Bunnies and Eggs and the Cross, oh my!

Our Spring Break lined up with the week between Palm Sunday & Easter Sunday...I still refer to it as Semana Santa, even though we haven't lived in Spain since 2003.

I've always liked the fact that in Spain, Easter & the week leading up to it are a big deal. It makes sense. Christmas is important. Jesus was born, you know. However, His birth wouldn't really be so significant if it weren't for his death, burial, and resurrection.

The Atonement.

It's beautiful.

So we try to make Semana Santa a big deal around our house, too. Here's what we did this year:

It snowed on Palm Sunday...naturally we ran out the door to enjoy the last snow day. We even got in a day of sledding later in the week.

We have a lot of friends and family whom we don't see very much. We made them an Easter surprise! I didn't mail them in time, but...whatever

This year we decoupaged our eggs with egg white "glue" and colorful napkin pieces

Monday morning we made a stained glass window in the dining room to remind us every day that Easter is about Jesus' death on the cross to take away our sins

On Tuesday we made an Easter garden, complete with a "tomb." We discussed the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the garden where Jesus was buried. We learned the hymn "In the Garden." We added a cross on Good Friday, flowers on Easter Sunday, and rolled away the stone

On Wednesday we had Bunny Rolls for breakfast...

...and made bunny faces for the grandparents

On Thursday we celebrated the Last Supper with games and food

Friday was largely theological...er...we made white chocolate marshmallow bark

Here we are making Resurrection Rolls on Sunday morning...W is enclosing the "body of Jesus" (marshmallow) in the tomb (Pillsbury Crescent Roll)

L is showing me that the "tomb" is EMPTY! (and delicious)

After church, we found our Easter Baskets...Daddy was pretty excited

my handsome men all dressed up for Easter

Outdoor egg hunt at our house (can you believe the snow was covering the ground a week ago?)

we found a tiny slug on this egg

indoor egg hunt at Yaya & Grandad's house

reading with Yaya

Shorty's 1st ever bike ride before heading to bed & bringing an end to Semana Santa

Roar

I am fairly certain that I didn't have 3 little boys running around my house this afternoon.

Someone replaced them with tigers. Wild ones.

After what was a fun and (mostly) under-control morning with friends, we came home...and the wild beasts came out.

Things escalated quickly from fighting over toys to chasing and pushing and screaming. From there the day began to spiral out of control. At one point someone was chasing the other two while brandishing an ice scraper. While they were putting on pajamas I made a quick trip to the basement. How silly of me. While I was down there Thing 2 decided to throw his shirt into a toilet full of his brother's poop. Yes. You read that correctly. Thing 1 pulled the shirt out of the toilet, flinging excrement around the bathroom, and carried the dripping shirt across the house to the dirty clothes basket. At bedtime Shorty was pushed out of bed and onto the floor not once, not twice, but 3 separate times by his brother.

Somehow we managed to successfully decorate Easter eggs in the middle of all the action. Small miracles.

Tomorrow is another day.

I'm not sure if that is hope or resignation in my voice.

Deep Thoughts

We had some Breakfast Table Theology this lovely Saturday morning.

W: Do you know? Everybody sins.

L: God took all our sin.

W: We still sin. We all sin. Everybody sins.

L: But God took all our sin.

W: We still sin!

L: GOD TOOK ALL OUR SIN!

I had to intervene before it became an all-out screaming match. They are both right.

Now, between bites of Fruity Cheerios, I can hear W humming "God is so good. God is so good. God is so good. He's so good to me."

So far, I'd say it's been a pretty good Saturday.

Are you Crazy? or why we have decided to homeschool

School registration has begun in our little town. That has prompted a lot of talk about which neighborhood school everybody's kids will be attending in the Fall.

In response to one sweet Pre-K classmate who announced he would be attending the same school as the Dynamic Duo, one of my boys asked something to the affect of, "Are you going to school in our basement, too?" Then they proceeded to tell the class how we would be having school down there, but it was currently very, very dirty.

I confess.

Everything they say is true.

Especially the part about the basement's cleanliness, or lack thereof.

Ten years ago, I would have cringed at the thought of homeschooling my children. And probably argued until I was blue in the face about why it would be a terrible idea.

Five years ago, my answer to you would have been more along the lines of, "Well, I can see where some people would see it as beneficial, but it's probably not something I will do with my family."

Two years ago, I was intrigued with the idea, but didn't see how it would be feasible for my family (or my sanity).

I think you see where I am going with this. Slowly but surely, I have become convinced that this is something I think is right for us. For so many reasons. I am actually excited about keeping my kids home and being their teacher next year. Choosing curriculum caused me some anxiety, but it was also super fun.

Yes, I am a nerd. I loved curriculum planning when I was a "real" teacher.

I think kindergarten in our basement is the perfect place for my kids to be come Fall. We are going to take it one year at a time and decide what is best for the boys and for the family. A commitment to next year is not necessarily a commitment to the 12 years that follow. On the other hand, it might be.

I in no way think that homeschooling is the only way to go, or even the best way to go for every family. I hope no one gets that idea from me. The beauty of the American educational system is that we have the freedom to choose what works for our individual families and even each child. One of the reasons I am choosing to homeschool is that I don't believe in one-size-fits-all education. Thus, the size "homeschool" may not fit your family, while the size "public school," "private school," or "charter school" might be perfect.

Huzzah!

I trust my judgement as a parent who knows what is best for my kids, and I hope you trust yours as well.

For the curious, here are a few of the reasons (some are, admittedly, better than others) why we are homeschooling:

• education that is custom-tailored to each child's needs
• smaller class size
• flexibility in schedule
• socialization not limited to age and geography
• interdisciplinary curriculum not limited/driven by standardized testing
• Spanish language acquisition (this doesn't certainly apply to every place, but the hubby and I are the most fluent folks we know where we currently live)
• family time and bonding
• interactive, hands-on education

I could go on. I could describe each of my reasons with more detail. But that sounds boring to type. If it is boring to type, it is surely boring to read.

I'm happy to answer questions if there happens to be something you actually do want to hear more about.

If you need me, I'll be sweeping the basement.

Just Perfect

"Are you going to keep trying for that girl?"

How many times over the past five years have I heard somebody ask me this question? Too many to count. It often follows close on the heels of this gem or maybe this one.

No. No, kind people of the world, I am not going to "keep trying" for "that girl."

And.

For the record.

The more I dwell on your question, the more offended I am becoming.

I resent your insinuation (or outright statement) that my family is not balanced or not close enough to some ideal because we do not consist of one boy child and one girl child. I even heard or read or something somewhere that one person felt sorry for the 3rd child of one gender in any family because it was "obvious" that the parents were trying to get the other gender. Really? As if no parent anywhere would desire to have 3 children for any reason other than to balance the sexes.

I have 3 boys. I have no desire to try for a girl. My 3rd boy was not the result of my trying for a girl. I do not in any way feel that my family is lacking. I do not think that I am missing out on anything. I do not consider it to be unfair in any way.


For those people I have heard comment about the need for a boy in their families as someone to throw the ball around with, I say throw the ball around with your daughters. I guarantee they will love it.

For those who think they need a little girl to dress up and chat with about the meaning of life, I recommend having a meaningful conversation with your sons. It might just open your eyes to some pretty amazing things.

For the folks I have heard lament the lack of a son or a daughter and how they long for the kind of relationship that would be possible with that child of a different gender, I would like to suggest trying to have a better relationship with the children you do have instead of longing for something that doesn't exist.

For anyone out there who might be tempted to open your mouth and comment about my need for a little girl in my family, don't. I really don't want you to make my boys feel like they have disappointed me in some way just by being who they are. They are God's gift to me. I wouldn't change my family for the world.