Not yet...

Almost all of the snow has receded by now and what remains should be gone by the end of this week. One thought that has hastened the coming spring is: "Its days are numbered"--which means "it can't snow forever because the spring is coming." So, as we bid farewell to the snow which has covered the ground since December here's a contrast between winter and summer. Sure, its not here yet, but it has to come sometime!

Day trip

Last week our family took a day trip to Racine, WI. Tucked away in a mall lies one of the treasures of the modern fast-food world: Chic-fil-a. We know, in the south they're seemingly on every corner, but there is only one in the whole state of Wisconsin. And sure, it takes about two hours to get there, but it's worth it...that sweet tea brewed to perfection, the crispy waffle fries...ahhh! After lunch, our next stop was the Jelly Belly jelly bean warehouse. We stood in line for more than an hour just to take a tour of the place.

We rode a little train around the warehouse while they explained how jelly beans are made. After the tour we each received a bag of jelly bellys. YUM!

And of course, no trip through Milwaukee is complete without stopping at another Southern delicacy--Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Benja-cute

Here are just a few photos of Benjamin. He's such a sweet guy!
We are thankful that God has entrusted him to us.

A Modified Easter Egg Hunt

We had six inches of snow on the ground on Easter so we took our hunt indoors, the kids didn't seem to mind...

Holy Week Traditions, pt.3

These are some of the tangibles we used during holy week. This picture includes: three really large nails, a home-made whip, a crown of thorns, and a bag of money.

Each day we read Scripture and provided the kids with something to hold, like you see in the picture. Here's what we tried to do each day.


PALM SUNDAY--The triumphal entry (Matt.21:1-11; Lk.19:39-40)...artificial branches, rocks
MONDAY--The plot unfolds (Lk.22:1-6)...bread/cup, since Jesus observed the final Passover meal
TUESDAY--The garden (Mk.14:32-42)...a bag of coins to picture how Jesus was sold by Judas
WEDNESDAY--The first five trials:
before Annas (Jn.18:12-13,19-24), before Caiaphas (Matt.26:57-68), before the Sanhedrin (Lk.22:66; Matt.26:57-68), before Pilate (Lk.23:1-7), before Herod (Lk.23:8-11)...We used a stuffed lamb here, to talk about how Jesus was silent before His accusers
THURSDAY--The final trial before Pilate and the scourging (Lk.23:13-23; Matt.27:24-26)...a home-made whip and a crown of thorns were used
FRIDAY--The cross (Jn.19:16-24; Mk.15:29-38)...We used the baked hill and tomb (see the earlier post). We also used the three large nails. After walking through the events of the crucifixion, we took the figure representing Jesus from the cross and wrapped Him in a piece of napkin. Then we laid Him in the tomb, letting Noah roll the stone to cover the entrance.
SATURDAY--nothing...we just sat in a room, turned out the lights and closed the door to make it dark. This was to talk about how Jesus was dead in the dark tomb. We explained the Gospel and talked about why Jesus died.
SUNDAY--The resurrection (Matt.28:1-10)...When the kids came downstairs, the tomb was empty.

Of course, since our kids are all small, hardly anything went exactly as planned. For example, each night at least one of the kids would erupt into laughter or crawl under the table; someone would bump their heads and cry; or someone would...well, you get the idea. Each night the kids would hear the words, "Stop it or else!" But by God's abundant grace we're just trying to improve our traditions each year.

Holy Week Traditions, pt.2

"He is not here. He is risen, just as He said." When the kids came down stairs this morning they found the tomb we had made. The stone was rolled back to reveal only Jesus' burial cloths. When we asked the kids if Jesus was still in the tomb, Madison replied, "I looked, but He's not there."

Bummed

I think we have worn our camera out. Currently the pictures I've been taking are very dark. This bums me out because I love to take pictures and blog. Currently I'm using an old 35 mm to capture Easter pictures, but I think it is way too complicated to try to blog those. Anyway, we are going to shop for a new camera and I hope to have new pictures up soon. Until then I hope anyone who checks this regularly will have a joy filled Easter celebrating our Resurrected Lord!

The forecast was right

Sad to say, but our ground is again covered in snow. I guess the weathermen were right. I'm going to try to upload a video from yesterday, that beautiful day without snow...

First day of Spring

Oh, how we have waited for this day for the past three months. The first day of spring! Our tradition for this day, whether it is 15 degrees or 70 degrees, is to go to the park and get ice cream. We deserve it for enduring the long winters in Wisconsin. Today the temp was a cool 42 and beautiful, with a few patches of snow at the park. The camera is on the blink (we really use it alot) so I don't have the greatest pictures, but here are a few. We have to celebrate today because they are calling for another 3-6 inches of snow tomorrow! I'll let you know if that comes to pass.

Me and the Boys

All moms know that ending up in the front of the camera is a rare occurrence for us. So here are a couple of pictures of me and the boys just because I don't get my picture taken that often. Next time I will be sure to wear make up.

Holy Week Traditions, pt.1

Last year we began to insert traditions into the Holy Week. Our purpose is to teach the kids about Jesus' death and resurrection. During the past two days we've been busy making a tomb. Here's the process.

To the left is the initial product. Kim mixed together flour and salt. Then she baked it in the oven for about four to five hours. Yep, you guessed it--it was hard as a rock (no pun intended). She inserted a small cup in the larger one while it baked in order to create the small

hole for Jesus' tomb. The smaller one will be the
rock that we roll in front of the tomb.

Then the kids found some sticks outside and they fashioned a small cross to stick on top of the tomb. Of course, the post-hole for the cross was made while the dough was still soft. Also, note the little yellow figure. He comes later. Next...

The kids put on their painting clothes and added some color to the tomb.

This is their finished work.

We used simple pipe cleaners and a wire cutter to make the people.

Here's one of the final scenes. Now that its completed, we'll put this away until Friday night.

We've taken a harmonized account of Jesus' final week and divided it up into eight sections. Beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter Sunday we read one section each night. We try to include some type of tangible prop for the kids to see and handle each night.

Picture Day

You all know I'm obsessed with having my kids pictures taken. Well today was kids only picture day (every year at Easter I have the kids picture taken at JCPenney). Here are a few candids from before and after the professional shooot.

Noah Freeman for President

I love this suit and the boy wearing it...

Madison Loses A Tooth!

Madison finally lost her first tooth today, she was very excited that she is now "like Nathan". I'm so thankful that it came out on its own, I'm not crazy about the way that feels. Thought you might want to see how she looks without a tooth...

Walking?

Benjamin has started to walk behind a little walker. He was thrilled when we pulled this up from the basement. All of our kids have used this before walking...

A Hint of Spring

We have had temps in the upper 30's and lower 40's for most of the week. Its been so great to watch our back yard snow recede like the artic. We have patches of grass everywhere, something we haven't seen since the first of December. I know 30's and 40's don't sound great to you east coasters, but in Wisconsin we are trying to "give thanks in everything". The kids had fun blowing bubbles and using sidewalk chalk on one of the warmer days.

Awana Games

Nathan participated in Awana Games today. It is when chuches from all over Southern Wisconsin come together to compete in various games. His team (the green team) came in third. He is the last guy on the relay race and he almost got the pin first. He would have liked to have come in first, but overall he had a good time with all of his friends...

Noah enjoys the games

We went to Nathan's Awana games today and Noah had fun watching...

Benjamin's first word

Mitch is convinced that Benjamin has spoken his first word, guess what? Its not mama...

March Madness

Okay it is March 5th and we are still covered in snow with a few more inches expected this week. I don't want to complain, but as Eyeore (Pooh's friend) says "There it is." My dad asked me this morning if we still had snow on the ground. Take a look, these were taken today...