Resurrection Celebration

We were forced to stay home this year on Easter, instead of getting to spend it with Mimi and the cousins, on account of the chickenpox. It was surprisingly restful and especially worshipful and we finally got to have our Resurrection Celebration that I'd only dreamed about the last few years.



Charlie and I stayed up WAY too late getting everything set up in the backyard so that it would be all ready when we'd wake the kids at sunrise. But, this day! Oh, this day is worth celebrating!! It's the day we'll be celebrating forever.



We kept it pretty simple using decor I already had from throwing showers, my fancy dishes, and flowers. While I worked on a table arrangement the evening before, Charlie did most of the food prep for our Resurrection Celebration: Green Eggs & Ham, YWF link-sausage, sweet potato hash, and fruit salad.

As we were getting ready to celebrate on Easter morning, things just needed to either be popped in the oven or cooked on the stovetop. (We forgot ALL about our Resurrection Cookies that we'd made the night before, though, when we were pre-heating the oven. Oops!!) We woke up the kids as we busted into their rooms telling them, "He is Risen! Jesus is alive!! The women saw an angel instead of Jesus who told them that Jesus would meet them in Galilee, just as He had promised." (Mark 16)

While breakfast was warming, the kids searched for their Easter baskets hidden in the house. This was the first time we'd hidden them and they loved the thrill of the hunt.

We were not surprised at all that McKlayne adored all the flowers and the "fancy" table. She and Asher both loved the chocolate crosses. (I searched all over town and finally found them at Walgreens...well worth the search.)

Since it was so early, we let the babies continue to sleep while we celebrated the resurrection over breakfast.  Asher and McKlayne enjoyed the "double date" and Charlie and I really enjoyed getting to focus and really be engaged in conversation with them without any distractions.

After breakfast and signing a few hymns, Charlie retold the Easter story as the kids ate their chocolate crosses. They listened intently and asked insightful questions as they tried to process the story of salvation.

Then Charlie explained how early Christians adopted an ancient tradition from the Persians that we now know as "Easter eggs".  The Persians celebrated with eggs in their Spring Festival. They used the hard shell of the egg, as it is broken open so that new life can emerge, to symbolize the rebirth of nature through Spring.  In the same way, Christians adapted this symbol a bit and began to use eggs to symbolize the rock-hewn tomb of Jesus, which was broken open when he rose from the dead on the third day, to symbolize the rebirth of mankind through Jesus.  

And with that, they were off to hunt Easter Eggs.

As they emptied their coin-filled eggs, Charlie told them about how we'd decided to put money in them to remind them of  Jesus as valuable "treasure". He went on to tell them a story that Jesus told about the kingdom being like Hidden Treasure (Matthew13). I pray that these symbols of truth are planted deep in their hearts and that the Spirit would grow them in understanding and faith, and one day soon, they'd take all that they have and trade it for that treasure, Jesus.

And, because I'm from South Texas, confetti eggs will always be a part of our celebration:

After a long nap, we went on an Easter Story Treasure Hunt, as a family.  The kids enjoyed this, too.(Maybe, I'll share that with you next year.)

As much as we were bummed to not get to spend the weekend with family, I was reminded of, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul."

A whole day to celebrate....really celebrate new life we've been given through the resurrection power of Jesus. It was activity-packed, yet full of meaning and rest as we were able to really reflect on the freedom and newness that Jesus freely extends to all who believe...even those "religious ones" who think they'd "always believed"-like me. Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of new, rich life that you extended to me, nine years ago.

²

Flower-lover.

"God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars." --Martin Luther


I believe this is one way our Maker is revealing Himself to you, my little lover of flowers. You adore them. Nothing makes you happier, these days, than picking them.  Truly.  Each time we pass one, you give careful attention to take it in and declare it's beauty.  

You spent no less than two hours picking flowers at the park today.  A few times after being distracted by wrangling two babies, I panicked because I thought I'd lost you. Then, I'd scan the horizon and see that you'd just wandered off a little farther, getting lost in the sloping hills clothed in beauty. 

An interesting thing that I noticed as I watched you is that you don't pick just any flower to join your lovely bouquet. You select with careful precision, passing many suitable-looking (to me) flowers, to choose just the one you have in mind. You stroll and stoop and scan and examine, then select. 

On our way home from the park today, I asked why you loved picking flowers so much and you responded with, "Don't you see? They're the beauty-fullest things that God has ever created."

You're teaching me to behold the wonder and beauty that is ever before me, Dear One.

(These pictures are from a trip to the park last week with your friend, Naomi.)

New Normal

These days don’t leave much time for blogging. Most days, I realize by the end of the day, that I haven’t even looked in the mirror all day…and wonder if I even remembered to brush my teeth that morning? No doubt I haven’t brushed my hair. (Except for Sundays…I do manage to brush it on Sundays.)



My days are filled with holding babies. Feeding babies. (Why, yes, that is a picture of Oliver nursing.) Changing babies. Keeping four children alive. (This is often just the goal of the day.) Cooking or assembling meals during naptime.  Cleaning up after meals and sweeping my floor. Repeat.

The bigs are watching more tv than I’d like. And they’re also getting away with more snacks than normal…they’ve found that I’m much more likely to agree with a request if it keeps the peace, these days. Smart kids.

(I've been pleased with how much she adores L and really believes she is her "sister".)

But, slowly, slowly…we’re all starting to adjust and I’m beginning to accept that we just entered a new stage…life can’t quite look like it did 8 weeks ago. I need to set new limits on our schedule and lower my expectations of a clean house.  It’s bothersome to me that I am so concerned about that…way.too.concerned. I'm trying to let that go...

I could gobble these brothers up. Oliver loves having another baby in the house. Truly. He could not have embraced her more fully...so thankful for that.

“Enjoy them. Enjoy them…” my aunt’s advice echoes in my head. I’m trying. Some days are easier to do that than others. There are hard moments in the really good days; really great moments in the difficult days. And, just like I discovered in early marriage, the most difficult person to deal with in all of this is myself. Sin. Selfishness. Pride. So much ugliness has been uncovered in this new journey… the ugliness is not new, it’s always been there…I’m just becoming more acquainted with it now as it stares me in the face, amidst the chaos, loss of control and unpredictability. The good news of Jesus and his saving grace is becoming even better news as I am confronted with how much I need it.

On "Letting Go"

When we were "home" (in my hometown) for Christmas, I asked my mom and a few of my aunts who all had 4(+) kids, what they wish they would have known as young mothers with several small children.

Two responses that resonated with me went something like this:

"I wish that I would have cared less about how neat my home was. No one really cared but me and I was always stressed out trying to keep it that way. It consumed way too much of my time.  If I could do it differently, I would have played with and enjoyed them more rather than spending so much time on a clean house."

Yep. That response made my stomach hurt. I wish I could tattoo that wisdom to the inside of my forearm.  Maybe after looking at it 95,340 times I'd actually heed that message. I mean, really. Who do I try to keep this home so clean for, anyway? Charlie can operate in a messier house than I  can--he does not even see the mess that I do...and my kids don't notice either. I guess that just leaves me. I've acted like a major jerk to these people that I love so much all in the name of serving Jesus and my family by trying to keep my house clean. I'm pretty awesome.

"I wish I would have learned how to 'let go' a bit more with my children--and by that I mean, I wish I wouldn't have tried to control them so much. It didn't really matter if they weren't wearing the 'right shoes with that outfit' to the grocery store...you know, silly things like that. Too often I was more worried about how their appearance might negatively reflect on me than allowing them to be the silly kids I adored."

Again, such good wisdom here. I admit it: I'm a recovering control freak (which may have a bit to do with the first issue above.) But why am I not most concerned about their character or simply delighting in them rather than worrying about their appearance?

How ridiculous I've been.  And, when I come to think of it, both "issues" seem to be rooted in keeping up some appearance: I'm a really great wife/mom if I can:  (a) keep my house looking like a Pottery Barn magazine. (b) present perfectly well groomed, matching, put-together children that essentially look like GapKids models. I know how foolish that sounds when I put it like that...

So, yesterday my "shopping-girl buddy" (she makes sure I add "girl" every time b/c buddy alone apparently sounds too masculine for my dainty little companion) joined me on several errands yesterday. As we were about to walk out the door, she insisted that I let her wear her Snow White dress-up gown. I selfishly cringed inside, but before I could manipulate encourage her to simply wear the cute dress she had on, I heard my aunt's voice, "learn to let go" reminding me it wasn't such a big deal.  And can I tell you what came of it?

I think that one act of giving up some control really knit our hearts together in a new way. We had a delightful afternoon. Both of us. Together. Really enjoying each other. She lit up each time I referred to her as "Your Majesty" and the princess was given much attention throughout each store we visited.  Most people (elderly men, especially) commented on her dress and knew exactly "who" she was. On our first stop, Kroger, she received a plethora of stickers from the bagger for her royal cuteness. "Mommy, I don't want this on my dress. I want them on my body..." Can you believe something as silly as putting stickers anywhere else but the top of your chest/shoulder region used to bother me? I mean like really bother me. Me neither. How ridiculous. So, I relented and went with the theme of "letting go" and 15 minutes later at the next store, she told me they were too itchy and she was done with them.

By the end of our trip, I decided that costume wearing may just need to be mandatory on all future errand-running. Best behavior and costumes seemed to have some sort of a positive correlation.

I caught this sweet clip of my girl singing her newest favorite song, 10,000 Reasons (what she refers to as"Bless the Lord") as we pulled into the driveway from our trip. What a perfect theme song for all that He's teaching me through motherhood:

This is the way...

we go to the store with everyone in "position". Places everybody...

Blackened Blackberry Ribs

This is how we like to eat our Yonderway spareribs. The blackberry marinade was inspired by this recipe, but we've made our own adjustments to make it Whole 30 legal. Double the following recipe if you're using more than one big rack of ribs:

Marinade:

1 cup blackberries (instead of other fruit)

1/4 cup coconut aminos

1/8 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sesame or olive oil

1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves (1 tsp. minced garlic)

Blend or process all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Pour the marinade over meat in an air-tight bag or container. Make sure the meat is completely covered with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Grill for 4-5 minutes per side, plus additional time as needed.  We like them blackened so make sure the grill is low and cook them slow and you can't go wrong.

Paleo Valentines...

Oh, how we love thee.

Remember how much I love this day? Well, no way were these (most of the time) gluten-free eaters going to miss out! My, how far we've come since last year.

My kid's heart pancakes are a tradition that we could not crush...so, we "paleo-ized"them. I really want to make these someday. Even though I'm not much of a pancake person, I am a butter person. (And the maple pecan butter sounds like reason enough to make 'em!) This morning we made these because they are simpler. (And by we, I mean Char) b/c he's the flapjack flipper in this house! He's pretty much taken over breakfast completely these days...and it is WONDERFUL...I can actually get going in the morning. Another reason why I'm in love with you, Charlie Apel! (These were surprisingly good.  Best paleo-pancakes I've had! They do taste coconut-ty but with butter and maple syrup, they were great!)

And...we added these to our Valentine's Day Breakfast.  We "heart" bacon 'round here.

Char and I may or may not have indulged in these late last night DIPPED in chocolate!  I've always wanted to try bacon and chocolate...and incase you're wondering, it is ALL the rage! We didn't have much success the first time with the hearts keeping their shape, so this morning, we used toothpicks at the top and bottom to keep them together. Meh...they looked okay.  The kids were impressed. Mission accomplished.

Chocolate Dipped Bacon:

If you want to make the chocolate dipped bacon, here's how I did it: After getting them to just the level of desired crispiness, let cool on a plate for about 15 minutes.  Then, I used the chocolate ganache from Health-Bent's cupcakes (1/3 cup dark chocolate chips + 2 Tbs. coconut milk, microwaved for 30 seconds and whisked together.) and dipped half of the bacon in the chocolate. I know you're going to be tempted to try them then, but don't. You'll be disappointed. Let that chocolatey bacon-goodness cool in the fridge an hour or so. Then take them out of the fridge until they reach room temperature: 15-20 minutes or so and serve them to the ones you love.

Dessert for the Kiddies: 



I mean...it is all for them anyway, right? And...I couldn't decide which to make...I mean, I didn't want one to totally be a bomb and have a bummer Valentine's dessert. So, I just made both of these cheesecake brownies and the chocolate cupcakes.  Health-Bent, oh, how I love YOU! I wish I could send you a virtual-valentine. Why did I ever doubt that you may not come through? You ALWAYS do. We loved them both...but I'd have to say that if I were to pick a fave, I'd go for the cheesecake brownies! They were DIVINE! These could totally be passed of to your non-paleo eating friends. (The chocolate cupcakes tasted like a chocolate banana muffin to me, still good...and the kids loved them...so I was happy.)

Like always, I'm a little fashionably late, but I made both these desserts in an hour last night! (And that's counting sending the hubby for a late night grocery run for the cream cheese!) So, you still have plenty of time to make these.