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. 

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!

Infinite P the Leprechaun

St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun Craft

and his name is "Infinite P!"

My friend saw some cute Leprechaun crafts online, but I have no idea where she saw this so no link, sorry!  But I love how my daughter glued his hat on kind of tilted to the side and gave him creepy teeth! cracks me up....and then she randomly named him Infinite P!  I never get tired of the things she comes up with! My friend and I were laughing because of the way his hat was off to the side she said "He looks like a pimp" when the girls weren't around and then when she came back and named him Infinite P, we just thought it was too funny.  

She also made up a character named Racoona, who has a braid on top of her ponytail and a sponge on top of her head... and we have started jotting down her adventures.  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  We had a WONDERFUL Christmas Eve with friends who had us over for a delicious dinner followed by a great Christmas Eve Service at church. Santa just finished his work for the night and now that he's gone I thought I'd share some of the Christmasy things we have had going on around here and with our friends.

Also, I am honored to have been a guest blogger over at Dear Creatives yesterday which you can check out here!  I shared a tutorial for making Giant 3-D Snowflakes! that we did with our friends.

 Finger paint Christmas Tree

 Hand print and Footprint Reindeer

Fingerpaint thumbprint reindeer with googley eyes

(thanks Kelsie for helping the girls!)

I'm a snowman!

Nativity

Mini Nativity Tree on our mantle

Christmas gift J made at Preschool for us

Teaching my 4 year old how to wrap presents and practice her writing

Magic Reindeer Food

Flannel stockings made by Gram, Snowman Christmas Counter Downer from My parents.

Christmas village my parents sent us this year, I always loved setting that up each year and I'm so excited my mom gave it to me.  

 Tyler reads them a christmas story every night this month

Made some festive dishtowels as gifts

Our other mantel in the kitchen, kids made the garland at a friends house and our christmas card collection has started

my 20 month old decorating Christmas trees with dot art

Feeling a bit festive, got some bows and bells in my hair! (thanks Whitney you wrap everything so cute!) Um, yes this has been my main outfit the past week while at home..good ol' college sweats never get old! :P

One of the Christmas headbands I've made 

Setting up the ol' train tracks with Dad! They used to be Grandpa's!

Christmas eve dinner with great friends, and "santa paws" made an appearance!  Well he's really Santa Bonz...we love you Bonzo Bean!!!

Caramel Popcorn drizzled with Ghiridelli Chocolate

One of our first Christmas tree ornaments that I made for our first Christmas 5 years ago when we couldn't afford to buy a bunch of new stuff.  

Thanksgiving Recap

Hello out there....if anyone is still there!  We are alive over here, however we had family come visit, then went and visited family...pretty much the time between Halloween and Thanksgiving just happened at warp speed.  But we are back and Scrappy Saturdays will be back on this weekend too.
After not posting in so long it's almost hard to know where to start so I thought I'd start with a recap of our Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving day started with these

Gluten-Free Sticky Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes with Maple Frosting

 by Silvana Nardone

 For her other great thanksgiving breakfast menu recipes including this one, visit Silvana's Kitchen!


And our Day Ended with this

Toasted Marshmallow topped Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Ginger Snap Cookie Crust from 

 from Silvana's Book Cooking for Isaiah 

(I LOVE LOVE LOVE this gluten free dairy free cookbook!)

Both were super yummy and delicious, along with everything else we had in-between.  My husband cooked the actual meal and did a great job on everything.  I sure am Thankful for such an awesome hubby!!!  And I'm thankful for all the great resources, including Silvana's recipes that make eating gluten and dairy free easy and delicious!  We had company over for Thanksgiving and they said they would have never guessed everything was gluten and dairy free.

I did make ONE thing for the actual meal from a recipe my sister gave me. I made this the night before and I  want to make this everyday, just to make my house smell like this.  Now I'm desperate to find the perfect candle that smells like this...cranberries, apples, vanilla, cinnamon and clove! *I left out the raisins.

homemade cranberry relish

2 cups fresh apple juice

1/2 cup sugar

24 ounces cranberries

2 slightly sweet apples, peeled and diced

1/2 vanilla bean, slit open

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 -2 cloves depending on preference

1/4 cup golden raisins

Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, on medium-high heat until the cranberries have popped and everything has begun to gel. Spoon into a casserole dish. Let cool.

This is beautiful and super Yummy!!

Gluten Free Corn Bread Stuffing (also got this recipe from my sister)

Use your favorite GF cornbread mix - (Bobs Red Mill is awesome) or substitute gluten free all purpose baking mix for the flour in any basic corn bread recipe. Mix dough then stir in 1/2 Tbs of dried thyme. Bake according to recipe directions.

Once the cornbread has cooled, cut into cubes and arrange on a baking sheet. Let this sit overnight to dry out and create cornbread crumbs.

Stuffing ingredients:

2 Tbs Olive oil

1/2 onion - chopped

4 cloves garlic - finely chopped or pressed

1-2 stalks celery - chopped

1 apple - peeled and chopped

.75 oz of fresh Rosemary, Thyme and Sage

Vegetable or Chicken stock as needed

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute onion, garlic and celery. Add apple, salt and pepper and herbs, cook stirring frequently over medium heat for 3-4 mins. Lower to med/low heat and add cornbread crumbs, toss to coat with herb mixture. Add vegetable stock to moisten cornbread to desired consistency/texture. Serve warm.

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.