Ice Cream with Fancy Nancy

Our local Chick-Fil-A had Family Night with Fancy Nancy last night, so after dinner we told Gracie we were going to get some ice cream and she was overjoyed with just that, and SUPER-surprised when she saw that Fancy Nancy was there!!

Girls all ready to go with their new "sparkle shoes" on

Gracie had no problem posing with Fancy Nancy, but Allie takes after her dad and is not fond of people dressed in costume, she was just ready for the ice cream:)



Allie sitting in the parking lot protesting to be carried:)

We had a *splendid time

 (*that's a fancy word for great)!!

Easter 2011

We had a great Easter weekend with our families!! Our church pulled out all the stops, as usual, for an amazing Easter service, and we spent the afternoon eating, visiting, and dyeing and hunting eggs. No better way to celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour!!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend!!

The Resurrection- Day 12

Matthew 28:5-10
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples:"‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

The Great Commission
Matthew 28: 16-20
 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Resurrection Egg #12- empty, he is ALIVE!! (coloring page here)

Oh, what a GLORIOUS day!!!

The tomb was empty, he is risen and alive, and because of that day 2,000 years ago, we now have hope and the promise of eternal life in Heaven. He's coming back for us,

that's the truth friend, you better believe it:)

The Stone was Rolled Away- Day 11

 Matthew 28 :1-4
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

Resurrection Egg #11- small stone (coloring page here)

Today we talked again about Jesus' death on the cross and his burial in the tomb. We also used the small stone to represent the large stone that was placed in front of the opening to the tomb when Jesus was buried. We read the part of our story where Mary Magdeline went to visit the tomb but to her surprise the stone was rolled to the side and there was an Angel of the Lord sitting on the stone......

Don't miss the finale tomorrow that changed the course of history!!

The Burial of Jesus- Day 10

 John 19: 38-42
 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.  He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.  Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Resurrection Egg #10- a strip of "gauze" or toilet paper/ paper towel
(coloring page here)

Today we talked about how Jesus' friend Joseph (not to be confused with Jesus' father Joseph, we had that conversation too :) took Jesus' body and wrapped it up in linen and spices and put it in the empty tomb. I sprayed the gauze with some cologne to represent the spices and when Gracie smelled it she said, "wait mom, this smells like dad", hahaha!!



The Crucifixion of Jesus- Day 9

Luke 23: 32-49
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The Death of Jesus
 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,  for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”  When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.  But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Resurrection Egg #9- Nails (coloring page here)

Today we talked a little about the cross again, then I showed Gracie the coloring picture and pointed out where they hammered the nails into his hands (without much graphic detail). I was actually surprised that none of the children's books we got about Easter had a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross. I think she is old enough to see a very basic picture so I felt comfortable with the coloring page. I hope now when she sees a cross in our home, or other places she will remember what it truly means.

Jesus Sentenced to be Crucified- Day 8

Luke 26:1-31
Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”

So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort.  He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people,  and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”
 But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
 For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”
But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 
 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.  A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.  Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.  For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’  Then
“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
For if people do these things things when  the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Resurrection egg #8- small wooden cross (coloring page here)

Today we talked about the cross and how Jesus had to carry his own cross until he got so tired that a man named Simon was called to help him. We went on a "cross hunt" around our house and found all of the crosses that we have hanging up.