Bible Verse Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt

Instead of leaving the Easter baskets out and then later also giving the kids more junk in eggs with an egg hunt, I borrowed the idea from a friend in my small group to do a scavenger egg hunt to find the Easter baskets.  My mil also hearing her bible teacher share about a birthday party scavenger hunt where all the clues led a a prize and related it to how the bible is full of clues that lead us to the greatest prize of all so I decided to try to incorporate those two things last minute..as in its midnight and I'm just now doing this for when the kids wake up!  I picked out some bible verses with hints that could be pulled from the verse as to where to look for the next egg containing the next verse/clue.

Where the baskets normally wait at bottom of stairs is first egg with Matthew 28:6 

"He is not here, for He has risen as He has said." And on back of paper there's a hint: Who is He in the verse?  Your baskets are not here either, but where your earthly father has "risen today" you will find a clue. (That should lead them to look on dad's side of the bedroom for the next egg.

"In His great mercy, He has given us NEW BIRTH into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" Peter 1:5 

Hint: what does the word birth mean? Talking about that should lead them to my bathroom where the last child in our family was born during a planned home birth. (But you could also use the word living and lead to the living room)

"For God so loved THE WORLD that he gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Hint: who did God so love? Only a certain continent? Only places we've lived or people we like? Only nice people? (Talking about the world should lead them to our Globe).

"Jesus said I am the bread of life, He who comes to me will not hunger and He who believes in me will never thirst" John 6:35

(Should lead them to the bread where I put the egg inside the bag that has the bread which we keep in the fridge because it's gluten free bread).

"He saved us not because of the GOOD THINGS we did but because of His mercy." Titus 3:5

Hint: where do we acknowledge some of the good things you kids do? (Our positive reinforcement rock jar)

"And with His wounds, we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5

Hint: what were Jesus' wounds?  Where do we go to take care of your wounds at home? (Medicine cupboard where first aid supplies are, egg inside box of band aids).

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name UNDER heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:12

Hint: what name is it talking about?

Do you see any reference to His name nearby? (I have a decor sign in kitchen/keeping room near the first aid cupboard the says "for where two or three gather in my name I am with them" next clue will be under the throw pillow on the chair below that sign.

"And walk in love just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

Hint: walk in love "me and my happy heart" and around till you find the fragrant aroma - (out back door we made a small stepping stone path and one rock is shaped like a big heart and the kids hop on each stone and like saying "me and my happy heart" or "I love my fam i ly" as they hop on each one. So they will walk on that and follow their nose across the lawn to the lilac bushes in front of house that smell amazing right now, a very fragrant aroma. 🌺

"I am the vine, you are the branches, if a person remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Hint: who is the vine? Do we have a vine that can bear fruit? (The grapevine in the backyard that's springing back to life)

"Greater love has no one than this, that one LAY DOWN his life for his friends." John 15:13

Hint: where do our friends and loved ones LAY DOWN when they visit for more than a day?

(This will take them upstairs to the guest room where the baskets will be.)

In the doorway will be an egg with

"You know that he appeared in order to take away sins and in Him there is no sin." 1John 3:5

Hint: these clues have helped point you to your baskets but the clues are from the bible which is full of clues that point us to Jesus, the best prize of all.  God created you in His image if you look in something in this room, your image will appear, as well as your prize...but don't forget, the real prize is knowing and having faith in Jesus.

When they look in the mirror, the reflection will show their Easter baskets in the corner on the opposite side of the bed that they didn't see when they walked in.

In the back of their Easter basket goodies will be something random to them. I have 3 kiddos so in my 3 year old's basket will be a small Jar of salt numbered with a 1.

My middle child who is 7 will have a small jar with pepper with the number 2.

My oldest whose 10 will have a plastic spoon and instructions tied to it with a number 3.

The instructions are:

*1 Have the youngest pour his salt on a plate.

*2 Have the middle sprinkle some pepper on the salt. The pepper is like sin, you all like salt on your food but none of you like pepper, you might still eat your food if it has a little bit of pepper but you really don't enjoy it as much.  Well. That is like when we sin, we aren't as good as we could be and don't feel as great as we should but none of us are perfect, we all sin and need Jesus. We all accidentally grab the pepper shaker and get some on our food sometimes!

*3 Oldest rub the spoon on a towel and then move it slowly over the salt and pepper.  What happened?  We couldn't pick up the tiny pieces of pepper ourselves very easily or at all, but with the help of some static electricity, something we can't see but is definitely there and working, it's like Jesus being able to take our sins away.  We can't see Him but he rids us of our sin just like the spoon was able to get rid of the pepper. Jesus makes it go away and we are good and salty again.  Did the spoon have any pepper on it? No it was smooth, shiny and clean.  That is why we celebrate Easter, because Jesus appeared to take away sins and in Him there is no sin (1 John 3:5), He laid down His life for us, there is salvation in no one else and with His wounds we are healed, not because of the good things we do but because of His mercy. If we come to him we will not hunger or thirst and have everlasting life!  Christ loves us and gave himself as a living sacrifice, He has risen as He has said. He has given us a new birth and a living hope through his resurrection and there is no greater love than the love we have in Jesus Christ our Savior. 

Then we can emphasize what they always hear at church "Jesus wants to be my forever friend".

I really hadn't planned much but I'm so glad I did this last minute, it was good for me to have a moment at night when the house was quiet to look thru verses to use and get my own mind, heart and spirit prepared for tomorrow in the process.  

I haven't done many scavenger hunts with clues with my kids and whatever I've done in the past it's been so long I'm sure they don't remember so I 'm looking forward to their excitement and getting some of God's word in there as an integral part of it!  I'm already predicting they will want to do it again afterwards and I will say no, one set up is enough for me, I'm done thinking up clues and hiding things.  Then they will set up scavenger hunts for each other throughout the day lol and my daughter will try to keep it going til even her brothers are tired of it....just my guess;)

I'm sure the kids will want to repeat the salt and pepper experiment a few times and take turns doing it.  I hope it works! I didn't test it.

*salt and pepper experiment lesson came from The Friend LDS kids magazine.  I do not attend but my grandma got us a subscription to it and it always has some fun ideas and stories to use. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chocolate Easter Eggs

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Eggs

gluten free and dairy free

For Easter this year, we had to make our own chocolate treats to avoid gluten and dairy.  I saw multiple blogs that had made peanut butter chocolate eggs but I've made peanut butter balls before and wasn't interested in the 1 cup peanut butter to 3 cups powdered sugar recipe.  I then looked up "chocolate chip peanut butter balls" and found this video on youtube for raw vegan peanut butter balls and that kind of inspired me to create these.

Chocolate Covered Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Balls (Eggs)

Peanut Butter (I use Natural Jif or Skippy)

Raw Almonds

Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

honey

vanilla

a little powdered sugar (optional)

There are no exact measurements, you just add dry ingredients until you get the dough the to right consistency for being able to roll into balls.

In a food processor (this is a mini one) grind up your almonds to make almond meal, leaving some small bits intact as in the photo below.

 In a large bowl (or kitchenaid mixer if you have one) add a bunch of peanut butter.  This is probably around 1 1/2 cups or so...doesn't really matter.

 Add a tsp of vanilla and a tablespoon or so of honey, then add in all your almond meal and mix together.

After adding all the almond meal, it wasn't quite thick enough and since I didn't feel like grinding up more almonds (my cheap processor is going to make me go deaf!) I just turned to mixer on low speed and slowly added a little powdered sugar until it formed into a ball, it didn't take very much at all....maybe a 1/4 cup?  And you could leave out the powdered sugar and just add more almond meal for a healthy snack.

Roll into small balls (or ovals to make easter eggs) and place on a tray or plate, cover with plastic wrap and set in freezer.  You can enjoy these just like this, they are not too sweet but still a super yummy treat.  You'll satisfy your sweet tooth without feeling sick after because the peanut butter is decently sweet and that little bit of honey adds some sweetness as well.

 To take these a step further...and it's worth it...add a cup of your chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute, stir, then microwave at 30 second intervals stirring each time until smooth.  Using a fork, roll your chocolate chip peanut butter balls in the melted chocolate and then set back in the tray.

Once they are all covered, set in the freezer again to harden the chocolate.  We just kept ours in the freezer and ate them cold because they were so yummy like that, kind of like eating frozen cookie dough but better, and they were still soft, not too hard from being frozen.

My husband is not big into sweets but he was totally into these and my daughter was obsessed with them as well, so I was pretty excited with how yummy they turned out without having to use anywhere near as much sugar as traditional peanut butter balls.

Easter Mantel and Peeks of Spring

Easter Mantel

and peeks of spring as it comes...

I just remembered this chocolate ceramic east bunny that my mil gave me last fall and was excited when I realized I actually DO have some Easter decor!  The white pitcher was a gift from a long time forever friend last year and the topiary is from tj maxx, I had it in the kitchen but moved it over to the mantel today.  The glass hurricanes are from the dollar tree along with the candy inside (left over decorations from the birthday party).  The white pitcher is holding a coffee filter flower bouquet that J made with my mom while they were here last week, an oldie but goodie project you can view here. It's simple but it's nice to have something different up on the mantel, it's lighter and more colorful than what I had before.  I must admit my friend Whitney inspired me to look around and find something to decorate with because she always has her house SO cute and perfect for every holiday and season.  If she ever changed jobs she would be great as a personal organizer, shopper, decorator, etc.

And over the past 2 weeks, spring has really come on strong with wonderful 70-80 degree weather!  And while my parents were here last week my dad was going around fixing things...like the toilet upstairs, the sliding door on the van and even our fountain!  We have tried to figure out how to turn it on since we moved in the house and gave up... apparently it just needed a new pump, my dad solved the problem and got it up and running and I LOVE it...I open my windows in the morning and then get back in bed and listen to the birds and the water trickling outside....ahhh....

 With all the blossoms coming out, I decided it was time to set up the hammock!

I LOVE SPRING!!!

Has spring made it's debut where you live yet?  I know we are lucky it came kind of early for our area, making it an easier transition from leaving Dallas, where the tulips were out in February...still miss it though!

Easter Outfits - Pillowcase Dress w/ Headband & Baby Boy Romper

I decided last minute to make some simple matching Easter outfits for the kids Saturday night.  I have been wanting to make a pillowcase dress for forever so this was a good time to finally whip one up.  I always thought they looked easy but after making one, it was so gratifying because they really ARE so easy and look so sweet, what more can you ask for...almost instant gratification!  The romper for my 12 month old son took a little longer but it was still pretty simple, it only took longer because I was being cheap and didn't want to pay $13 for the pattern I found at the store so I made my own pattern, but I made it as simple as possible....No diaper changing access and I didn't even take time to make button holes and sew on buttons for the straps, I went with Velcro.  Well....B didn't seem to like wearing his outfit as much as J liked her dress.  He kept ripping it off, which was easy to do with Velcro.  Oh well...it worked for the day, and the fabric was 50% off at Joann's so I'm not too worried if he never wears it again.  I just had this idea it would be cute if they were matching for the day.

Baby Boy Romper

 Pillowcase Dress w/ Matching Headband

 Two things I was excited that we got the kids for Easter was the Jesus Storybook Bible and Bedtime Blessings.  The Jesus Storybook Bible has beautiful colorful illustrations on every page and it tells the stories in such a great way.


We were planning on doing this activity but ended up using up all our eggs when we dyed them.  Here are some instructions for resurrection cookies with a printable chart that I'm going to try and remember to do next year.
http://mama-jenn.blogspot.com/2010/04/resurrection-cookies-wprintable.html

And finally, here are 2 videos, Amazing Grace is just such an amazing song with an amazing story behind it.  If you haven't watched the movie Amazing Grace yet, add it to your list!  Plus I love this version of it.

Easter Weekend 2 - Easter Eggs in a Nest

Easter Eggs in Bird's Nest

 Today we decorated eggs using crayons and an easter egg dye kit.  While we waited for the eggs to dry, we went for a little walk outside to collect some twigs for our bird nest. 

Then we made a bird's nest for the eggs using a brown paper bag and smooshing it up, and taping it in place on the bottom, then used a glue gun to attach broken sticks to our nest.  I got the idea for the bird's nest from this months issue of Family Fun Magazine.  They also had a really cute idea for decorating easter eggs with melted crayons that I wanted to try but forgot about it until we had already cooled the eggs.  

Easter Weekend

Last night we attended a Good Friday service at our church, it was so beautiful.  The chairs were set up in a circle with a cross in the middle that was lit up.  The music was beautiful, every song was amazing.  Then our Pastor spoke and as he stood behind the cross that was set up, it was casting a shadow on him. As he spoke he was looking at us through the cross and we were looking at him through the cross, and he made the point, "What if we could look at everyone through the cross of Christ?"  We would not judge each other, we would not hate each other, we would love them, have forgiving and understanding hearts because we would see others through His grace.

Eastery Cookies

Well, while waiting for something more to happen with these contractions, I decided to make some Peanut Butter cookies and open the big bag of Easter M&Ms a little early...there will still be plenty for the Easter basket! I thought that after pressing the peanut butter cookies with the fork, it would look sorta like a bird nest so I added 3 M&M "eggs". Only problem, I keep finding chunks of cookie hidden around the house because my daughter just wants to eat the parts with candy.

I just used a basic recipe from my BHG cookbook.