Easter Tradition - He Took Our Sins

I'm giddy when I find a simple, but meaningful way to teach the girls about the love of Christ, so when I saw this He Took Our Sins - Carnation Experiment I was thrilled.

To create your own all you need is:

White Carnations (Jesus the pure sacrifice)

Red food dye (our sin) About 20 drops

water and a vase.

Sitting around the table after dinner we each took turns adding drops (about 20 total) of red dye into the water and talking about ways that we sin and how none of us are perfect. Then we each trimmed our own white carnation, placing it into the vase. We added three more white carnations each day so that we had varying shades of pink. We placed the first few flowers in on Monday and by Saturday, they were tipped beautifully with red.

This simple activity lead to a meaningful discussion about the beauty of Easter and the sacrifice Jesus made because of LOVE. It's important to me that the girls know that our faith is based in scripture, so I shared these scriptures with them: 1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5 and

2 Corinthians 5:21

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us,

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 

Thanks be to God! Happy Easter!

Curiosity Renewed

Sometimes it feels as if we've lived here so long that all of the mystery surrounding the old house has been discovered. But, then, one day when you're digging around in the old garage and cleaning an old louver door you find a little gem like this. A metal plate, engraved with the name of the family who built the home. A new discovery that gives you a glimpse into the history of the house and renews your curiosity about what else is waiting to be discovered at the (previous) Home of Mrs. J.A. Muller.

Family Room {Last Wall}

 This is what remodeling with kids looks like.

Working while they play and working late into the evening.

But the last wall is finished and it's BEAUTIFUL!

Coralee's 3rd Birthday {A Visit to the Fire Station}

 I'm big on tradition, if you didn't already know this. At times, keeping up with all of the traditions can be challenging, but this time it SAVED me! New Year birthdays are the worst and I really struggle with making plans to celebrate Coralee's birthday, but this year, tradition saved the day. I knew exactly what we were doing and where we were doing it. Third birthdays are spent at the fire station. See: Marin's 3rd birthday and Adalyn's 3rd birthday.

As it was with the other girls, Cora loved her day at the station. In her birthday interview I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she held up four fingers.

Acts of Kindness {A New Christmas Tradition}

We are trying something new this Christmas season. A kindness project that I hope will develop into a meaningful tradition. Inspired by the book The Last Straw by Paula Palangi, I've challenged my little family to show secret acts of kindness to another family member each week leading up to Christmas.

Monday evening we drew names and for the coming week we'll each show acts of kindness. When we do, we get to place a piece of straw into baby Jesus' cradle. The goal is to create a soft bed for baby Jesus to sleep on Christmas eve.

The idea was met with enthusiasm and everyone has already shown loving acts of kindness. I'm excited to cultivate more love in our family with this simple tradition.

Family Room {Progress!}

Wall number two is up!

Below is a little glimpse into what all has to happen to the boards before they go up. 

 

Simple Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe

This simple activity was a BIG hit at our annual Pumpkin Carving Party and best of all it was very simple to put together. All you need is 10 miniature pumpkins (5 white and 5 orange) and orange duck tape. This is sure to become a family tradition.