Easter Week Festivities 2012

It is a goal of mine to make Easter a memorable and spiritual experience for my children.  I often feel frustrated by the way that elaborate Christmas celebrations can dwarf this Holy time. I had a huge list of fun activities I wanted to do with them this week, but Easter is in April.  This poses a huge dilemma for me because in my job, April is one of those months where I have literally no extra time.  Like I often don't cook or clean for 2 or 3 weeks because I can't do it all.  So, although we weren't able to do a week long countdown like I wanted, we definitely had some great activities to help us focus on Christ.  

As with last year, we started the week off by making our own Palm Branches and acting out the Triumphal Entry.  They loved it!

Most of the time.

Once we got all our Palm Branches made, we read the story aloud while the kids acted it out.  (We were pretty gender neutral because we have 2 girls and one boy.- Ha!)

Can I tell you how cute my daughter is?  I get to teach her Primary (Sunday School) class this year, and when I told this story to the other 3 year olds (about 2 weeks before we had this activity at home), I said, "And while Jesus rode in on the colt, the people waved their palm branches and do you know what they said?"  And Tori promptly replied, "Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to the King!"  She LOVES this story.  And she often reminisces about when we had the same activity last year.

We also watched The Living Scriptures dvd, He Is Risen, but I didn't take any pictures of that because that would be a little weird.
Toward the end of the week, when things calmed down a bit, we made Resurrection Rolls!

This was super fun!  You take a marshmallow to represent Christ's body, and dip it in butter and cinnamon to represent the spices used on the body of Jesus.  Then you place the marshmallow in the tomb, or crescent roll and bake.  When you take them out, the body has disappeared!  Note:  I messed up and wrapped them incorrectly, so the marshmallow melted out onto the pan instead of inside the roll.  They were still Super Delicious!

 We even had our own Christian Passover Meal!

 Complete with Bitter Herbs...  None of the children were big fans of the bitter herbs, and maybe next year I'll be more ambitious and make my own (not if Easter is in April again!). But all in all, it was a wonderful experience.  I kind of combined some of the things we have done for this in years past with some ideas put forth on this blog, that my friend Carole shared with me.  I LOVE having each child read one of the 4 questions: " Why are we eating Matza tonight?"

"Why are we eating bitter herbs?"

"Why do we dip our herbs twice?"

"Why are we eating this meal reclining?"

I have to say that the answer to number four was the most moving to me.  I explained to the children that in the time of Christ, Free Men and Royalty, all those who were free recline ed while they ate.  And then said, "We eat this meal reclining, relaxed, safe and free because our Passover Lamb, Jesus, has bought our freedom"  And in that moment, I felt it.  I looked in their eyes and they felt it:  The Holy Spirit whispering to their hearts that Jesus has made them free.

And then,  all the exhaustion of the week, the stress of trying to make this meal happen that day, of putting it all together while children fussed and cried... it was all worth it.  The Holy Ghost will testify of truth and I know He spoke to them that day.

 The next day, we Colored Easter Eggs!

This is one experience that gets more fun the older they get.  They are getting more independent so there is less spilling and more fun!!

Even though we didn't get to do lots of the fun things I wanted, we read God's Word each day.  We came together as a family to remember Christ's sacrifice and victory. I do not share this with you to pat our family on the back, but as a record for my children.  I want my children to have our memories documented.  I want them to have images and words to put with the truth that God is teaching them.  Hopefully, they will look back and remember.

I am so sorry you are seeing this so late.  But I hope you had a blessed Easter, rejoicing in the truth that because He Lives, we can face tomorrow.

What Easter is Realy Abowt

April is incredibly busy for me. Due to parent teacher conferences and end of the semester projects, I end up working more like full-time rather than part-time. (I'm working from home, but still.) I come home from school, put Tori down for her nap, work on preparing parent teacher conferences, pick up the kids, help with homework, and work on more stuff until dinner. If I'm lucky, Matt makes dinner or, even better, picks up food so I have one less thing to worry about.
It's Spring Break for my kids, so I'm trying to keep them entertained and complete the crazy amount of work I have to do. Today, while working on a student's portfolio, I got out some white constrcution paper and watercolor paints and suggested Daphne paint Easter eggs to decorate our house (and keep her busy).

After about thirty minutes, she comes to me and hands me this:
Can you read that? It says, "What Easter is Realy Abowt".

And inside: "Jesus Sufferd and died and rose because he loves us!"

That was worth taking a break to blog.

I love that girl. It is my prayer that God will make me worthy to the challenge and blessing of being her mother. It's already been a rough week with lots of Mommy repentance, so this was a paycheck moment. ( With a bonus that I could never have earned.)

I hope that this simple message is in your heart and home this week and always. He Lives.

Green Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from the Hunters!

Yes... I know.  It's June.  Sue, me.

Isaac is 10!

I am now writing this blog post for the third time.  I write at my own risk, knowing with every letter I type, I could be just preparing my cute commentary so that it can be lost in cyberspace.  It's a big risk, I know, but when you are four months behind on your blog, it's a chance i have to take.  

In February, (yes-  I said February.  And it's June) we celebrated my firstborn turning ten years old!

Since the Hunter Family has a slew of February birthdays, we celebrated Isaac, Jude, Corbin and Penelope on Super Bowl Sunday at our house.  

It was a little crazy!  There are actually a few people watching the game.

Isaac worked really hard for over a year to save up enough money for a Kindle Fire, so most people gifted him money to go towards that.

He was totally stoked!  Nanny and Papa also splurged (what's new) and gave him this Lego set he's been asking for for years!

On the day of Isaac's Birthday, we just went out to dinner and had gifts.  he wanted Crown Burger, which is a favorite of the boys.  This restaurant was actually featured on Man vs. Food, which is a mark of excellence in the opinion of my boys.  You can see the clip HERE.

 Here's the GREAT Lego set from GiGi in Texas!

 So after all the monetary gifts for his birthday, Isaac was only $40 away from buying himself a Kindle.  Matt and I were so proud of his hard work and willingness to save that as our gift to him, we pitched in $70 to buy it for him.  (We wanted him to get to keep some of his savings-- he worked so hard!).  This is the reaction we got when he opened it up and found out he wouldn't be penniless!

 Isaac also got a friend party this year, but let me tell you something:  Parties for 10 year old boys are the easiest, simplest thing ever.  Here's what he wanted:   Chocolate Cake from Costco and 7 friends over to play video games. No theme, no decorations, just video games.  (Did I mention I hate video games?)  So, with the help of my brother in law, David, we hooked up an extra PS3 and had two sets of games going; one upstairs and one downstairs.  Pretty awesome if you are a 10. And a boy.  And I have to admit, it was the easiest party ever.  Matt supervised the gaming and I actually stopped and worked on PTA stuff for 20 minutes or so.  Party life certainly has changed.

 And, hey, I learned something during this experience.  It's very important information for the mother of a son:  Boys actually like watching each other play video games.  In the past, he would have someone over to play and I hear myself saying, " Get out another controller, Isaac." or, "Matt, let the kids play, too."  :)
 But apparently, they don't mind watching.  Weird.  Anyhow, they LOVED it!  Huge, easy success for a birthday party.

 He actually got four of the exact same Lego set.  And you know what?  He didn't mind one bit.   Isaac is such an easy-going kid.  I tried to exchange a few at the store,  but he had all four of them all put together in his room within a few days of the party.

Isaac, I love you!  I am so honored that God sent you to our home first.  What a blessing it is to be your mom.  I'm afraid you always end up with the brunt of my inexperience, but I'm so glad you are my oldest.  I am grateful for your obedient Spirit, your grateful heart and your helpful nature.  You radiate the goodness of your father and I am thrilled to watch the young man you are becoming.  Although I write this with tears in my eyes (because I cannot believe how fast you went from my tiny newborn to a strong, enormous almost man), I really cannot wait to see the amazing plans God has for you.  I love you.  Forever and Ever.

It's A Bear!

Other important things you missed during my blogging hiatus: Isaac earned his Bear Achievement/Award/Notch/Badge.... Ummmm... I don't know what you call it. But it was a lot of work, and by golly, we earned it. I say "we" because it really is a team effort. The Moms get a pin, too. But Isaac really did the work, and we are so proud of him!
We got 90% of the achievements done during the Summer and honestly, we were done with all but one by October. But since I have no idea what the heck I'm doing, I had no idea how close we were. Anyway, we finished up the last achievement in January and Isaac received his award.

What a handsome boy!

I am so honored to be the mother of this boy. Isaac personifies so many of the traits of a cub scout. He is hard-working, obedient, helpful. He is almost a young man and I can't figure out where my tiny baby has gone. But I'll just enjoy the boy who's taken his place.

The Scouting program is such a great way to put principles of Faith into action. I am so grateful for this tool to teach him to be a man of God. Love you, Isaac!

Once There Was A Snowman...

Our Winter has been so mild that days like this are few and far between (you will not hear any complaints about this from me... unless of course the Snow decides to make an appearance in March and April) So... the kids were really excited to go play in the snow this day! Matt started the giant snowman for them. He and Isaac did the lion's share of the work. Daphne got busy working on the Snowman's head while Tori just explored!

Love that face!

Matt had to run an errand in the middle of the Snow Man work, so I went out and helped Isaac roll and lift the middle part of the body. And Y'all. My arms were crazy sore the next day! That snow was so wet and heavy!

Matt came back just in time to add the head and help with the face! Daphne decided it should be a girl and collected little leaves and branches to make eyelashes.

Look how tall he is!

Unfortunately, it was so warm that she only lasted a few hours, just like the song!

Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman,

Once there was a snowman: tall, tall, tall.

In the sun he melted, melted, melted

In the sun he melted: small, small, small.

That evening, Tori called Nanny to say, "Nanny, do you want to hear something really sad? We had a giant snow man and her head melted off!"

All good things must come to an end, I guess.

Goodbye 2011!!

For New Year's Eve, we thought we would invite our fellow Fireworks Enthusiasts, The Johnsons, over to our house. We had so much fun that I forgot to take pictures until the end, but we had a blast. We also had our old friends, The Walds, over for dinner as well. The Walds lived in our ward in Ogden and Monalisa was in Yound Women's with me. We hadn't seen eachother in four years, so it was great to talk again! They weren't able to stay all night, but it was great to see them again. We ate Chicken, played games, talked and talked and talked. In fact, we talked so much that we forgot to count down to Midnight! All the sudden we looked up and it was 11:58. So we ran outside and Matt and David started the firework festivities. We have had a surprisingly mild Winter, so there was no snow for us this year.

All the kids got a turn with the Fireworks this year! (I like how Isaac is wearing a coat and shorts- pretty classic Isaac)

Look! I got the boys smiling! We had a great night... Happy New Year!

The Funniest Stuff My Kids Said in 2011

Miss me? I know- I'm a total blogging slacker. The truth is, I have tried to write this post about 50 times and Blogger kept ticking me off. But today I'm feeling a little icky, so I just sat down on my bed for an hour and a half and fixed it. Well, I thought I fixed it, but Blogger hate sme. So, I quit. I'm just publishing it as is. The writing is pretty choppy because I just jotted them down in this post throughout the year.

The Top FOURTEEN most awesome things my kids said in 2011. (sprinkled with random pictures from last year)

14. Nickelodeon (February 2011)

While driving in the van, Daphne asked me, "Why don't we watch Teen Nick? I explained that we watch Nick Jr. and occasionally Nickelodeon, but Teen Nick shows kids making lots of bad choices." "like what?" Daphne says. "Well, like skipping school and drinking alcohol and just doing lots of things we don't do." And Daphne said "Yeah, like drinking Pepsi!"

14. Birthday Wish (June 2011) On June 6, Tori turned 3 years old!! We had a little birthday celebration with our family and ate some cake. We don't really do birthday wishes (no moral opposition- just isn't really a "thing" at our house) So, when Daphne said, "Tori what did you wish for? " Victoria really had no idea what she meant. But, without skipping a beat, Tori answered, "Poopin Kitties". Weird!

13.Making Cookies with Tori (December 2011):
Tori "Let's put in the vamilla. Oops, I said Valimma. What's the next flavor?"

12. Healthy Living By Tori (December 2011): "If you eat your food really good, you will grown up. But if you eat too many foods, you will get chubby and fat. "

11. Brothers ( January of 2011):

Tori randomly walked up to me and told me, " I want Isaac to be a girl."

10. Bloody Love (February 2011): Tori fell and cut her lip. There was blood on her sweet face and tears on her cheeks and lots of crying. Matt sat with her on the couch and held her while they watched Scooby Doo. A few days later, Tori said to me, "Yestaday, I bleed my lip. And Daddy and me watched a show. I want to Bleed it again." I was shocked and said, What?! Tori repeated, "I want to bleed it again and watch a show with Daddy." Needless to say, Matt watched Scooby Doo with her that night, and we didn't require blood shed beforehand!

9. March 2011: For about 3 weeks or so, every morning, Tori would dress herself and say, " I look amazing!"

8. Tori-isms (January 2011).

Whenever I would ask Tori why she was doing something, she would reply, "Because I need to." And when I would ask why she wasn't doing something, she would reply, "Because Daddy do it on Fridays."

7. Shampoo (Summer 2011) Daphne, "Why don't we call shampoo poosham?"

6. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (September 2011)

While having our standard Saturday night meal at Cafe Rio, we were talking about how we hadn't been to Cafe Rio in a while and it tasted so good to us. I said, "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder." Daphne said, "What does that mean?" So I told her it was a figure of speech and explained the meaning. Then she looked at me and said, "You should make me absent from school so I can like it better!"

5. Hospitality (June 2011): Matt came home from work to have lunch with Tori and me. After lunch, Matt put on his shoes to head back to work and as he walked out the door Tori said, "Bye! Thanks for coming to our house!"

4.Daddy (March 2011)

I gave each of the children a homemade cookie after lunch one day and Tori said,

"How about Daddy- at work?"

I answered,"Why do you ask?"

Tori: "Cause He's mine."

3. Brothers and Sisters (November 2011)

Me: "Daphne, Do you remember when Tori was born?"

Daphne: "How could I forget the day my sister was born?! If I didn't have a sister, I'd probably be dead. I mean... I like Isaac and all, but brothers and sisters just don't mix very well. "

2. The Wheels on the Bus ( August 2011)

I was mopping the kitchen floor and moved all the chairs into the family room and put them in a line. This is the cue for my girls to play school bus. So they hopped on the bus and started singing, "The Wheels on the Bus" After going through all the verses, Tori said to Daphne, " Are there any Daddies on the bus?" Daphne answered, "Sure- I don't know what they do, though." Then, with a mischevious gleam in her eye said, "I know what they do! The Daddies on the bus play on their phones. On their phones, On their phones!"

And the number 1 quote from 2011 is: (Drumroll, please):

1. Kisses (July 2011)
On Sunday afternoons, I get a nap. It is a long-standing, sacred tradition in the Hunter home. We go to church and then I take a nap. For the first part of 2011, Tori and I napped together. (Sadly, this practice has fallen by the wayside as she has grown larger and more rambunctious.) Anyway, we were lying down to take a nap and Matt came in and kissed me (rather passionately) After that he said, "Night girls and gave Tori a peck on the lips. Tori declared, "No- I want a long kiss- like Mommy!" Matt and I laughed hysterically and then he gave her an extended peck on the lips while she squeezed his cheeks with her chubby little hands.