Category Archives: Family
Hanukkah Bear “Mason Jar” Snow Globes
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Hanukkah Bear “Mason Jar” Snow Globes
Finding Hanukkah decorations can be a bit of a challenge in a small rural town, so why not make your own!! Even if you are in a big city where Hanukkah is well represented, this is just too cute to pass up!
I decided to try my hand at making a Hanukkah themed Mason Jar Snow Globe! These can be used as décor or given as gifts!!
We did this craft for one of our activities during Hanukkah!
Hanukkah Surprise Keepers
Hanukkah Surprise Keepers
Hanukkah (which means dedication) is an eight night celebration about when the Maccabees (a small band of Jews) defeated the Greeks and tore down the pagan idle that was in the temple of YHVH (God). The Jews had to clean the temple and rededicate it before it could be used to worship YHVH again. The legend has it that they only found one days worth of pure oil that they could use to light the menorah. Rather than wait for new oil to be made, they lit the menorah on faith and the one day’s worth of oil lasted eight days!! (You can read the story of Hanukkah HERE) Even if the legend is not true it is quite marvelous that a small band of Jews defeated the Greek army and stood strong against paganism and valiantly stood up for God’s Torah!!
The story of the Maccabees inspire us to want to be strong and courageous like they were, to stand up against things that oppress us. We use this time to rededicate ourselves back to God (1 Corinthians 3:16) So many times in our lives we have things that could be idles pop up. We have to stay vigilant and tear them down as soon as we notice them. Hanukkah is a time we take to really look for the “idles” in our life. Maybe it is money, the computer, our job, our friends. Anything that takes your focus and time away from YHVH can become an idle.
What we do as a family is read the story of Hanukkah and have eight days of introspection so we can identify what “idles” need to be “torn down” so we can be a clean vessel for the Almighty. We rededicate ourselves back to doing Bible things in Bible ways! It seems like a perfect time of year to get refocused since the New Year begins in just a few weeks after Hanukkah!
Along with the spiritual aspect of Hanukkah we like to enjoy this time with our children and enjoy some traditions from our brothers Judah (The Jews) along with making some of our own traditions. Traditions are memories in the making and special memories are important for families. For Hanukkah we try to do something special to do with our kids each night of Hanukkah. It is hard to think of something special to do for eight nights! So I decided to make a list of things we could to do each night. But a list seemed kind of boring to just go down a list, so I decided to get creative!!! I created a new tradition… Hanukkah Surprise Keepers!! The idea is to let the kids open up one box a day each day of Hanukkah and a note inside tells what fun thing we get to do that night! Now you can get as fancy or as simple as you like, have fun with it and use your imagination!!
H.E.A.R.T.S. Veteran Museum of Texas
I was raised by a dad who had served in the Army in the Korean war, naturally I have a real respect for the military, so each Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day I always try to do something with the kids that is military related. I want something to help the kids know that these military holidays have merit and meaning, that they are not a day set aside to barbeque or go shopping at the latest “Veteran’s Day Sale,” like the media portrays them to be. These days were set aside to honor those who were willing to “give all” for the sake of other human beings’ rights and freedoms. It is important to me that my children know that the freedoms and the lifestyle they have, should not be taken for granted because many have fought and died for those freedoms and many countries that our military serve in do not have the same freedoms. It is crucial we teach the next generation the importance of the military and we should honor and respect each and everyone of our men and women who have served.
This year we decided to drive two hours to nearby Huntsville TX and visit the Veteran’s Museum.
Geocaching
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Geocaching
My family loves to geocache!! What? You have never heard of geocaching? Well, it is defined by Geocaching.com as:
Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.
Yeah, so basically we get our GPS, download the coordinates to the “caches,” and go wander around back roads, hiking trails, and forests looking of containers that sometimes hold small trade items and sometimes it just has a log book to sign. We sign the log, trade an item (called swag) with one of equal value (if we choose to) and replace the cache just how we found it, log “found it” (or not) on the Geocaching app on my phone, and head off to the next one… It is a great family activity and it gets you out doing and seeing stuff you normally wouldn’t!!
My First Mammogram Experience
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My First Mammogram Experience
I am not exactly one to go to the doctor for.. well, anything… but when you find that mysterious lump on the “girls” you don’t mess around with that stuff, so off to the doc I went. My doctor checked it out and scheduled me to get an ultrasound. Why not schedule a mammo? Well because it was more under my armpit area instead of where the “vice” couldn’t be clamped down so doc opted for a ultrasound. I thought, “Hey those were cool when I was pregnant, so sure why not!”
Oh Happy Daze 