Quote to ponder

Life is like riding the bus . . .

it requires change.

So embrace it!

Celebrating Easter and Passover

We had a wonderful time during the Holy Week focusing on the love of God and the sacrifice of our Savior. We incorporated a couple of wonderful books into this week of celebration and remembrance.

Mrs. Katz and Tush introduced us to Passover and a yummy dish called kugel (more about that later).We used Benjamin's Box along with our Resurrection Eggs to remind us of the significant events of Holy Week in the life of Jesus.And The Legend of the Three Trees is a beautiful story which reminds us to trust God with the dreams that we have for our lives . . . because His plans for us are so much better than those that we have for ourselves!

On Thursday night, we had a mini-Passover of sorts. It wasn't a full Seder meal; I hope to try that next year. We had watched a program about Passover and some of the symbolism of the different aspects. We began by washing our hands . . .

. . . and then we enjoyed a meal of matzo, kugel (ours had cheese, noodles and raisins -- it sounds kind of strange, but it was so yummy!)

. . . applesauce and latkes (we used Rachael Ray's recipe, which you can find here -- it was YUMMO!). Jaden tried the bitter herbs dipped in salty water and decided he didn't like that part so much! (Lael wasn't quite so brave.)

Friday morning we had a very special time together as a family sharing communion and washing each other's feet.

Then Saturday, after an Easter egg hunt at church, we got together with Daddy's family for an Easter dinner. Making that time extra special was the fact that we were able to see cousin Carrie again! She's grown alot in the past three and a half months!

Isn't she sooooo cute! (Okay, both girls are cute!)

Easter Sunday, Lael and Jaden were part of the children's bell choir.
And here we are!
The Martin men . . .

. . . the ladies of the house,

. . . and here's the whole family!

We pray that you had a BLESSED Easter and that you are walking in RESURRECTION POWER! Jesus is alive!!!!

2009 Homeschool Share Blast is coming soon!

That's right . . . it's almost time for the 2009 HSS Blast! I am so very excited! If you've been around and following my blog for a while, you know that last year I submitted two units for publication at Homeschool Share . . . you can check out the blog post where I shared about that here.

Well, it's time for this year's blast . . . what will I do this time? I have no idea yet, but I'm thinking and looking at my library to see what might jump out at me! Stay tuned to find out what I decide to do!

Interested in learning more about Homeschool Share? Check out their website! (Try it . . . you'll love it!) Want to find out more information about this year's Blast? Just click on the Homeschool Share Blast button on the sidebar.

Another homeschool mom shared this today (thanks, Kelly!) . . . such a good reminder!

Life is short . . .

Break the rules . . .

Forgive quickly . . .

Kiss slowly . . .

Love truly . . .

Laugh uncontrollably . . .

And never regret anything that made you smile.

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

Cool science experiment!

This week we learned a little about Passover, and one thing we talked about was the difference between unleavened bread and the bread that we eat . . . which naturally led to a discussion about yeast and how it works. So of course, we did an experiment to see first-hand:

The materials we used were quite simple: empty water bottles, warm water, sugar, yeast, balloons and rubber bands.

We filled the water bottles 2/3 of the way full of warm water, added some sugar and shook (with the lid on) to dissolve the sugar into the water.

Next, we added the yeast and then put a balloon over the opening. (I wrapped a rubber band around the balloon for added peace of mind!) Then we GENTLY swirled the bottles to mix in the yeast.

After that, it was time to head outside to place our little experiment out in the warm sunshine!

And here's what began to happen . . .

It was pretty cool to watch the balloons expand over the span of 15 or 20 minutes!
While we were waiting, Jaden showed us that HE could inflate a balloon much faster than the little "yeast guys" ;-)
And here's the end result: Lael's experiment . . .
. . . and Jaden's

We decided that, for being little guys, yeast is pretty impressive in what it can accomplish -- whether that's inflating a balloon or causing our yummy bread to rise!