Easter Traditions – How to Dye Your Own Easter Eggs

Kitchen Fun for Everyone

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
C. S. Lewis
(1898 – 1963)

Dyeing Easter eggs is a beloved family tradition for many!

Eggs contain the promise of new life, just as Easter reminds us of prophecy fulfilled, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Children of all ages (even adults) enjoy creating colorful eggs to celebrate Resurrection Sunday. In our home, we like to dye hard-boiled eggs, as they hold up to handling (particularly by little hands) much better than the blown-out ones.

Here's how to dye your own Easter eggs at home.

 

Hard-Boil Your Easter Eggs.

Place several eggs in a large saucepan. For the best results, use a pan that is large enough to accommodate all of your eggs in one layer on the bottom. Cover the eggs with lukewarm or cool water. (Stop filling once the water level is about an inch above the top of the eggs.)

Bring water to a full boil on the stove. Boil eggs over high heat for 10 minutes before removing pan from heat. Allow the water to cool completely before handling the eggs.

Chill hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Follow these 7 simple steps for dyeing Easter eggs.

1. Prepare Your Work Area. (Clear the decks.)
2. Mix Your Easter Egg Dyes. (Add a little vinegar for best results.)
3. Play With Pretty Colors. (Mix primary colors to make more!)
4. Dip Your Easter Eggs. (A big spoon often works better than those wire loops.)
5. Enjoy Egg-ceptional Dyeing. (It's OK to get a little messy!)
6. Finish Up – Over Easy. (An empty cardboard milk carton is ideal for this!)
7. Dry Your Dyed Eggs. (Let them sit in the fridge until serving.)

Hints from our house: 

• We like to draw on hard-boiled eggs with crayons before dipping them into the dyes. This creates a creative batik-like effect. Sometimes we write words on them. 
• As another option, it's fun to roll just-dipped eggs in a flat shirt box with powdery chalk dust, glitter, or shaped cut-outs from craft hole-punchers. (Ours punch out tiny hearts, stars, or butterflies.)
  
• Or you can give kids small stickers and let them beautify their dried dyed Easter eggs.

Here’s Another Egg-Dyeiug Option:

You can place your food coloring or dye mixtures in little spray bottles, and allow children to mist their eggs with color. This is a super outdoor activity, if weather permits, as it can get a little messy!

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High School Graduation - Ten Basic Skills You Will Need for Adulthood

Getting Ready for Real Life

Looking forward to high school graduation?

As you complete your required credits and courses, you may suspect you are ready for the world. Perhaps you plan to attend a college or university. Maybe you are heading right for a career.

Are you ready? In addition to your high school's graduation requirements, do you possess the basic skills you will need for the next step?

Here are ten basic skills you will need for adult life.

1. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Speak.
2. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Read.
3. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Write.
4. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Type.
5. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Cook.
6. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Do Laundry.
7. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Swim.
8. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Drive.
9. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Use a Checkbook.
10. Before You Graduate: Learn How to Complete a Job Application.

Got the top ten skills? You go, graduate!

A Dozen Days to Easter - Making Resurrection Eggs

Easter is coming! Here's a super family project:

You can share the Easter story with your children, using this fun family idea. Make the Resurrection Eggs kit together or purchase it online. (Be ready to start 12 days before Easter Sunday.

 Here's how to construct your own Resurrection Eggs kit.

Purchase a package of plastic refillable Easter eggs, if you don't already have a stash from previous years. Gather the following items, and look up the corresponding Bible verses together. Print the verses out, and cut them apart into strips. (The following verses are taken from the New International Version. Use whatever Bible version you prefer.)

Constructing the Kit:

Number the eggs (1-12) with a permanent marker or numbered stickers. Fill the eggs with the following items and Scriptures (printed on strips of paper):

1. BREAD (Use a toy loaf of bread, a crouton, or even a cracker.)

Matthew 26:26 - While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

2. COINS (Use real money, toy coins, or foil-wrapped chocolate ones.)

Matthew 26:14-15 - Then one of the Twelve the one called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.

3. PURPLE CLOTH (Use a felt square, a purple handkerchief, or a fabric remnant.)

Mark 15:16-17 - The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.

4. THORNS (Use a sharp branch, grapevines, a spiky pine cone, or real dried thorns.)

Matthew 27:28-29 - They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.

5. WHIP (Use a small length of rope, dental floss, or strong string.)

Mark 15:15 - Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

6. CROSS (Use a little plastic, wooden, or jewelry cross, or make one from toothpicks.)

John 19:16b-18 - So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

7. NAILS (Use 3-4 small nails or tacks.)

John 20:24-25 - Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

8. SIGN (Use an index card or small sheet of paper.)

Luke 23:38 - There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

9. SPONGE (Cut a small piece of kitchen sponge or use a cotton ball.)

Matthew 27:48 - Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.

10. SPEAR (Use a plastic cocktail spear or a toothpick sword.)

John 19:34 - Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.

11. ROCK (Use a small stone.)

Matthew 27:59-60 - Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

12. EMPTY (Leave this egg empty - without contents.)

Matthew 28:5-6 - The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

Sharing the Story

Twelve days before Easter, gather as a family and open the first resurrection kit egg. Pass the enclosed object around, as one family member reads the Scripture verse. Discuss what each item means and how it fits into the Easter story.

Each day, until Easter Sunday, open one more egg together. Children may take turns reading the verses together.

Happy Easter! The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!

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Lost and Found

Lost and Found - Reflections on Adopting a Stray Kitten

We simply had too many animals. There was no question about it.

Between the horses and the dog and the guinea pig and the humans, we really had no more room in our hearts or our home for another creature. Not even a tiny turtle.

We never had a chance.

Then we heard it. It was a tiny mew, almost too faint to be heard, coming from atop a pile of big square hay bales. Looking up, we spied two huge eyes in a tiny lump of fluff, smaller than a tennis ball.

She was all alone.

Before we knew it, my daughters had smuggled the two-week-old kitten into our family home. Day and night, we took turns feeding her with a doll-sized baby bottle. She slurped the feline infant formula fiercely each hour.

Almost immediately, the baby kitten grew quite attached to us, endearing her to us as well.

A teenager’s bedroom became her domain, at least for the first month of so, as we watched her explore and gain strength and grow.

Our veterinarian pronounced the orphan kitty healthy and gave us the go-ahead to wean her to real kitten food. We geared up, with a larger litter box, feed and water dishes and plenty of catnip-enriched kitten toys.

The vet informed us that our little orphaned pet was actually a Maine Coon cat. This explained the odd chirping noises she was making, as she ran around the room. Also, the vet explained that this tiny creature would probably outgrow Garfield someday!

What would the dog do? What would we all do? What would happen to the kitten?

Want to find out? Click here to see "Lost and Found - Reflections on Adopting a Stray Kitten."

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Lipschtick

Lipschtick
(Upon request for Sunday Scribblings.)

Her smile’s stuck,
Just like a clown.
A ruby guck
Is on her frown.

Forensic eyes
Might take a peek,
Then realize
It’s just Clinique.

For scarlet gloss
Has smeared beneath,
And, though she floss,
It’s on her teeth.

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The Finest Friends - How Do You Rate?

The Finest Friends - How Do You Rate?

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

What makes a true friend? Here are a dozen traits, coupled with insightful quotations on the values of friendship.

You may wish to see how you measure up, before you begin rating your friends.

1. Acceptance

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." (Walter Winchell)

2. Authenticity

"The best mirror is an old friend." (George Herbert)

3. Availability

"Friends show their love in times of trouble..." (Euripedes)

4. Compassion

"A sympathetic friend can be quite as dear as a brother." (Homer)

5. Encouragement

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

6. Forgiveness

"The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend." (Abraham Lincoln)

7. Friendliness

"The only way to have a friend is to be one." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

8. Fun

"There can be no Friendship where there is no Freedom." (William Penn)

9. Honesty

"An honest answer is the sign of true friendship." (Proverbs 24:26)

10. Loyalty

"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies." (Aristotle)

11.Personality

"A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked. " (Author unknown)

12. Trustworthiness

"A friend loves at all times." (Proverbs 17:17)

The Value of True Friends

Friendship has many levels. You may have many acquaintances, several familiar folks, and even a fair number of social friends. However, throughout your entire human life, if you have even a handful of true life-long friends, then you are extremely fortunate!

Your friends will influence you towards greatness or destruction. Also, whether you like it or not, people will measure you by the friends you keep.

"When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends." (Old Japanese proverb)


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