I've Been Tagged

 (and I really don't WANT to keep with my set schedule today)
I've been tagged by Kristine. Alas, my nearest book is not a hugely profound book.
Here are the rules:
~Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages
~Open the book to page 123 and find sentence number 5.
~Post the next 3 sentences
~Tag 5 people.
The nearest book is, "A Family Guide to Biblical Holidays". (I really wanted to go find my cozy mystery and post - but rules are rules). The 6th - 9th sentences are as follows:
"The meal induces the experience of going from slavery to liberty through the food experiences and story as the meal turns into an elaborate feast. There is no right way to conduct a seder. The seder is usually a family dinner but can also be held with your family or with a church group." BTW, I AM enjoying this book. I have found several type o's that drive me batty...and spots like the sentence above where I go "huh?" It's usually a family dinner BUT can also be held with your family? Um? OK - I'll let it go. ::snort::
I tag these 5 -
Chris
Dorothy
Kristine - hmmmm she may have had to burn all her books to stay warm during that recent storm.
Kelly
Michelle

Glimpses from the Day

Nolan is ill. I usually "quarantine" ill family members. They like the solitude, and I isolate the germs. Poor Nolan. He must be an extrovert. At lunch he came out and said he wanted to do school. He lasted about 20 minutes and went back to bed where he has slept the afternoon/night away. He doesn't like being alone, and he doesn't like meds.

I snapped this right after lunch....

It sums up the day well. Nolan works on phonics, Arielle works on an informal outline, Cy works on his first ever "filed-as-an-adult" tax return, my laptop is open and checking totals for our United Co-op.

Co-op went well today. We are getting wholesale prices, and they are great.  We're getting the bugs worked out of the system. It only took 1 1/2 hours today to meet the truck, inventory, and sort into our three groups. Then another hour or so to sort into individual orders. Only one mistake, and it was mine - thank goodness.

I thought I was ordering Arthur Mac and Cheese; what I ordered was a case of THIS
Fancy, huh? Certified Organic Spagetti O's - I think. The kids have never had these - they think they look SWEET - we shall see what they think when they open the first can. ::snort::

Gifts and Cakes for Our Two Youngest Men

 Mike made TWO ice cream cakes...and that's a lot of ice cream to make in one day! LOL

Gifts and more gifts!

Just a Fun Day!

Mike took the kids out to play with their toys....







Ahhh....


Later in the day....
You KNOW this is coming, right? Check out the older boys...and Mike was totally unsuspecting. Check out Jared and Josiah.

WATER FIGHT!

 











How did SHE get the wettest????

BIRTHDAYS!!!!

In the interest of clarity:
Friday - Nolan turned 9
Saturday - Josiah turned 19
Today - Happy Birthday Mom!!!! and Destinee - please say a quick prayer of thanksgiving for another miracle year for Destinee...and for God's continued healing in her life.
Tomorrow - Zander turns 6
20th - Jamin turns 17
Today - We are celebrating Nolan and Zander's Birthday
Next Sunday - We will celebrate Josiah and Jamin's birthday

Yes, I figured it out - it's Memorial Day - those 4 day weekends.

Lent/Resurrection Day Celebrations

I would love to hear how some of you celebrate the church season of Lent. I've shared before that I was not raised with a liturgical calendar. Adding Advent to our traditions has greatly helped us to keep our focus on Christ at Christmas.

I've started to wonder.....if something similar would happen if we added some Lent traditions to our family. We've never done the Easter Bunny, eggs etc. We've not done Lent either. It seems that Easter sneaks up on us each year. I know the Lent season has begun when we have the "chapel cleaning" and when the Catholics have a pancake race. ::snort:: NO OFFENSE MEANT - it looked like a lot of fun.... I've never been one to fast according to the calendar - but then again, I do have a regular fast that God has called me to undertake. In other words - I know that many give up something for Lent - and I understand why. Others choose to enjoy the blessings of God with thanksgiving rather than fast - and I understand why. I'm not looking for debate. I'm wanting to learn from those of you who celebrate Lent what you do and how it enhances your appreciation of Christ's sacrifice and celebration of His resurrection.

We plan to have a Seder meal this year. It's so easy for the meaning of the seasons to get lost in a busy pastor/chaplain's family....and I'm wanting to stop that trend. We've done the Resurrection Eggs for years. Michelle mentioned she bought Benjamin's Box. Have others of you used that? How have you used it? What else do you do? Any traditions that have been either particularly meaningful or fun for your family?

Update - we've also made Resurrection Rolls when the older children were little. That presented a meaningful picture.

If you are interested in more discussion of this be sure to click "email responses to me" in the comment section or stop by here, and you can read all replies. I'm praying through this, and of course, will share as we go about our celebration of Christ's Sacrifice and Resurrection.

I still have up our "Jesus" stocking for catching others doing Christ-like deeds. It fits with this season. I saw this set at Oriental Trading and am considering it may serve as an easy way to keep the season in front of the kids - as a nativity does.

We are praying and thinking and moving ahead. We don't want to invest in "Jesus Junk" and we are very allergic to legalism, but Mike and I are both on the same page about focusing on Christ's GIFT and RESURRECTION for more than a week before Easter.

2nd Update - I stopped in at the Family Christian Bookstore armed with a list of books I hoped to see and buy. They had NONE of them. They DID have the Resurrection eggs. I asked about Lent/Easter resources, and they told me they don't have their Easter stuff out and won't put it out until after Valentine's Day. I'm starting to see why Protestant's don't celebrate Easter for more than one day. ::snort:: WELL, you know me, I can't leave well enough alone. I asked WHAT resources they would be putting out? EASTER CARDS and candy. "Um....any resources to build excitement in my children as we move towards Jesus' Resurrection?" - No, none. I plan to call and talk to the manager. I'm hoping that the clerks today simply aren't in the loop. OH WAIT - They did have a Veggie Tales dvd "An Easter Carol" with Rebecca St. James as one of the voices I figured it has to have a Christian message in it. That was it....a veggie tale DVD and the Resurrection Eggs.
I'm seriously talking to Mike and Jamin tonight about writing a story such as Jotham's Journey for THIS season. I know they could do it well. I'm not sure it will done by THIS year - but maybe next year. Mike could write devotionals we'd agree with ::snort::, and Jamin is an exciting story teller. I'd like to see an exciting adventure with children working up to Passover/Crucifixion/Resurrection/Great Commission/Ascension....hmmmm WHERE WOULD YOU STOP??????