Easter: The Hope that is Found in His Love

I keep saying Easter is one of my favorite holidays, but the older I get (no doubt it has so much to do with being a mom now - realizing the importance of raising these little hearts with an eternal perspective) it's really become my #1 favorite holiday.  No, it's not because of the bunny or egg hunts and all the other activities, which are most definitely super fun without the stress & expectations of Christmas, or that with Easter comes spring... *Oh how I instantly feel a lift in my spirits when the sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and we're (all 4) riding down the road with our arms up singing "Hands in the air like we don't care!"... 

But no, that's not it.  To me, Easter is the definition of Hope.  Easter is when God's promise was fulfilled.  Just when darkness thought they won, they had been defeated in the biggest way... You know the feeling you get when you get to prove the naysayers wrong?!  That's the victory Christians felt the moment Jesus had risen again and defeated death, proving He indeed was the Messiah, our Savior!


Because of the resurrection:

• You & I can pray knowing God hears our prayers.
• We can live knowing there is life beyond this life.
• You can sacrifice knowing your faithfulness matters
• He proved he was who he said he was... our Lord & Savior.

Explaining it to Little Ones

This can seem pretty difficult to talk to little ones about, talking about death and all, but it shouldn't be... that's not what we're celebrating.  We're celebrating that he conquered all and lived again.  So this is how I easily explain it to The Kraze: Easter reminds us of the day Jesus saved the entire world... and they excitedly ask, "Like a superhero?!", to which I reply, "Jesus is the #1 Superhero!!!"

I leave you with this: 

Alone in my sorrow dead in my sin
Lost without hope with no place to begin
Your love Made a way to let mercy come in
When death was arrested and my life began

Ash was redeemed only beauty remains 
My orphan heart was given a name
My mourning grew quiet my feet rose to dance
When death was arrested and my life began

Oh your grace so free
Washes over me 
You have made me new
Now life begins with you
It's your endless love
Pouring down on us
You have made us new
Now life begins with you

Released from my chains I'm a prisoner no more
My shame was a ransom he faithfully bore
He cancelled my debt and he called me his friend
When death was arrested and my life began

Our savior displayed on a criminal's cross
Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost
But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand
That's when death was arrested and my life began 
That's when death was arrested and my life began 

Oh we're free free
Forever we're free
Come join the song
Of all the redeemed

Yes we're free free
Forever amen
When death was arrested 
and my life began 

    ~ Death was Arrested, North Point Inside Out

Valentine's Day Party with a Purpose: Sharing the Love

I happen to love Valentines Day.  I LOVE love and love the reminder to set time aside to show those we love the most. Of course, it's easy to show our children how much we love them, but are we teaching them how to love others?  There are two things that 3-5 year olds totally understand: 1) Superheros and 2) wanting to feel loved. I'm a sucker for the children in children's hospitals and their parents, and it was easy to explain that there are children in hospitals that have real battles that they bravely fight every day, which makes them REAL Superheroes... and we want them to know they're not alone & they are loved.  We're so thankful to Henri's Bakery for hosting us and their ah-maz-ing treats.  Keep scrolling to find out what they were and see all the love-ly details.

Don't tell anyone... I pulled this off in 4 days... largely in part due to Paperless Post, which is my go-to for beautifully designed, customizable online invitations.  Pretty sure this step (which is pretty crucial - there's no party without guests) took a total of 10 minutes.

To be sure everyone was in the spirit, we started out with fun place settings for each child and of course just a little sugar. 

The good thing about children is that sometimes the simplest things are the best things, so I didn't overthink it with the drinks - the juice boxes were huge crowd pleasers.

Yes, those are candy bracelets holding the napkins!

These shortbread cookies were the perfect treat for the occasion because they're not messy like traditionally having cupcakes & I knew we didn't need sticky fingers for our craft we were about to make.  Did I mention how good they were?! We literally had to go buy an extra dozen.

The only thing I pre-made were the backs of the badges, which you can just print on cardstock, cut out with a 3.5" circle punch, and glue a pin to the top. 

Oh, and I pre-cut the strips of ribbon as well, easy-peasy.

Cupcake liners in order from large to small to keep it easy for the little ones to just go down the line and choose one color at a time.

We have the exclusive download for this version of the Love Never Fails print here!

This is the original print and was given to all the moms who took the time to bring their children to our little get together.  à la Sparke has the free download, along with a couple Valentine cards too!

You might wonder how it went when I told these 10 children (a few not pictured) what we were about to make was for other little boys and girls and not them, that we would have some push back... not a single one. All we heard were lots of questions about these little heroes & how they hoped the children would love what they made for them.

* "Love Never Fails print design: LovedBabyDesigns