resurrection rolls.

i've seen these rolls all over the internet these days, and i'm always looking for new traditions to do with the girls.  plus, when you're trying to explain the resurrection to little ones, visuals help.  and besides, they're just really delish!  the perfect accompaniment to quiche for our easter breakfast.  buttery, slightly sweet and gooey... how can you go wrong, especially if you can tie that in with jesus?!  all good things, all good things.

here's how we made them.

resurrection rolls

* 1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
* Large marshmallows
* melted butter (about 3 T.)
* cinnamon (about 2 T... can you tell I didn't really measure anything??)

- preheat oven to 350.
- take a triangle of crescent roll dough and roll it out a bit.
- roll a marshmallow in butter, then in cinnamon.
- place marshmallow at the biggest part of the triangle, tuck sides in and roll, pinching seams together.
- place in a muffin tin (the pampered chef stone one is best...just sayin).  repeat with remaining 7 triangles.
- brush tops with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.  bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

some will probably have marshmallow that oozes out... it's not a big deal, really.  it just adds to the ooey  gooey goodness.  allow them to cool before lifting them from the pan.

my plan was to have the girls help me do this, but they were a bit distracted with coloring goods they got in their easter baskets.  so, instead, i had them come watch me assemble one (this was still a bit of a stretch because we got really hung up on the marshmallows and upset that we couldn't have one... when i say "we", i mean two little girls i know).  i told them that the marshmallow was jesus's body after he had died on the cross.  before he was buried, his body was anointed with oil (dipped into the butter), and then prepared with burial spices (dipped into the cinnamon).  then, he was buried in the tomb (wrapped in the crescent dough).  it held their attention long enough for them to be fascinated for the assembly of one roll, and then they went on their merry way.

when it was time to serve the rolls, i reminded the girls of how jesus was "buried", and when they broke them in half it was hollow inside.  emmy yelled out "he's GONE!!!  but where did he go?!" so we talked about that, in as much as a two year old can understand... but bella thought it was really cool.  and they both thought they were as delicious as they were fascinating.

these will definitely be an easter tradition for us!

the best good friday.

it has been a week.

you know, the kind that everyone says you will laugh about someday when you look back?  by the way, i'll be interested to see if that's true...when our family gets sick, we get sick.  and usually, we get sick together.  we go big or go home, people.  and it's not fun.  i'll spare you all the details, but let's just say mama was home in bed all week with the flu, and bella soon followed suit.

i am not a good patient.  every time i get sick, i cry.  i feel like i miss out on life.  i miss my kids.  i get bored.  and i have a hard time not working (at school and home) and trusting that the world will be able to go on without me.  it's a problem, really.  i'm trying to work on it.

this week i felt especially sad being confined to my bedroom for a few days.  holy week is such a special time for me, as a mom, creating memories and traditions with my girls and teaching them about Jesus.  and i missed it.  almost all of it.  and there were tears.

and even so, god was gently reminding my heart that stillness is always good--even if it's forced.  even when we don't want to be still.  there is so much to be found in it.  so much that our souls need.  i tend to be a do-er type, so this is always something god is bringing to my attention.

be still.  no expectations, no doing.  just be.

friday morning after another bout of sickness for my sweet bel, i sat with the girls on the couch cuddled up in blankets and we watched some movies about the easter story.  we talked about what the day--Good Friday--meant, and why it's so important to us.  and that afternoon, as i was putting bella to bed, god reminded me just how important these times of stillness are.  sweet conversation.  times of singing old hymns and tickling their backs and prayers lifted up and all the simple, precious moments of just be-ing.

snuggled up in her bed, with her covers up to her ears, i talked to my bella about how special she is because of jesus' love for her.  she lifted her face to me, eyes dancing and said in her sweet, soft voice: "he has forgiven us of all of the bad sins we've ever done.  he loves us so much and he will never leave us."  tears began spilling down my cheeks.  you know, those "mom" moments where you think surely this moment is what its ALL about.  all the hard, make-you-want-to-pull-your-hair out days lead up to this one moment in time... and it's suddenly MORE than worth it. and that maybe, just maybe, even in spite of all of your weaknesses and flaws they are still learning something good?

we've had this conversation many times before, and i think bella has probably prayed "the sinners prayer" at least ten times... but i just knew she didn't really understand it.  until now.  she continued to tell me what happened when jesus died on the cross and what it means for her.  and when i asked her if she wanted to pray and ask jesus to forgive her and come into her heart she nodded emphatically.  "mama, can you help me?" she asked, and then dove right in, praying a prayer that let me know she knew exactly what she was praying.  "is that a tear?" she asked, pointing to my cheek when she was finished praying.  "yes it is, honey... happy tears.  do you know that the bible says that all the angels in heaven are rejoicing right now?  and i think your bampy is throwing one great big party!"  her eyes got big.  "yeah, i bet he has donuts!"

so today, everyone is feeling better.  we were able to go on an easter egg hunt.  we baked our traditional resurrection cake.  easter baskets are ready for tomorrow morning.  but nothing can ever begin to come close to the gift of those moments of stillness with my sweet girl.  it was the best good friday ever.

thank you, jesus.

resurrection cake.

i love traditions.

i know i've written about this before, but i grew up in a family that was ALL about them.  and i loved it.  now it's so important to me to build traditions of our own with the girls... it's such a special part of childhood and family life in general.

naturally, holidays are the perfect time to develop these traditions and sweet family moments.  however, in my best efforts, i find a few things that are difficult in the task to do so: number one, our girls are still small and while doing special things is super fun, it can also make me want to poke my eyes out.  seriously.  and sometimes--well, most of the time--things don't go the way i have imagined in this idealistic brain of mine.  number two, it's an ongoing task for nick&i to try to teach our girls the reasons why our family celebrates holidays like christmas and easter.  for us, easter is far more than bunnies and eggs... but to them right now, cute fluffy animals, pretty decorated eggs and easter candy are what's most exciting.  so we are constantly trying to find ways to teach them more and more about our faith and our savior's love for us.  which can be a huge challenge.  ever tried to explain death and resurrection to a two and four year old?  geesh.

so while scrolling the internet one day, i found a few different ideas for "resurrection cakes", and i thought they were so cute, and a great (and delicious!) way for teaching the girls more about easter.

here's what we did...

resurrection cake

materials needed (besides recipe ingredients):
* cardboard
* tinfoil
* coconut
* green food coloring
* candy eggs
* oreos
* chocolate sticks
* glue
* biscuit cutter

- preheat oven to 350.
- we used this chocolate cake recipe from the pioneer woman, but we halved it.
- grease and dust a pampered chef batter bowl with cocoa.  fill bowl with batter and bake for 1 hr, or until knife is clean when inserted into cake.  allow to cool.
- wrap a good sized piece of cardboard with tin foil.
- take several oreo cookies and remove the white filling.  finely crush the chocolate wafer parts in a ziploc bag.
- in a mixing bowl, mix a bag of shredded coconut with a few drops of green food coloring until coconut is evenly colored.
- once cake is cooled, take a biscuit cutter and carve out a portion of the cake to be the "stone".
- we used this super yummy chocolate buttercream frosting recipe from mel's kitchen cafe; highly recommend.
- using a spreader, frost cake and "stone".  dust cake with some of the oreo crumbs to resemble dirt; save a good portion for later.
- add coconut "grass" to cover the tinfoil, leaving a section by the opening of the tomb uncovered.  add a few pastel colored egg candies; i used reeses peanut butter eggs just because they're my fav and we had them on hand for filling the girls easter eggs tomorrow.
- fill the tomb opening section with the rest of your oreo cookie crumbs for "dirt".
- cut a few chocolate sticks to make three crosses.  glue together.  when glue has dried, top cake with crosses.

voila!  this is going to be one of our new family traditions.  the girls loved it; they helped me mix it up and bake it this morning, and then they were so excited to wake up from their naps and see the decorated cake!

 

happy easter everyone!  i can still hear my dad's booming voice excitedly say: HE IS RISEN; HE IS RISEN INDEED!

so grateful.

our easter in photos.

our easter in photos.

bunny cake from meme; i grew up with these every year

my first attempt at grammy's rolls... finished at 1 am on easter eve

easter baskets:
pajamas, shampoo, toothbrushes, sippy cup and hair bows for ems, stickers and undies for bel

ready for easter baskets!

baby girl's first easter

bel checking out the goods

bubbles and sippy cups!

my loves

bubbles!

brunch at our home church

handsome jude

easter love

egg hunting

basket full!

daddy and his baby girl

meme with ems and lulu

us

church.  family.  food.  

hope.

blessed easter.

lead me to the cross.

the cross.

i can't think of another image that means so many things to me.  pain.  surrender.  sacrifice.  grace.  love.  forgiveness.  and ultimately... hope.

easter snuck up on me this year.  anyone who knows me knows that i love to decorate and i love, love, loooove holidays.  nothing over the top; just special traditions with the girls, some cute outfits and making sweet memories.  this year, we have a lone pot of daffodils on our entryway buffet.  no painted eggs.  no pretty flowery wreaths.  no dishes of easter candy.

notice a theme?  a whole lot of nothing.

and yet, as i prepare my heart for easter, i'm reminded that that's okay.  the decorations and easter baskets, bunnies and pastel colors are beautiful, fun and festive... but far from what this season is all about.

especially today.

easter is a celebration.  good friday?  well, left without the resurrection message is incredibly dark and depressing (good thing we know the end of the story).  i'm sure you've heard of a little ole movie called "the passion of the christ", released a few years back.  i can still remember going to see it in the movie theatre with some of my best friends and my sister.  yall, i was a mess.  i mean... a mess.  like, wrecked for days.  i just couldn't stop crying.  a couple of years ago, nick&i decided to watch it one night on the eve of easter.  we didn't really want to.  but we thought our hearts needed it.  we both sat there and bawled like babies.

here is a clip set to one of my favorite worship songs... what a beautiful (and very hard to watch) montage.  (just a warning: it is intense and graphic)

the gospel message shouldn't be fluffy, neat and pretty.  it is messy and beautiful.  and you don't get the beautiful without the messy.

pain mingled with love.  sacrifice intertwined with grace.  despair colored by HOPE.

it's not easy for me to think of the cross.  of the pain that it took to save.  and the unconditional love that was poured out through incomprehensible sacrifice ... for me.  sometimes, it wrecks me.  and i need it to more and more.

but it's because of that cross that we have hope.  that we have a savior who cannot be contained.  one who loves beyond imagination, and who rescues us and redeems us; one who calls us by name.

may we not get so caught up in the beauty of easter that we forget the cross.  uncomfortable?  yes.  painful?  sure.  necessary?  absolutely.

because of the cross, we know the fullest value of how we are loved.  by a savior who has defeated the grave.  

and that, is why we celebrate.

our easter.

so i'm a bit late in this post, but better late than never, right? that's my motto. especially these days. our easter this year was both special and bittersweet. it was our first easter without my dad; but it was also his first easter spent in the presence of the risen christ. i mean, how amazing would that be? i cannot even fathom it.

easter was always my dad's favorite holiday. i can still hear him belting out old easter hymns like "crown him with many crowns" and "up from the grave he arose". he loved those songs. his last day on earth, as we surrounded his hospital bed, he randomly asked us "when is easter this year?" being that it was the day before thanksgiving, and the holiday season was upon us, it caught us all by surprise. when none of us could tell him the exact date easter fell on, he sat back in his bed with the most satisfied look on his face and said "this year, easter is going to be awesome."

i could not get that out of my mind as we celebrated this year. tears were uncontrollable during worship at church as we sang about jesus and his power over death. i could just see my dad's face; his smile and bright eyes, full of hope and excitement at what he was experiencing this year at the feet of his beloved jesus.

this year i was reminded that not only do we celebrate the fact that jesus triumped over the grave... but that in his victory, we are also given LIFE... and life eternal. that is pretty amazing. and something i've grown up knowing, but struck me so fresh and new this easter. because as we sing about it and try to imagine it, my dad is living it. and that just blows my mind.

our church is now offering a saturday evening service which is such a wonderful alternative for us as a young family. we decided this year to break tradition (dad would not have liked that!) and went to church saturday night. after a great service, we went to mom's for dinner and then home. sunday morning, we woke up and did an easter egg hunt with bella in our living room. yes, our living room as it was *snowing* outside. okay, just flurries, but still. craziness. nick filled a bunch of plastic eggs with fruit snacks (bella's favorite and a treat she gets only when she visits mimi!) and hid them (or really just placed them) around the living room. bella had so much fun filling her basket with the eggs... especially once she found out they were filled with fruit snacks!

i made cinnamon rolls and nick made eggs and bacon for breakfast and as we ate and listened to worship music, "i will rise" began to play; the song we had played at dad's service. as tears fell down my face, i looked up at nick and saw his tears too. but as i listened to the words, so much joy mingled with my sadness... "jesus has overcome and the grave is overwhelmed. victory is won; he has risen from the dead. and i will rise when he calls my name, no more sorrow, no more pain. i will rise on eagle's wings, before my god fall on my knees."

this year was a lot more fun celebrating easter with bella. our favorite thing: when we asked her why we celebrate easter she would reply: "jesus died for us!" i mean; cutest thing i've ever heard (click here to watch a video and you'll agree with me. adorable. although she spends more time in this video asking to watch herself than she does actually saying it!). i know she was just repeating whatever she heard us say, but still. we loved it.

bella's easter basket this year consisted of a couple sesame street bath time books, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, lip gloss, a chocolate cross and bunny, hair clips and cinderella silverware (pretty much everything was courtesy of target dollar section) along with other treats from mimi and aunt holly. i don't really want gifts and eggs and candy to be what our kids look forward to on easter, and at the same time i realize that they are kids and this was a fun part of my childhood, too. but i look forward to when bella (and emmy) is a bit older and nick&i can establish traditions with them that center around jesus and teaching them the real meaning of why we celebrate easter.

we got dressed and headed to my mom's to join my sister and her family and my aunt and hers. bella&jude got more easter treats from my mom and aunt... most of bella's stuff had something to do with disney princesses which she was beyond thrilled with! i love having a girl :)

after a big ham lunch, the kids crashed while we all got to visit. my mom had "the masters" playing continuously in the background as my dad used to *love* watching it. he was a big golf fan and many of my easter memories growing up include my dad watching the masters.

we definitely felt dad's absence, but i can honestly say there was such a deep peace in my heart celebrating easter this year. and dad would've been so glad. he always said "don't be sorry for me when i'm gone. i'll be in a much better place." and as much as we wish he was still here with us... he is in a much better place, indeed.

thursday three.

what a great week. holy week. and these past seven days have been some of my favorite. nothing spectacular happened (besides celebrating our risen savior... you know, he came back to life three days after being buried in a tomb) ;) this week wasn't out of the ordinary. but it was just good. ever have weeks like that?

i had several moments this week where i just made myself take time to treasure them in my mind. nick rocking bella and reading her stories before bed. nick&i talking on the couch after a long day. bella leaning in to give us kisses, talking to herself and bopping up and down in excitement, an ear to ear grin spread across her face. it's these simple moments that just make me feel blessed beyond measure.

since it was holy week this past week, this thursday three is all about easter.

nick

my parents had gotten each of us couples "the passion of the christ" movie for easter a few years ago. neither of us had seen it since it first came out, and nick suggested saturday night that we watch it and finally break it out of it's five-year-old shrink wrap. we got in bed--with a roll of toilet paper--and watched and cried. mel gibson may have kind of fallen off the deep end these days, but he directed such an amazing movie that is full of truth and depicts jesus in a way i really appreciate (you know, besides the flowing-hair-walking-beside-sheep, weak, boring, no personality emotionless jesus that we see all too often). it really prepared our hearts and set them right going into sunday. it's easy to become desensitized to what we really celebrate on easter; the unfathomable love and sacrifice of the cross, and the hope and power of the resurrection!

meg

i *love* going to church on easter. love, love, love it. it never feels like easter until we go to church. our church also has an amazing good friday service. at the last minute nick and his best friend, matt, got tickets to a rangers game, so me and camille (the baseball widows ;)) and my good friend candace took bella and went to the good friday service. on sundays, nick&i always go to our church's five o'clock service, which feels a little strange on easter... but it was well worth the wait. i love the feeling of celebrating in the midst of other believers, and easter is just the best. several people shared their testimonies and the hope that covers their pain... because he is alive. our service ended with this video that i've seen several times before, but forgot just how much i love it!!!

bel

since our eleven month old doesn't yet understand the theology of the cross or the resurrection, i think it's safe to say that the highlight of her easter was her easter basket. she loved it. let me rephrase... the highlight of her easter was the sunscreen that was in her easter basket. yes, sunscreen. i filled her basket with a few items that we needed to get anyway (i know, i'm thrifty like that) aveeno lotion that i adore, butt paste, bath wash and baby sunscreen. and she literally played with that bottle of sunscreen for what seemed like ages (especially for bella, our little busy-body!) she also got some new onesies, cute new pj's, some banana cookies and a stuffed easter bunny... and another one of her favs: bunny ears. this girl won't keep anything on her head, but once she saw herself in the mirror with those bunny ears on, she wouldn't touch them. guess she thought she looked pretty cool as a bunny. and i have to say, she was the cutest lil bunny i have ever seen :)

we had a great easter. so blessed by many things in our lives but most of all our loving and faithful savior!

multitude monday.

146. bella in her easter dress.

147. watching "passion of the christ" with nick (and lots of tissues).

148. reeses pieces eggs.

149. the sight of a wooden cross.

150. old easter hymns.

151. celebrating the resurrection of my king gathered in community with others.

152. the fact that jesus triumphed over death... and what that means.

153. hope.

"darkness gives way to light. despair gives way to hope. fear gives way to peace. sorrow gives way to joy. because he is alive."

love so amazing.

"when i survey the wondrous cross,

on which the prince of glory died;

my richest gain i count by loss,

and pour contempt on all my pride.

forbid it, lord, that i should boast,

save in the death of christ my god;

all the vain things that charm me most,

i sacrifice them to his blood.

see from his head, his hands, his feet,

sorrow and love flow mingled down.

did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

or thorns compose so rich a crown.

were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were an offering far too small;

love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my ALL."

(when i survey the wondrous cross, isaac watts, 1707)

one of my new favorite things to do is tip toe into bella's room late at night when every one else is asleep. her room is dark and quiet, except for the gentle woosh drifting from her sound machine. i gently lift her from her crib, and she stirs only for a moment before resting her head on my shoulder and circling her chubby arm around my neck. covering her with her soft baby blanket, i take my place in the rocking chair in the corner of her room and we gently sway together as i savor the rhythm of her breathing, the feel of her soft cheek against mine.

i treasure these moments.

as i watch her sleep on my chest, i am overwhelmed by my love for my sweet daughter. i whisper prayers of hope and blessing over her, wanting everything good for her. wanting to provide for her, keep her safe, and blanket her in my love.

as i gaze adoringly at my baby girl, memorizing the dark line of her lashes as they fall on her cheek, the pout of her lips, the messiness of her hair, i know i want to remember everything about her the way she is right now. i also realize that she is absolutely oblivious to my admiration at this very moment. completely unable to fully grasp just how much i love her.

and then, i think about god.

how many times does he adoringly gaze at me, memorizing everything about me... and i don't even notice? how often does he whisper "i love you" and i don't hear his voice?

psalm 139 says: "your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. how precious to me are your thoughts, o god! how vast is the sum of them! were i to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. when i awake, i am still with you."

today, on good friday, we as christians remember the love of jesus. a love we can't even fathom, grace we cannot understand. how should this love transform me? the way i think about myself, the way i think about others... the way i think about my heavenly father?

"when i survey the wondrous cross" is one of my favorite hymns. it tells of christ's love and sacrifice so beautifully, and begs us to ask what our response should be. love so amazing, so divine... demands my soul, my life, my all. the fact is, christ's love and the knowledge of his sacrifice for us should stir something deep within us. it should cause us to react--not because we have to--but because that love is just what issac watts wrote: so amazing, so divine.

so today, i'm reveling in my Father's love for me. i'm letting him hold me, and whisper his words of love, hope and blessing to me. i'm choosing to be aware of just how much he thinks about me. and i'm praying that i will be changed by this truth.

happy easter, everyone! may you know and experience his love and allow it to change you from the inside out.