Happy Easter!

Easter is THE holiday for Christians. Jesus left his home in heaven and came to live on this earth for one singular purpose: the cross. Jesus, though he did no wrong, willingly went to the cross where he experienced the full wrath of God in body and in soul. Jesus suffered agony and torment on the cross, God's punishment for sinners, for those who think, do, and say what is wrong and those who fail to think, fail to do, and fail to say what is right. Jesus' death on the cross was to pay the penalty due us for our sins against a pure and holy and just God. After Jesus died, they took his body and anointed it with oil and spices and placed it in a tomb with a stone covering the opening. Three days later, the stone was rolled away and Jesus' body was no longer there. An angel declared, "He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." After that, Jesus appeared to many of his followers.

Faith in Jesus' death and resurrection in our place is the basis for our salvation from our sins. It is what brings us back into fellowship with God. It is the source of the hope that Christians have of one day being reunited with Christ in Heaven. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:16-19,

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those who have also fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

For this reason, we have tried over the years to establish meaningful Easter traditions to celebrate the salvation and hope that Jesus accomplished for those who trust in Him by His death and resurrection.  I pray that one day each of my children will come to trust in Jesus savingly and live their lives to bring Him glory!

Scriptural Stations of the Cross

Two problems with this picture: (1) Josiah refused to be in it and (2) these boys move too much and too fast!

To go over the Scriptural Stations of the Cross, I colored these little wooden crosses with Sharpies and glued the name of one of the stations on the front. On the back, I wrote the Scriptural reference. We went through all fourteen stations in one sitting.  Yes, that was kind of difficult for the little ones who can't/won't sit still for very long.  Note to self: next year, spread this out over two weeks.

The stations are as follows:

1. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane 
2. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested 
3. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin 
4. Jesus is denied by Peter 
5. Jesus is judged by Pontius Pilate 
6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns 
7. Jesus bears the cross 
8. Jesus is helped to bear the cross 
9. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem 
10. Jesus is crucified 
11. Jesus promises his kingdom to the thief 
12. Jesus speaks to his mother and John 
13. Jesus dies on the cross 
14. Jesus is placed in the tomb

Resurrection Eggs

My not very impressive resurrection eggs.

Resurrection eggs are pretty easy to pull off.  I just got 12 plastic Easter eggs from the store and filled them with the symbols collected from around the house.  I have the kids take turns opening an egg and discuss the account of Jesus' death and resurrection using the following symbols and Scriptures:

1. Bread (Matthew 26:26)
2. Silver Coins (Matthew 26:14-15)
3. Purple Cloth (Mark 15:17)
4. Thorns (Matthew 27:29)
5. Piece of Rope (Mark 15:15)
6. Cross (John 19:17-18a)
7. Nails (John 20:25b)
8. Sign (Luke 23:38)
9. Sponge (Matthew 27:48)
10. Spear (John 19:34)
11. Rock (Matthew 27:59-60)
12. Nothing (Matthew 28:6) 

Resurrection Rolls

Five kids eagerly anticipating resurrection rolls!

 

I think this is pretty much my kids' favorite Easter activity.  It's really easy and impressive, especially for preschoolers.  Mind you, this is the only time of year that you will find crescent rolls and marshmallows in my house.  Separate and unroll the crescent rolls onto a baking sheet.  This is the tomb.  Take a marshmallow, which represents Jesus' body, and roll it in butter and then a cinnamon-sugar mixture.  You just anointed Jesus' body with oil and spices.  Then place the anointed Jesus (a.k.a. cinnamon-sugary marshmallow) in the tomb (a.k.a. crescent roll) and wrap it up.  Be sure to seal the edges really well or the lesson will backfire.  Bake the rolls according to the directions on the package.  While baking, the marshmallow will melt inside the roll.  After the rolls have cooled a little, you can break one open and the kids will be shocked to find Jesus' body is no longer there!  This is a very illustrative lesson to explain that Jesus' body was no longer in the tomb because he went to Heaven.

Devotional with Magnets

Josiah playing with the magnets!

The last activity that I did with kids in anticipation of Easter Sunday is a six-day devotional activity published by a local church.  A friend gave this to me before Easter two years ago.  Each day, we read a devotional and place a magnet on the board which forms the cross you see in the picture above.  The topics of the devotions are:

1. Praise (Matthew 21:6-10)
2. Service (John 13:1-20)
3. Prayer (Mark 14:32-35)
4. Love (John 3:16)
5. Sacrifice (Luke 23:33-46)
6. Victory (Matthew 28:1-10)

I really like this devotional material because I feel like the other activities focus on historical facts, but this devotional material is intended to affect the heart, as I think is evident from the topics.  For more information, please contact Compass Bible Church.

How I Spend my Free Time

As a homeschooling mama to five kids, I am frequently asked about what I do in my spare time. Ummm...SLEEP? Just kidding, ummm...well, I'm actually not kidding at all. You know those ads that offer miracle cures for getting a better night's sleep. Secretly, they're put on the market by people who are very concerned with controlling population growth. Seriously, if you want a better night's sleep, just have another kid. All my sleeping problems disappeared when I had my first baby in 2006.  Now I can sleep any time, any place, in any position, with any degree of brightness.  I hope I just saved you two dollars.

Now, back to the topic of how I spend my free time, when I am not sleeping, that is. This year, I have been busy making theatrical props and costumes! We allow our girls to take one of the many enrichment classes offered through Springs Charter School.  This year, both girls elected to take Musical Theater.  There are five theater classes for students in grades K-8, all taught by the one and only superly-awesome-amazingly-creative Mrs. Mary Hering. Each of the classes are working on a scene from a selected musical, but all the musicals will be put together into one performance. The classes are working on scenes from The Lion King, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderelly, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The neat part is that all of the kids get to have supporting roles in the other classes' scenes.

It does take a village to put together one of these performances, from props, lights and backdrops to costumes, music, and make-up. My little part has been to help make some props/costumes from the quiet(?) and comfort(???) of my own home! While David would argue that this show is taking up too much of my time, it has been so much fun stirring up and releasing a few creative juices! That would certainly be reward in itself, but we are also receiving free admission as recompense for the sweat of my brow!

Candy bars for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

More Candy Bars.  I think the 3 Mousketeers is my favorite!

Drums for the Lion King!

Maggie in her bird mask.

Four sets of bird wings!

Last, but certainly not least, a Glinda the Good Witch costume for Mary.

Our New Year's Tea Party

I really don't like New Year's. At all.  I don't like to be around people, and I don't like staying up late.  I don't even like fireworks or loud noises.  So, it's really saying a lot to say that our New Year's celebration this year was the best ever!  David and I wanted to give our kids an experience gift for Christmas. We figure they really need time with us not more things.  The downside of an experience gift, though, is the price tag, especially for a family of seven!  So, we ended up gifting our kids a home-made tea party. Everyone played a part in the preparations: Mary and Maggie decorated the butterfly cookies; Matthew and Jonathan helped make heart sandwiches; Josiah supervised pretzel making; and David ooed and ahed at the appropriate moments! We got dressed up in fancy clothes, pulled out the fine china, and ate and drank to our belly's delight!  Below are some pictures of the celebration.  The kids enjoyed it so much that they have already requested this be a New Year's tradition, but I don't know...I'm kinda tired...

Everyone is eagerly anticipating the opening prayer!

Placemats made out of wrapping paper and aluminum foil!

The menu!

Pretty placecards illustrating our butterfly-heart theme!

The food: pretzels, heart-shaped ham and cheese sandwiches, grapes and butterfly cookies! 

The centerpiece: twigs with origami butterflies!

Lots of origami butterflies all over the table!

Jonathan is goofy as ever!

Maggie and her beautifully decorated butterfly!

Josiah ate his grapes first!  I would have started with the cookies!

Matthew sat Indian style the whole time!

Mary being such a fine lady!

Pictures of David and me are few and far between.

2014--The Year in Review

In 2014, our family experienced many joys as well as trials. Many tears were shed, tears of joy and tears of sorrow. Whether our circumstances be joyful or trying, we know that in Christ we possess every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, so we consider ourselves to be truly blessed! As we look forward to another year of faithful service to Christ, here are a few of the highlights from 2014.

After intermittent searching on Craig's List, I was finally able to score a triple jogging stroller!  It wasn't cheap, but I had been saving up gift money for a while.  Those three guys plus the stroller add up to 130 pounds, so I'm also saving money and time by combining my cardio and strength workouts.  No gym membership for this girl!  I don't know how I would have been able to train Mary and Maggie for the 5K without this stroller!!

Believe it or not, when I was a little girl, I wanted more than anything to be a flower girl.  I know that's really surprising coming from the epitome of tomboy.  Mary and Maggie were thrilled to be flower girls in my niece Chealsee's wedding.  They looked like little angels!  Fortunately, Chealsee and John are really laid back and didn't seem to mind that all the petals were on the right side of the aisle!

I really broke out of my comfort zone and agreed to decorate a table for our Women's Christmas Tea at church.  It was really fun hanging out while crafting with Carrie and Melanie.  We stayed up well past nine and made lots of glittery ball ornaments!

David and his running pal, Joe, ran a 5K and raced against a Junior Olympian!

I unexpectedly got pregnant with Baby #6.  Then, I had a miscarriage at 15 weeks. More than two months later, I ended up in the ER needing an emergency D&C.  Because of the nature of the symptoms I was having, the doctors thought it was possible that I had had a molar pregnancy and sent everything off to be tested for malignancy.  Praise God, the pathology results came back normal!

We planted lots of vegetables in our garden beds and attracted lots of animals.  David tried just about everything before declaring a humane war on the pests.  He used this contraption to catch them.  Eventually, David's perseverance paid off, and the pests have moved on to greener pastures.  It's a good thing because his next tactical move was going to be to teach the boys to use the sling shot.

We started scheduling dates with each of our children.  Once a month, either David or I will have a special date with one of the kids with each of us having one date with each of the kids during the year.  The kids really look forward to this special time and make plans far in advance.  Maggie asked Daddy to paint her fingernails during their date (after swimming)!

Mary, Maggie, and I built a roller coaster using a K'Nex set we bought at a garage sale. It was challenging and took a lot of time, but it was lots of fun for everyone!

Josiah met his Great Grandma Linda for the first time on the Fourth of July!  I love this picture of them sitting in their rocking chairs together!

This year, David and I celebrated our 13th anniversary!  The kids made us royal scepters and crowns for the occasion.  Mary even made us a special dinner, bacon and waffles!

Matthew and Jonathan are becoming so big that they have mostly outgrown their need for a nap. While this means less of a break for mama, they do have so much fun playing with their sisters in the afternoon (after schoolwork has been completed).  Now they get to play Go Fish, Zingo, baby dolls, and even dress-up!  

Mary's soccer season this fall was quite exciting!  Early on in this season, she kind of fell into playing goalie.  Her team, Orange Crush, won the 1st place for South Irvine!  They also got to play in the Mayor's Cup, a competition between North Irvine and South Irvine, and are still in the regional tournament.  At the conclusion of the regular season, Mary was selected as one of ten girls to play for the U9 All Star team. She also received the sportsmanship award for her team!

The kids got to see lots of construction equipment up close as construction continues just across the street.  

David became a tenured professor at UCI.  From my perspective, this means I can finally set down my roots and call Irvine home.  There is also less pressure on David to travel, although somehow he managed to squeak in work trips to Japan, Korea, and Italy this year!

Consider it Pure Joy

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 

because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

James 1:2

Our family is walking through a trial.  We would like to ask you to walk alongside us and pray for us as we grieve the loss of our unborn child.  

This past Friday, I went to see my midwife for a routine checkup.  The girls love coming to my appointments with me and were really excited since the midwife usually allows them to help out with the doppler.  The midwife pulled out the doppler and spent a long time searching for the baby's heartbeat.  Eventually, she hooked up their antiquated ultrasound machine and found the baby.  She did see a flicker indicating a heartbeat but was very concerned that the baby didn't seem to be moving at all.  She escorted the girls to the waiting area and discussed with me her concerns that this baby may not have survived.  To further evaluate the situation, she ordered an ultrasound to be performed at an imaging center.  The ultrasound revealed the baby was still alive but not doing well.  Baby's heartbeat was only 60 beats per minute, far below the normal range for ~15 weeks.  The baby was also measuring closer to 12 weeks, or 3 weeks smaller than indicated by my due date.  The midwife told me to call if I had cramping or bleeding over the weekend.  Having neither, we followed up with another ultrasound today, which indicated no heartbeat.  At 15 weeks, our baby is no longer living.  I maintained composure at the imaging center, but the moment I got to my car, the tears started flowing. The drive from the imaging center to my home is only 10 minutes.  Yet so many tears welled up in my eyes during that short time, I almost couldn't see to drive.  

So many crazy thoughts have been running through my mind in trying to find a reason for this:

• Did I run too much?
• Did I drink enough water?
• Did I drink too much Boba?
• Why did I dig out those bushes?
• Why did I sit in the hot tub even for a minute?
• Did I eat enough?
• Did I carry Josiah too much?
• Did I seem ungrateful for a sixth child?
• Does God think I'm a horrible mommy?

I conducted a little bit of research that showed that oftentimes miscarriages are the result of chromosomal abnormalities present at the time of conception.  These abnormalities cause either the mom's body to stop supporting the baby or the baby's body just to shut down.  So, I can reason with myself and release myself from blame for causing this to happen.  

But, then, I am still left with one question.  Why did God allow this to happen to us?  In my devotions with the kids for the past few weeks, we have been studying the life of Joseph.  So many "bad" things happened to Joseph.  His brothers sold him into slavery and reported him as dead to their father.  He was falsely accused of rape and thrown into prison.  He helped others in prison but was forgotten by them.  Yet, Joseph humbly accepted every situation and continued to trust in God.  Why did God allow this to happen to us?  I choose to be like Joseph.  I don't know why this is happening to us, but let me tell you what I do know.  I know that God, my heavenly Father, is loving and wise and good.  Everything that He allows me to go through, the good and the bad, is both for my good and his glory.  I have to believe that He is using this for my good and for His glory.  And, He has not abandoned me and left me to go through this trial alone.  No, He is with me.  In my weakness, He is in fact carrying me every step of the way.  So, I pray that He will indeed bring glory to His name and enable me to persevere.  

David's First Trail Race!

This evening, David ran his first trail race. a 5K at Irvine Regional Park in Orange.  Another friend from church, Patrick, also came out for his first trail race, too!  Despite the loose sand and big rocks, these guys still had smiles on their faces at the end!  I'm guessing they're even ready to sign up for the next one!  Below are a few pictures from the evening!

Although David did not finish quite as fast as he hoped, coming in at 22:50, he still managed to place second in his age group (35-44) and 10th overall!  Not too shabby a performance for his first trail race!

David's ready to run!

So is Patrick!

Mary asked me to take her picture.

Twice.

Make that three times.

Maggie asked me to take her picture.

Twice.

Make that three times!

Jonathan made no such request!

Neither did Matthew!

Or Josiah, but who could resist his smile!

Pretty impressive when your kids occupy every swing except one on the swingset!

Congratulations, David and Patrick!  You made it!!