undyed easter eggs

We started doing our easter egg hunt on saturday a few years ago so we could focus on more Christ-centered activities Easter Sunday.

This meant we needed to get our eggs done tonight! It was a little difficult with Rachel at track practice until 5ish and Carly leaving on a pre-prom date at 6ish...

When I got home from work I boiled a dozen eggs and left for the store for more. Mason accompanied me while carly was in a whirl of baking at home. She decided to make bread for the family and for the sacrament for one of her Personal Progress goals and crepes for a friend's birthday and for the family. Believe it or not she said "I had a stressful day... I wanted to cook!" I think she may have taken on a little much because she was in a whirl when I got back from shopping. I helped her with the Raspberry sauce and the pudding but she was doing pretty well on her own. I dunked the 1st dozen eggs in ice water to cool and started the 2nd dozen to boil.

Rachel had gotten home at 4ish and Carly wasn't leaving til 7ish so that gave us a little more breathing room! I set the kids to putting away groceries, cleaning off the table, cutting up tissue paper and grating crayons.

I know those last 2 don't make a whole lot of sense when you think our objective was to decorate eggs but wait! It will makes sense momentarily.

I decided to try some nontraditional egg decorating this year.

Samantha grated several colors of crayons on separate plates and we set the whole tub of crayons on the table. You have to use really hot eggs so this wouldn't be good with real little kids and the wax can really make a mess.

You need something to stand your egg on. We used egg carton cups cut down to a small size. you either sprinkle your egg with crayon shavings and watch them melt and drip

or put some shavings on your disposable tablecloth and roll the egg around in them

use a regular crayon to draw right on the egg

or drop a few shavings on and smear them around in designs with your fingers.

The possibilities are endless.

There is a lot of melding of colors, dripping and so forth. You don't have a lot of control over what the colors will do and we learned a lot of "what to do's" and "what not to do's" if we ever want to do it this way again.

The eggs were really hot and they have to be to get the desired melting so that was interesting but the kids were all old enough to handle it. This was Samantha's "hurry and take the picture this egg is burning my fingers! face"

The 2nd kind of egg decorating we did was with watered down white school glue and tissue paper.

You start with cold eggs on this one.

Thank Goodness.

You just cut different colors of tissue paper into squares

water down some glue

get some paintbrushes

and start layering tissue paper

and "painting" the glue over each piece

I really liked the way these turned out.

There was more creativity this year

a little more mess...

and a lot more fun!

We had it all done & cleaned up when

he showed up to whisk her away at 7ish

so we've been busy. Wanna see?

Our Spring Break included:

A rolled ankle and torn ligaments. Isn't that pretty? This happened Wednesday of Spring break which meant Mark was home in his chair for the rest of our time off of school. I got really sick at the end of the week with a bad head cold and spent lots of time on the couch next to him. Mark's being home meant Carly and I did not get to watch lots of British movies left here by Auntie Maury. Drat! There was however lots of tv movies like predator (yuck) I was thanking my lucky stars I had been to the library on Tuesday and had checked out lots of interesting YA lit. so I read several books. I liked them.

May I recommend:

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

(an interesting twist on fairy tales and holocoust survivors)

Belle by Cameron Dokey

(a fun retelling of Beauty and the beast. too short though, it left me wanting more of the story.)

Water Song by Suzanne Weyn

(an interesting retelling of the princess and the frog)

Rousing games of Phase 10: I get so happy when all 5 are playing happily together. It's getting to be a rare occurrence.

A stick is a boy's best friend. Jacob is never happier than when the neighbors are pruning!

(how many do you think he's got tucked in his pants? I count at least 6 but chances are good that I'm missing 7 or 8 )

And a good cloak?

Well, A good cloak is downright indispensable!

puzzles for the cold snowy days at the beginning of the week....

and finally!

sunshine, blessed sunshine

Carly reveled in the fact that she could read what SHE WANTED and not what was assigned. She read the same ones I did plus Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, one of her favorite books. Samantha has discovered Gail Carson Levine and has read Ella Enchanted, The 2 princess of Bamarre, The fairy's mistake and a few others in recent weeks.

We don't have our Egg hunt on Easter Sunday, trying to reserve that special day for more spiritual things. We usually do it on the Saturday before but this year due to lack of preparation we had it the Monday after which was rainy, windy and cold so we had to do it in the house. Jacob found the stuffed bunny for the 4th year in a row. (we hide one little stuffed bunny for whomever finds it and that kid finds it every year. The other kids are very annoyed!)

checking out the loot!

Snuggling through conference on Easter Sunday

What your hands look like after coloring through conference

Easter dinner involved a dutch oven....

A turkey covered with pesto and bacon

Glazed carrots

Hollow Easter rolls

and dutch oven banana split cake to round it all out.

We had a wonderful week of British movies, yummy cake, antique shopping, and laughing when my sister Maury came to town the week before Easter. She was able to see Rachel's play "Oklahoma" which made Rachel happy.

And we had a quick visit from these two party animals during spring break right before all the coughing, congestion and torn ligaments hit the fan

Thanks David and Jena for a great day. We love you and this picture is old! Jena is blond w/short hair! We need to get the camera out next time you come.

A little holiday desperation turns out to be a good thing.

My Easter menu was:

Ham

Rainbow Jello

Easter Rolls

Christy's glazed carrots

strawberry bottom pie

baked potatoes

I became disenchanted with the idea of baked potatoes on sunday morning... A little last minute for menu changes.... I KNOW!

I couldn't do mashed potatoes with no gravy...

Mark had suggested on Saturday twice baked potatoes~ but with working on the rolls, pies and jello I knew I would not have time or energy leftover for twicebaked potatoes. ....

He then suggested scalloped potatoes but the answer for me was the same... time, energy...making a white sauce, blah blah blah.. layering...

Carly suggested funeral potatoes but nobody likes them but the adults and Carly......

I had settled for baked but that just seemed to boring for a holiday dinner.....

what to do?????

I decided on a whim to make something up.....

I have a recipe called "speedy spuds" I copied from my college roommate, Sharla, back in Harmony house, Rexburg Idaho. In that recipe you melt 1/4 C butter/margarine in a 13x9 pan. Next, you fill that pan up with sliced potatoes, skin on. You sprinkle them with season salt and stir them up to get the potatoes evenly coated and put them in the oven at 400 degrees. You have to stir them every 20 min or so and they take an hour or so to get done. I knew I couldn't do that because I would be at church and couldn't stir them every 20 min. I didn't want to cook them when I got home because we didn't want to wait that long to eat.... hmmmm... I saw 2 little unused boxes of cream in the fridge.... I got an idea......

I call them "Desperation Easter Potatoes"

I scrubbed and sliced 12 medium potatoes.

I put them in a large roasting pan (like a lasagna pan, bigger than 13x9)

I sprinkled them with season salt and poured one pint of cream over it all.

I knew I was taking a chance with my holiday dinner by trying something completely new and untried, Something fiendishly easy and quick.

but seriously folks, how WRONG could it be with a pint of cream in the equation?

I mixed it all up and covered them with foil and set the time bake setting on the oven.

I cooked them for 2 hrs at 350 degrees, stirred them up after church and let them cook for 30 more minutes so 2 1/2 hrs total. They were SOOOOO good. Some were well done and crunchy, all were tender and yummy. Everyone loved them and they will probably be our Easter potatoes every year. They go really well with ham.

It was lovely to sit down to a dinner that everyone loved. I got NO looks, NO groans, No sad sulking and staring at dinner plates, NO hubby grumbling about trying out a new recipe on him. In fact all I got were compliments after compliments. Jacob even admitted the carrots weren't terrible. That's something.

Holy Week FHE idea...

Every year for the past 4 years we have been inviting over a family with children and performing this play together to help us all understand these events from Jesus' last week and prepare us for Easter. The children pick parts written on slips of paper and dress in simple costumes, (towels, robes, belts, etc) We use simple props and I tell the children to simply act out the play as I, the narrator, read according to their parts. There are a few speaking parts and I have those written on paper that I hold up. It's fun.

We do have a little lesson before about palm leaves & their significance in the "Triumphal entry" using this article from the friend. We make palm leaves from green construction paper. Google "Palm leaf craft" and there's lots of ideas out there. I should have posted this a little earlier.... Let me know if you do it and how it works.

The Last Days of Christ’s Ministry

adapted from “The Last Days of Christ’s Ministry,” Friend, Apr 1983, 48

SCENE 1: Actors needed: Narrator, Jesus, 1-2 blind men/women, 1-2 disciples , Jews in the crowd (optional) (have bandages wound around eyes of “blind men/women”. They are begging on street. At appropriate time in narration; Jesus notices, He walks to them, Jesus unwind bandages & heal them)

Narrator: Jerusalem was in a great uproar. People were crowding into the city for the most important feast of the year, the celebration of the Passover. Although it was celebrated every year, this particular feast was especially exciting. Everyone had heard about the great prophet Jesus and wondered if He was the promised Messiah and if He would deliver them from the Romans.

Many faithful people believed in Jesus and were anxiously awaiting His arrival at the feast. However, some were afraid for Him because Jewish leaders had vowed to put Him to death if He came.

Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus knew of the awful trials, suffering, and death that awaited Him. Even though burdened with this knowledge, His love and concern for others led Him to notice two blind men.

When they pleaded with Jesus to restore their sight, He blessed them, and immediately they could see.

As Jesus continued toward Jerusalem, He paused on the hill overlooking the city and thought of the many times He had tried to teach the people. He wept because so many of them had not listened. Jesus loved the people and knew that they could be happy if they would only follow His teachings.

SCENE 2: Actors needed: Narrator, Jesus, 2 apotsles (they need some kind of coat/robe), donkey (can be stick horse or person pretending), crowd of Jews with palm leaves and coats, 1 angry Sadducee, 1 angry Pharisee

Narrator: Turning to two of His Apostles, Jesus asked them to go into a nearby village. He said,

Jesus: “Ye shall find a colt of a donkey tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither” (Luke 19:30).

Narrator: When the Apostles brought the animal back, Jesus mounted the colt and rode it into Jerusalem. Some of the people knew that the prophet Zechariah had promised that the Messiah would come riding on a young donkey. When they saw Jesus coming, they rushed out to meet Him. Many laid palm tree branches in His path; others put their coats down before Him. This was a custom reserved for kings. They were proclaiming Jesus as their king. They thought He had come to deliver them from the Romans, but He had far greater blessings to offer. He would make it possible for them to be freed from sin, to live after death, and to be able to return to Heavenly Father.

Jesus entered Jerusalem with hundreds of people following Him. They shouted,

Jews: “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13).

Narrator: This greatly angered the Jewish leaders. If Jesus became the king, they would no longer have their powerful positions of leadership and wealth.

SCENE 3: Actors needed: Narrator, Jesus, 1-2 moneychangers with tv trays/ small tables set up with coins to be overturned, jews attending the temple, pharisee #1, Pharisee #2 (these can be combined if you are short people)

Narrator: Later, when Jesus entered the temple, He saw the money changers cheating the people who came to make offerings. Jesus could not let such things happen in His Father’s house. He cast out the money changers and overthrew their tables, saying,

Jesus: “It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Luke 19:46).

Narrator: People in Jerusalem crowded into the temple to be near Jesus. They wanted to hear His teachings and have Him heal their sick. While He taught the people, Jesus’ enemies tried to trap Him with their questions. They hoped to get people to stop following Jesus. One Pharisee asked;

Pharisee #1: “Is it lawful to give tribute [pay taxes] to Caesar, or not?” (Mark 12:14).

Narrator: If Jesus said yes, the people would be angry, for they hated to pay taxes to Caesar. If Jesus said no, he would be imprisoned by the Romans for opposing the law. Jesus answered;

Jesus: “Whose picture is on the money?

Pharisee #2: “Caesar’s”

Jesus: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).

Narrator: Because Jesus’ enemies had been unsuccessful in trapping Him with that question, they asked Jesus another:

Pharisee #1: “Which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matt. 22:36).

Pharisee #2: “Yeah! which one?

Narrator: There were so many commandments in the law of Moses that no one had been able to decide which one was most important. Jesus’ enemies were prepared to argue with Him no matter which commandment He chose. Jesus answered,

Jesus: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” (Matt. 22:37–38.)“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:39

Narrator: He had given the perfect answer, Even while these men were trying to trap Jesus, He loved them and was trying to teach them the gospel. Just as he loves us always. He only wants us to repent and come unto him.