Resurrection Rolls (an Easter Tradition)

Last year I discovered Resurrection Rolls per the tip from a friend.  We had made Easter Cookies (which are also a great way to teach about the resurrection of Jesus Christ) but had never heard of Resurrection Rolls.  Guess what… they are even better than the cookies!  And quicker, too.

Before making the rolls you can read John 19 in the Bible to remind everyone what Jesus went through as he was crucified.  However, because most of my kids are still pretty young and unable to sit through a long chapter like that, I just tell them about it and what each ingredient represents. 

You’ll need the following:

• Crescent rolls in a tube (such as Pillsbury) – tomb
• large marshmallows (1 per crescent roll) – Christ himself, purity
• cinnamon/sugar mixture – Spices used to prep his body for burial
• melted butter – embalming oils

Preheat the oven to 350*.  If you have strange phobias like myself, have one of your children open the tube of crescent rolls.  Yes, I’m scared of them….. balloons, too.  Let’s not talk about it. 

Moving on, take marshmallows one at a time and roll them in the melted butter.  Once coated, roll them in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place on large end of a crescent roll.  Roll it up and pinch all sides closed tightly.  There should be no holes or gaps if possible.

Place on cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 12-15 minutes. – The three days.

While it’s baking, read John 20:1-18 

When they are cool enough to eat (but still warm because they’re best that way) open one up and show the kids that Jesus (the marshmallow) is no longer there!  He is risen! 

And now eat because they’re delicious!

 

And on a side note… these pics did not turn out quite the way I had them envisioned in my mind.  I’m going to get this photography thing down if it KILLS me!  ;)  I’ve decided that FOOD-tography is even tougher than people photography. 

Easter Happenings

Our Easter felt so crazy busy this year.  I guess that's just the way it feels with five little ones, even if you have no plans, eh?  Well, we had a few plans but not as many as usual.  Now that my parents are gone and several of Anthony's sisters have moved away, the family gatherings have diminished significantly. 

At any rate, my mom's family had an Easter Egg Hunt at my grandpa's house.  It's tradition.  Only this time, Grandma wasn't there.  It was different for sure.  Last year she was out there with us, sitting in her wheelchair.  I'm not sure that she knew exactly what was going on but just her presence was all that we needed.  She was a special lady to say the least! 

Even without her there physically, we had a great time.  My aunts and cousins went NUTS on the candy filled eggs.  We brought about a dozen play-doh filled eggs.  I figured my cousins would either love me for not adding to the sugar highs the kids were all bound to have or hate me for the mess on the carpets at home.  Hmmmm....

My kids had no shortage of sugar in those buckets of theirs.  And they were just about overflowing.  Everything from Starburst to Sweethearts to Krabby Patties to M&M's were in those eggs.  And many other sugar loaded treats. 

Below are the pics of that event.  We don't do commercial egg hunts.  Call me crazy but I absolutely hate them!  Besides, they don't need any more candy.

(All these pics were taken on Anthony's phone since my camera is still no bueno.  Sorry about the blur and haze in some of them)

Notice B's hair here, then notice further down...

All five of our kids are in front of us, the one you see the most clearly just behind is my cousin's little girl.  Isn't she adorable?

My Aunt visited DisneyWorld last week and brought the kids souveniers.  Doesn't C make a great Mater?  It's his favorite movie ever!  He watches it every. stinkin'. morning!

We like to start the kids off with sugar highs early in life. 

This is just from the egg hunt at Grandpa's house.  (the eggs are empty but each one was about that full)

Time to color the real eggs!  Isn't this every kid's favorite part?

We went very simple this year.

Did anyone else make Easter Story Cookies?  Here's C 'sealing the tomb'.

The finished product, although I think I did it wrong... I started beating the eggs before adding the sugar.  Whoops!

The girls each made a card for the Easter Bunny.  K has been asking lately whether he is real or not.  It breaks my heart!  Did it bother anyone else when their kids stopped believing?  It means the innocent naivity is leaving... sad!  But no worries!!  I got her believing again, probably for the last time **sniff**

See how cute she is?  K wrote a letter to E.B.  She wanted to know what his real name was and told him if he'd like some carrots or boiled eggs to help himself.   

I failed to take a picture of the reply good ol' E.B. left but it went something like this.  "My real name is Easter Bunny (why I didn't think of Peter Cottontail, I'll never understand).  Thank you for your letters.  I took a picture of them so you can keep them."

The loot!  Speaking of loot, we got more from you-know-who.  But that's a post for tomorrow. 

We don't hide the baskets, although I think I want to do that next year.  Do you hide the baskets?  We just hide eggs in the front room and kitchen areas.

B's pile looks like nothing.  He's barely one, he doesn't need anything else.

Ok, this was the year Anthony and I agreed to have very. little. candy!  It was a great plan, until... someone brought a grocery sack full of candy for Easter.  Reese's Pieces Eggs (2 pkgs), Lindt chocolates of all sorts and Idaho spuds (weird for Easter maybe but...)  Ok, great!  Now we don't have to buy the little bit that we would allow.  It's already done.  Mind you, every time I went to the grocery store, I was soooo very tempted by that purple bag of Easter candy.  Cadbury Mini Eggs!  I looove those things so much.  I was very good and never bought them.  They weren't part of the candy that was brought to us but we didn't need them.  Want?  Yes!  Need?  No!  I knew it wouldn't bode well for my eating plan. 
And then... another relative called and said they had a few things for us for Easter.  This was about a week ago.  We feel so loved!!  They brought over a bag filled with Easter goodies.  Colored pencils, crayons, yoyos, and of course more candy.  In just sneaking a peek inside the bag, I was fooled.  I thought there was just a couple things of candy (Kisses, M&M's, a chocolate bunny per kid and a package of Peeps per kid).  I hid the bag and didn't look again until Easter Eve...  and on that night I discovered how fooled I had been.  There was a bag of Williams and Sonoma jelly beans (oh they are good), a package of cinnamon bunnies, chocolate covered marshmallow eggs, two packages of Dove Chocolate Eggs (another hard one for me) and guess what else... two packages of CADBURY MINI EGGS!!  I knew I was in trouble then.  I had tried so very hard to stay away from it. 
But, just before that we got a package from my mom and dad.  We really feel loved!  They had bought dresses for the girls, and outfits for the boys (all pictured above) along with the flip-flops and a few other things.  Among the 'few' other things was the basket you see below.... Filled with more CANDY!  And yummy candy I might add.  Those darn Dark Chocolate Covered Powerberries are delicious!!

What I'm trying to say is, the one year we decide to go less on the candy, we end up with more than we've ever had... EVER!  And we didn't buy a single penny of it!  Is that crazy?  I think yes.  The sugar gods are against us!  I'm sure the scale won't be liking me much this week.  Then to top it all off, someone brought us a bag of those Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in the egg shapes.  Oh man!!!

The pic below doesn't do it justice.  What you don't see is the open candy bags (opened for the mini egg hunt indoors) that the Easter Bunny asked us to share!  We took a small basket over to our neighbors that night but couldn't think of anyone else to share with.  Who needs more candy on Easter?

The girls decorated their flip-flops with some fun flower sticker things.  They didn't stay on long (I keep finding them all over the floor) but they had fun with them anyway.

After all the hoopla with all the goodies, it was time for breakfast.  EASTER PANCAKES!!  Really it's just regular pancakes (wheat for us, of course) dyed all different colors.  The kids thought that was great! 

Then it was time for haircuts before church.


This was B's very first hair cut.  Nothing fancy, just a buzz like the big boys.  It's the easiest and cheapest way to go. 

He thought the whole process was fun.

And now, he's a whole new kid!!  Isn't it amazing that a simple haircut can change a baby's look entirely.  He looks so big to me now. 

Hoola hooping in the yard before church.  They weren't great at it Easter morning but I'm telling you, they can hoola those hoops with the best of 'em now!

Does he have you fooled?  He looks so innocent!

Family pictures, minus mom.  Someone's got to take the picture.  Do you love that C and B are both looking backwards?  What are they looking at? 

That's better!  And in Anthony's defense, he did offer to take one with me in it but my hair was tied in a knot on the top of my head as I was waiting for the straightener to heat up. 

I hope you had a great Easter!  We sure did! 

Another Easter Treat

I had a friend mention on facebook that her family makes Resurrection Rolls to teach about Easter.  Since I had never heard of such a thing, I did a little research and found a recipe.  Now I just need to decide... do I make the cookies or the rolls? 

Ok, I've made up my mind.  WE'LL MAKE BOTH!  Who's with me?

Here's the link to the Resurrection Rolls.

Easter Story Cookies

This is what our family will be making Saturday night before bed.  I thought it would be a great way for the kids to learn about the events of Easter.  They ask me every year why we celebrate it, maybe this will help them remember.

EASTER STORY COOKIES
To be made the evening before Easter...

You need:
1 cup whole pecans or pecan halves
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar

extras:
ziploc baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (IMPORTANT:  Don't wait til you are halfway through the recipe)

Place pecans in baggie and let kids beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.

Explain that Jesus was beaten by the Roman soldiers after He was arrested.  Read John 19:1-3

Have each child smell the vinegar.  Put 1 tsp into mixing bowl.  Tell the children that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.  Read John 19:28-30

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.  Jesus gave His life to give us life.  Read John 10:10-11

Let children taste a tiny bit of salt and add a pinch to the bowl.  Salt represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.  Read Luke 23:27

The ingredients up to this point are not very appetizing.  Add 1 cup sugar and explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus dies because He loves us.  He wants us to know Him.  Read Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16

Beat with a mixer on hight speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff peaks form.  Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those who have repented and whose sins are cleansed through repentance and the Atonement.  Read Isaiah 2:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in broken nuts gently.  Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. 

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.  Read Matthew 27:57-60

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF!  Let each child place a piece of tape on the oven to seal it.  Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.  Matthew 27:65-66

GO TO BED!!  Explain that they may be sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.  Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.  Read John 16:20, 22

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow..  On the first EAster, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb opened and empty.  Read Matthew 28:1-9


So now I want to know, does your family have any Easter traditions?  Spiritual or fun... doesn't matter.  We love trying out new ideas. 

FHE Bust

Anthony and I try really hard to hold Family Home Evening each Monday night.  For the past few months we've been much better about it than we had previously. 

Well, last night, I had a great idea for FHE.  It was going to be the KING of FHE's held thus far.  The kids were going to absolutely looooove it.  I was so excited about it that I even had my mom and sister on Skype, ready to share the excitement.  My dad would have been excited too except that he wasn't home yet.  

Earlier in the day we had made Bunny Buns, a recipe we found in The Friend magazine our church puts out geared towards kids.  The only thing we changed was that we traded 2 cups of the flour for whole wheat flour, because adding wheat to them makes them healthy, right? ;)  They turned out pretty good considering that yeast and I are not friends.  Or maybe it's kneading and I that don't get along.  I haven't decided.  It could, quite possibly, be that that yeast and kneading have formed an alliance against me and they both hate me. 

Anyway, after giving each girl a piece of dough to work with, K and I have decided that yeast and kneading definitely love A.  And they even get along pretty well with H but they've got issues with K and I.  But we won't give up!  Despite our differences, once all the dough was united again, they turned out pretty well. 

I would love to show you the pictures we took except that we didn't take any.  Remember?  My camera is out of commission at the moment.  It's so sad! 

Once Anthony got home from work, it was time to start the party...

You see, I found this idea on a blog that I follow.  Actually, it's the blog of one of my very best friends little sister who was one of my sister's best friends... did that make sense?  Let's try that again.... The younger sister of one of my best friends has a blog...

You get the picture...

Well, she had this idea on her blog that I will link you to very shortly.  I remember making one of these when I was a kid.  I also remember using the string she suggests using.  But I thought, what the heck... I have yarn and we'll just use that!  Ok, either my lack of domestic diva-ness got in the way or yarn just isn't the way to go. 

Here is what it's supposed to look like...

Sooooo cute, right!  Yeah, ours didn't quite turn out like that.  Not even close.  Yarn is definitely too heavy for this project.  About half hour in, the kids weren't excited anymore.  There were tears, sadness, frustration, balloons popping, yarn falling off of the balloons, and much more going on.  And everything and everyone was sticky and gooey.  It was a fiasco!  At that point we decided to call it a day.  We definitely will try making our own baskets again.... NEXT year.  But we'll use the right stuff this time. 

Thanks for the idea, Laura!  I hope ours turn out this great next year when we try again. 

Then, to top it all off, after Anthony and I had just finished our workout (around 12:30 a.m.) little A came out of her room, whining, to let us know that she had just thrown up in her bed.  Let's just say, she was on the top of the bunk bed and she had yacked all. down. the. wall!  Oh man, it was disgusting.  

Sorry, TMI, I know.  

Anthony and I were up until 3:00 cleaning that up and running the washer... twice.  Can't just start it and forget it, remember?  And she's still sick so I'm sure we're only on round one of seven.  Seven people means seven rounds... usually.  Sometimes we get lucky and only the kids get it.  We'll see.

Needless to say, I'd like a redo of that FHE.  Hopefully next week goes better for us.