This year Easter went very well. I feel like the kids (Okay, well more Maria and Esther than the boys) are really starting to understand the reason for the season.
I already wrote briefly about this but I wanted to add it here again. We were in the car parking lot and Maria asked what people that didn't believe in Jesus celebrated at Easter. She answered her own question by saying "The Easter bunny? Really? Even big people? That's sad" She then said "OH! And now I know why we hunt for eggs!! It's like when those ladies came to where Jesus' body was and he wasn't there because he had risen. It's like looking for Jesus' body!" Bryant and I loved how she could take something so very non meaningful (It's a fun tradition that we love but not more) and make it about Jesus :) We were so thankful that she is really starting to get it.
Some of my wonderful mom friends and I decided to have a Easter party to teach the kids more about Jesus' death and resurrection. I didn't get pictures of that - there was a lot going on. But we did this fun crafty thing with Deb. It's kind of like a nativity but for Easter. We decorated with dirt and moss and stones and Kelsy kindly let us keep the flower that Esther "found" in their pile of decorations. We made a little hill and the 3 bigger kids all wanted to have their own crosses and Maria decided that was okay since there really was 3 crosses that day so long ago. We used a potato for the grave and cut the front bit out of it for the stone that was rolled away. In the end it looked like this:
On Good Friday we wrapped Jesus up in burial cloths and added some dandelions.
And on Sunday his body was missing! Maria especially loved this craft. Thanks, Deb!
I read online about resurrection rolls and so I decided this was a great visual for the kids to learn as well. In the end it might have confused them more than anything, as you'll see. But it was fun and quite yummy. I didn't take any pics of the party but we had enough crescent rolls left over and the kids so badly wanted to do it again so we did.
We started out with 2 marshmallows each. One to use and one to eat. Maria picked hers up and broke it in half and said "And Jesus said 'This is my body' and it was broken so we don't have to die for our sins" I can't remember her exact words but it was very close to that. I just asked her now, showing her the picture and that's what she said.
So the marshmallows represented Jesus. And we rolled him in melted butter which represented the oils of embalming:
And then we rolled Jesus in sugar and cinnamon which represented the spices used to anoint the body:
Then he was ready to be wrapped in burial cloths:
And we put Jesus in the tomb and rolled the stone in front of it:
And on the third day....
He is risen!
When asked what happened to Jesus at the party Koen answered with "He melted!" It was quite funny and adorable. I later asked Danny why Jesus died on the cross and he said "Because he's a marshmallow!!" That added to the fact that Mary and Mary Magdalene went to the grave in the morning with the spices to anoint the body (See Mark 16:1) makes me realize that this fun recipe does not actually follow Scripture and makes me a bit sad. I'm pretty sure the kids will want to do it again next year, though. So we'll see. I tend to dislike movies and stories where I have to stop and say "I'm reading this/we are doing this but this didn't actually happen this way in the Bible. What actually happened was..... "
We also decorated eggs. I did this every year with my brothers growing up and I always loved it! So we do this with our kids as well :) We used crayons, q-tips and food coloring.
It was Uncle Jason's birthday the next day so Maria wanted to make him his own special birthday egg so she drew him. And he loved it!
Our finished eggs.
And of course we had our regular Easter egg hunt at Opa and Oma's house. Opa hides all the eggs for us and the kids love searching!
Thomas slept through most of it. But Isaiah joined in! I love this one with Esther. She's finally warming up and enjoying these boys more.
We had a wonderful Easter. And I am so thankful we have a good solid foundation in Christ and we are washed white as snow because of his dying on the cross for our sins. We are thankful for Easter. He is risen!!
I already wrote briefly about this but I wanted to add it here again. We were in the car parking lot and Maria asked what people that didn't believe in Jesus celebrated at Easter. She answered her own question by saying "The Easter bunny? Really? Even big people? That's sad" She then said "OH! And now I know why we hunt for eggs!! It's like when those ladies came to where Jesus' body was and he wasn't there because he had risen. It's like looking for Jesus' body!" Bryant and I loved how she could take something so very non meaningful (It's a fun tradition that we love but not more) and make it about Jesus :) We were so thankful that she is really starting to get it.
Some of my wonderful mom friends and I decided to have a Easter party to teach the kids more about Jesus' death and resurrection. I didn't get pictures of that - there was a lot going on. But we did this fun crafty thing with Deb. It's kind of like a nativity but for Easter. We decorated with dirt and moss and stones and Kelsy kindly let us keep the flower that Esther "found" in their pile of decorations. We made a little hill and the 3 bigger kids all wanted to have their own crosses and Maria decided that was okay since there really was 3 crosses that day so long ago. We used a potato for the grave and cut the front bit out of it for the stone that was rolled away. In the end it looked like this:
On Good Friday we wrapped Jesus up in burial cloths and added some dandelions.
And on Sunday his body was missing! Maria especially loved this craft. Thanks, Deb!
I read online about resurrection rolls and so I decided this was a great visual for the kids to learn as well. In the end it might have confused them more than anything, as you'll see. But it was fun and quite yummy. I didn't take any pics of the party but we had enough crescent rolls left over and the kids so badly wanted to do it again so we did.
We started out with 2 marshmallows each. One to use and one to eat. Maria picked hers up and broke it in half and said "And Jesus said 'This is my body' and it was broken so we don't have to die for our sins" I can't remember her exact words but it was very close to that. I just asked her now, showing her the picture and that's what she said.
So the marshmallows represented Jesus. And we rolled him in melted butter which represented the oils of embalming:
And then we rolled Jesus in sugar and cinnamon which represented the spices used to anoint the body:
Then he was ready to be wrapped in burial cloths:
And we put Jesus in the tomb and rolled the stone in front of it:
And on the third day....
He is risen!
When asked what happened to Jesus at the party Koen answered with "He melted!" It was quite funny and adorable. I later asked Danny why Jesus died on the cross and he said "Because he's a marshmallow!!" That added to the fact that Mary and Mary Magdalene went to the grave in the morning with the spices to anoint the body (See Mark 16:1) makes me realize that this fun recipe does not actually follow Scripture and makes me a bit sad. I'm pretty sure the kids will want to do it again next year, though. So we'll see. I tend to dislike movies and stories where I have to stop and say "I'm reading this/we are doing this but this didn't actually happen this way in the Bible. What actually happened was..... "
We also decorated eggs. I did this every year with my brothers growing up and I always loved it! So we do this with our kids as well :) We used crayons, q-tips and food coloring.
It was Uncle Jason's birthday the next day so Maria wanted to make him his own special birthday egg so she drew him. And he loved it!
Our finished eggs.
And of course we had our regular Easter egg hunt at Opa and Oma's house. Opa hides all the eggs for us and the kids love searching!
Thomas slept through most of it. But Isaiah joined in! I love this one with Esther. She's finally warming up and enjoying these boys more.
We had a wonderful Easter. And I am so thankful we have a good solid foundation in Christ and we are washed white as snow because of his dying on the cross for our sins. We are thankful for Easter. He is risen!!
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