He is Risen!!!!

I made these cute little snacks with the kiddos yesterday. I think I saw something similar on Pinterest but didn't pin it and just improvised to create our own version of an "Empty Tomb Snack".

These were super easy for the kiddos to help make and they absolutely loved making their own empty tomb. I thought that this was a fun and tasty way to do a hands-on activity about Jesus' resurrection. To be able to interact while talking to the kiddos about how Jesus was no longer dead and how He raised from death into life was priceless. And because we still have plenty of ingredients to make these a second time, I think we will be making them again Sunday morning.

If you are interested, here is a list of what we used to make our "Empty Tomb Snack" and how we made them.

What you will need:

• 1/2 graham cracker
• 1/2 mini chocolate covered doughnut
• chocolate frosting
• 1 oreo
• green sprinkles

How to make a empty tomb snack:

• spread frosting on the graham cracker
• place doughnut half on the graham cracker
• put the oreo rolled to the side of the opening of the doughnut
• add green sprinkles to give the ground some grass:) 

Makenna Telling the Story of Jesus BIrth

Jared and I try really hard to impress upon the kiddos why we celebrate Christmas. We want them to know that it is a day to celebrate the greatest gift we have been given....Jesus.  We continued with the same traditions that we started last year with the kiddos. You can read about that here.

All that being said we think it is really sweet to here the story of Jesus birth told by Makenna so here is a video of her telling us about Jesus' birth.

Disclaimer: Colin adds his two cents in and Kyla has to make it difficult for her big sister to tell the story. But hey that is real life here at the Willis house so enjoy!

Happy Birthday Jesus

This year on Christmas day the kiddos help make a birthday cake for Jesus. We thought that this would be a simple way to help make the day a celebration of Jesus birth. And a cake is an easy way for our kids to identify with Jesus having a birthday because they get to have a special cake on their birthday.

Here are the a few pictures of the kiddos and the cake they made to celebrate Jesus birthday.

 

And a video of them singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.

And because she couldn't really participate in the singing or the cake making...here are 3 cute pictures of Kyla on Jesus birthday.

Thankful Turkeys

To continue our tradition of encouraging the kiddos to be thankful for all the wonderful gifts God has given them we made Thankful Turkeys. This was Colin's first year to make a turkey because last year he was a bit too young. I personally think that it is a good way for the kiddos to daily remember that they have plenty to be thankful for.

How to Really Celebrate a Birthday

Turning 30...Oh yes I said the dreaded phrase that many people in their twenties struggle with saying.

But don't worry this post really isn't about turning thirty. It is about the idea of using your birthday as a way celebrate the life God has given you by giving back to others.

So I want to share with you how a friend of mine from High School has decided to celebrate his 30th year of life.

Nate's Birthday Vision

Nate was also on a local news station and local radio station because of his amazing idea on how to celebrate turning the Big 3-0.

So if you would like help Nate celebrate his birthday by donating to World Vision and help eradicate malaria visit Nate's website Happy Birthday, Nate.com.

Siblings

Makenna and Colin really do love to play together.

No, I'm not just saying that because I'm their mama and have a warped view of my children.

Really they do.

Maybe it is because they are so close to the same age.

Maybe it is because they have opposite personalities. Makenna : mother hen, sensitive to emotions, extrovert, chatterbox. Colin: laid back, go getter, introvert, only talks when necessary.

Maybe it is because humans are social creatures and Makenna and Colin desire to interactively play with another person.

Maybe it is because they are siblings and they love each other.

Maybe it is all of these reasons and more.

But that is not my point. My point is that I love watching/witnessing them play together. It makes my heart just want to praise God, the one who gave these precious gifts to me, every time I hear their sweet voices engaging in play together.

I thought that I would share a glimpse of what I'm so blessed to get to witness everyday. So here are a couple videos of Makenna and Colin enjoying each other.






And just so ya'll don't get a warped view of the Willis household there are times when Makenna and Colin battle each other too. Unfortunately, (well not really...cause it can get ugly) I don't have any videos of these occurrences.

I mean they are human and sin. And I think God gives me the unique opportunity during these times to teach the kiddos how to deal with someone who is currently not making them happy and how to respond in a loving way.

And maybe (actually no maybe needed) God teaches my heart during those times too. To show me my own sin as His daughter and their mother.

Psalm 139:13-14

Resurrection Eggs

This year I decided to do Resurrection Eggs with the kiddos starting on Ash Wednesday and continuing until Easter. Basically I made my decision for two reasons. One to keep their focus on why we as true followers of Christ celebrate Easter. And two because of the success we had with the Nativity Scene at Christmas time.

The way I decided to do our eggs was to use them as visual aids as I would tell the kiddos the story of Jesus death and resurrection. I also modified our eggs by finding several different examples online and making our own using items we had at home.

Here is the list we used:

1. Donkey - Jesus entry into Jerusalem. (Mark 11:8-9)
2. Coins - Judas betrayal of Jesus. (Mark 14:10-11)
3. Bread - Jesus Last Supper with His disciples. (Luke 22:19)
4. Flower - Jesus praying in the garden. (Matthew 26:36-45)
5. Rope - Soldiers arrested Jesus. (Matthew 26:47-56)
6. Thorns - Crown of thorns placed on Jesus head. (Matthew 27:29)
7. Cross - Jesus was hung on a cross to die. (Mark 15:25)
8. Nails - Jesus was nailed to the cross. (John 15:16)
9. Sponge - Jesus was offered vinegar instead of water to drink. (John 19:29)
10. Linen - After Jesus died, He was wrapped in linen. (Mark 16:1)
11. Stone - A stone was put in front of the entrance of Jesus tomb. (Mark 16:3-4)
12. Empty - Jesus has risen the tomb was empty. (Mark 16:5-6)

Makenna and Colin both really enjoy playing with the Resurrection Eggs. Makenna once again picked up on the story very quickly and began retelling it to us. Here is a video of her description of Jesus death and resurrection.

Makenna Telling the Christmas Story

Better late than never.

All through the season of Advent, we as a family tried hard to make the time preparing for Christmas about Jesus.

We attempted this in several ways. Our Jesse Tree was a main way we did this but as you know we have young kiddos and a new story everyday even if they all center around God's big picture gets confusing for small kiddos.

Another way we tried to really drive home the importance of Christmas was by telling our kiddos the story of the first Christmas often. We did this by reading straight out of the Bible, reading the story out of our Jesus Storybook Bible, and reenacting the story with a nativity set.

Let me just say that with the current age of our kiddos the reenacting was by far the favorite. Within just a few times of telling the story this way Makenna decided to try to tell the Christmas Story herself. Also, both kids LOVED to play with the nativity set. As you can see in the video below Colin even gets involved at one point.

Currently the nativity set is still not packed away with all the other Christmas decor. Mostly because the kiddos love playing with it so much.

So all that said here is a video of Makenna's take at the age of 3 on the story of Jesus birth.

Disclaimer: The white card Makenna is using has a picture of an angel on it. She had to use this because we somehow misplaced the angel to the nativity set. Also, please ignore my constant questions...I just wanted to encourage Makenna and see how much she remembered about the story.