Easter

He is not here; he is risen; just as he said.

Matthew 28:6

Happy Easter!

 I was so happy that my family joined us for church!!!!! It is special to have everyone together to worship Jesus. I am so  thankful for our family.

 Ecstatic that Uncle Clay was off work and there with us, the kids were pretty proud of him too!

 Johnathan, Granna, Joseph, Papa, Uncle Clay, and Jayne Elizabeth!

Hopping down the bunny trail.....

Brody and Briggs were given rabbits for Easter!!!! This is the first family pet chosen by our dear friends Joe and Dana! We made a trip to their house to meet "Rusty" and "Pepsi" and to dye Easter eggs with the kids!!! We had a great evening! The rabbits are amazing! Rusty and Pepsi were poked, prodded, held, dropped and chased all in the name of love by these five children! The rabbits were out in the yard and didnt run away! We dyed countless dozens of eggs for the church egg hunts the following day! Johnathan had a "factory" going to dye eggs, and Briggs' favorite egg color was obviously blue! I think it went very well, especially considering all the little hands that were involved! Joe and Dana are such great parents, and even Brody and Briggs' grandparents braved this adventure! We adore this family and look forward to many holiday gatherings together at their new home!

Brody with Rusty ( a girl rabbit according to the veterinarian!)

Dana bought, loaded and delivered these great rocking chairs to celebrate their anniversary!

Johnathan and Pepsi ( another girl rabbit according the the animal doctor!)

Joseph and Jayne Elizabeth holding tight to Hoppy (cousins girl rabbit!) and Pepsi

 This crew is hilarious, and all rabbits made it back safely to the hutch later!

 Brody and Jayne Elizabeth catching Rusty in the yard, hee hee!

 Enjoying pizza on the porch, farm life is good life.......

Mrs. Dana assisting with the eggs, on her very protected new counter tops!

 The kids did so well with the dye and eggs, only stained fingers that I am aware of :)

 Mr. Joe adding his artistic touch to Johnathan's egg...

 The line up......

 Jayne Elizabeth was a little messy, but did her part to dye eggs too!

Thank you Lowe Family for a night full of fun!

Easter Egg Hunt 2011

We had an amazing Easter Egg Hunt with our church friends at the Smith's home! Anthony was on-call and not able to join us, but Granna came up to enjoy the festivities! Johnathan, Joseph and Jayne Elizabeth had a great time enjoying the outdoor fun! Johnathan and Joseph were competitive during the egg hunt, and Jayne Elizabeth needed encouragement and hugs to participate! Ha! The boys even gave their sister some of their many eggs in the grass so she could "hunt" a few more too! I think a highlight of the day was the games. The egg/spoon relay and the egg toss were favorites for the boys! I was surprised they played, and they won the egg toss!!!! That poor egg just wouldnt break! I am sure it hit and bounced off the ground 30 times! The boys were very proud. It was a sweet day, the kids were all so cute!

This is Preston, the egg game leader, with the Egg toss winners! :)

Aunt Anne

When Clay and I were growing up every holiday we would get a box in the mail from Aunt Anne. It didnt matter how big or small the holiday, Aunt Anne would always send us prizes!! We would look forward to her packages, and could count on them! Now it is Johnathan, Joseph, and Jayne Elizabeth who are loving Aunt Anne's holiday packages!

Jayne Elizabeth as a flower waiting for her prize to open!

 Enjoying opening the gift from Aunt Anne on Easter weekend!

 I love the cross in the background on our wall, a nice reminder of His sacrifice on this day.

 Jayne Elizabeth thinks the bunny on the bike is so fun!

 Joseph teaching his sister how to "wine it up!" ha!

Many more pictures soon, Egg Hunt next!

A special date

 Johnathan and I went to the Easter play at Kendra's church. The Lawrence Chapel Church of God is also the church that Brody and Briggs' grandparents attend. We feel at home there! We decided that Jayne Elizabeth wasnt ready to watch a dramatic play visualizing the brutal death of Jesus, but the boys have been openly discussing this all week. However at the last minute Joseph decided he had germs and didnt want to get anyone else sick! Johnathan and I had a fabulous date. He is becoming a true southern gentleman. Complete with complements "mommy my like the flowers on your dress, you look very pretty." Also to complete the southern charm he took me to Sonic for a cherry limeade and we shared a banana! ha! The Easter play was truly wonderful. The time to reflect on the death of Jesus, while holding my precious son had me in tears. Johnathan had several good questions and also amazingly accurate comments while watching the play. My answer is always "we will have to read the Bible and find out." Our goal as a family is that the Bible will be the most valued HISTORY book, not just a story book. As always my continuous prayer is "Jesus draw them close to you."

Easter Cookies

Thankful for Spring weather, and treats! God is so good. I am enjoying the simple things: riding bikes, looking at tulips, special snacks, and matching children's Spring clothes! Enjoy!

He is Risen Rolls!

RESURRECTION ROLLS! ( HE IS RISEN ROLLS!!! at our house!)

This has been such a blessing to me this Easter! Fellow moms and blogs have shared this before, and I am thrilled to have done it tonight!  The snack/activity was fun, easy, educational, and tasted good too! I am so thankful for times like this with these sweet kids.  May Jesus draw near to them each day!

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter (melted)

1 can of large refrigerated rolls

Large marshmallows (8 of them)

A bowl of cinnamon and sugar mix

These little fingers were everywhere!! Anthony was gone at a conference, so there was alot of tasting happening here!

We took the white marshmallow, and discussed how Jesus was pure and sinless like this marshmallow.

Johnathan, Joseph and Jayne Elizabeth rolled the marshmallow in butter and then in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. The butter represents the anointing oil and the cinnamon-sugar mixture represents the spices--both items were put on Jesus' body before they laid him in the tomb. After this Jayne Elizabeth lost her focus, but she did well through the beginning!

We wrapped the biscuit around the marshmallow and sealed the dough around it. This was a very important step --make sure the dough is completely sealed around the marshmallow. Some of ours caused quite the smoke in the oven from not being sealed!  After they put Jesus in the tomb, there was a large stone in front of it to seal it.

 They rolled the ball of dough in butter and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Jayne Elizabeth was able to gain her attention back to us when the rolls were on the tray!

 We placed the tray of rolls in oven for about 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees or until done.

 Then the kids opened the tomb to look for Jesus. Where is he? He has risen!

How do the He Has Risen! rolls taste? "Taste and see that the Lord is good..." Psalm 34:8

The rolls taste sweet, of course. Easter is a time to celebrate the sweetest gift of all--our salvation through Jesus. Although he was blameless, he died on the cross for our sins; was buried in a tomb from three days; then rose from the dead. Our greatest desire for our children is to have a personal relationship with Jesus at a young age!! It has been humbling and emotional to watch and hear Johnathan and Joseph truly begin to understand the death and amazing life of Jesus Christ this Easter season! To Him be the Glory!