Blogger Help!

Okay, so I am totally inept when it comes to styling my blog. Every time I try to add a cool background template it deletes my sidebar information and I can't figure out how to save that! HELP!! I think after more then a year of blogging that I should have this down but alas, no.

Spring Celebration/ Easter

SPRING CELEBRATION

This year, we did something a little different for Easter. I wanted to really separate the commercial "Easter" from the true Christ-centered Easter, so I used a book called A Christ-Centered Easter by Janet and Joe Hales to plan a week of Christ- centered celebration.

First of all, we did do the whole Easter egg and basket thing- we just did it a week early and called it a Spring Celebration rather then Easter. The week of Easter I (using the book) planned out various daily age-appropriate devotionals and activities that centered on the last week of the Savior's life. I really loved it- and look forward to doing it every year! Here is a look at what we did:

Passover Sunday: We made palm leaves out of construction paper and paper towel rolls. We read about the story of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We acted it out (with the boys taking turns being Jesus riding the donkey (dad)) and shouted HOSANNA! We talked about how we would prepare for the coming of the Savior.

Monday: We had a picnic at the temple and talked about Christ's cleansing of the temple. We discussed what happens in the temple and how sacred it is. The boys touched the temple walls and peaked into the windows.

Tuesday: We talked about parables, how Jesus often taught in parables. We talked about being spiritually and intellectually prepared to receive inspiration so that we can understand these parables. We made clay lamps and filled them with olive oil. That night we discussed the Ten Virgins and lit the lamps- one with only a small amount of oil (not prepared) and one with a lot and talked about being prepared to meet the Savior. (This didn't work well- the clay that we got was weird and I don't think it was meant to hold fire; will do better next year!)

Wednesday: We talked about Judas' betrayal- how he sold the Savior for the price of a male slave! We talked about being loyal, love, and friendship.

Passover Thursday: I prepared for a big Passover dinner by cleaning our house and talked to the boys about the symbolism behind this. That night we did a Passover dinner. We ate oily fish (similar to the kind found in the Mediterranean area), goat cheese, unleavened bread, honeycomb, cucumber, yogurt sweetened with honey, figs, romaine lettuce, dried apricots and drank grape juice. We talked about all the symbolism behind the ritual foods (fish/lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs (romaine) and the grape juice/wine) and talked about the things that Jesus ate. I have to say that we would all be very skinny if we lived during that time- none of us cared for the food!

After dinner we talked about the Last Supper and how Christ washed his disciples feet- we talked about service and humility. We also touched on the Intercessory prayer and the symbolism of the sacrament. We then talked about Gethsemane and Christ's betrayal. This was a loaded day- I will probably do Gethsemane on the following day next year.

Friday: We talked about Christ's betrayal and the Crucifixion. We sang a Crucifixion song. This was a day of reverence and mourning.

Saturday: We just tried to get the boys pumped up for the resurrection the following day- next year I will do the Easter cookies- which have all symbolic ingredients and are "sealed" in the oven overnight until the next morning and when you bite into them they are hollow- like the tomb on Sunday. I did this last year and it was fun although we didn't love the cookies.

Resurrection Sunday: We told the story of the Resurrection, listened to some rejoicing primary songs, sang, and shouted HOSANNA! We discussed what the resurrection means to us.

I learned so much from this experience, reading and studying the scriptures and thinking a lot about the Savior. It was an amazing week for me- truly a highlight of this year.

St. Patrick's Day

For St. Patrick's, I really wanted to teach the boys a little bit about their Irish heritage (we have a lot of Irish blood). We made clovers with sponge, made leprachaun ears, wore fun green hats, at green eggs and Irish pancakes, and colored a map of Ireland. We talked about where St. Patrick's day came from- which is really random, but that led us to talking about how its important to celebrate who we are and where we come from. I often think that the major reason I miss living overseas is because our American culture is so mixed and diluted that you can't feel the culture/tradition presence like you can in other parts of the world. I love learning about where my family came from and I hope that I can hand that desire down to my children. Happy (late) celebrate IRELAND day!