Celebrate Simply

My friend Jen gave me this amazing Celebration Banner.  I love it!!  It’s crazy that one little accessory can transform any ol’ space into a celebration.

We’ve used it for every Birthday- home and away.  It’s how we welcome Daddy home, family into town or whatever else we could be celebrating!!

When we unconventionally celebrated Thanksgiving at the Gainesville Rehab facility, we brought the banner.  It was hard-working as usual- cheering us all and reminding us that, through all of Dad’s fight with & recovery from Guillan Barre Syndrome, we had much to be thankful for!

We’ll take it out again in a week- Georgia Anne will be 3!!  And we’re all ready to celebrate.  I say it’s time to get back to the simple things- like transforming ordinary into extrordinary with a smile, a fabric banner and good times had by all.

Red, White & You

Three cheers for the red, white and blue!!!

Our six year old, Timothy’s, favorite holiday is the Fourth of July.  Why?  Because he’s proud of the freedom Americans fought to obtain?  Umm, no.  Because his uncles and many family friends have served our country in times of peace and war?  Nope.  Because he loves guns, battles and all things explosive?  Closer… but still no.  Actually it’s because he likes the glow-sticks we give out every year at dusk to occupy the children until the fireworks.

It’s understandable, really.  I mean- he’s only six.  How could he know the significance of this all-American holiday?  How can he understand why we launch fireworks and why we enjoy BBQs with neighbors- of every cultural background- together as Americans?

Amid the bustle of everyday busyness, the “minor” holidays are often a welcome relief.  Many head to the water or paint the house like any Saturday.  It’s wonderful to have some time off to enjoy life and have a little fun!  So what sets a commemorative day, like July 4, apart in your children’s minds?

I’m looking ahead to Independence Day and this year, I’m asking questions.  Like, how can we make family memories while teaching the history, values and sacrifices that made our country great?

“Like most holidays, different people have different levels of engagement and different ways of participating,” commented 210 dad Eric Lowe.  He and wife Meg, a teacher, are establishing traditions like fireworks, a BBQ complete with the perennial favorite “blueberry flag” cake, and time spent with neighbors and friends.  “Although the song came along many years after we gained our independence, the Star Spangled Banner always brings a tear to my eye.” adds Meg.

Here at the Olsen home, we enjoy the annual neighborhood parade- brimming with patriotically decorated bikes, home-built floats, and a color guard from the high school.  The children love the candy and the firetruck, I love the day off from lunch duty- all the neighbors share pizza at the amenity center afterwards!  It’s a welcome break before the evening’s cookout, games and fireworks.

Across the First Coast, celebrations range from simple- a picnic lunch and special prayers for servicemen, to elaborate multi-family parties.  Some love spreading a blanket amidst the vibrant crowd for fireworks over the Castillo, others look forward to a Phantom Fireworks run to choose the perfect backyard pack.

And even this diversity- the freedom to choose your perfect celebration- is quintessentially American!  I love my country.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to celebrate freedom and teach our children about their heritage: Irish, Lebanese, Norwegian, English, and Cherokee- great- grandparents who loved this land and fought for the freedom we celebrate today as Americans.

We can be so forgetful- so every year, take a few minutes from your 4th, whether relaxing or full, to share some history and gratitude with your children.

How exactly should we celebrate Independence Day?  Together.  Happy 4th!

This article was originally published in The Creekline.

Thanksgiving Fun!

My intention was to upload a fun Thanksgiving Idea each day… but we’ve been so busy having a good time that I didn’t get around to it.

Since it’s a little late to share all of the fun crafts we did, I’ll suggest some Thanksgiving Day Games you can play with the fam or to keep little ones from underfoot while the ladies are in the kitchen!

This year, I am bringing some things for the kiddos to play alone and others to do all together:
1) Draw with Sidewalk Chalk (Mayflower contest, anyone?)
2) Turkey Toss (Beanbag into a gobblin’ turkey!)
3) Pilgrim Relay (Boys vs. Girls- grownups included!)
4) Bubbles! (No explanation necessary)
5) Indian Corn Hunt (like looking for a needle in a haystack…)

And another idea I had but didn’t get to… pick up paint swatches and have the kiddos find something in nature to match the different hues. I thought it could be an adventure to look for bright red, oranges, pinks, grays, etc. Oh, and you could always collect fall leaves and make a collage or leaf rubbing.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Time with family is precious and this is a way to get the oldest laughing with your little ones!

Locust for my Birthday

Today is my birthday. Yippee! The locust swarms should make today memorable! LOL We went to a Jacksonville Suns baseball game last night, so I didn’t have a chance to make the locusts. Soooo… I think it’ll be a family project and then we’ll let them “swarm” (eeewww)- hopefully they won’t eat my Birthday Cake!

Umm… do I *get* a birthday cake if I don’t make it?

(p.s. No Birthday Cake, but I did get some incredible Dark Chocolate dipped strawberries & apples and the locusts couldn’t find them b/c I kept them hidden in their box in the fridge. I managed to eat almost all of them all by myself… Andrew swiped a bite of apple, but I forgive him. *grin*)

What, the hail?!

Today, we had flies, gnats AND dead animals! We had to combine some days since I didn’t start on time. Aren’t you glad the Lord doesn’t slam us like that?! Whew! He never gives more than we can handle but always provides a way of escape. Thank you, Lord!

Tomorrow, the weather looks gorgeous… sunny skies with a 100% chance of hail!! I’m trying to decide whether to actually let the children throw ice at each other or what. I mean, just laying ice all over the windowsills is not enough… but hurling ice at one another could go from fun to overboard veeeery quickly. Maybe we’ll go to The Loop for some crushed ice!

How else could we “do” this plague? We could eat all our meals cold… nah! Ideas welcome!

Ribbitt… ribbitt…

“But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs.” Exodus 8:2

The water-to-blood plague went well today, except that all day long, Timbo would ask if he could drink some blood, which sounds quite disturbing to outside observers. LOL

Tomorrow, the forecast calls for FROGS… and lots of them. Now, one frog can be cute. Two calls for a frog-race. En masse they are admittedly icky, but cockroaches would be too! So why did Yahweh choose frogs? Check this out:

These critters were associated with the annual inundation of the Nile. So they were associated with fruitfulness, blessedness, with a good harvest and were naturally deified. Their “frog goddess” was goddess of both fertility and resurrection. I want you to remember those two because God really sticks it to this goddess; He really puts her down. Fertility, resurrection. You could not, by the way, kill a frog. They were sacred. In fact, if you intentionally killed a frog, you were put to death. In some cases, if you unintentionally killed a frog, you were put to death. Remember that law in light of what is going to happen here, and you will understand the problem they were facing. They could not kill one single frog. (Peninsula Bible Church)

So God (as in the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, not the false god Egyptians called Pharoah) made the very frogs that Egyptians considered worthy of worship into something detestable to them! He alone deserves our worship.

The PLAGUE! The PLAGUE!

So in spite of my best intentions (read previous blog) I forgot to start the plagues on time! So I’ll just end up doubling up on a couple. There are 12 (kidding- 10) plagues and only 7 days till Easter, so we’ll just combine a couple. Tomorrow, we begin.

Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. ~Exodus 7:20

So the children will wake up on a seemingly normal day to find water cups red, red water in the sink, toilets, etc… anywhere there is water, it’ll be (you guessed it!) blood red.

My goal in incorporating the plagues into our Resurrection Celebration is to go beyond the Easter Bunny. Why do most parents say they “do” the Easter Bunny & Santa, etc? Because “we don’t want to take away their fun”. But in allowing our Holy Days to focus on these fantastical characters, are we taking the emphasis away from holy scripture and THE Fantastic God whom we serve?

I propose that parents can (and should) fill our family life with fun and memorable and magical (though true and historical) events straight from the Word of God. It brings the Word to life. Let’s find our fulfillment and joy in Him from the youngest children to the oldest granny. Let’s celebrate HIM this season.

Guess What’s Coming?

I bet you can’t guess what I’m thinking… No, it has nothing to do with play dates or politics or vacations or food. Okay, it does have a little to do with food. And how you view this event has everything to do with how you engage in politics… But I digress.

Okay, Easter is coming! This is arguably one of the most important days within the church and yet most people give little thought to Easter beyond buying a new dress or maybe an Easter basket. But we should!

I’m a little extra-excited this year because Easter and Passover coincide with each other. The unity of all of scripture was never as clear to me as when we first kept Passover. No, we didn’t sacrifice a lamb- I know that was taken care of on the Cross! What I didn’t know was all of the other ways Jesus fulfilled OT traditions and prophecies. Like the red ribbon running through the park in this picture, all of scripture points to our saviour and, ultimately, His death for us.

Take some time over the next week to think of ways to share BIBLICAL truths with your children this Easter! I don’t mean sticking a Bible Story Book in their Easter baskets (though you can do that as well), but actually looking into scripture with the kiddos and finding your joy and your identity and your family traditions in His Word!

The Notorious Gingerbread Nativity

Since this Christmas project has drawn so much attention, I thought I’d keep ya’ll up to date on our progress. I initially blogged about this as a favorite Christmas tradition on our church’s blog: http://www.acupofgracegcc.blogspot.com/(You’ll have to look in the “Categories” section on the R & click on “Christmas Traditions” and then scroll down till you see the gingerbread nativity. My disclaimer is: It’s a family project that the children primarily do, so don’t expect a Southern Living display. Enjoy!)

Anyways, today we did the baking. Did I mention that I have a love-hate relationship with this unit study? I love to hate it! I love the idea of baking with all the children surrounding me in their cute little aprons. Everyone working together to measure, mix, roll and cut the cookies. Well, we did at least get the aprons on and the cookies baked!! This is much further than I got last year, as Chris had to rescue me and bake it with the kiddos for me last year!

So the inevitable bad thing this year? I broke my crystal teapot! Diane gave it to me years ago and I have loved it all along… well, I bumped it the wrong way with a hot cookie sheet and it’s a goner. I also forgot about my bread, which was rising, and it mushroomed. The good news is I didn’t burn the cookies this year, we had enough dough to make all the parts AND there was enough left for Ben to make us gingerbread to eat! And I salvaged the bread dough and turned out 2 yummy loaves after all! Yippee!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Over the (St. John’s) river and through the (Osceola National Forest) woods to grandmother’s house we go!! Actually, it was Uncle Kenny’s house in Tallahassee- and what a wonderful visit!! I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to post more pix or not, but here is a family photo- we’re missing Joe, Elizabeth & Judah, Kenny & Mason, and Aunt Tina & Bob… hopefully they’ll be there as well next year!