Lydia Laughter!

All three kids have been making us laugh with the things they say and do, but for this post, I decided to highlight Lydia. Just a short and sweet post...Lydia made this list back in January and I saved it just because it brings a smile to my face. And just in case you read this wrong, as I did, #3 according to Lydia says "Make Crafs" (crafts). I know one thing for sure, I'm gonna add "Yell Big" on my to-do list!And although not much can top the t-shirt stuffing nights of Jake...Dan did capture this photo of Lydia sleeping in this odd position on our downstairs couch!

Some Things Never Change

Lydia Grace
Claire Danielle

Claire with Grandma Kanost

***Jake like to be wrapped up tight as a wee-little one as well, but we did not get our first digital camera until he was a few months old***

An Eggstra Special Scavenger Hunt

This year, for the Easter weekend, I wanted to do a type of walk-through-the-Bible egg hunt and tie it in with Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. I had the idea and that was all...I needed to sit down and think, yet finding quiet moments to do so was becoming quite the challenge. I had shared my idea with my mom and she graciously decided to do the "homework" part for me. Basically, this is how it went down...Jake started off the scavenger hunt after I gave him a clue where to find the first egg. In that egg, was a slip of paper that had a quiz question and the Bible verse to go along with it. Jake answered the question and then found the located the verse in Scripture and read it aloud. Then it was Lydia's turn. My mom had typed up a master sheet for me and I read the next clue for her. Then she would find that egg, answer her question and read her verse. And so the turn taking began. Each answer would be tied into where the next egg would be hidden. Here are a few examples: What did they wrap Jesus' body in? The answer is linen and so the clue for the next egg was "You will find the next clue in the linen closet. What was Judas given for betraying Jesus? Answer: 30 pieces of silver & the clue was "you will find the next clue where Mommy and Daddy save their coins." We had them finding all sorts of accounts, relating the the story of God's greatest gift to us...His Son! In two of the pictures below, you will see J & L walking around with a heavy bookbag on. This task was given so that they could imagine bearing a heavy load, just as Christ bore His cross. At one point, we talked about the crown of thorns and how they beat Jesus and tore his beard out. They both really seemed to be taking this in. Near the end, we had them read in Philippians how Christ, even though he was God, humbled himself and became a servant and obediently went through a horrible death on a cross. Because He loved us so much (John 3:16)!! So, their task for this egg was to create a list of 5 ways they were going to show love to another person in the next week. At the very end, they both received a gift. Jake had gotten a new Bible for his birthday back in October, but Lydia still needed one. So, Lydia got her new Adventure Bible and cover for it and Jake got a cover for his and will also be getting a music cd of some of his favorite Christian songs, as soon as Daddy has a chance to do this. Even though Claire did not participate, she got a Bible-times coloring book the next day. Also below is the pictures we took on Easter morning. It was very bright and sunny, so that explains the squinty eyes.

Eggstravaganza!

Below are some pictures to highlight our Easter weekend. Dan and I haven't done traditional Easter basket with the kids, but we do dye eggs and do the fun, little egg hunts at our house. This year, however, we did do a unique activity with them, but I am going to post that separately, otherwise, this would be a super long post.

Here is a picture of some of our brightly-colored eggs. Decorating eggs is a bittersweet thing for me. The kids love to do it and it is a good reminder to me about taking pleasure in the "simple things." However, it was in the middle of an egg-decorating session two years ago, that I got the phone call that my dear friend from high school, Christy, had passed away and was at Home with her Saviour. What a joy it is to know she was a child of God and we will one day reunite and worship our Risen Lord together!!! When I hear or sing certain songs, like I Can Only Imagine, Come To Jesus, or In Christ Alone, I am so grateful for the power of my God and I think of my friend, who is basking in the Glory of The Almighty!

On Saturday, my mom came over and we hid the plastic eggs all around the backyard. I knew I had some regular baskets in my garage somewhere, but I wasn't sure where and the kids were anxious to get started, so I used gift bags (I save and reuse them). This picture was taken before the hunt began.

Of course, little Claire had to go first so that she would indeed have a few eggs in her bag. My mom and I had hidden some very obvious ones for her sake. I love this picture because it shows her face right after she spotted it...she was pretty happy with herself.

There's Jake and Lydia waiting in the background...

and their OFF!

(This is the only picture I have of Jake until the end of the hunt because the boy was too fast for me and my bum leg).

Lydia looks in lovely lilac!

This green egg was the last one to remain hidden. J & L were in this area for what seemed like a few minutes (we were telling them they were hot). A couple of times, it looked like each one of them looked right at it and missed it. Then, as you can see above, Jake walked right past it. Finally....

the Jakester has it!!!

We needed the eggs for the next thing we were going to do (see next post) so the kids had fun dumping out the yummies into one container to share. And of course, Claire helped herself to the findings during this time!