks for a sweet, kindred-spirit friend. Actually, they are for the sweet baby boy she and her husband adopted in January. You can read their story here
if you'd like. I recommend you do, because it's amazing. I'm so excited about getting to meet Jax when we head to Texas next month for Spring Break.
Right now my sister and brother-in-law are fostering a darling baby girl. I've only seen photos of her, but can tell you without a doubt that it's love at first sight. And it's been like that for the entire family. She's already won her way into all of our hearts. We don't know if they are going to be able to adopt her or not. We're praying that they will, feeling that it is indeed the best thing for her. Trusting God with all of this, because we know that he really does know best. Waiting patiently for Reagan and Jon's miracle. :)

As you know, this one recently turned 10. I'm learning that the older they get, the more clueless I become. The infant and preschool stuff? Piece of cake. Getting up every 2 hours to feed a baby? Bring it. Poopy diapers. No big deal.

Pre-teen (tween?) drama? Help. Attitude? Seriously, help. Talking back? I'm thinking about running away for awhile. ;) Just kidding...thankfully our normally happy and outgoing son is still mostly his normal happy self. We're learning to deal with the times that he's not. And figuring out what to do during those times. And praying that this transition is quick. And relying on the advice of our parents and some other sweet friends who have already traveled this road and have lots of wisdom. Whew. :)

Our middle man is growing up. He has two very loose teeth. Thinking they should be out by the end of the week. Here he is showing us the "smolder." He learned that from watching "Tangled," one of our very favorite Disney movies. I'm having fun watching him gain more independence, making good friends at school, asserting himself more...he is SO the middle child. Easy, laid-back (unless his little brother is bugging him), doesn't want to do anything to rock the boat, still loves to snuggle. He's quite the artist...which makes this mama's heart very happy. Thankful that all 3 seem to know not to hit me with the hard stuff all at the same time. How considerate of them to take turns. ;)

Four is fun. One of my favorite ages. He's giving up nap time, but thankfully is taking a good long one right now. We have the rainy day to thank for that. His imagination is in full-force...and it's a total blast. :) We're having fun, and I'm soaking up every bit of this time with him.
Because I know from experience that this time goes by way too fast.

I love my people. :)

And I'll stop here...for now. Still lots to talk about. Be back soon.

Catching Up

Where has this month gone? Really, I have no idea. It's been a whirlwind around here. A whirlwind of what? Really couldn't tell you that either. Busy with life, I guess. And cleaning, and reorganizing, going through boxes of clothes for spring and summer, figuring out what fits who, who needs what, etc. Reorganizing the garage with the hubs, buying new tires for the car...you know, really exciting and glamorous stuff like that. ;)

Oh, and I bought this frame too. Which, in my opinion, is pretty exciting.

Because I love it...not nearly as much as I love those three who are framed inside it, but I have to say that when I found this frame in this fab little gift shop at the mall, it was indeed

love at first sight. :)

And now I'm happy to report...our mantle is finally complete. I know, I know...you were losing sleep over it too, right? haha. :)

But here is a little glimpse of what we've been up to this month...

Harrison was asked to act in a USO-style show at church. It was so fun! He did a great job with his part as a great-grandson named Charley. I loved getting to sit back and watch him in action, doing something he LOVES, that seems to come really naturally to him. It was an amazing show...I'm so blown away by the talent that is at our church. I got lost in the music that night, watching the people who were playing the Andrews Sisters, Patsy Cline, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, etc...and of course, Bob Hope. Hilarious. Amazing. And so thankful we get to be here to see what is happening and play a small part in it.

Hudson was picked to be Star Student of the Week for his class this week. Which we didn't discover until last night when I was going through the boys' Friday folders. Oops. I made a mental note to check folders ON Friday instead of Sunday night from now on, as I pulled Hudson out of bed (thankfully he wasn't asleep yet) and we quickly colored and drew pictures and filled in all the blanks on this poster. We had fun though, and it turned out great in spite of our frantic rush to finish it. And now I'm anxiously expecting my "Mom of the Year" award to arrive any day now. ;) Geez.

March marks one year since we moved and made Georgia our new home. I really can't believe how fast it has gone. And I can't help but reflect on how much has changed in a year. How much I've changed in a year. I'm both humbled and thankful for how God has taken care of us here. He's provided new friendships, and new families here to be our "Georgia family"....not replacing in any way the family and friends back home, of course, but adding to the people He has already blessed us so incredibly with. It blows me away. Of course I still get homesick, but am thankful that we've been able to make pretty frequent visits back home, and that our family and friends have made so much effort to get out here to see us too. And I've learned to make the most of the time we get together in a way I never thought about when we all lived close to each other.

I'm excited about what God is doing at church, and so very thrilled to get to be a part of what is happening there. And now that relationships are getting stronger with people there, and it now feels like my church home...well, it's just very good.

And as you can see, I'm in my Pollyanna, everything-is-rainbows-and-butterflies mode. :) I dare anyone to steal my joy. Actually, I don't...those people need to leave me alone. ;)

My heart is full.