I thought I'd share a local story about a man named
Abe (Andy's co-worker) who is battling terminal cancer at this moment. Andy just got back from visiting him today and his condition is worsening. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers this Easter weekend.
Also, I saw this idea on another person's blog and thought I'd copy it. I don't know if I'll get around to trying it this year, but I think it's a good one.
Easter Story Eggs
Materials
12 plastic eggs
Egg carton
Sharpie Marker
Piece of palm leaf or similar leaf
Small piece of cloth with perfume on it
Small piece of cereal or bread
A couple of dimes or nickels
Small cross
Thorn or small thorny branch
Piece of burlap
2 nails
Small piece of sponge
A couple of cloves or other whole spice
Small rock
Small piece of linen
Little slips of paper to write Scripture references on
Use the Sharpie to write the numbers 1-12 on the eggs, and then put the eggs in the carton. Inside each egg, place the item and Scripture reference written on a small piece of paper.
Egg #1
Message - Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people waved palm branches.
Passage - Matthew 21 1-11
Item - Piece of palm branch or similar leaf
Egg #2
Message - Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus' feet
Passage - John 12:2-8
Item - Small cloth with perfume on it
Egg #3
Message- Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples
Passage - Matthew 26 17-30
Item - A small piece of cereal or bread
Egg #4
Message - Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver
Passage - Matthew 27:3
Item - 2 dimes or nickels
Egg #5
Message - Jesus carried His own cross
Passage - John 19:17
Item - A small cross
Egg #6
Message - Soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus' head
Passage - John 19:2
Item - A thorn or a piece of a thorny branch
Egg #7
Message - Soldiers parted Jesus' garments and cast lots for His coat
Passage - John 19:23
Item - A scrap of burlap and one of the nails
Egg #8
Message - Jesus was nailed to a cross and pierced in His side
Passage - John 19:18, 37 & John 20:25-29
Item - The other nail
Egg #9
Message - Jesus was given vinegar mixed with gall on a sponge to drink
Passage - Matthew 27:34
Item - A small sponge
Egg #10
Message - Spices were used to prepare Jesus for burial
Passage - John 19:40
Item - The cloves or spices
Egg #11
Message - The stone covering Jesus' tomb was rolled away
Passage - John 20:1
Item - A small rock
Egg #12
Message - All that was found was Jesus' burial linens. He was not there. He has risen!
Passage - John 20:6-7
Item - A scrap of linen-type fabric
Friday, April 3rd - My classroom made rabbit ears that the kids had to trace, cut out and glue. Of course, I had to do all the stapling to get them to fit their heads. If you haven't read my blogs before, yes, they have faces! No, I don't show them due to confidentiality reasons. They are cute kids! 
Saturday, April 4th - It was a bitterly cold day with huge wind gusts. We still made it out to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at St. Mark's Church. We collected our eggs quickly and made it back inside for some other activities like games, crafts and a blow up jumping thing. 
Sunday, April 5th - It's Palm Sunday and I asked Grant to show me his palm. He covered his face with it and wouldn't give me a better picture, so there you go! 
Monday, April 6th - It's one of those crazy Mondays and we can only find two shoes and they don't match. He only owns two pairs and we found one of each. Luckily, we were able to locate one more, so Grant didn't have to go to daycare with mismatched shoes on. 
Tuesday, April 7th - This was the first day that I forgot since December 28th to take a picture for this 365 project. Not bad, huh?! I have a good excuse...Parent-Teacher Conferences this night and yesterday. That kind of consumed me! So, I am using a picture I took a month ago of the nice man named Merl, our custodian. Merl works full-time at Isco and this is his part-time job. I don't know Merl's last name, just that he doesn't spell his name with an "E" at the end. I think very highly of Merl! He never complains about the mess we make and goes the extra mile to clean up our rooms. Thanks Merl!
Today is our 14th wedding anniversary. Wow! It is so hard to believe that fourteen short years have passed us, unless you take into consideration the following:
Wedding party: Tim Claver, Denise Stevenson, Kim Moreland, Andy Schmidt, Dale Broeker, Chad Kassmeier, Andy & Amy Broeker, Todd Vest, Jill Vest, Doug Brown, Cari Brannen and Jai Andrist
Hello World! I wanted to give a big shout out to whoever comes across this blog and visits for a split second or for a minute or two. I know many have come here simply by accident by google searching "spring break to do list", "Twilight...the end" or even someone got here by googling "coffee-mate and dog urine". Who would have known that googling THAT you could get to my blog?! I guess when you talk about anything it can come up in a search. If you are curious, I didn't talk about dog urine and coffee-mate in the same sentence, but I am wondering what the two have in common? How do I know this? Well, I added a live feed about three weeks ago and this is what I've learned....
Sunday, March 29th - Today was a nice quiet Sunday, so the only picture I could think of taking was Andy with the Top Banana Trophy that he made for me. Dorky? You bet! 
Monday, March 30th - This was the first day that I ALMOST forgot to take a picture. Can you believe it? Luckily, I remembered at 10pm, so I took a picture of Grant sleeping with one of his favorite blankets. We have three in case we can't locate one. 
Tuesday, March 31st - I am busy finalizing report cards on the computer and Grant and Madison decide to watch "Kung Fu Panda" for the umpteenth time. 
Wednesday, April 1st - I told the kids that we were going to my classroom to get some projects done. They probably thought it was an April Fool's joke, but it wasn't. I had Tyler cutting tails for horses out of yarn and Madison was in charge of stapling math books together. Tyler has this "how many more?" look on his face. Just remember Tyler, don't marry a Kindergarten teacher or you'll be doing this for years! 
Thursday, April 2nd - Madison had her third soccer game of the season and they did great. Well, they didn't win or score for that matter, but they did a wonderful job on defense. They also had terrific attitudes about the game. This is the year that they are playing older girls, so it's a true learning and growing experience. 
Do you recall the really annoying seagulls from the animated movie "Finding Nemo"? These birds said only one word "mine" every time they found something edible. Their chorus of the word "mine" makes me think of my two year old, Grant. This is his favorite word lately. It was cute the first (maybe) ten times I've heard it, but now it's just irritating like those seagulls. This is what I hear in a typical Grant day....
