~Creole Museum~

AudioVisuals

Here are Erin and Luke enjoying the new swing set. The could "spin" on the old one, but somehow, this one is just more fun!

"Anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you!"

Well, he's not better, but he sure has been giving it a go to learn to skate like his sister!

I have a request to see a video of Erin skating. I've been at a slight learning curve with the video downloading on this new camera. Since I've got that figured out, we'll see if she will do a little skating this week.

And I finally remembered my "playlist" login, so I was able to turn the music off for this post :)

Eggs Out The Wazoo (part 2)

We had arranged for Anna to come home with us after the party. Erin has been wanting her to come so they could play in the clubhouse, and play they did!

 Those 2 girls can play non-stop for hours! And of course Luke is always right beside them. They are so good with him too (except when they were digging and he started throwing dirt - a girl has to draw the line somewhere!)

They did plenty of swinging, climbing and sliding, but in between...
More Eggs!

Egg Dying...

Egg hunting....

Egg decorating...

They even actually ate the boiled eggs, a first for my children. I guess they figured if Anna could do it, so could they!

We also had a very cute, unexpected visitor, who just happened to notice the girls playing outside. She goes to preschool with them and lives one street over. Who knew!

Eggs Out The Wazoo

Today was a very busy day.

We had a preschool Easter parade...

A very pitiful attempt at a group photo (with some pretty unwilling, silly participants)...

An egg hunt...

and a party!

...all before 11:00 am!

I am thankful for the patient teachers who take care of these children every day,

 because after 2 hours of preschool, I was exhausted!

When Life Is Dark

John 18:1-27

Jesus Arrested
1When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove (the garden of Gethsemane), and he and his disciples went into it.

2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

4Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"

5"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.

7Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?"
And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."

8"I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." 9This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."

10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)

11Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"

Jesus Taken to Annas

12Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.

Peter's First Denial

15Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, 16but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

17"You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter.
He replied, "I am not."

18It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

19Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

20"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said."

22When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face with the palm of his hand. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded.

23"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?" 24Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.[b]

Peter's Second and Third Denials

25As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?"
He denied it, saying, "I am not."

26One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?" 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.


WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS?

When times are dark, we must learn to be patient. When Jesus arrived at the garden, he was overcome with grief. He knew everything that was to happen soon. The trials, the beatings, the crucifiction. So what did Jesus do? He prayed.

Luke 22: 42-44

42"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

We must learn to be submissive. Jesus allowed Himself to be bound by the soldiers who had come to claim Him. As recorded in Luke (which has a more detailed account) He told Peter that He could call upon a legion of angels. Instead, Jesus chose to do the will of His Father.

We must learn to be attentive to the Lord. When life is dark, we sometimes like Peter fail the Lord. After Peter denied Jesus 3 times, the Lord turned to him (as detailed in Luke), and Peter realized that he had done exactly what Jesus had warned him of. His heart was completely disappointed in what he had done. Peter wept bitterly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight our Pastor pointed out two very interesting things from these scriptures.

In verses 5-6, the Greek text does not recognize "he", in the "I am He" response Jesus gave. He simply replied "I Am". These two simple words made the soldier "draw back and fall to the ground".

What makes this interesting is that these words "I Am", are what God called Himself when Abraham spoke to Him in Exodus 3:14 - God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

The second interesting point was that after Peter cut off the ear of the Roman soldier, Jesus healed him!(accounted in Luke) Even though these were the men who would deliver Him to his death, He healed Him! He still had love for them. How amazing is His love and forgiveness! In this same act, he also spared Peter from the consequences of his own actions, even though He knew Peter would soon deny Him.

I know this was very lengthy, but I hope you took the time to read it all!

~St Joseph Church~

A Little Monkey Business

Last Friday, Erin and Luke were treated to some fun for helping Granny work in her yard.

Although, as I recall, it was Granny & I who did most of the work. Erin did help some. Luke was not even present.

But they are the grandbabies after all...

Looks like they had a great time, right?

Because there certainly wasn't any fit throwing that went on at this outing. No sir. Luke would never lose his temper over something as simple as putting the coin in the ride. And Erin would never have a meltdown over her prize purchased with her tickets.

Not my children! They were very well behaved, patient and most importantly, appreciative.

We really do appreciate all you do Granny! Thank you!

A Backyard Adventure

Patrick & I finally decided to get off our rears (and checkbook) to get the kids a long desired clubhouse/swingset.
We are not generally fast in the major decision making areas.
We only mulled this over for a year. Not bad.

Patrick snuck out of the house & came home with a very unassembled product.

He was greeted by two equally excited children.

After about 6 hours of varnishing (you're welcome), we had wood everywhere!

A few hours of assembly (and sometimes disassembly) we had this.

Thanks Paw & Granny for the help!

(In case you are wondering, my children always start out with clean faces and matching clothes. Rarely does that last very long.)

Only a short week later...

and VICTORY! Erin & Luke have a clubhouse & new swing set.

 

Thanks Dad for all your hard work!

We love you!

~Feelin' Lucky~

New Shoes Anyone?

Lately I have been wondering how I can do more. More to help those less fortunate, those who don't know the love of Jesus. With the Compassion bloggers in Kenya last week, it's really been on my heart.

Sponsoring a child is not something we are able to commit to, so what can we do? I though about it for days and days. Then decided I should pray about it. Yes, I realize I should have done that first. I'm working on that.

The next day in the mail, I received a magazine from Samaritans Purse regarding Operation Christmas Child. Inside were stories from Kenya, Macedonia, Panama, and India. Stories regarding children who received the shoeboxes and experienced and accepted the love of Christ through the gifts sent, along with colorful storybooks that present God's plan of salvation in their own language (which are inserted by Samaritan's Purse.)

I was so thankful to get the magazine. I even spotted a New Balance box (just like ours from last year) in one of the pictures. I showed it to Erin and she wanted to know when we could do another shoebox. She and I have packed shoeboxes for the last two years. It's an awesome opportunity to talk with your child about giving to those less fortunate.

We always wait to purchase our gifts and scrounge up shoeboxes when our church begins the Operation Christmas Child drive some time around October. But this year, we are beginning early. Yes, it is March, and we have begun our Christmas shoeboxes.

It usually takes less than $10 to fill a shoebox with goodies for a boy or girl. The specifics on packing them are {here}  I think shipping cost per box is around $7, so for less than $20, you can send a gift and the Love of Christ to a child who otherwise may not receive it. They have also implemented a new tracking system, that we have not yet tried, so you can actually see where your box is shipped to.

The goal this year is to double our giving, so we hope to do 4 boxes. Two from each Erin & Luke.

How many can you fill?

Say What?

Funny things my children have said recently. It's almost like living with a bunch of comedians. Except it's not.

Mama, Luke is pointing his heinie at me! ~ Erin {after Luke actually pointed his heinie at her}

This is MY song! ~ Luke {on "who let the dogs out" by the Baja men}

But I want to marry Luke! ~ Erin {after discussing how Jacob was tricked into marrying the wrong sister} {I tried telling her she would change her mind about that.}

Mama, can you please be nice? ~ Erin {definately not a finer parenting moment}

Mama! I see a snowball! ~ Erin {after our February snow}
Um, no sweetie, that's a softball, covered with snow. ~ Me {because snowballs don't actually fall from the sky}

We're doing yogurt! ~ Luke {on downward facing dog}

Mama! I didn't know Mario likes Peach! ~ Erin {watching the Mariokart credits}
Oh, Erin, how do you know? ~ Me
 Because they rode by and looked at each other and smiled together! ~ Erin

Why Mama have an ankle? ~ Luke {let the "why" questions begin}

Lizzie

Meet Lizzie.

She was Erin's pet for about an hour today. I spotted her in our flower bed and pointed it out because of Erin's great love for critters. After Erin made sure it wasn't poisonous, (which I was quite impressed that she took the time to ask) she was not about to let her escape. Like she said, "lizards are fast, but I am faster." 

She trains for critter catching. If there were Critter Catching Olympics, Erin would win the Gold.
No critter shall escape her hand.

Most of her pets meet an ill fate. She doesn't always put them to eternal rest, but I think most times, they would be much better off.

But Lizzie was special. They bonded. Erin by loving, petting and even kissing.

Lizzie bonded by franticly trying to run away, until she realized there was no use.

I did finally convince Erin that Lizzie was probably getting hungry and thirsty. That she should be let go. So she agreed, but not until Lizzie got a tour of the "dryer box - turned clubhouse". You can see how much they both enjoyed it.

So long Lizzie. You'll be missed.

Lizzie had not been gone for 2 whole minutes, when I saw another potential victim  pet. But I kept quiet this time. You can thank me Mr Frog by eating our mosquitos. You're welcome.

How Jesus Helps With Our Problems

John 16:16-33

Jesus helps us with our problems by turning our sorrow into joy.
Jesus did not say in verses 16-22 that the disciples sorrow would be replaced by joy, but it would be transformed into joy. We may be going through troubles now, but with Jesus, joy will come.

For our  light affliction, which is but for the moment, is working for us a far more exceedingly and eternal weight of glory! 2 Corinthians 4:17

Jesus helps us by giving us awesome prayer power in his name.
When we ask for things in Jesus' name, we ask for things that are the will of God. We don't ask for selfish things, but for things Jesus himself would have prayed for.

...Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24

Jesus helps us by not forsaking us when we falter.
When Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, most of the disciples fled, but Jesus did not give up on them! Any of us can be faithless at times, but even if we fail the Lord miserably, He remains faithful.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful. 2 Timothy 2:13

...In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world! John 16:33

~Rainwater Cistern~

For Real and For True?

Is spring really here? We have drudged through 4 long months of awful winter and at last! Sunshine and warmer temperatures!

Erin has been walking around for 3 days saying how happy she is that it's finally spring. And all these things are happening around Prairie Lane, so it must be true!

Paw was sweet enough to buy egg dye, so they made these colorful creations...

Seedlings have finally emerged and were put in the flowerbeds this weekend...

(Not that I can remember what they actually are. I guess we will find out soon enough!)

We have gone to Poohsticks...

and watched a puppet show (Twinkle Twinkle Special Star)...

And I was the recipient of this beautiful flower,
"because I'm a good Mom".

 I'll take it when I can get it!

Happy Spring!