Easter with the Family {with Divine Mercy Printable!}

We had a lovely Easter weekend, albeit very busy! It was all baskets, lilies, egg hunts, ham with potato salad and family fun! We didn't get to do everything we had planned (e.g. resurrection rolls and coloring eggs will have to happen sometime over the next few weeks! Ooops!) but what we did fit in was wonderful. Here are some of the highlights of our weekend:

Easter baskets!

Luke goin' straight for the chocolate! :) (Smart kid!)

This picture cracks me up. It's totally blurry but I just love Adam's sheer joy over the prospect of chocolate for breakfast!

Megan about to dive into her bunny as well!

The kids had memorized this poem over the past couple of weeks, so they were reciting it and laughing as they devoured their hollow bunnies:

Patience

Chocolate Easter bunny
In a jelly bean nest,
I'm saving you for very last
Because I love you best.
I'll only take a nibble
From the tip of your ear
And one bite from the other side
So that you won't look queer.
Yum, your'e so delicious!
I didn't mean to eat
Your chocolate tail till Tuesday.
Ooops! There go your feet!
I wonder how your back tastes
With all that chocolate hair.
I never thought your tummy
Was only filled with air!
Chocolate Easter bunny
In a jelly bean nest,
I'm saving you for very last
Because I love you best.

-Bobbie Katz

The kids really enjoyed the "family basket" as well. This butterfly finger puppet is really fun to use! The wings look very realistic as they flap!

Egg hunt #1 of 2!

Adam and Megan completely exhausted from not enough sleep but loving every minute of Easter fun! :)

ready for more partying!

More Easter egg hunting...

The boys had a blast making this HUGE block tower with the family!


That about wraps up our weekend! We've also been enjoying our Garden of the Good Shepherd calendar this week. We've been reading lots of stories about sheep, shepards and wolves including:

We also plan to make "popsicle stick sheepfold gates" later this week (no photo since we haven't made them yet! Sorry!) and hopefully wolf paw cookies, thanks to this wonderful idea from Catholic Cuisine:

photo source

We're planning a trip to Old Sturbridge Village next week to visit the newly born lambs! Can't wait for that!


Since Divine Mercy Sunday is fast approaching, I also wanted to share a coloring sheet I made:

Divine Mercy Chaplet Coloring Sheet

I designed this so little ones can color one bead at a time throughout the entire chaplet. It's a nice way to involve kids and keep them focused during prayer time! Maybe they could alternate decades using red and blue? I wanted to post this before holy week so you could start using it on Good Friday if you've been praying the novena, but it just didn't happen. Sorry! But at least I posted it before Divine Mercy Sunday! :) Feel free to print and use as many as you like.

I hope your family has been enjoying the Easter season so far!

shared with:

Catholic Icing

Easter Traditions and Celebrations...

As the Easter season is upon us, I just thought I'd share some of the things we have planned this year!


As way to keep track of the Easter season we're using our 50 Days of Easter Calendar along with our Easter Prayer Jar prayers. These are simple and meaningful ways to involve the whole family without requiring a huge amount of time or preparation (bonus!).

50 Days of Easter Calendar

Easter Family Prayer Jar

We'll also be using Tomie DePaola's Garden of the Good Shepard calendar. It's a really fun and simple way to incorporate the rich symbols of Easter into your 50 days. Waltzing Matilda and Shower of Roses have put together a ton of great posts on ways to use this calendar including themed garden parties, crafts and activities for each day and themed foods. There's even a printable color-your-own version of the calendar for those who cannot purchase it, so be sure to check all of these amazing links out! I'd love to have some "garden parties" myself, but we'll have to keep our celebrations simple this year since we're very busy getting our house ready to sell. But we'll do what we can! :)

We also have our Resurrection set displayed (available through Oriental Trading):

Over the years in several places I've seen the idea of a "family Easter Basket" incorporating traditional Christian symbols of Easter. I've always wanted to make one, but never managed to get one together. This year I managed to assemble a few things I think our family will enjoy--a "starter basket!" Our basket includes:

--plush peacock (traditional Easter symbol)


--butterfly finger puppet (this is really fun to use! It looks very realistic as it's wings flap!)


--Resurrection eggs (I made my own set to use with the book Benjamin's Box)



--Wrist Bells (symbolizing Easter Bells!)
--Easter books ( list of titles here)


--supplies to make our own paschal candle (thanks to Lacy's wonderful idea at Catholic Icing!):

photo courtesy of Catholic Icing

I'd love to add to our basket in future years to incorporate more symbols, but it's a start! :) I plan to use the basket as part of our evening story and prayer time. I thought the little toys would be nice for the kids to use while we read stories!

And nearest (and possibly dearest!) to my heart are Easter crafts and activities! We'll be doing as many as we can possibly fit in! Some of the crafts I have planned so far are:

*Stained Glass Crosses and butterflies

photo source



*Divine Mercy Sundaes
(we did these last year--so much fun!)



*Ascension Cup Craft
(another one we did last year! Simple yet meaningful!)

Easter Story Wreaths:

Another craft we plan to do is this Easter Story Wreath recounting the events of Palm Sunday through Pentecost. If you'd like to make one, too, just click the link above and it'll take you to the printables!

That's about all I've planned so far, but we'll see what other Garden of the Good Shepard activities we can also squeeze in! :)

I'd love to hear all about the traditions and activities your family enjoys! Please feel free to leave a comment sharing the ways your family celebrates!

Wishing you a wonderful 50 days of Easter!

Divine Mercy Sunday

We're celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday this year by making "Divine Mercy Sundaes!" I got this great idea from Lacy over at Catholic Icing (thanks Lacy!). After Mass today we headed to the store to pick up our goodies. I thought I'd share how we made these sweet little treats:

You will need:
--ice cream
--waffle or sugar cones
--whipped cream (the spray can kind)
--maraschino cherries
--red sprinkling sugar or red powdered drink mix (think Kool-Aid!)
--blue Kool-Aid powder (we used Blue-Raspberry Lemonade flavor!) or blue sprinkling sugar

To Make:

1. place a scoop (or 2!) of ice cream in bowl. Add additional toppings if desired.


2.Place cone upside down on top of ice cream (like a party hat!)



3. spray two thin lines on each side of cone (representing the 2 rays of light)



4. Sprinkle red sugar/powder on left "whipped cream ray" and blue sugar/powder on right "whipped cream ray"

**Note: Don't worry if your Kool-Aid powder looks white. It'll turn colorful once it makes contact with the whipped cream!



5. Place cherry on top and enjoy!


This is a great (and delicious!) way to celebrate with the kids!



Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!



"Jesus, I trust in you!"