Take Apart Day

Nathan and Bea have a daddy who shows them the joy of taking things apart. Today the projects were a walkman and a computer drive of some kind.

Washing Feet

After a fun morning outside in sandals, enjoying our crazy 80 degree weather, I noticed that Nathan and Bea's feet were quite dirty. We haven't had to wash feet before naps since last summer... and by the end of the summer I probably didn't bother. But the first days of sandaled dirt digging are a contrast to our socked, booted, covered up experience of winter and I felt the urge to wash feet. I was thinking about the best place to do this, when I realized that it was Maundy Thursday. Suddenly a regular kind of kid-cleaning took on a deeper meaning. I got to tell them the story of Jesus washing his friends' feet and we talked about caring for our friends and how God isn't afraid to see our stinky feet.

Dunes

The Wrapping Game

One of Nathan's new favorite games is to wrap something up and give it to Bea and squeal when she opens it. Another version is when he and Bea hide while I wrap 2 mystery items up and then they find them and open them. I am getting very skilled at re-using the same wrapping paper many many times!

Backyard Campfire

Reflections on a Christmas Manger

We made a collage out of some Christmas cards and a paper-doll-style barn. After getting started, I realized there was some depth to this art project. I like this piece of art because it reminds me of some important things about the Christmas story.

-The divine comes to our familiar little neighborhoods. This barn and farm animal scene is a pretty common image for children's toys and books. Just as this barn feels familiar and ordinary to N and B, when God came to earth he came to real people's ordinary and familar lives. Kind of feels odd and great at the same time. Kind of like the feeling I get seeing the barn pictures next to the Christmas card pieces.
-Each piece of the picture is open for some interpretation in what it actually is... but the material it is made of is clearly full of meaning. While its a little hard to tell from our collage if there is sky or ground or trees next to the barn, all of the pieces are made out of cards sending love, peace and hope.

Daily Reminders