My recent decline in blog posts was mostly due to planning a middle school girls retreat for church. It's not that the planning took every hour of my day, it just took the time that formerly was allotted to blogging, napping, or spending useless time on the computer. Well, we had the retreat last weekend and I think it was a success! It was small with only 21 girls, but it was fun! We stayed at church, in the basement, played games, ate junk food, worshiped, made duck tape creations, painted fingernails, and learned about getting rid of insecurities and being proud of who God made us. What I enjoyed was the chance to get to know 21 girls just a little bit better. I enjoyed watching them play hide and seek, spin themselves in toilet paper, attempt to use a pencil elevator to lift candy into their mouth, and stack dice on a popsicle stick in their mouth. I loved watching them worship our Lord and seeing their sincere interest in our speakers. I was exceptionally pleased with their excellent behavior and ability to follow rules and not complain. I much appreciated their feedback on the evaluations for what was good, what was not good, and what to do in the future. They were honest, appreciative, and had great ideas!
I worried and stressed over planning this event and it turned out wonderful. I had a lot of wonderful people who helped me out and great girls attend the event. I don't know what I was so worried about. It happens almost every time I worry about any event; I worry constantly, but when it gets here, I am so glad I got to do it. Exactly the same with this retreat. Did we follow my schedule to the minute? Are you kidding?!?! Were there things I didn't think of? Always. Did it keep us from having a blast? No way!
Now I can get back to my regularly scheduled blogging and laziness in the afternoons! :)
4.30.2012
4.29.2012
The Letter L
I'm a little behind in my posting, but we are still having fun with our letters of the week! Here is what we did for L.
Bible Stories: I didn't find any characters that start with L that fit Aria's level of understanding. We did read Daniel and the Lions den, which is a staple in our reading list. I decided to focus on the story of Ruth and Naomi because that is what she learned about in Sunday School last week.
Activities: We made a ladybug puppet!
I got the idea from this website, only I bought red paper plates to use instead of painting some. I made the base for her and she glued on the spots and eyes. She also put in the antennae. It was a lot of fun! She really enjoyed a book we read about ladybugs, so it was a fun connection!
We also got to have our friend Levi come over for a sleepover while his mommy and daddy went on a trip. We had tons and tons of fun!
People We Know: Levi, Lycan, Luke, Lindsay, Lindsay (yes there are two and they are both pregnant...crazy!)
Food: lasagna, linguine, lollipop, lettuce, lunch :) I wanted to make something lemon, but she doesn't like citrus.
Pictures to Color: ladybug, lion, lemon/lime, leaves
Books: We read non-fiction books about lemurs and leaves, and a fun one called Ladybug, Ladybug, What Are You Doing?. We also read our book called Let's Leap and Jump. We also read My 'L' Sound Box. Aria got new magazine in the mail, too, that had a big picture of a lion on it, which was a fun coincidence.
Songs: Jesus Loves Me, Lukey's Boat, Lead Me
Oh and we laughed... a lot! She even developed a fake laugh. Pretty cute!
Bible Stories: I didn't find any characters that start with L that fit Aria's level of understanding. We did read Daniel and the Lions den, which is a staple in our reading list. I decided to focus on the story of Ruth and Naomi because that is what she learned about in Sunday School last week.
Activities: We made a ladybug puppet!
I got the idea from this website, only I bought red paper plates to use instead of painting some. I made the base for her and she glued on the spots and eyes. She also put in the antennae. It was a lot of fun! She really enjoyed a book we read about ladybugs, so it was a fun connection!
We also got to have our friend Levi come over for a sleepover while his mommy and daddy went on a trip. We had tons and tons of fun!
People We Know: Levi, Lycan, Luke, Lindsay, Lindsay (yes there are two and they are both pregnant...crazy!)
Food: lasagna, linguine, lollipop, lettuce, lunch :) I wanted to make something lemon, but she doesn't like citrus.
Pictures to Color: ladybug, lion, lemon/lime, leaves
Books: We read non-fiction books about lemurs and leaves, and a fun one called Ladybug, Ladybug, What Are You Doing?. We also read our book called Let's Leap and Jump. We also read My 'L' Sound Box. Aria got new magazine in the mail, too, that had a big picture of a lion on it, which was a fun coincidence.
Songs: Jesus Loves Me, Lukey's Boat, Lead Me
Oh and we laughed... a lot! She even developed a fake laugh. Pretty cute!
4.20.2012
The Letter K
Almost at the end of 'L' week, I'm having a hard time remembering all that went with 'K' week. I'll give it my best...
Bible: We read stories of Jesus appearing to his disciples and then ascending into the clouds to finish up the Resurrection Eggs. Not much to do with 'K' week, but I did talk about how Jesus is our King. I think we read a story about King David, too.
Activities: We gave Aria a purple kite with a kitty on it and got to fly it briefly on Easter Sunday. It didn't work too well at our house because of all the wind blocks from houses and trees. We wanted to go to a park to fly the kite another day, but the weather never cooperated. Believe me it wasn't because of a lack of wind...we would not have returned with the kite in those gale force winds! I also bought some Kool-Aid for the first time and thought Aria would be really excited about making it since she always loves making, "lemonade." But, she absolutely did not want to make it. I couldn't figure out why, either. So, we didn't make the Kool-Aid.
People We Know: Kiah, Karis, Kanga
Food: kabobs (new recipe...very awesome!), Key Lime pie (Aria wasn't a fan), Kix, Special K, Kisses, Kit Kat, kettle korn, kale, kiwi, ketchup, Rice Krispies
Pictures to Color: king, kitty, kite, koala, kangaroo
Books: We read non-fiction books about kangaroos, koalas, and My k Sound Box.
Songs: I didn't find one song that Aria already knew or that I thought she'd enjoy that starts with 'K'. :(
Oh and we did practice kicking both in the air and at swimming lessons!
Bible: We read stories of Jesus appearing to his disciples and then ascending into the clouds to finish up the Resurrection Eggs. Not much to do with 'K' week, but I did talk about how Jesus is our King. I think we read a story about King David, too.
Activities: We gave Aria a purple kite with a kitty on it and got to fly it briefly on Easter Sunday. It didn't work too well at our house because of all the wind blocks from houses and trees. We wanted to go to a park to fly the kite another day, but the weather never cooperated. Believe me it wasn't because of a lack of wind...we would not have returned with the kite in those gale force winds! I also bought some Kool-Aid for the first time and thought Aria would be really excited about making it since she always loves making, "lemonade." But, she absolutely did not want to make it. I couldn't figure out why, either. So, we didn't make the Kool-Aid.
People We Know: Kiah, Karis, Kanga
Food: kabobs (new recipe...very awesome!), Key Lime pie (Aria wasn't a fan), Kix, Special K, Kisses, Kit Kat, kettle korn, kale, kiwi, ketchup, Rice Krispies
Pictures to Color: king, kitty, kite, koala, kangaroo
Books: We read non-fiction books about kangaroos, koalas, and My k Sound Box.
Songs: I didn't find one song that Aria already knew or that I thought she'd enjoy that starts with 'K'. :(
Oh and we did practice kicking both in the air and at swimming lessons!
4.18.2012
Toddler Book Review
Aria really loves to read books! She'll listen to just about any story, at least for a little bit. But she does have her favorites and gets stuck choosing the same book over and over and over and over and over. Don't get me wrong, it is perfectly okay to read the same book again and again. It is part of how kids learn to read. Hey, she can already recite most of Goodnight Moon. However, the other day I was kind of tired of reading the same book, so I encouraged her to check out a new one with me. We've had Duck on a Bike on our shelf since before Aria was born, but we had never read it. It was an instant favorite!
SPOILER ALERT ;)
One day, Duck decides he is going to ride a bike. He hops on and rides by all the other farm animals. The animals all say, "moo" or "meow" or whatever their noise is, but they are really thinking a variety of thoughts of jealousy to awe to concern. Then, a bunch of kids come to the farm on bikes and go in the house. Next comes my favorite page...no words and all the animals with peculiar looks on their faces. Then they all hop on the bikes and have a blast.
It is such a cute book! Aria likes to make the different animal noises on each page and laughs at the silly comments. I like the "what happens next" of the picture page and discussing the different emotions. If you have a 2-4ish kiddo, check it out! We love it and read it over and over and over and over...
SPOILER ALERT ;)
One day, Duck decides he is going to ride a bike. He hops on and rides by all the other farm animals. The animals all say, "moo" or "meow" or whatever their noise is, but they are really thinking a variety of thoughts of jealousy to awe to concern. Then, a bunch of kids come to the farm on bikes and go in the house. Next comes my favorite page...no words and all the animals with peculiar looks on their faces. Then they all hop on the bikes and have a blast.
It is such a cute book! Aria likes to make the different animal noises on each page and laughs at the silly comments. I like the "what happens next" of the picture page and discussing the different emotions. If you have a 2-4ish kiddo, check it out! We love it and read it over and over and over and over...
4.14.2012
Courageous
If you are reading this and you are a dad, you need to watch the movie, Courageous.
If you are reading this and you have a dad, you need to tell him to watch the movie, Courageous.
If you are reading this and you have a husband, who is the father of your children, you need to watch the movie, Courageous, with him.
If you are reading this and you are thinking about being a dad someday, you need to watch the movie, Courageous.
If you are reading this and you know anyone who is a dad, tell him to watch the movie, Courageous.
Do you catch my drift? Courageous is an amazing, powerful movie. We were in tears numerous times as we watched it last night. Yes, I said we. I don't think my husband will mind people knowing he cried because the reason he cried is so incredible. The movie inspired him to be an even better father to his daughter. He said it hit him right between the eyes.
I liked the movie a lot, too. It is the story of a group of police officers who all have various shadows in their past and trials in their lives that cause them to want to become better fathers. They are all at different points in their faith journey and use each other to become better men. Fabulous story.
I have an amazing husband and he is an amazing father, but it warms my heart and makes me feel so good to know he wants to become even better. The fact that the message of the movie resonated so much with him shows me that God and his family are the most important things to him and that I will always be well taken care of when it comes to having a spiritual leader in our home.
If you haven't already, watch the movie, Courageous. We give it four thumbs up!
If you are reading this and you have a dad, you need to tell him to watch the movie, Courageous.
If you are reading this and you have a husband, who is the father of your children, you need to watch the movie, Courageous, with him.
If you are reading this and you are thinking about being a dad someday, you need to watch the movie, Courageous.
If you are reading this and you know anyone who is a dad, tell him to watch the movie, Courageous.
Do you catch my drift? Courageous is an amazing, powerful movie. We were in tears numerous times as we watched it last night. Yes, I said we. I don't think my husband will mind people knowing he cried because the reason he cried is so incredible. The movie inspired him to be an even better father to his daughter. He said it hit him right between the eyes.
I liked the movie a lot, too. It is the story of a group of police officers who all have various shadows in their past and trials in their lives that cause them to want to become better fathers. They are all at different points in their faith journey and use each other to become better men. Fabulous story.
I have an amazing husband and he is an amazing father, but it warms my heart and makes me feel so good to know he wants to become even better. The fact that the message of the movie resonated so much with him shows me that God and his family are the most important things to him and that I will always be well taken care of when it comes to having a spiritual leader in our home.
If you haven't already, watch the movie, Courageous. We give it four thumbs up!
4.13.2012
Finishing the Resurrection Eggs
About a week ago I posted about the Resurrection Eggs we were opening every morning. Well, today was the last egg so I will finish up what they represent. I think we will both be disappointed in the next couple days when there are no eggs to open. Maybe I can come up with another activity that can relate to Bible stories for the week. Hmmmm...I just got myself thinking...
Days 13-20 Bottom Row L-R, then Top Row L-R
13. Kind of hard to see, but there is a rock in that green egg. The rock represents what covered the tomb Jesus' body was laid in. This one was easy for Aria to understand because she has seen several pictures of the tomb in her various Bibles and books.
14. The yellow egg has cloves in it to represent the spices the women were taking to the tomb to put on Jesus' body when they eventually discovered He wasn't there. Aria really enjoyed 'playing' with the spices. Not sure she really understood the whole put spices on a dead body, but the stories we read talked about it so she could follow along. (Side note: the resource I used had #13 and #14 switched around and talked about the stone being rolled away. I chose to switch them to represent the stone sealing the tomb. Easier for a toddler, I thought.)
15. This is the best egg of all....it's empty! We read the Easter story (again) on Easter morning, then Aria opened the egg. She looked at me and said, "nothing in there." She seemed confused, but I reminded her it was because Jesus wasn't in the tomb. Jesus is alive! The light bulb clicked then and she yelled, "Jesus is alive!" We didn't actually talk about celebrating Easter. We talked about celebrating Jesus is alive!
16. The purple egg has a strip of an old t-shirt. This represents the cloth that was wrapped around Jesus that Peter and John found when they went into the tomb and discovered He wasn't there. There was a great picture of Jesus' body wrapped in strips of cloth in her Bible, so Aria was able to understand what it was, but she wasn't too interested in it.
17. I thought it was strange to have the nail at this point in the story, but in this case it represents the nail holes in Jesus' hands and feet. When Jesus appeared to his disciples, Thomas didn't believe it was him. So, Jesus told Thomas to put his fingers in the nail holes in His hands and feet. There was another great illustration of this in Aria's Bible so we could talk about it. Again, she didn't like it that the nail hurt Jesus. It was nice to focus on the fact that He is alive and He doesn't have any pain anymore AND He takes away our pain!
18. This blue egg did have goldfish crackers in it to represent when Jesus' cooked fish for breakfast for his disciples. Aria ate them so I put in some different cereal for the picture. Another part of the story that was easy to explain because of the great illustrations.
19. Up on the top row, the green egg had a map of the world in it. Aria had no idea what it was and I tried to explain it to her. I pointed to where we live and talked about how there are all kinds of people who live all over the world and we are supposed to tell them all about Jesus. I love the text in her Bible that describes the Great Commission. It really puts it in children's terms.
20. The final, yellow egg had a cotton ball in it. This represents that Jesus went up to heaven in a cloud. Aria thought the cotton was pretty and fuzzy and liked playing with it. The Bible had a great picture of Jesus in the clouds and also talked about how he would return in the clouds. Not sure she could fully grasp that. However, when I reminded her that Jesus lives with God in Heaven, she said, "and in Aria's belly!" That sounds strange, but she was pointing to her heart and I knew that was what she meant. She just calls her whole abdominal region her belly. I was pretty impressed that she made that connection!
Days 13-20 Bottom Row L-R, then Top Row L-R
13. Kind of hard to see, but there is a rock in that green egg. The rock represents what covered the tomb Jesus' body was laid in. This one was easy for Aria to understand because she has seen several pictures of the tomb in her various Bibles and books.
14. The yellow egg has cloves in it to represent the spices the women were taking to the tomb to put on Jesus' body when they eventually discovered He wasn't there. Aria really enjoyed 'playing' with the spices. Not sure she really understood the whole put spices on a dead body, but the stories we read talked about it so she could follow along. (Side note: the resource I used had #13 and #14 switched around and talked about the stone being rolled away. I chose to switch them to represent the stone sealing the tomb. Easier for a toddler, I thought.)
15. This is the best egg of all....it's empty! We read the Easter story (again) on Easter morning, then Aria opened the egg. She looked at me and said, "nothing in there." She seemed confused, but I reminded her it was because Jesus wasn't in the tomb. Jesus is alive! The light bulb clicked then and she yelled, "Jesus is alive!" We didn't actually talk about celebrating Easter. We talked about celebrating Jesus is alive!
16. The purple egg has a strip of an old t-shirt. This represents the cloth that was wrapped around Jesus that Peter and John found when they went into the tomb and discovered He wasn't there. There was a great picture of Jesus' body wrapped in strips of cloth in her Bible, so Aria was able to understand what it was, but she wasn't too interested in it.
17. I thought it was strange to have the nail at this point in the story, but in this case it represents the nail holes in Jesus' hands and feet. When Jesus appeared to his disciples, Thomas didn't believe it was him. So, Jesus told Thomas to put his fingers in the nail holes in His hands and feet. There was another great illustration of this in Aria's Bible so we could talk about it. Again, she didn't like it that the nail hurt Jesus. It was nice to focus on the fact that He is alive and He doesn't have any pain anymore AND He takes away our pain!
18. This blue egg did have goldfish crackers in it to represent when Jesus' cooked fish for breakfast for his disciples. Aria ate them so I put in some different cereal for the picture. Another part of the story that was easy to explain because of the great illustrations.
19. Up on the top row, the green egg had a map of the world in it. Aria had no idea what it was and I tried to explain it to her. I pointed to where we live and talked about how there are all kinds of people who live all over the world and we are supposed to tell them all about Jesus. I love the text in her Bible that describes the Great Commission. It really puts it in children's terms.
20. The final, yellow egg had a cotton ball in it. This represents that Jesus went up to heaven in a cloud. Aria thought the cotton was pretty and fuzzy and liked playing with it. The Bible had a great picture of Jesus in the clouds and also talked about how he would return in the clouds. Not sure she could fully grasp that. However, when I reminded her that Jesus lives with God in Heaven, she said, "and in Aria's belly!" That sounds strange, but she was pointing to her heart and I knew that was what she meant. She just calls her whole abdominal region her belly. I was pretty impressed that she made that connection!
4.12.2012
Special Job
Aria is a helper. I think it is part nature, part stage of life. She can be distracted from the depths of over-exaggerated whining by the suggestion of helping me with something. It was at a point much like that when I had her put away the socks as I was folding laundry. It was such a joy for her it turned into Aria's special job. Calling it a 'chore' sounds so much more negative. Ultimately, a chore is what it is. I'd like to refer to it more as a lesson in responsibility. Our church focuses on a different characteristic each month in it's children's programming. Last month the characteristic was responsibility. Even though the email I read was suggestions beyond Aria's age, it got me thinking that she was ready for some responsibility. Because she is so pleased to help and because we all must work together as a family to keep or house and lives in working order, I decided it was time for a special job. At first, I had to very consciously remember to not put away the socks so Aria could do it. A few times I got them back out. It was more work to create less work for me in the future. Eventually, I hope Aria can launder, fold, and put away all of her clothes, but that might be too much to ask at age 2. Although, I think putting away socks is the first step in that direction. It only took one explanation of her special job to get Aria on board with it. Now, I just leave the socks on our bed, where I fold clothes, and she is excited to do her special job as soon as she sees them. I don't have to ask her to do it and she does a great job! In the last couple days, a second special job has been added to her list; getting out the silverware and putting it on the table for meals. Again, it started as a distraction from whining and turned into her doing it without me asking. I'm so thankful for a helpful daughter and life lessons in all the small things along the way!
4.10.2012
The Letter J
Some weeks are so scarce for ideas and then there are weeks like 'J' in which I can't find the time for all the 'J' things I think of! Plus, we were leading up to Easter and doing fun things for that. It doesn't really matter what we do, we have a ton of fun and Aria is always learning!
Bible: Well, we were opening Resurrection Eggs every morning and reading the Easter story a lot, which does fit with 'J' since it is about Jesus. We also read a couple of Aria's favorites, Jonah and Jericho. Jericho is really only a fun when you act it out with marching, trumpeting, loud cheering, and knocking things over...
Activities: A couple of our activities also fit in the food category. We checked out a fiction book about jellybeans, so we read that book several times while eating jellybeans. Aria was really excited about the jellybeans until she found a flavor she didn't particularly care for, then she no longer liked any of them. So, we made a 'J' by gluing jellybeans to a piece of card stock. It was way more fun than tracing one and cutting it out!
The other food activity was Jello Jigglers! I chose grape based on the color, not the flavor, in hopes of Aria being excited to try something new to eat. Well, she was very excited about making them and even claimed they were like fruit snacks, one of her favorites, but in the end she said, "no like Jello Jigglers." At least it was fun to make them!
People We Know: Jesus, Julie, Justin, Papa John, Papa John (yes there are 2), Grandma Jackie (her namesake), Jena, Jaime, Jeremiah, Jenny, Jenny, Joey, Jon, James, Josie, Jen, Josiah, Jordyn, Jared....and Mommy knows even more!
Food: jellybeans, Jello Jigglers, jambalaya, jelly, peanut butter and jelly pancakes
Pictures to Color: jump rope, Jesus, jack-in-the-box, jellyfish
Books: We did go to the library this week and found some great ones! The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza by Numeroff, Let's Leap and Jump, My J Sound Box by Moncure, and two non-fiction books about jellyfish and jaguars. The jellybean book was fun to read and eat jellybeans and the leap and jump book was fun to leap and jump with!
Songs: Jesus Loves Me, Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho, Who Did Swallow Jonah
4.09.2012
4.08.2012
Jesus is Alive!
Today we celebrated Jesus is alive! After a lot of sad stories of Jesus' pain and death, we got to be happy! Aria opened her egg this morning to find "nothing" and was mildly confused. But Mommy and Daddy were so excited that Jesus wasn't there, she got excited, too. We read the story again in the Bible and we also made these.
The empty tomb (roll) and no marshmallow (Jesus) reinforced the empty egg and she at least got it on a basic level. We'll work on Jesus conquering death and sin in the future. The cutest statement came in the car on the way to church when she said, "Grandma and Papa celebrate Jesus is alive, too!" So very thankful for our amazing Savior and the incredible blessing of our beautiful little girl!
The empty tomb (roll) and no marshmallow (Jesus) reinforced the empty egg and she at least got it on a basic level. We'll work on Jesus conquering death and sin in the future. The cutest statement came in the car on the way to church when she said, "Grandma and Papa celebrate Jesus is alive, too!" So very thankful for our amazing Savior and the incredible blessing of our beautiful little girl!
4.07.2012
Resurrection Eggs
Several weeks ago, I heard a commercial on the radio that went something like this: "Why does Christmas get five weeks of celebration when Easter gets maybe a week? Maybe it's because people love babies and the celebration of new life and talk of suffering and death isn't as nice." Those weren't the exact words and there was more to the commercial, but it really got to me. I spent a lot of time this past Christmas building up the true meaning of the season, explaining Christ's birth to Aria. I had planned to teach her more about Easter this year, but that commercial made me want to get started right away. While it is wonderful to celebrate the birth of our Savior, the whole reason He came was to die for us. He endured life on earth, was made fun of, not believed, beaten, spit on, wrongfully accused, and crucified so that MY sins could be washed away. Whoa! This is what's important!
I had heard of others doing Resurrection Eggs with their kids and I had seen them in stores. I decided to do a little research, save some money and make them myself. I used this site as my base and changed it a bit to fit Aria's age. I wanted to be able to read the parts of the Easter story to Aria from her Bibles or her "The First Easter" book, so I had to change some of the suggestions from that site because we didn't have any toddler resources about some of the symbols. Turns out I didn't look carefully enough because some of the symbols I used weren't in there, either. We made it work.
I ended up making 20 eggs, beginning the story at Palm Sunday. We have opened one egg per day, starting the Sunday before Palm Sunday. Each day I read a portion, if not all, of the Easter story to Aria and we discuss what object she finds in the egg. I compare it to an Advent calendar. I've discovered that it is a little more difficult to explain death, sin, and Heaven to a two-year-old than it was to explain baby, God's son, and born in a barn. But that's okay. We'll build on it every year. She understands that Jesus died on the cross and that He is alive. If there is anything for her to repeat, those two statements work for me.
Here is a closer look at what we've done so far:
Days 1-6 (Left to Right)
1. That is a dried up version of a "palm branch" or a leaf from one of our lily plants. Aria really got into waving the palm branch and shouting "Hosanna, Hosanna!" This represents when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and people waved palm branches and shouted for their king!
2. The yellow egg had a washcloth in it to represent Jesus washing his disciples' feet. Jesus did that to show his disciples how to serve others. Washing feet would have been an even more disgusting and dirty job in those times. Aria definitely understood this concept and has washed many feet lately.
3. The orange egg held pieces of bread. This represents the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples. He broke the bread and declared it a representative of his body. We follow Jesus' lead once a month in our church by taking Communion of bread and grape juice. Aria understood the story, but for some reason did not want to eat the bread.
4. It is kind of hard to see, but the purple egg has praying hands in it. This represents when Jesus went to the garden to pray after the Last Supper. This is where Jesus prayed that God's will be done. Aria understands praying, but it was hard to describe the specifics of this prayer.
5. The pink egg has three dimes in it. This represents the silver coins Judas received for betraying Jesus. In hindsight, I maybe should not have done this one this year. None of her Bibles had this part of the story and it was hard to explain. She knows what money is, but doesn't understand that we pay money for things we want/need, etc.
6. The last egg has a piece of rope in it to represent Jesus' arrest and tying his hands together. Aria wanted to tie her hands together after reading about this. She wasn't too fond of it and started to understand people were not being nice to Jesus.
Days 7-12 (left to right)
7. The green egg has a feather in it to represent the rooster crowing and Peter denying Jesus three times. I definitely should not have done this one this year. Her Bibles did not have the story and it was way to hard to explain. I think I just knew she would like the feather.
8. The yellow egg has a "crown of thorns" or a hair piece that had semi-sharp prongs on it. When it was determined that Jesus was going to be crucified, they put the crown of thorns on his head. This one really got to Aria. The prongs poked her a little bit and she didn't like it. She knew it was not nice to put the crown on Jesus and I could tell she didn't really like this part of the story. It only gets worse.
9. The orange egg has part of a purple washcloth in it. It was confusing to her because it was a washcloth, but it was the piece of purple I found. The purple cloth represents the purple robe put on Jesus to mock him as the "King of the Jews." Aria wanted to use the washcloth to clean things again.
10. The purple egg has a cross made out of twigs and a twist tie. Aria knows that Jesus died on the cross and understood this egg right away.
11. The pink egg got the most interesting reaction yet. It is a sponge with vinegar on it to represent the sour wine that Jesus was offered to drink while on the cross. Aria opened the egg and said, "pretty" as she saw the pink sponge. But then she caught a whiff of it and wanted nothing to do with it. I explained to her that they gave this to Jesus to drink and she didn't like that at all. She wanted him to drink milk.
12. The blue egg has part of a skewer in it to represent the spear that was put into Jesus side after he died to drain his blood. I wasn't too graphic in explaining this to Aria and told her they poked Jesus with it. Again, she understood that it was pain for Jesus and did not like it at all.
Stay tuned for the rest of our eggs and the happy parts of the story!
I had heard of others doing Resurrection Eggs with their kids and I had seen them in stores. I decided to do a little research, save some money and make them myself. I used this site as my base and changed it a bit to fit Aria's age. I wanted to be able to read the parts of the Easter story to Aria from her Bibles or her "The First Easter" book, so I had to change some of the suggestions from that site because we didn't have any toddler resources about some of the symbols. Turns out I didn't look carefully enough because some of the symbols I used weren't in there, either. We made it work.
I ended up making 20 eggs, beginning the story at Palm Sunday. We have opened one egg per day, starting the Sunday before Palm Sunday. Each day I read a portion, if not all, of the Easter story to Aria and we discuss what object she finds in the egg. I compare it to an Advent calendar. I've discovered that it is a little more difficult to explain death, sin, and Heaven to a two-year-old than it was to explain baby, God's son, and born in a barn. But that's okay. We'll build on it every year. She understands that Jesus died on the cross and that He is alive. If there is anything for her to repeat, those two statements work for me.
Here is a closer look at what we've done so far:
1. That is a dried up version of a "palm branch" or a leaf from one of our lily plants. Aria really got into waving the palm branch and shouting "Hosanna, Hosanna!" This represents when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and people waved palm branches and shouted for their king!
2. The yellow egg had a washcloth in it to represent Jesus washing his disciples' feet. Jesus did that to show his disciples how to serve others. Washing feet would have been an even more disgusting and dirty job in those times. Aria definitely understood this concept and has washed many feet lately.
3. The orange egg held pieces of bread. This represents the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples. He broke the bread and declared it a representative of his body. We follow Jesus' lead once a month in our church by taking Communion of bread and grape juice. Aria understood the story, but for some reason did not want to eat the bread.
4. It is kind of hard to see, but the purple egg has praying hands in it. This represents when Jesus went to the garden to pray after the Last Supper. This is where Jesus prayed that God's will be done. Aria understands praying, but it was hard to describe the specifics of this prayer.
5. The pink egg has three dimes in it. This represents the silver coins Judas received for betraying Jesus. In hindsight, I maybe should not have done this one this year. None of her Bibles had this part of the story and it was hard to explain. She knows what money is, but doesn't understand that we pay money for things we want/need, etc.
6. The last egg has a piece of rope in it to represent Jesus' arrest and tying his hands together. Aria wanted to tie her hands together after reading about this. She wasn't too fond of it and started to understand people were not being nice to Jesus.
7. The green egg has a feather in it to represent the rooster crowing and Peter denying Jesus three times. I definitely should not have done this one this year. Her Bibles did not have the story and it was way to hard to explain. I think I just knew she would like the feather.
8. The yellow egg has a "crown of thorns" or a hair piece that had semi-sharp prongs on it. When it was determined that Jesus was going to be crucified, they put the crown of thorns on his head. This one really got to Aria. The prongs poked her a little bit and she didn't like it. She knew it was not nice to put the crown on Jesus and I could tell she didn't really like this part of the story. It only gets worse.
9. The orange egg has part of a purple washcloth in it. It was confusing to her because it was a washcloth, but it was the piece of purple I found. The purple cloth represents the purple robe put on Jesus to mock him as the "King of the Jews." Aria wanted to use the washcloth to clean things again.
10. The purple egg has a cross made out of twigs and a twist tie. Aria knows that Jesus died on the cross and understood this egg right away.
11. The pink egg got the most interesting reaction yet. It is a sponge with vinegar on it to represent the sour wine that Jesus was offered to drink while on the cross. Aria opened the egg and said, "pretty" as she saw the pink sponge. But then she caught a whiff of it and wanted nothing to do with it. I explained to her that they gave this to Jesus to drink and she didn't like that at all. She wanted him to drink milk.
12. The blue egg has part of a skewer in it to represent the spear that was put into Jesus side after he died to drain his blood. I wasn't too graphic in explaining this to Aria and told her they poked Jesus with it. Again, she understood that it was pain for Jesus and did not like it at all.
Stay tuned for the rest of our eggs and the happy parts of the story!
4.04.2012
Children's Museum
Recently we had the opportunity to go to the Children's Museum as an outing for our MOPS group. Justin took the morning off work and came with us. It is a great place! Aria had a blast! I think the music room was my favorite. There were all sorts of cool instruments to play with fingers, mallets, sticks, and even flip flops! Aria enjoyed the farm upstairs that is specifically for kids 5 and under. She also enjoyed shopping in the grocery store. We went last year, too and Aria remembered the slide she went down and that Grandma was there with us, mostly because she likes watching that video of herself. I'm so thankful for another cool place, being part of a group who organizes outings, and a daddy who is flexible and willing to miss work to come with!
4.03.2012
The Letter I
When it is 'I' week that means you eat ice cream every day, right? I wish! And Aria wishes, too. We only ate it twice, somehow!
Bible: We read about Isaac in the Bible. I didn't spend a lot of time on Isaac because we were doing Resurrection Eggs for Easter and reading a lot of Easter Bible parts (and I still need to post about the eggs!) But, we read the story and Aria followed along really well. I am amazed at how intently she listens (when she wants to).
Activity: Aria loves "I Spy" books. She especially likes the ones that have the character, Seymour, in them. She likes searching for all the random objects. So, I created three "I Spy" around our house games. I took pictures of random objects around our house and then put them on a Word doc and printed it off. We had an I Spy Upstairs, I Spy Downstairs, and I Spy Outside. Aria enjoyed finding each object and crossing it off our list. I liked seeing the wheels turning inside her head as she recognized the pictures and thought about where the things were. Definitely a fun activity, easy to create, and countless possibilities.
People We Know: Inwards Family, Izzy (from Wild Animal Babies) --Don't worry our J list will more than make up for not knowing any 'I' first name people.
Food: ice cream, Italian food night, Italian bread
Pictures to color: Iowa (the state), Iowa flag, iguana, igloo, ink, ice, ice cream, insects
Books: We didn't make it to the library this week. I'm sure there are some great 'I' books, but I just get there. We did read one we own, "I Love You Through and Through."
Songs: I've been wanting to add songs to our week specific to the letter, but Aria is so particular about what songs she wants to sing/listen to. This week, she was open to hearing a new one and I sang, "I've Been Workin on the Railroad." We also sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider."
Bible: We read about Isaac in the Bible. I didn't spend a lot of time on Isaac because we were doing Resurrection Eggs for Easter and reading a lot of Easter Bible parts (and I still need to post about the eggs!) But, we read the story and Aria followed along really well. I am amazed at how intently she listens (when she wants to).
Activity: Aria loves "I Spy" books. She especially likes the ones that have the character, Seymour, in them. She likes searching for all the random objects. So, I created three "I Spy" around our house games. I took pictures of random objects around our house and then put them on a Word doc and printed it off. We had an I Spy Upstairs, I Spy Downstairs, and I Spy Outside. Aria enjoyed finding each object and crossing it off our list. I liked seeing the wheels turning inside her head as she recognized the pictures and thought about where the things were. Definitely a fun activity, easy to create, and countless possibilities.
People We Know: Inwards Family, Izzy (from Wild Animal Babies) --Don't worry our J list will more than make up for not knowing any 'I' first name people.
Food: ice cream, Italian food night, Italian bread
Pictures to color: Iowa (the state), Iowa flag, iguana, igloo, ink, ice, ice cream, insects
Books: We didn't make it to the library this week. I'm sure there are some great 'I' books, but I just get there. We did read one we own, "I Love You Through and Through."
Songs: I've been wanting to add songs to our week specific to the letter, but Aria is so particular about what songs she wants to sing/listen to. This week, she was open to hearing a new one and I sang, "I've Been Workin on the Railroad." We also sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider."
4.02.2012
Myrtle the Turtle
For just about two weeks we were a two pet family. We have, of course, our beloved dog, Augie...
...whom we have had for seven and a half years and loves us unconditionally, follows us everywhere, and tolerates the most abusive treatment from a certain toddler (along with many kisses and hugs, too).
And we had Myrtle the Turtle...
...whom was caught by a friend of Grandma's and lived in Augie's swimming pool and would rather we had just left him/her alone.
Yet, Myrtle the Turtle was quite the hit! Aria went out to the deck every morning and said, "Good morning Myrtle Turtle. How are you today?" She was so very excited to look at him/her and talk about him/her. She might have touched him/her once, but mostly just enjoyed his/her presence. And, sorry for all the him/hers. Aria claimed "he" was a boy, but I just don't know how you tell that on a turtle and I wasn't going to explore to find out.
It was not feasible for Myrtle the Turtle to live in Augie's swimming pool on our deck forever, so last Thursday we went to the creek and set him/her free. We told Aria that he/she wanted to live with other turtles. I could tell she wanted to keep him/her, but I think it is still a little too beyond her to beg for a pet. It was most evident how much she enjoyed him/her when she was praying for her breakfast Friday morning. "Dear God, thank you for Rice Krispies, toast, milk, and Myrtle.........Tur.....tle (as she looked at the window and realized he/she wasn't there)."
I like turtles and it was fun to have him/her. He/she hissed at us and scrambled away as quick as possible whenever I made any attempts to put food in the pool or to pick him/her up. I think I like having my affection returned from Augie, even if it is in the form of kisses on my face sometimes.
Mostly, I learned we are pet people. Aria really loves animals and would keep anything for a pet, I'm sure. She definitely personifies all animals and enjoys watching them. It was a fun experiment and one I'm sure will happen again in some form or another!
And we had Myrtle the Turtle...
Yet, Myrtle the Turtle was quite the hit! Aria went out to the deck every morning and said, "Good morning Myrtle Turtle. How are you today?" She was so very excited to look at him/her and talk about him/her. She might have touched him/her once, but mostly just enjoyed his/her presence. And, sorry for all the him/hers. Aria claimed "he" was a boy, but I just don't know how you tell that on a turtle and I wasn't going to explore to find out.
It was not feasible for Myrtle the Turtle to live in Augie's swimming pool on our deck forever, so last Thursday we went to the creek and set him/her free. We told Aria that he/she wanted to live with other turtles. I could tell she wanted to keep him/her, but I think it is still a little too beyond her to beg for a pet. It was most evident how much she enjoyed him/her when she was praying for her breakfast Friday morning. "Dear God, thank you for Rice Krispies, toast, milk, and Myrtle.........Tur.....tle (as she looked at the window and realized he/she wasn't there)."
I like turtles and it was fun to have him/her. He/she hissed at us and scrambled away as quick as possible whenever I made any attempts to put food in the pool or to pick him/her up. I think I like having my affection returned from Augie, even if it is in the form of kisses on my face sometimes.
Mostly, I learned we are pet people. Aria really loves animals and would keep anything for a pet, I'm sure. She definitely personifies all animals and enjoys watching them. It was a fun experiment and one I'm sure will happen again in some form or another!
4.01.2012
April Fool's...No Thank You
I've never been one that has taken jokes well. I don't really like a lot of sarcasm or teasing. I just don't take it well. I try not to dish it out because I know I would get upset if I got it back. There are some small jokes that are okay and easy for me to handle, but anything that has even a touch of mean, I don't like it. I'm just not someone who enjoys that type of humor. Therefore, I'm not a fan of April Fool's Day. When I was teaching, I never believed anything my students said that day. I'm usually skeptical of most everything on April 1 because I don't want to be the sucker who fell for the joke.
However, there is one particular April Fool's joke that I strongly dislike. It's the one where somebody pretends they are pregnant. I realize it is a 'good joke.' It is something people will automatically fall for because of the excitement of the news. But to someone who desperately wants to have a baby and can't, it's no joke. It is hard enough to listen to a real announcement of pregnancy than to have to endure fake ones. I kind of feel like a joke about being pregnant is saying, "it is so easy for being pregnant to be possible, I can really get everyone with this joke." But when it isn't so easy for being pregnant to be possible, it just hurts.
I realize people are doing it all in good fun. All the times I've heard the joke, I know people aren't trying to hurt me with it and I try hard not to take any offense. But I am hyper-sensitive to the situation. I know I can't expect people who are gifted jokesters to cater to my sensitivities, I just needed to get this off my chest after seeing and hearing several of these particular jokes today. One thing you can count on, you will never hear an April Fool's joke out of me!
However, there is one particular April Fool's joke that I strongly dislike. It's the one where somebody pretends they are pregnant. I realize it is a 'good joke.' It is something people will automatically fall for because of the excitement of the news. But to someone who desperately wants to have a baby and can't, it's no joke. It is hard enough to listen to a real announcement of pregnancy than to have to endure fake ones. I kind of feel like a joke about being pregnant is saying, "it is so easy for being pregnant to be possible, I can really get everyone with this joke." But when it isn't so easy for being pregnant to be possible, it just hurts.
I realize people are doing it all in good fun. All the times I've heard the joke, I know people aren't trying to hurt me with it and I try hard not to take any offense. But I am hyper-sensitive to the situation. I know I can't expect people who are gifted jokesters to cater to my sensitivities, I just needed to get this off my chest after seeing and hearing several of these particular jokes today. One thing you can count on, you will never hear an April Fool's joke out of me!
Great Basketball
This year, one of the women's basketball regionals was only two hours away from our house. Obviously, we got tickets and went to see some awesome basketball! We actually bought the tickets before the selection show so we had no idea what teams we would be watching. But it was the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight, whomever it was, it would be good. Lucky for us, it turned out to be Tennessee and my all time favorite coach, Pat Summit. I have loved Tennessee Women's Basketball and Pat Summit for as long as I can remember. If I would have been good enough for her to recruit me, I would have asked where to sign the moment she contacted me. Pat Summit is the all-time winningest coach in history. She has won 1,098 basketball games. That is absolutely astounding! Last summer, she announced that she has early onset dementia, which will likely lead to Alzheimer's. There has been much speculation of this season being her last in coaching. If that is so, I got to see her last game in person. And so did Aria, Justin and my parents! While we didn't get to take any photos like this:
...we did have a wonderful time watching basketball as a family. When asked who we were cheering for, Aria would reply, "Tennessee." She also was heard saying, "Go Lady Vols! Go Lady Vols!" And, she knows the coach of Tennessee is "Pat Summit hold you little baby." We got to take the above picture when Aria was about three weeks old at a game for the team I used to coach. Pat Summit was there recruiting one of our players. The poor lady was bombarded all night long for autographs and I wasn't going to bother her, but my mom marched right up and asked for a picture with Aria. Coach Summit replied, "Can I hold her?" And, I am so thankful for my mom's boldness and such a cool picture!
We actually watched three basketball games, two on Saturday and one on Monday. Saturday's match-ups were Tennessee vs. Kansas and Baylor vs. Georgia Tech. Monday was Baylor vs. Tennessee. Baylor is this year's best team. They are undefeated and it will be a tall task for anyone to beat them. They have 6'8 Brittney Griner, who made a ridiculous dunk in the game on Saturday. Yes, I said dunk, as in pull herself up on the rim after she threw it down. It was crazy.
These are the kinds of events that my parents and Justin and I love. We went to the women's Final Four three years ago and have been to many other cool sporting events. In fact, my mom told me I was about Aria's age when we went to a regional basketball game in Louisville in route to our vacation in Florida. This stuff has been in my blood for a long time. It is so fun to see Aria enjoy what we love, too. I realize she doesn't have much choice now, but she really did like the basketball. Okay, she loved the mascots, the cheering, the music, the popcorn, and sitting with Grandma. But she did have fun and didn't really complain.
Thanks mom and dad for a really fun trip and special memories made!
We actually watched three basketball games, two on Saturday and one on Monday. Saturday's match-ups were Tennessee vs. Kansas and Baylor vs. Georgia Tech. Monday was Baylor vs. Tennessee. Baylor is this year's best team. They are undefeated and it will be a tall task for anyone to beat them. They have 6'8 Brittney Griner, who made a ridiculous dunk in the game on Saturday. Yes, I said dunk, as in pull herself up on the rim after she threw it down. It was crazy.
These are the kinds of events that my parents and Justin and I love. We went to the women's Final Four three years ago and have been to many other cool sporting events. In fact, my mom told me I was about Aria's age when we went to a regional basketball game in Louisville in route to our vacation in Florida. This stuff has been in my blood for a long time. It is so fun to see Aria enjoy what we love, too. I realize she doesn't have much choice now, but she really did like the basketball. Okay, she loved the mascots, the cheering, the music, the popcorn, and sitting with Grandma. But she did have fun and didn't really complain.
Thanks mom and dad for a really fun trip and special memories made!
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