She shared the pictures of her handmade ornaments and told me about the devotion book she is using, The Lenten Tree.

I decided to get the book even though we aren’t making any ornaments this year. {Who says you have to make a Lenten tree even if you’re reading The Lenten Tree? The devotions are very nice all by themselves.}

With our new devotions, I decided to mirror Miiko Gibson’s free ebook, Lent Activities for the Family, and create a list of things to do during the upcoming days. A few of these ideas are from her list, but my children came up with their own ideas, too.

1. Make sugar cookies
2. Decorate eggs
3. Hunt eggs
4. Make hot cross buns
5. Attend Passover
6. Gather and enjoy Easter-related books
7. Plant daffodils
8. Pray
9. Make cards to share with friends
10. Clean our house
11. Help a friend clean
12. Go swimming
13. Go on a nature hike
14. Listen to the Twelve Voices of Easter
15. Listen to Handel’s Messiah
16. Make Easter story cookies
17. Decorate bird houses
18. Take flowers to a friend
19. Serve at the church
20. Weed garden beds

As we celebrate spring and resurrection, we will reflect on the blessings we receive and take some time to make a memory or two.

How do you celebrate this season?

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P.S. The Carnival of Homeschooling will be posted here tomorrow. If you have a post you’d like to include, please submit it at Blog Carnival.

I’ve done this before. Choked down the horseradish. Ate the salty herbs. Splashed juice onto my plate. Proclaimed praise to the Lord God of the universe.

The anticipation builds as we pour and pour again. The table is finally spread and we feast with friends. Then the dancing continues.

My little girls giggle with glee as their dance teacher takes their hand. Other women join the train flowing through the tables. A few men gather at the back to kick in unity. My son arm in arm with his father expressing the joy of redemption.

Yes, the joy! How often do I forget the list of chores and accomplishments to just celebrate?

Oh, that each day would be a celebration! I walk in grace. I live in peace. Glory! Hallelujah!

It is easy to see the darkness. It is easy to lose hope, but God conquered the grave. And when he arose this world changed. Love infiltrated the human heart. Individuals awoke to liberty, free to release fear and bitterness.

Yes, I remember the stabs of bondage, but after mourning comes rejoicing.

Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him and because of that every day brings hope. (Hebrews 12: 1-3) Do I walk in that hope? Do I pause to laugh with my children? Do I celebrate today?

This morning the answer is yes. I awake and choose to continue dancing.

We rummage around in boxes, then return to the cold outdoors to dig in the dirt. Our dying stems need to be supported or else they flop and spin.

The sap still tries to run up these green boughs. The flow doesn’t allow a clean break. The sticks tear apart. The shreds of bark are underneath the dirt now. They don’t show, but the brittle end begins.

Life cannot return to these in the jar, but maybe what hangs from the branches will bring life to us.

Printed paper cut and pricked to hang from dying boughs. Ink blotted and colored to remind us of the promise in a story begun ages ago…

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow from out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2)

(Ornaments from A Glorious Coming)

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I promised pictures of our homestead. I haven’t forgotten. My computer didn’t survive our move, so Dylan has been working to restore my hard drive.

My sister offered to host Thanksgiving, so I don’t have to get the pile of paint cans out of the kitchen or prepare a meal that requires actual planning and baking. I do, however, like to take a few moments to teach my children why we celebrate.

So when I saw Frazzled LaShawn post about her plans on Twitter, I begged her to share the links. I know you are more prepared than me, but if you want to add a little something to your well-planned days here are two sites to explore and one craft to make:

• The First Thanksgiving- multi-media stories from Scholastic.com
• You are the Historian- investigate the first Thanksgiving
• Glowbird- only requires a few supplies

And here are a couple things to print from my bookmarks:

• 1st Thanksgiving Book- color, cut, and staple or cut, staple, and color
• Thanks and Giving Tree- capture gratitude on leaves

Because Thanksgiving is still a couple days away, right?

P.S. I did find an advent book. I purchased A Glorious Coming by Ann Voskamp. We will finally make a Jesse Tree this year!

Today a beautiful little girl turns six, so I measure and stir and pour in the quiet to make a cake chosen weeks ago.

Sunshine flipped through a well-worn magazine Grandma found at a yard sale, a whole book of cakes cut from simple shapes. The page with an artist palette was marked not only in the book, but in my memory. I had the same cake as a little girl!

Baked butter and sugar fill my nostrils before cake falls out of the pan to cool. Boxes piled high in every room and the moving truck comes tomorrow, but here in this moment I pause from the busyness to create.

This one expectation is of my own making and I am happy to fulfill it. Packing will wait.

It doesn’t take twenty-one traditions to make a birthday or a holiday special. Those lists tend to grow each year.

One homemade cake will be all the decoration and party we need. It will bring the smiles, imprint a memory, and connect our family for generations.

What is your favorite way to celebrate birthdays? Are you simplifying holiday to do lists this year?