Program

On Monday, we had the opportunity to do a program for a home extension group in Mt. Carroll. The program went very well despite the fact that we had only practiced a couple of weeks. :) It was also a huge blessing that Jacob Bernhardt (Anthony's piano teacher) was able to accompany us when Anthony was playing his violin.

~Amber~

Passover Seder

Thank you to Mrs. Rhoe for all of the pictures because we forgot our camera!! On Sunday, we celebrated the Passover Seder with the Weinbergers (Messianic Jews). It was very neat to see all of the symbolism behind the different parts of the meal. The service was made of songs, readings, prayers, and tasting different foods. Before we started the meal, the firstborn sons marked the doorpost with "blood." Then Mr. Weinberger blew the shofar, and we headed in to find our assigned seats. The tables were very nicely decorated!

Mr. Weinberger led the Seder, and he read out of the Haggadah which everyone had a copy. He first blessed the grape juice, and then the leaders of each table walked around bowls and pitchers of water for everyone to wash their hands. There was a plate at each table which had parsley, horseradish, charoset (an apple and nut mixture), and a lamb bone. Each of them had different symbolism's behind them.
Parsley dipped in salt water- reminds us of the tears of the Hebrew people in Egypt
The matzo represented Jesus. The stripes remind us of the stripes which Jesus suffered and the holes remind us of the pierces in his body from the nails.
Horseradish- reminds us of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt
Lamb bone- reminds us of the Passover lambs which were killed, and now Jesus is our Passover lamb.
The feast part consisted of chicken, potatoes, string beans, matzo, and chocolate macaroons. It was very delicious!!!

eating the meal

After the meal, Mrs. Sherry led us in some traditional Jewish dances. That was a lot of fun!!!

What a blessing it was to participate in a Passover Seder!!!!

~Amber~

Happy Easter!!!

We hope you all had a blessed day celebrating Christ's death and resurrection!!! His love and grace is truly amazing!!! We had a very nice day and went to the Schneider's house for dinner which was fun. :)
In Christ Alone

"In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand."

Easter Egg Hunt

Since we weren't going to do Easter with our family this year, I did an Easter egg hunt for Austin, Adam, and Alec on Friday. It was a lot of fun, and they had a great time playing together. :)

all of the eggs

Mom hid all of the eggs while I went and picked up Adam.

the hunt begins :)

Alec absolutely loved finding the eggs!

off the find more

Alec hates when the wind blows on him, and this is what he does when it is blowing. :)

So excited that he found another egg!

Once he found there was candy in the eggs, Alec was all excited. He put a piece in his mouth wrapper and all. lol

So cute!!!

This is the only way Alec likes to swing.

Alec loves to play in the sand and to eat it too.

Their fort was under the picnic table. I love how Alec is just standing there looking so innocent.

balancing on the curb

off to more adventures :)

It is SO hard to get three little boys to look at the camera and smile. lol

I think Alec is adorable!

I also had made up Easter buckets for each of them.

This smart little boy knew that the chocolate bunny was something to eat. ;)

I asked Adam to hold up his paddle ball and smile for me, and this is the smile he gave me. :)

Alec was thrilled when he found the juice pack!

He loves to play with a slinky....

and so does Adam.

emptying out the eggs

Since we are going to the Schneider's house for lunch on Sunday, we had our special Easter meal on Friday night too. We had pizza, garlic bread, cheese beans, egg jello jigglers, and cake and icecream for desert. It is not your typical Easter meal, but we are going to have ham on Sunday. ;)

jello eggs

the cross cake

As we as approach Resurrection Sunday, let us remember all Christ has done for us!!! He truly was the ultimate sacrifice!

~Amber~