Brave little Alan
Poor Alan has inherited his teeth problems from the Rose side of the family (this is according to Tom). He get's cavities really easily. Last week he complained of a toothache, and I had to bring him home from school. We went to the dentist that afternoon and found that he had a tooth that was on it's way to absessing! Poor little guy! I never knew that could happen in a mouth that young. I guess it was from a cavity that was never taken care of. It's been about 18 months since they last went to the dentist. Too long. Anyway, yesterday he went in for a "pulpectomy" on the painful tooth, and then got it covered with a stainless steel crown. I don't know much about crowns, since my parents never took us to the dentist when we were little. I've personally never had a crown. I guess that's why I was so suprised that Alan, being only 8, would have a tooth in such bad shape. He said he was scared of all the tools, but the dentist said he did really well. They normally charge over $50 for "behavioral management", but they didn't charge anything because he was so well behaved. Now Alan feels much better, with no tooth pain. That was his 3rd crown. He brushes every morning and night, and he even just recently started flossing on his own. It's so tough having a mouth like his!! I hope he's not on his way to a mouth full of metal.

How did the bunny do that?

The kids all dyed the eggs one color, but the next morning they found many of their eggs with more than just the color they dyed it! The easter bunny must've added stripes to them. Sarah knew this was the same egg she orignally colored all pink because she also had drawn with crayon on it before she colored it. How did that bunny do it? She must be a genius!!

It's easter morning and I found eggs!!

Easter Story Cookies

The last thing we do before bed the night before Easter, and the first thing we do when we wake up on Easter morning is read the scriptures and do our Easter Story cookies. It makes us remember where our priorities lie with Easter.

1cup chopped pecans
1tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important, don't wait till you're half done with the recipe!)

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1tsp vinegar into mixing bowl.

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and follow Him.

Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in chopped nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.

Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.

Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

T'was the night before Easter..

And all through the house,

All the children were stirring their eggs in the dye...

Tonight we did our easter eve festivities of dying eggs and making our Easter Story cookies. After dinner and baths, we all sat down around the table and had fun dyeing a dozen hard boiled eggs. A dozen is all we need since the kids don't really like to eat them, but they love to dye them. I use them for potato salad, and Tom and I like to eat them for breakfast... Anway,

Have you ever thought of what a great science lesson egg dyeing is? Our kids always have fun seeing the "science" of the color tablet mixing with the vinegar and watching it fizz. They asks questions about what makes it fizz, and they form an hypothesis about what the color will be (based upon what the tablet looks like)before we pour the vinegar in, and then afterwards see if their if their educated guesses were correct. Then there's more science in seeing how long it takes to make an egg lighter or darker. Of course there's always someone who wants put the eggs in multiple colors to see what it will look like. It's so fun having little children around because they're always learning and discovering things that we take for granted.

Spring Dinner Party

I bought this easter lilly Friday morning when I was shopping for a dinner party we were having that evening. I've never seen a pink easter Lilly. It was so pretty! Anyway, we invited 3 other couples over to have a casual "cook-out" in our backyard. We set up a table on our deck and I put this on the table as a center peice. It was alot of fun. Each of our friends brought some meat to grill and a side dish. Two of the couples had 1 little boy, and one couple was pregnant. So the kids had fun playing on the trampoline, in the yard, and in the play room that I'd just made the kids clean up. It was kind of funny to see the men all congregate around the grill as they cooked they're various meats to perfection, and the women sat and talked on the deck. The kids all got along really well too. Everybody went home around 10:30. We love socializing like that.