Oh, What to Do with Those Plastic Eggs?

It's Eastertime and those bags of plastic eggs are everywhere.  So apart from putting candy into them for your children's Easter baskets, here are two other ideas for you to ponder.  So put on your crafter's hats, ladies, and here 'ya go:

Resurrection Eggs

Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are fun and exciting to some and I grew up in a household that celebrated both.  Who wouldn't love a big furry bunny giving you an entire basket of candy or a jolly old man who brings you a satchel of gifts?  I mean, come on!   However, now that I have kids of my own, we do still keep the surprise of these magical characters going in our household (until they start school and, I suspect, will discover the truth), but we also want them to understand that these holidays are about so much more than Santa and an overgrown bunny.

So this Easter I discovered from some friends this coined term of "Resurrection Eggs," which are 12 plastic eggs that each dislay a different station of the cross on the path to Christ's Crucifixtion and Resurrection.  I became curious and Googled and well, one thing led to another.  Next thing I knew, I had craft materials spread all over our kitchen table and I was gathering items from around the house to put together a set of these special eggs for both our family and a friend's family as a gift.  This seemed like the perfect visual for my children to memorize the details of Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection.  It's like the ultimate Bible story in an egg carton and to us, this is so important for my children to learn so they can understand the real meaning of what we’re celebrating at Easter.

Resurrection Eggs are available at your local Christian bookstore for about $15, but making them yourself is less expensive, more personal and so much more fun.  It took me about 2 hours to make two sets of these eggs from start to finish so this is not a long-term committment.  Even if you are not a usually crafty person, I suspect you will be able to tackle this one.  Trust me, they are easier than making dinner on some days with a few fussy kids underfoot :).

A web site I had found created this PDF with the verses so you can print them out easily for your own use:  Resurrection Egg Verses

On the night before Easter, my family all sat around and opened all 12 eggs, one by one.  We read the verses, let the kids look at the visuals inside each egg and discussed what was happening in each verse.  Since our children are so young (5, 3 and 1), we actually used their Easter story book as an aid for several of the longer, more tedious verses and instead read that page of the book to them.  For other verses, we used The Message so that it would be easier for them to understand.  All in all, they really enjoyed them and the five year old, especially, was asking questions and seemed to recall parts of the story afterwards since he could relate it to the object inside one of the specifc eggs.

Enjoy!  I pray that you and your family find value in this project so that you, too, can enlighten your little ones on the amazing story of Christ's Death and Resurrection!

Here are our eggs:

Day 1: Palm branch. I cut up an old fake ivy leaf that I had around the house.
Day 2: Perfume. Put some perfume on a cotton ball.
Day 3: Towel. Cut a piece from an old towel.
Day 4: Little piece of bread or a cracker (matzo, Carr cracker, etc.)
Day 5: 3 dimes because Judas was paid 30 silver coins when he betrayed Jesus. And a sword, which can be made with a toothpick and foil.
Day 6: Crown of thorns. I just used a rose branch from our yard.
Day 7: Dice and a little robe cut out of a piece of cardstock or fabric.
Day 8: Cross and nails. I just used 2 little sticks and bound them together with embroidery floss.
Day 9: Sponge with a little vinegar. I soaked it in vinegar and then squeezed it out. The smell remains, but your sponge doesn’t stay wet.
Day 10: Spices. Use whatever whole spices you have. Cloves, Cinnamon sticks.
Day 11: Rock. Any small pebble will work.
Day 12: Leave empty so symbolize Jesus' body not being found in the tomb.



Easter Egg Topiaries

Well, here we are at our church's Easter fair amidst all of the splendors of Spring...live baby chicks, giant Easter eggs on the walls, carrots and Easter Egg Topiaries.  What?!?!  What is that, you say?  Well, if you are in need of an elegant decoration for your house that won't break the budget and will be complete in a few hours, then here you go.  Unfortunately, I do not have step by step photographs of the process, but these are very easy so I'll just attempt to explain it.

First, gather a tall container or display pot of choice.  Fill with floral foam and poke with a medium girth dowel, which you can paint brown or white if desired.  Fill the containers up with fake Easter grass and poke a 6-10" styrofoam ball on the top of the dowel.  Gather MANY Easter eggs; this takes more than you think.  I believe we had about 50 of them for each topiary and we used the 6" styrofoam balls.  Heat up your hot glue gun and begin placing the eggs around the styrofoam with hot glue, about 1-2 inches apart.  Once all of the eggs are on the ball, you can place a blob of glue between two eggs and then press a small handful of Spanish moss between the eggs.  Repeat until the entire surface is covered with eggs and filled with Spanish moss in betweem them.  Voila, that is it and now you have a lovely decoration for your home.

April MOPS Coordinator's Article

April is our annual Tea and Testimony event at MOPS. Today we will enjoy a tea party brunch while listening to two women share the spiritual testimonies of their hearts. It seems only fitting that our session this month is entitled Botony 101. Like the growth of a flower, women need to have the seed sowed, be nourished and start to grow before they can bloom into who they really are.

As a woman in her early thirties who is mother to three small children, I sometimes feel as if that blossom is clouded by dirty diapers, school field trips and folding laundry. The monotonous becomes routine and that growth—as a woman, a wife, a mother and a disciple of Jesus—seems to elude me. At least it seems that way when you focus on the day-to-day details. Should I make chicken or beef for dinner? Pampers or Huggies? Should I mop over naptime or do some office work instead? The idea that doing these everyday tasks could possibly encourage spiritual or personal growth just doesn’t seem possible. Where’s the growth that results from packing a lunchbox each morning or scrubbing a toilet?

Well, the truth for me is that when I look back over the past few years as a wife and mom the spiritual and personal growth is everywhere. I just have to take my eyes off of the details and look at the big picture to see it.

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)

Each day as I change diapers and direct the children in everyday activities, the Lord is giving me a lesson in patience. My, how I have grown from a once impatient person to someone who can listen to the dreaded why question from morning until night.

He also has instilled in me a compassion beyond what I ever thought I’d have when God made me a mother. It is not that I was not compassionate before I had children but this virtue has increased threefold now that I physically know what it is like to know unconditional love.

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” (Romans 12:4-6a)

It is amazing how God has allowed me to grow and flourish by way of the spiritual gifts and talents that He has given to me. I have discovered passions and skills that I never knew I possessed in my walk as a mother. It truly is awe-inspiring to know that God made me a mother and at the same time gave me specific gifts that would only shine in this new maternal role. Whoever would have thought that I would develop such a heart for other mothers of preschoolers and would come to lead the MOPS organization at BranchCreek? To me, that truly is a God-given gift and one that was only able to prosper once I became a mother myself and was in a position where I could relate to other mothers. Surely, God “knitted me in my mother’s womb” so He already knew that one day these gifts of mine would shine; it only took becoming a mother myself to bring them out.

So this month my challenge to you is to embrace your motherhood—spit up, laundry, dirty diapers and all—and ask God to grow you as a woman and mother in your role. In fact, as you look back on your time with your children, chances are that you, too, will be able to see just how much you really have grown. God works in funny ways like that. He knows exactly the right woman he wants to grow in her role as mother to your children: YOU. He will get you through these preschool years, and then the teenage years and adult years after, and will equip you for all circumstances. You are His child just as much as your little ones are your own children. So let Him guide you and grow you as a wife, mother and woman in Christ. He’s watering your soil so that you will blossom into all you can be.

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

Chores.  The idea of having a few extra hands help out with some of the household tasks on a regular basis sounds so appealing to me.  I can just imagine myself sipping a cup of tea while my dear little ones do the dishes, scrub the toilets and do all of the yardwork.  Well, kind of.  At this point in life -having two preschoolers in the house - I'm not putting down my Swiffer just yet.  I know that Andrew and I are the ones who will do the majority of the household and yard chores.  However, instilling a sense of responsibility and helpfulness in our 5 and 3 year olds is something that we feel very strongly about.  We want to get them used to the idea that in our house, we all help out.  Likewise, we want to get them accustomed to having a small allowance and  understanding how their money is to be used.

I have pored over various pre-made chore charts and ideas on how to instill a working chore schedule at home.  Some of them looked better than others and many of them have components we wanted to incorporate.  So, I took some ideas I had heard or read about and combined them with my own ideas to come up with our own custom Martin Chore Chart.  Voila!

At our house, every chore on the chart is mandatory.  We want the kids to realize that certain tasks are an inherent part of being in our family.  They do not have a choice as to whether or not they will complete them.  They are not optional.  Likewise, they know that as long as they do their chores, they will get their allowance for the week.  No exceptions, no breaks.  The chores get done each day and at the end of the week they get their allowance for being obedient.

The chart that I created is done on a standard piece of poster board.  I made 9 columns - 1 for the chore headings, 1 to indicate a weekly activity and 7 columns representing each day of the week for daily chores.  I have blank spaces to add additional chores as the children mature and can take on more responsibility.  Each child has a different color button, which is represented in the key at the bottom of the chart.  The buttons are affixed with a square of Velcro and a strip of Velcro is placed in each relevant row on the chart.  When the chore is completed throughout the week, a button is Velcroed to the proper spot.  Mentally, I know which chores each child is responsible for but this can always be documented in a notebook as well.  As you can see, our green-buttoned 3 year-old only is responsible for two chores - cleaning his toys and wiping down the table at the end of dinner.  Our 5 year-old is responsible for many more, merely based on his age.  At the end of the week, the buttons are un-Velcroed and we start again for the next week.

 Our banking system is not very advanced, but it definitely works.  Each child has a covered square storage box.  I bought these at Target for about $3 each.  I painted their names on the outside of the box and inside are 4 cups, snugly fitted next to each other.  Each cup represents an area in our "bank" where a portion of the allowance will go.  Each week, the boys' $1 alowance is split up as follows. 

$0.10 - Tithe to church.  We want the kids to realize the importance of giving the first 10% of our income back to God.

$0.30 - Savings.  This money is collected for future savings.

$0.30 - Gifts.  This money is collected and will be used to buy birthday and Christmas gifts for their siblings.

$0.30 - Spending.  This money may be saved up for a special purchase.

The kids are young enough where the actual monetary value of the allowance is not yet relevant and the true lesson is basically to get used to the idea of being given money and having to manage it responsibly.  As they get older, we can increase the dollar amount of the allowance, if desired.

So far, this method has been the best yet for our family in organizing the chore responsibilities and equating their tasks with their allowance.  The boys eagerly do their chores so that they can put one of their colored buttons onto the chart. They encourage eachother to get their own chores done and never let me forget when it is time to dole out the buttons or, specifically, if it is pay day!  I think we will be keeping this up for quite some time and God-willing, it will be a valuable lesson in responsibility and financial management for our two little men. 

Write me some comments if you have any other solutions that may have worked for your family when implementing a chore chart.  I look forward to hearing your ideas!

Family Movie Night: The Princess and the Frog

Title: The Princess and the Frog
Snacks: Princess wand cookies, gummy frogs, popcorn, Shirley Temples

This past Saturday night we had our friend JoAnn and her daughter Regan over for dinner and Movie Night while her husband is away in Japan with the military (safely!).  She is Nate and Abby's beloved teacher in their church classroom so boy were they ever excited to have her over for one of our favorite family activities.

In 8 year-old Regan's honor, the boys agreed to suck it up and watch a princess movie since "girls like princesses."  So, we all consulted and decided on The Princess and the Frog since nobody had seen it yet.  Cute movie despite the multitude of questions about what voodoo is from the kids :).  The witty frog made up for that minor shortcoming!

Given a movie featuring frogs and princesses, the snacks ideas were endlessly streaming through my head.  In the end I opted for pretty princess magic wand cookies and these fun gummy frogs that we had seen in a local supermarket.  What a hit!  The kids all loved them and they matched our theme so perfectly.  Our wands were 2 cutout cookies with a bamboo skewer sandwiched between them.  They were glazed in pink and decorated with decorating glitter and edible pearls.   Uh, if these don't make you want to wish for a fairy godmother, I don't know what will! :)  They were so much fun for all especially our special eight year old guest.  I may only have a toddler girl in the house, but I do know that little girls love pink, tulle and sparkly things! :)

MOPS: March Coordinator's Article

March goes in like a lion and out like a lamb. It’s that way this month when the bitter cold as we enter March is morphed into the beginnings of spring as April approaches. And, as human as we are, it is sometimes like that as we go through life and are faced with challenges that make us want to just roar like a lion!


As a mother of preschoolers, I certainly humble myself to admit that there are just some days when that lion wrestles with my patience. You know, one of those days. Maybe something is on your mind or you had an argument with a spouse. Maybe you have a full calendar today that really doesn’t have room for wiping noses and tushies. Maybe your dear little ones are constantly arguing or whining or clawing at your leg as you try to do, well, anything. Maybe you just want to go to the bathroom in peace: alone and with the door locked instead of with a full house watching your performance.

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes it is just tough to keep that lamb safe from being attacked by the snarling feline within. If you put your guard down for a minute, it could eat you alive. Kids get snapped at, tears start, voices are raised. It is never a pretty sight. And to make matters even worse, episodes such as these are usually  followed by guilt and remorse. Who really is winning in this situation? Not the downtrodden mother or the tearful child, but only that sly serpent who is sitting back watching us take a bite of the apple.

Since becoming a God-fearing Christian woman, I have often prayed over James 1:19, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Yes, this means even when that 2 year-old has been talking the entire day; when that 4 year-old throws yet another tantrum (isn’t he too old for this anyways?); or when that 6 year-old begs you to play Candy Land for the umpteenth time this week when you really would prefer to get some work done around the house or in the office instead.

God has hand-picked these tender little hearts to be sculpted and shepherded by you, the one who often feels unworthy or inferior in the mother role. He knows that nobody is more perfect for your young one than you and believes in your ability to raise these children up to know the  Lord and to help to guide their path. He even provides us with instructions on how to best raise these little ones: the Bible.


So as a mother, when the days seem endless and naptime evades your household, take a deep breath, get out your Bible and recite James 1:19 a few times. It is such a calming, restorative verse that never fails to open my ears to listen to a round of why questions for the millionth time. It holds my tongue when I just feel like truncating that round of curiosity with a curt response. And it calms my soul when I feel like yelling at one of those sweet little ones. As Christian women, we know the Bible is the tool to keep that ferocious lion within us at bay so that the gentle lamb can rest peacefully. Let’s go ahead and use what God has given to us.

Blessings!

Favorite Pork Chop Recipes

Pork chops have never been my favorite food.  It is the meat that I would make out of duty since I felt it necessary to rotate some pork into our diet with our chicken, fish and beef.  It also was the meat that would often end up being thrown away when leftover after sitting in the fridge for a few days.  I don't have any qualms about where on the pig the chops come from nor do I worry that pigs are not technically "clean" animals, which, to some, may deem them non-kosher.  I personally would usually just rather have chicken or fish instead of "the other white meat." 

However, two pork chop recipes do remain my favorites and have redeemed the entire pork chop species in my mind :).  They are simple family recipes that are easy to prepare, can be done a few hours in advance (aka when the children are napping or at school) and produce moist, tender results.  Both are great if paired with plain buttered egg noodles, a veggie and applesauce.  Enjoy!

Nana's Baked Pork Chops
4-6 1/2" pork chops, either bone-in or boneless
flour
bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
3/4c. milk
vegetable oil

Place 2-4T vegetable oil over med-hi heat into a skillet or Corning Ware, preferably one that can be placed directly into the oven.  Put the flour and bread crumbs into separate shallow plates/bowls.  Dip the chops into flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.  Coat evenly and place into the skillet.  Pan fry until browned, adding more oil if needed.  Remove meat to a plate.  Add the milk to the same skillet, scraping up all of the brown bits.  Cook until boiling and then remove from the heat.  Either add the chops back to the pan if it can go right into the oven or pour the milk mixture over the chops in another oven-safe dish.  Turn chops to fully coat in the milk mixture.  **This will appear really strange, almost unappetizing, but the milk will help to make the chops tender while keeping the coating crispy and bubbly.**  Place into a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour; closer to 1 hour for bone-in chops and closer to 45 minutes for boneless.  Enjoy!

German-Style Pork Chops
4-6 1/2" pork chops, either bone-in or boneless
1 can sauerkraut
1/2 pound bacon
2T. brown sugar
PAM cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a Corning Ware or oven-safe dish with PAM.  Pan fry the bacon in a skillet and set aside to cool.  Drain excess grease.  In the same skillet using the light coating of oil from cooking the bacon, brown the pork chops; they will be raw in the middle.  Place in the dish.  Meanwhile, add the sauerkraut to the same skillet and saute.  Break the bacon into pieces,  Add the brown sugar and bacon to the skillet and continue to saute until golden and coated.  Pour this mixture on top of the pork chops.  Bake for 30 minutes, covered.  remove cover and bake for 15 more minutes.  Enjoy!

February MOPS Coordinator's Article

When you think of Valentine's Day, what comes to mind? Many people think about love, and spending time with the sweetheart in their life. Some people think of chocolates, flowers, dining out and taking time to let the person you adore know they're special. Still others may equate Valentine’s Day as a time to shower their children with extra love and kisses. Regardless, most of us use Valentine's Day to go that extra mile and show our love to the special people in our life. It’s that one special day every year when love is in the air and people just want to inhale it!

Well, spread your love a little further. This year, how about adding one additional special person to your list? Someone whose love for us never ceases. Someone who splurges on us daily by way of the many blessings He bestows. Jesus sends us valentines not only on February 14th, but everyday. His ultimate valentine was his own sacrifice for our sins. There is no greater love; it's a love that has produced priceless salvation to many. Our God is a god of grace, mercy, kindness, generosity and love; especially love.

Below is something I had heard a while back, which always blows my mind away when I really stop to think about it.

We give our loved one flowers; He gives us beautiful fields, mountains, oceans and tropical paradises.

We make special dinner reservations for our loved one; He is preparing a feast for us in Heaven.

We give our loved one our life in marriage; He gave us His Son Jesus Christ so that we could spend eternity with Him if we should choose Him.

The love that Jesus gives to us is so strong, yet so surreal and unfathomable that it is in our sinful human nature to glaze over it and not take notice. It’s easier to acknowledge that dozen red roses from our husband or that homemade valentine from our child than it is to remember that everything we are given in this world comes from our Savior because He loves us. He blesses us with gifts everyday, despite our greed and ungraciousness.

So this month, as you go about the days approaching Valentine’s Day, shower your spouse, children and other loved ones with hugs and kisses. Send cards and order flowers to your heart’s content. Take Proverbs 3:3 to heart, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you...write them on the tablet of your heart.” However, also remember the lover of your soul and don't forget to show your love toward Him.