Resurrection Eggs

Easter is on the way!   Time to start working on Easter crafts! My MOPS group has an awesome Creative Activities Coordinator (Hi, Eve:)) who comes up with the cutest ideas.  This past week, in we made Resurrection Eggs.

The eggs help kids understand Jesus' death and resurrection a little bit better.  Inside the eggs are items that illustrate the story along with the scripture verses they relate to.  I have seen many versions of the eggs, but I thought these really do a great job of telling the whole story.  This weekend, we are going to go through the whole thing.  I am going to let the kids look at each egg and we will spend some time looking up the scriptures and reading about Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.  Then, in the weeks leading up to Easter, we are going to spend some time looking a little bit more closely at each scripture passage. 

Here is the list of what is in each egg and the relevance to the Resurrection Story.  If you would like a printable PDF of this and the super cute Title, just email me and I would be more than happy to send it. Thanks Eve!!!  

You will need:

12 plastic eggs

1 egg container

1 coin

1feather

1 piece purple cloth

1 small cross

1 small die (one of a pair of dice)

1 piece of sponge

1 small stone

1 piece of linen fabric

1 small nail (be careful if you are using a real nail- the ends can be sharp.)

1 small toy fish

1 cotton ball

Egg 1:  The coin represents the money that was paid to Judas for his betrayal of Jesus.

Then one of the Twelve-- the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.

Matthew 26:14-15

Egg 2:   The feather represents when Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, just as Jesus had predicted he would.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”  

Matthew 26:34  

Egg 3:  The purple cloth represents the scarlet robe that was placed on Jesus during the trial.  They dressed Jesus in it to mock the fact that He was the “King of the Jews.”

Egg 4: The cross represents the cross that Jesus was made to carry Himself.  Along the way, Simon was ordered to carry it the rest of the way.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.  Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).

John 19:17 

Egg 5:  The dice represent the soldiers casting lots (gambling) to see who would get what was left of Jesus’ clothes.  

“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another.  “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”  This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” [Psalm 22:18] So this is what the soldiers did.

John 19:24  

Egg 6:  The sponge represents the vinegar water that was offered to Jesus while He was on the cross.

There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

Matthew 27:34

Egg 7:  The stone represents the stone that was in front of Jesus’ tomb. It was rolled away by an angel of the Lord.  

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

Matthew 28:2

Egg8:  The empty egg represents the empty tomb that was left when Jesus rose from the dead.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

Matthew 28:5-6

Egg 9:  The linen fabric represent Jesus’ the burial cloths that were left in the tomb.  Peter came to the tomb and found the cloths, but no Jesus!

Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb.  He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head.  The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

John 20:6-7

Egg 10:  The nail represents the scars that were in Jesus’ hands when He showed them to the disciples to prove it was really Him.

So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them.  Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting and believe.”

John 20:6-7

Egg11: The Fish represents the fish that Jesus ate with the disciples.

And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They game him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

Luke 24:41-43

Egg 12:  The Cotton Ball represents the clouds that Jesus ascended into Heaven in...as well as the clouds that will accompany Him when He returns!

“Men of Galilee,”  they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into Heaven.”

Acts 1:11

Weekly Menu Plan

For a while now, I have been lurking on a site that I just love!  It's called This Week For Dinner and I love, love, love all of the ideas and inspiration that I have gotten there.  It is a site that does just what it says, offers weekly meal plans. The writer, Jane Maynard offers up her meal plan and then followers add theirs in the comments.   Plus, there are a lot of other recipes and fun things to read and look at.  I do love to see what everyone is making for dinner during the week.  I wonder why that is so interesting to me??  Anyway, I am going to start posting my weekly meal plan.  That means that I am going to have to start making one every week.  That means more organization, yay!  Check out Jane's site- it's a lot of fun!

Here's my first "official" This week for Dinner meal plan:

Monday: Dinner at Lifetime Fitness (Liv has swimming lessons)

Tuesday: Baked Manicotti Bundles.  This is a first time recipe, so I will let you know if it's worth making again.  I got it from Clean Eating Magazine.

Wednesday: Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry with Brown rice.  This is another first.  Will let you know how it goes.

Thursday: I am going out to celebrate a friend's baby.  Left Overs for the home crowd.

Friday: Chicken with Italian Sweet and Sour Fennel .  For a side I am making creamy polenta and steamed green beans.

Saturday: I am going to Richmond to a craft show.  It will be a free for all here:))

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Breasts and Pappardelle with Baby Spinach, Herbs and Ricotta


So, that's it- wish me luck! As many of you know, even when I have a plan I rarely stick to it.  But I will try!  I will let you know next week how it all went.  If you have any menu ideas, please leave me a comment!  I have yet to have any comments yet:(  Boo, hoo.  Just kidding!

Look Ma, no Highchair!

Well, it's official.  S is no longer in her highchair!  She has been screaming about getting in it for some time now.  Tonight I gave in and found the booster chair.

Mini Veggie Frittatas

This morning, I got the privilege of participating in Life Journey Day with my MOPS group.  What a blessing it was!  We heard an awesome speaker, who told her story about adopting her daughter from Ethiopia.  We also got to share with the women at our table.  We were able to share the stories about God working in our lives.  It was so nice to be able to get to know these women better.

I have lots of pictures, but wanted to share this recipe.  I wanted a recipe that would be good warm or room temperature.  These tasted good at room temp.  but are definitely better hot!  They are adapted from this (click on this, not this this, that this; the underlined one.) recipe from Martha.

"Spring is here, Spring is here, it's the best time of the year"

Those of you who have young'uns in the Sprout set will recognize the above lyrics from "Little Bill".  Those of you who don't will just think it's a nice thought:))  Once again, we are still waiting for Spring, but there is hope!!

Grant Thomas

Last weekend, we got to travel to Ohio to see the out of town Fam.  So much fun!  The girls love spending time with their cousins.  We are truly blessed to have nephews that are almost the same ages as my older girls.  We also got to spend some time with this guy....

Who Says Girls Don't Like Mud?

The past few weeks have been pretty wet and cold here in Northern Virginia.   This weekend, however, we spent drying out.  The sun was bright and we wanted to spend some time outside.  Because our yard was in the forest one year ago, we are working on it.  The grass was planted the week before we moved in (October 23rd.) and has done amazingly well, but drainage is somewhat of an issue.  Here are some pics from our adventure in the backyard.

Favorite Veg

For almost two months now, Mike and I have been on a diet.  Not a fun diet, but a diet none the less.  We have done very well, but have been forced to give up a lot of our favorites.  Our current diet is dairy (almost) and gluten free, so our options have been quite limited.  I have been making lots of salads and this:

Organizational Tools

Today has been a little bit tough.  This morning, I dropped Izzy off at school and headed to CBS (Community Bible Study) with Liv.  After dropping Iz off at school, Liv told me that she didn't feel so good.  As we walked in to CBS Liv told me again that she didn't feel well, and asked if we could find a muffin for her to eat.  Unfortunately, there was nothing to eat (which was a blessing) and as we stood talking to Liv's teacher she got sick.  Poor little thing.  I think that this is only the second time (since infancy) that she has gotten sick.  So, she has been laying on the couch since we got home.  Luckily, for the health of everyone else in our home, our sitter was here today and took Izzy and Syd to the park.

I had a baking project planned (more on that later)  and Liv really wanted to be my sous baker.  She tried, but just couldn't do it and has been asleep on the couch for about an hour.  Which gave me some "free" time that I wasn't expecting.  I decided to check out some of my fav blogs and found something that I think is fantastic.   A website called Volunteer Spot.  I have been a huge fan of Sign Up Genius since it was recommended to me, but this is so much more!  Don't get me wrong, Sign Up Genius is still my go- to as I am so familiar with it, but- this is awesome!  The site has a ton of free downloadable ebooks on volunteering.  Everything from "Room Mom Survival Guide", to "DIY Neighborhood Summer Camps".  So, if you feel like getting the neighborhood kiddos together this summer for a summer camp.  Here is your resource.

Spring is Here (we wish).

Love the face!

This weekend, we spent some time outside.  We sure were wishing it was warmer!  The birds are back, so I know that it's coming.  It just seems to have been such a long winter.  We were able to go for several walks.  Izzy is getting so fast on her bike.  She is really fearless.  She gets that from her Dad!  Liv loves her scooter and much prefers to ride that.  She has quite the competitive streak and doesn't like that she can't keep up with Iz on her bike.   Syd just sits back and enjoys the ride.  Well, for the most part.  She was trying to figure out the wheels on the wagon on Sunday and tumbled out head first.  OOPS!  Nothing makes you feel like a fantastic parent like road burn on your toddlers forehead!   

Not sure what Liv is doing, it had to do with rescuing Syd!  I love the games that the girls come up with!

I just couldn't stop taking pictures of Syd!  I can't believe how big she is getting.  Look at all of that hair!

Even the dogs are ready for spring!!!

Escape!

Sydney has figured out how to escape.  She can now open the door to the garage and get out.  On Monday morning, I had to run upstairs for something, (probably a pair of shoes for someone), and came down to this:

While I was secretly proud that she had figured out the door, I was then horrified by what this meant.  I now had an 18 month old who was able to escape.  The hardest part being that her other new game is "run away from Mommy".  Usually I love the game, but it usually happens at inopportune times.  Here are a few more pictures of her first venture into the garage.

Doesn't she look so proud????  She sure has her own ideas about things.  I wonder how that is going to work for us when she is 13?