New Creation Easter Egg Coloring

I enjoy making every holiday memorable and meaningful for my family and I. There are certain Holidays that have a more precious meaning because of our faith. I know our world has commercialized most major Holidays and I'm not here to tell you how to celebrate. We do the Eater Bunny, Egg Hunting and of course the most popular Easter tradition...We color eggs! Coloring Easter eggs has always been such a fun time for me, I remember anxiously awaiting for that water to boil and transform my most favorite breakfast food into a blank canvas that I would proudly turn into a masterpiece... Oh to be a kid again. Now my husband on the other hand grew up in a home where Holidays were not celebrated, so this gives me more reason to want to make each and every activity super special.

So now onto the good stuff, I came across a post on dying eggs with whipped cream and I thought that sounded fun and messy. I loved it! I decided to incorporate the Jelly Bean Prayer to give my kids a lesson that would help them appreciate the meaning of Easter, and what Christ's sacrifice really means for us.

*WARNING* Your child WILL put there fingers in their mouth, and it WILL be OK.

We started out with hard boiled white eggs. Put them in a bowl with a little vinegar. Have your children wash their hands, This is a fun, messy, oh so yummy  and beautiful experience.

White represents the Pure and Sinless Christ who gave his life so we may have life.

The vinegar is what was given to Jesus as he hung on the cross for OUR sins. Matt 27:34

 We then took White whipped cream which represented God's Grace. We put a drop of different food coloring into "God's Grace".

 Each color drop represents something precious God gave us:

Red is for the Blood he gave

Green is for the Grass he made

Yellow is for the Sun so bright

Brown is for the sins we made

Purple is for his hour of Sorrow

Pink is for a new tomorrow

*you do not have to use all of these colors

 

Once you have all of the colors in the whipped cream

Take skewer and create swirls. Then drop the egg in the bowl of whipped cream using a spoon  or your fingers (YUM)

carefully remove the egg and place on a paper plate. This symbolizes the transformation process we experience as being born again.

Someone was busted "trying" his creation

Oh so yummy

Such a fun mess

Ladies and Gentlemen we are free to lick our fingers!

We put our eggs in the fridge and let them sit overnight. Make sure to let your eggs sit in fridge for at least an hour so the colors has time to stain the eggs. 

 We were all so excited to see our NEW CREATION. We took our eggs out of the fridge, rinsed them off and  voila you have the perfect example of the transformation we experience when we decide to accept Christ as our Savior.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 139:14

 Thank you Chick-Fil-A for supplying these awesome place mats. They are the perfect size for kids crafts of all kinds.

Mom + Moment

=MOMment.
With the beautiful chaos of our everyday life it's important for YOU (yes you mommy with the mysterious stain on your shirt, droopy eyes and coffee breath) to take some time for yourself. Often times as moms and wives we can neglect to take a moment out for us. A few weeks ago my gal pal texted me saying "I NEED a mom-ment". I didn't realize it at the time, but I too needed a MOMment or two. We met up at a coffee shop, chose the darkest corner and plopped ourselves on a beautiful mid century  sofa. We chatted about everything and nothing at all, we laughed and we may have cried. That time was so refreshing to my mommy/wife soul and I was grateful that my beautiful friend reminded me in her need how important it is to have MOMments.







Today while my kids were napping I decided to take a MOMment :)
Hot coffee, imported biscotti and some MOM Parody. These two video will having you saying "yep, that's me". Sit back, have a laugh and pat yourself on the back.


Enjoy.

Dustins 5th Birthday

It's official my little guy is FIVE! This year Dustin chose to have a Lego themed birthday party. I was very blessed to have the help of two beautiful friends. Dustin had a great time and we appreciate each and everyone of you.

Stay tuned for all the tutorials

Mason Update

    Its been a year since Mason's last surgery. If your just tuning in you may want to go back here  and catch up. anyway as I was about to say, I am so proud of each new milestone he achieves and have been so blessed to be his mother. We've been going through the last year just fine, I've been enjoying my duties as wife and mother. My kids are doing wonderful, making new friends and learning new things. I didn't have anything cleft, palate, surgery, hospital, pain on my mind. I was smooth sailing. a few days ago I received a letter from Kaiser advising me Mason has his 1 year follow up appointment in 2 weeks. I started to feel less "happy go lucky", I began to feel my stomach twist and turn and noticed sweat above my brows. I guess it was kind of like a Reality Check, like someone teasing me and chanting "ha! your not done yet" or "its not over". I'm usually a pretty positive person so I was surprised at how I was feeling. I took a deep breath, put on my smile and instead of sweeping those ugly thoughts under the rug, I let let wander in my mind.  
     Do you ever just continue to go on like everything is peachy, but for some reason feel a little unsettled? I do. Not often thought because I try to figure out whats bugging me and how I can make a change with God's help. I should have prayed right when I got that letter and asked God for his endless strength that he his never to selfish or busy to loan me. But I didn't.
Now I am big believer in "everything happens for a reason".
    Today I had a friend ask how am I not so angry with all that has happened to Mason. My friend has a child who has some health issues and was feeling all the things I used to feel. When I read the message I just started to cry. It was as if a plethora of emotions was circling my body. I remember how I felt so hopeless, so sad, so angry and bitter. I remember feeling resentful and so lost. As I thought about my answer to the question I began to weep even more tears. This time it was tears of joy! I felt so grateful to not feel those old feelings.
      The best way to answer that question is "because of my Faith in God". God has brought me out of so much. he has restored me, my marriage, my and my family. Because of his faithfulness I am able to trust that everything WILL be okay. I don't hope I know. Masons cleft has been a blessing in disguise. Through Masons issues I have learn to become a better person, better wife, mother and friend. It has taught me to appreciate all the little things I took for granted, like drinking from a straw and being able to chew my food without it all coming out of my nose. This was a hard and painful lesson but I have came through alright. Mason is my miracle, he is proof that Miracles do happen. Mason has done so much the doctors said he would not be able to do and that alone gives me hope that greater things can and will come. He can sip from a straw, he has started to talk, and his hearing is great (selective but working).
 Our journey is no where near its end but making it this far has taught me I can make it one more day. I had to stop being selfish and and angry because it was taking away from the joy of this precious child.
    As a parent you never want to see your child hurt, scared, sad and heart broken, I know I would take his place if I could. I have finally come to the understanding that things are going to happen outside of my control. I may not know why or understand why BUT I know I was chosen for this special task of Being Mason's Mommy. I will wear that title proud and with honor. I am not going to let the enemy scare me or try and fill me with doubt.
     One of the best things to come out of Mason having a cleft lip and palate is the awareness it has brought to family and friends.

Enjoy your blessing!
xo Chris