Truth in the Tinsel: Days Six through Ten

Our Truth in the Tinsel experience continues.  Today's post covers days six through ten.  (Not sure what Truth in the Tinsel is all about?  See my previous post here.)

 December 6th:  Mary Visits Elizabeth
The kids listened with great interest as I read to them how Mary went to visit her cousin Elisabeth. They especially liked the part when little baby John leaped up in his mother's womb at the presence of his Savior.  Since Little Sprout was born just last year, they clearly remember her jumping and kicking in my belly; so they understood and delighted in this account of the baby John's reaction to Mary's pregnancy.
I helped the kids cut out these paper dolls representing the pregnant ladies Mary and Elisabeth, and then the kids set about gloriously splashing them with their watercolors.  A preference for greens, blacks, and browns certainly make their dolls look like they were in the throes of morning sickness. :)

 December 7th:  Mary Sings a Song of Worship
We read the story of Mary visiting Elisabeth again today and focused on the beautiful song of praise that Mary sang to God after Elisabeth spoke words of blessing on her baby.  "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.  For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed..."  These are amazing words of peace and joy from a young woman who had to have been nervous and uncertain of her future.
The kids chose various marbles and glued them to an old CD to help remind us of Mary's beautiful song.  Poor Beast stressed about putting his marbles in a perfect circle, which probably got in the way of him really learning from the truth today.  Oh well.

 December 8th:  Jesus is the Rising Sun
We learned that Elisabeth did indeed give birth to a son that they named John.  Zachariah was finally able to speak, and when he did, the words of praise and prophecy just poured forth.  He spoke of how his child would lead the way and direct people to Jesus Christ.  He described Jesus as "the rising sun" that will "shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." 
So we made bright orange paper suns and glued brilliant little sequins all over them as we talked about our Savior, the rising sun.

 December 9th:  Joseph Was a Righteous Man
I shared with the kids about another man in our story, a man named Joseph.  He was described as a just and righteous man.  When he found out about Mary's pregnancy, he felt the right thing to do woul be to put her away, but privately so she would not be shamed.  The kids and I talked about what a godly man he was - determined to do right.  I asked the kids if they could think of other righteous men in their lives and was pleased to hear them immediately answer with 'Daddy, and Grandpa, and Pop." 
The kids designed their clothespin Josephs similar to the Mary clothespin dolls they had made. 

December 10th:  Joseph Has a Dream
It was very interesting to talk to the kids about dreams today.  Gabi in particular was eager to share some dreams she had had recently.  I explained that back in Bible times, sometimes God spoke to his faithful followers in a dream.  Then we read about Joseph's dream in which the angel of the Lord told him not to be afraid to marry Mary. 
The kids chose fabric out of my stash and put together this little pillows to represent Joseph's dream.  While they worked on their pillows, I reminded them that God always reassures us and makes His presence known when we are doing right.

Truth in the Tinsel: Days One through Five

December brings a host of activities and events to our family.  This year, I am trying to be more purposeful in the things we choose to do this holiday season.  I don't want to do things just for the sake of "doing them."  So when I heard of Truth in the Tinsel, I thought, "That might be just the thing to do with the kids this year."  It would be purposeful - the intent being that the kids (and me!) would have some time together every day to focus on Jesus and the amazing gift that came to us at Christmas.  However, I was hesitant to commit to it.  I didn't want to start something and then get so caught up in all the busyness of life that I never finished it. 

Finally, I decided to purchase the book, and we would just have to see how it would go.

 

What's Truth in the Tinsel?  A mom and teacher at Oh Amanda came up with this program to help her kids understand the true meaning of Christmas.  It's a great way to celebrate Advent.  Each day, you read some Scripture verses to your kids.  Then you talk about what happened in those verses and apply it.  The best part is making an ornament together to represent what you just talked about. 

We have had such a great time doing them so far that I am no longer worried about not finishing it. 

 

So, this post is about the first five days of our Truth in the Tinsel adventures.  I will do five posts in all to share what we have learned together on this journey.

 December 1st:  Jesus is the Light of the World

We read together in Isaiah 9 how the people who were in darkness had seen a great light.  David said, "Mom, I don't like it when it's dark.  That's why I need a night light."  This was a great lead-in to our talk - how the whole world was dark with sin and despair.  It needed a Light desperately, and God planned on sending that Light.  The prophet Isaiah predicted His coming. 

The kids enthusiastically glued their tissue paper to the candle silhouettes while we held a discussion on what things can make our hearts dark. 

 December 2nd:  Jesus is Our King

We read in Isaiah 9 again and focused on verses 6-7.  He is our Prince of Peace!  He will establish His kingdom forever.  "How can He be Prince AND King?" Gabi wondered.  And so the conversation began.  We looked at all the names of Jesus - Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, and so on.  He is the only king that can guarantee true peace.

The kids chose their paint colors and intently decorated their crowns with sparkly sequins.  Mikey said that he wanted to be a king when he grew up. 

 December 3rd:  The Angel Gabriel Visits Zachariah

This day, we went to Luke 1 for our reading.  Gabi helped me read the story of how the priest Zachariah was visited by the angel Gabriel.  We talked about how scary it must have been for Zachariah to have an angel appear to him in the temple.  And even though the angel was bringing good news to him, it was easy to understand why Zachariah didn't believe him. 

The offspring glued macaroni and googly eyes to their yogurt lids and chose different yarn hair styles for their Zachariah ornaments.  Their favorite part was attaching the bubble wrap mouth and then popping it, symbolizing how God struck Zachariah dumb for his unbelief. 

 December 4th: Gabriel is God's Messenger

Today, we followed up yesterday's story of Gabriel and Zachariah with Gabriel's visit to another person, Mary.  Gabriel was God's messenger.  We discussed his name, which means "God is my might."  Gabi has the feminine version of his name; she was excited to learn that her name also means "God is my might."  Gabriel willingly carried God's messages to people, whether it be a priest or a young girl. 

The kids looked through my stash of Christmas cards, and each chose one to fold into Gabriel's robe.  With Momma on glue gun duty, we added ribbons, glittery pipe cleaners, and jingle bells to make our angels. 

December 5th:  Mary Listens to Gabriel

We read yesterday's passage in Luke 1:26-38 again.  This time we focused on Mary.  She was a young girl, obviously troubled when she was approached by the angel.  Still, she listened, and although she had questions, she was willing to do what God wanted her to do.  She offered herself as the Lord's handmaiden.

As the kids carefully glued felt dresses and tiny buttons on their clothespin Marys, we talked about how we could be like Mary.  We could be willing to do what God wants, too.  Mikey said that he would pick up his toys, because that's "what God would want." :)



Ornament Exchange

on Friday night, in spite of foul weather threats, I picked up my friend Rachel and drove to the Blueberry House for a Christmas ornament exchange.

There was of course delicious food enticing, cozy candles glowing, hot coffee brewing, and ladies chatting. (and chatting and chatting and chatting!)

Somehow we managed to fit an ornament exchange amidst all the eating and talking.

Our ornament exchange always tends to get a little. . . shall we say, crazy??! We organize it like a Yankee gift exchange, in which we all draw numbers to find out the order of choosing. When each person gets her turn, she can either pick a wrapped ornament or "steal" an already-unwrapped ornament from someone else. An ornament can only be stolen three times before it is "frozen" for the rest of the game.

Naturally, there are always a few coveted ornaments. This year's top ornaments were a Christmas spider (unusual but totally beautiful), an entire nativity set of ornaments, a snowman ornament accompanied by a Starbucks card, and a coffee cup ornament reading "Don't Talk to Me Until I've Had My Coffee. And then, I'll Do the Talking." Unfortunately there are also those ornaments that nobody really wants either. If you happen to be the unlucky one choosing that ornament, you're stuck; because no one is going to steal that ornament from you!

Yeah, so I was one of those people that got a coveted ornament (the Christmas spider) which was immediately stolen from me. My next ornament was one of those "nobody really wants it" ones, and so I was stuck. :(

This is the story of my life, and this year I was not going to settle for the ornament that no one else wanted. I put my negotiating skills to work and managed to make a trade for a much better ornament - a gorgeous and very unique glass chocolate-dipped strawberry! (which I will have to take a picture of and show you all in another post!)

The picture I do have in this post definitely shows how I have learned to exercise my maturity and general "thirtyness" when at a public function. :)

Happy Monday!

A View into the Gallery

It's been difficult to find time to blog lately. Sick kiddies certainly don't help in that arena. And custom orders for The Framed Frog have been taking up a huge chunk of my time. Not that I'm complaining! I started The Framed Frog with the premise that customers would be able to order exactly what they were envisioning in their minds. I wanted them to be able to find the items at The Framed Frog that they would not be able to get anywhere else. There is a certain joy and satisfaction in making something that completely matches the customer's wishes.

So, would you like a peek into my gallery of "What I've Been Up to Lately"?

This is Apple Blossom Cluster in Sepia, custom-made to match a customer's entryway. She actually got two of these paintings as a set. The Apple Blossom Cluster painting is now available in my shop - and can be custom painted in any color palette.

Another customer has this beautiful bench on her front porch decorated with sunflower pillows. She wanted a sign to match her decor that gently reminded guests to remove their shoes before entering the house. I am currently working on another version of this sign that reads "Welcome" for another customer.

This is my favorite fall project so far. Earlier in August, a customer requested their family initial done in an autumn theme to hang in their living room for the fall season. Since then, I've done two more of these letters for other customers and am planning on making one for our home as well. The brightly-colored pumpkins, gourds, and leaves are a lot of fun to paint!

And here is the 2009 Christmas ornament collection from The Framed Frog. These keepsakes are made of paper mache and hand-painted to exactly match your custom needs.

The I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas ornament features whimsical green and pink Christmas trees and the year. The flip side is decorated with retro stars and whatever personalization you want.

This is Baby's First Christmas ornament. Custom match the baby's skin color and hair color to your little one's, and personalize the flip side with the baby's name and sweet polka dots.

The Paisley Fields ornament comes in your color choices and personalization.

TJ and Robbie made their Framed Frog debut on this whimsical blue frame, perfect for a little boy's room.

And the orders for my custom keepsake name trains keep chugging in! The airplanes and stars theme seems to be a popular one. Currently I am working on a set of trains for two sisters in a pink ribbon and roses theme.

And here is my latest wall letter order. The yellow damask pattern was custom-painted on the letters to match the nursing chair in Marlowe's nursery. I absolutely love the aqua and yellow in this nursery - totally unexpected for a girl and totally beautiful.

So I'm just a little busy. Meanwhile, have you entered the Fantastic Froggy Fall Craft Contest over at The Scrappy Frog? You could win some of the things you just saw in that contest!

Or you could do a little Christmas shopping at The Framed Frog...