Monthly Archives: April 2015

Kids Bible Verses from Easter Eggs to Spring Rain Drops

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{Easter Eggs}

This weekend I realized I haven’t shared our Easter Egg bible verses.  This year we left the easter bunny out of easter.  The kids knew Mom hid the eggs and baskets.  Instead of eggs filed with candy they were filled with pieces of a bible verse for each.  So each of my 5 kids had a color (purple, blue, orange, yellow, green) and that was the only egg they were allowed to touch and collect.  They did great!

Easter_Egg_Verses_2015

Once all the eggs were found they had to use the rainbow to put their verse together.  You know, Roy-g-biv. Never hurts to mix a little school lesson into the fun times.

The little ones needed a little more help than the older boys but it went well.  Next came memorizing.  Well… I didn’t plan it well because they only had 30 minutes to talk about the meaning of their verse and memorize it.  I did end up letting them have their baskets before we went to church.  I know… not exactly the message I wanted to send.

However, I was very impressed with my three little ones (and my husband) who worked hard all day Sunday to try to get them memorized.  By Easter Monday my 2yr old, 3yr old, and 5yr old had their verses memorized!!  Actually my 5yr old had his verse, his brother’s verse, and his sister’s verses memorized!  My 3yr old had his and his sister’s verse too.  It was fun to see them get excited!

{Easter Verses}

For my 2yr old:
You are the light of the world.
{Mathew 5:14}

For my 3yr old:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
{Proverbs 3:5}

For my 5yr old:
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
{Philippians 4:13}

For my 10yr old:
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.
Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
{John 11:25}

For my 11yr old:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
{James 1:2-4}

{Picked with Love}

Each verse was picked with love specifically for each of my kids.  I chose ones that seemed to fit situations within their lives.  My 5 yr old has medical issues so for him being able to do all things through Christ who gives me strength was perfect.  My 11 yr old is having some trials and thus the reason for his.  My 10 yr old has strong fears of another sibling passing so reminding him about life after death was important to me.  My little two were picked as starters to their faith.  I love how each of them understand the reasons why I picked their verses and why they are important to their lives!

{April Rain Showers}

As the rain started falling this weekend I looked at my fridge front and decided that it was time to take down Easter and bring on spring.  I turned to Pinterest for a few ideas.  Of course April showers was a common theme.  I found a verse that really spoke to me.  From there I filled up the rain drops with a few verses from last month as well as a few new ones.  These are more for the little kids but I know they are also important to the big kids too.  I think length doens’t matter as much as the meaning.

AprilShowers

{April Shower Verses}

Main Theme:
I will send down showers in season;
there will be showers of blessing.
Ezekiel 34:26

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
Psalm 3:7

You are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:14

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Proverbs 3:5

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Ephesians 6:1

I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.
Philipians 4:13

For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing;
it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8

For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

{Why my Fridge?}

Since November I have been creating a new theme with verses or Pre-k things.  With 5 children, four of them boys, my fridge is the hub of my home!!! I see my kids stand there and read and look at the things on there.  I quickly realized that that area could be a great place to share things.  My kids look forward to the changing of the fridge front every 4-6 weeks.  I also enjoy the change and being able to use that to teach.  It has taught me to have an appreciation for teachers who take the time to use boards at school to teach from.  They can take a bit of work and planning.  I have chosen not to purchase anything other than paper, ink, and tape for mine.  That usually means a bit of searching, printing, and cutting.  I don’t mind though.  I don’t feel bad if my kids destroy parts of it by the end of the month. 🙂

Happy Spring Everyone!

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Capturing the Mess

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{Photography}

Life is sometimes too busy to do everything we want and sometimes everything we need.  It has been my desire to learn to use my camera for a while but with a to-do list a mile long, it was at the bottom.  Earlier this week I captured a lovely image of the tree in our yard and it made me aware of my wish to capture things.  Instead of pushing aside the desire, I wrote in time on my weekly calendar to take 40 minutes to capture, edit (if needed), and blog.  So here goes…

“Dirty”

In a small home with seven people it is easy to find “dirty”.  Toys are scattered daily as are clothes, blankets, towels, shoes, ect.  When you have this many kids messy is just everyday!

Today I captured two images.  One that required no filter or changes.  I love this picture!!  It really shows the joys of spending time with my kids. Some days it is painting or play dough and other days it is grass stains and mud.  This pair of jeans hangs in my laundry room as a reminder of those fun days as I load my washer with the never-ending laundry pile.

Photography_Dirty

The second image I captured is one I see often.  The leftovers of breakfast may not be delightful to eat but they sure are colorful to catch in picture.  They capture the heart of daily life for me.  The colors are vibrant like each of my kids and the full sink the reminder of my full life.

Photography_Dirty_Dishes

 

This image was edited and I also added a vintage filter. I like the hazy look and feel.  I think some mornings I feel that same haze!

Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy.
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Spring is Here!

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So many of you know that my favorite season is spring.  It reminds me so much of the time I got to share with Clara.  The renewing season of spring fills the day with reminders of love, happiness, new beginnings, and hope.  I find the gentle spring rains to remind me of tears of love that fall when I think of Clara.  Unlike the storms of summer where I feel a sense of my grief  during the first few months after Clara’s passing, the spring rains are gentle, kind, and bring beauty to the empty land.

Today isn’t the first day of spring but it is the first day I noticed the tree outside our front window is has leaves opening!  What a perfect day since yesterday was Easter and a time of hope and renewal.  I am looking forward to seeing flower buds and flowers soon.  Until then I wanted to capture and share the beautiful image outside my home today.  It is my little piece of heaven today.  SpringTree2015Iowa

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
{Romans 12:2}

 

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Big Hero 6 and Loss

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I have to admit I love Big Hero 6.  I skipped out on it when it was in theaters because I didn’t think my 18m old would sit through it.  Then we were supposed to see it at family movie night at church and we totally forgot about it.  Actually I am glad I got to see it the first time at home.

Whoever wrote Big Hero 6 really took time to understand loss!  I cried at quite a few spots in the movie and actually felt angry at a few spots too.  It just touched my heart in a way I didn’t expect.

Funerals…

Obviously the funeral got me.  It always does, no matter the movie, tv show, commercial.  It is just a hard thing to watch, even when it is fake.  As a parent who has lost a child it is hard but to watch Hiro stare at Tadashi’s empty bed hurts.  It reminds me of how my kids felt after the loss of their sister.  It reminds me of their questions on if we had to take down Clara’s room and if another baby would stay in there.

“Tadashi was in good health and with healthy habits could have lived a long life.”

I think the hardest part is when Baymax shows up later in the movie and asks about Tadashi.  He says, “But Tadashi was in good health and with healthy habits could have lived a long life.” SIDS is just that, a healthy child goes down for a nap and doesn’t wake up.  Clara should have lived a long life but instead she is in Heaven.  It is hard to hear Hiro talk to Baymax about this.  I think back to talking to the boys about Clara’s death and also to all those others who have asked about her loss.  Sometimes life isn’t what we expect though.  Clara’s life was too short for me but just perfect for God.  I am okay with that.

“Tadashi is here!”

Skip forward a bit and Hiro is having troubles and he hears Baymax say, “Tadashi is here.” Hiro makes a comment along the lines of no he’s not.  Then out of the blue Baymax shows a bunch of lost movies of Tadashi.  I cried because I remember finding some movies on our backup site and on our camera that I didn’t know existed.  They are such a lovely but heartbreaking surprise.  It is so cool to hear the voice of your little one you hold no more.  Every time I see those movies I cry just as Hiro did.

It also reminds me of when I finally asked for the images from the funeral and burial of Clara.  To see those images again was harder than I expected.  I didn’t realize how much of the burial I didn’t remember.

“I will always be with you.”

Then when Baymax is left in the portal and he says, “I will always be with you.”  I think I about lost it.  I mean it takes me back to the closing of Clara’s casket and moving away from her grave. You have to give up something that means so much to you.  You know you will never see them on earth again.

Actually it makes me think of how much stuff we kept of Clara’s too.  I had a tough time getting rid of so many things and yet eventually you have to give away baby stuff.  Hiro is left with just Baymax’s glove after the problems in the portal.  I know I can only keep a few treasured items.    Today we have just a few items from Clara.  Every time I let go of items that were Clara’s I always hear “I will always be with you.” It brings me to tears just writing about it today.

“Baymax”

Okay… so I know that Clara will never come back.  My Baymax is her memory.  Things like her rose bushes blooming or her beautiful tree blooming each year or our family picture of the SIDS Run, those are my Baymax.  Each year they return just as Baymax “returns” to Hiro.  To me those times create memories that include Clara.

No they aren’t the same as creating memories with your child but that is the option God has given me and I will love them!  I chose to love them and to enjoy them.  Hiro found Tadashi’s chip that was used to create Baymax but Hiro still had to create Baymax again.  I find it to be the same with Clara things.  God has given me opportunities, I just have to choose to make them good memories.

So to sum it up, Big Hero 6 is my new favorite movie.  Actually it is a family favorite!  Even my 11 and 10 year olds were open about how they “get a lump in their throat” every time they watch it.  They said it has been healing to watch because they too have felt the same as Hiro.

Thank you to the writers… They got it right. They touched hearts. They touch lives. Loss is real, thanks for showing that 🙂

 

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