Pictures and Words

E and I snuggled up on the couch to draw tonight. We drew some catepillars, and cars and ladders.


Then she wanted to write something.


So I wrote her name, one letter at a time, while she copied it. Then we drew some more cars and a road, and showed daddy her works of art. So relaxed and easy and a seamless part of our day- she's learning to write!

Apologies

Yesterday, when E and I were getting into the car, she was going slow and I was hurrying her up. We got into a little spat because she wanted to buckle her toy into L's seat (L wasn't with us), and I wanted her to just get in her seat. I realized that there wasn't really any reason to rush her, but I was cranky, so I just said "Fine! Whatever!" and got into my seat. She yelled "FINE!" back.

Then she sat down and started buckling herself and said "Mommy, I'm sorry I yelled at you." That was so neat! We have never forced apologies from her. We believe that a true apology can only come from the heart, and that can only happen when a child knows that what they did is wrong from the conviction in their own conscious.

I apologized for yelling too, and then I helped her buckle her toy into the other seat. Once again reminded that it is so much more peaceful to be her partner rather than her adversary.

Clapping

L started clapping today! It's so cute. We haven't shown her at all- it just never crossed my mind- but she's seen us clapping, so she wanted to do it too.

Davidic Dance

Here are some videos of dancing similar to the dance the ASCENT group performed and taught at the Passover Seder. All of the moves have different meanings and tell a story, so it's kind of like interpretive dance in a way. These are dances that have been done since Old Testament times. The Bible often refers to dancing in worship. Most of the dancers are usually women, but it is not uncommon to see men and children dancing as well.

Tabernacle Davidic Dance

Passover Seder

This was the first year that I've ever celebrated Passover. I haven't celebrated Easter for several years because of the Pagan origins. (note the I do not agree with everything at that site, but it sums up the origins).

As I've learned more about the Hebrew roots of my faith, I've felt led to observe the Biblical Holidays. I'm starting by learning about each one as it comes up throughout this year. For Passover, I thought I would start small and not have any yeast during the week, as yeast represents sin. On Thursday, I went to a friend's house and she made homemade pretzels. I ate one, and we talked about bread rising, and it didn't even dawn on my until the drive home that those had yeast! Good thing YHVH is a God of grace, and knows my heart.

On Saturday, I attended a Passover Seder. I learned so much, and had so much fun! They talked about the "chametz" or yeast being representative of sin, and that Passover is a time to examine our lives for things that we need to clean out, just as we clean the yeast out of our homes. Unlike at the first Passover, we now have Yeshua to take our sin.

It is a Passover tradition for the head of the table to wash the hands of each person at the table. When Yeshua celebrated Passover with his disciples, he not only washed their hands, but their feet as well. How amazing to serve a God with a servant's heart!

We drank the first cup, and remembered that the Israelites had to eat the first Passover in a hurry because they were about to leave Egypt. As we drank, we leaned to the left to signify that now we could lean or recline and relax while we celebrated.

At a traditional Passover, 3 peices of matzah (unleavened bread) are served. The matzah is striped and peirced, just as Yeshua was striped and peirced. The three peices represent the Trinity. The middle peice of matzah was then broken in half. One peice was wrapped with spices, just as Yeshua's body was buried with spices.

We ate bitter herbs in rememberance of the bitterness of slavery for the Israelites. We ate parsely in salt water in rememberance of the hyssop branches used to spread the blood on the doorposts to protect the Israelites from death. then we drank the second cup.

Earlier, the peices of matzah that had been wrapped with the spices had been hidden around the room. The children went to find them, and then brought them back to their tables. They could redeem the matzah for coins, just as Yeshua was sold for 30 pieces of silver. We ate the matzah together in rememberance of Yeshua. Just as he rose on the third day, we ate the matzah with the third cup.

The third cup is a picture of the betrothal cup. In ancient times, before a woman was betrothed to be married, her father would pour her soon-to-be husband a cup of wine indicating that the price the man had offered was sufficient. The man would drink the cup, signifing that he also agreed to the price. He would then offer the cup to his prospective bride. She could decline the cup, and refuse to marry him, or she could accept the cup and drink. In drinking the third cup, we were signifying that we have accepted the betrothal to Yeshua. He paid the ultimate price of his life for ours, and we are free to accept or reject his gift. We accepted, and drank to remember.

Does that sound an awful lot like communion? The first communion was during the first Passover. The Israelites had no idea that their celebration was foreshadowing the coming of the Messiah.

We then drank the fourth cup, and sang the hymn from Psalm 136- His Love Endures Forever.

All of this was interspersed with wonderful singing in both Hebrew and English, and some amazing dancing from the ASCENT group. They taught everyone some Davidic dances at the end, and that was FUN! I've been attending the dance group and learning a few dances for a few months now. Hopefully next year, I'll be able to perform with them.

Gates and Elevators

I love watching E make connections between things she has never seen before and things that she's familiar with. Tonight we went on a walk, and at one point the sidewalk ended and there was a red and white striped little fence at the end. E said it looked like the gate that comes down to stop cars from driving over the train tracks when a train is coming. It sure did, and I never would have thought of that! She tried to pull on it, and discovered that it didn't open like a door (in and out) or like a train track gate (up and down). It was just a little piece of fence. Then she looked for a while at the color and felt the texture, and discovered that even though it looks bumpy it was actually smooth.

Then she saw a sign that showed the layout of the empty lots for sale, and they were numbered. The numbers were 1-10, and each number was in white writing inside a black circle. She said it's like an elevator (but she says "alligator" hehe). She asked me to push each button, and say the number so we could go up. So, I pushed all the "buttons" on the sign, and we went up to the top of the building.

Exciting Mail

Today I got two things in the mail I had really been looking forward to. The Gypsy Mama Lalita Wrap and a new yoga DVD. D and I went for a walk with the girls, and E wanted to go in the Ergo. So, D got to be the first to use the Lalita with L. Since the Ergo doesn't fit him, I wore E. He looked so sexy wearing baby on his back! I can't wait to use it tomorrow. I'm not feeling well tonight, so I didn't do much yoga, but I'm looking forward to doing that tomrrow too.

Attached at the Hip

Yesterday we went to an indoor pizza place that had a huge play area with slides, bouncy things, little go carts and toys. The way E was acting, I couldn't help but think of people who have said that if you nurse your kids too long or let them sleep with you or answer their cries that they will be attached at the hip forever. They have said that these kids will never be independent. E still sleeps with us and still nurses. I only leave her with daddy for a few hours a week, and rarely leave her with anyone else. And at 3 years old, she doesn't cry anything "out." She's the poster child for an "attached at the hip" kid.

That's why I had to think of the people who say that kind of thing and laugh. I didn't see her at all for 3 1/2 hours. New place, new kids, and she was GONE the minute we walked in the door. Every 20 minutes or so, I would go find her and see how she was doing. She would barely agknowledge me, before taking off again. About half way through, she came to the table to eat her pizza. She shoved half of it in her mouth as fast as she could and started to run off again. I told her that they didn't want her taking the food in the play area, so she shoved the other half in her mouth, dropped the crust on the plate and RAN.

A Great Finish

A little archery and baby cuteness to finish off a great day!

Obstacle Course

The spot where we went fishing is owned by the YMCA, and they had an obstacle course set up.

More Fishing Day Pictures

Fishing

We went fishing, and had a great time in a beautiful spot! We didn't catch any fish, but it was a good day anyway.

Yummy Peppers

E helped herself to some carrots and left the fridge open. When I went to close it, I found that L had opened the drawer and gotten herself a bell pepper!

Bird Feeders

E was wondering what birds eat, so we talked about seeds and bugs. It gave me the idea to make a bird feeder with her. So we went for a walk to find some pine cones and brought them back home. We spread almond butter one them (way too expensive, but I was out of peanut butter) and then rolled them in bird seed. We hung them up on our back porch and we're waiting for the birds to find them.

We also put some bird seed in a wicker basket on a shelf outside our bedroom window. Today as we got in the car, E saw that the birds had found this feeder! She was very excited.