"Hoppy" Easter

     I hope everyone is having a "Hoppy" Easter!  We certainly are.  This year things were a bit different; instead of making the trip back to Louisiana, Monkey and I celebrated at quietly at home.  We attended two Easter egg hunts this weekend, which was fun.  This morning the Easter Bunny left Monkey a basket full of bath time goodies, and she was extremely happy about that.  Then we got all dressed up and went to brunch with two of my favorite Navy wives.  When we got back home we talked about the true meaning of Easter.
   
     Friday we talked about the crucifixion.  I made a small cross out of some scrap wood I had in the garage, and I explained how they were used in ancient Rome to punish people who had done really bad things.  I had her help me nail three nails into the cross and explained how they used to nail people that way when they were bad or had done horrible things.  Then I asked Monkey if Jesus had done anything bad.  She said, "No".  So then I asked, "Why did He die on the cross if He didn't do anything bad?"  She replied, "To get rid of our sins".  Next we talked about sin, about what it is and about how everyone sins.  She wrote the word "sin" on her doodle pad, and I asked her to draw a picture of any particular sin; she chose to draw a picture of her hitting the cat.

     Next I told her to swipe the board clean, and I explained that just like she swiped away the picture, Jesus wiped our sins away on the cross.  She then drew a picture of how that made her feel.  It was a giant smiley face!  Then to sum it all up we learned John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

   

     Today we talked about the resurrection.  I had her help me act out the resurrection with her toys, and consequently her bunny is now named "Jesus".  Oops.  Oh well.  We talked about how the women went the tomb and found it empty and how Jesus conquered death so that we could have eternal life in Heaven.  Then we talked about how Jesus went up to Heaven to prepare a place for us.  It was a good talk, and she seemed to enjoy it.

     Of course, we didn't leave J out of the festivities.  As I mentioned in my last post, J recently received two care packages from us in the same day, and I was horrible and made him wait until Easter to open the second box (his words, not mine).  Well now that he's opened it, I think I'll share it with y'all.

     I lined this one in green construction paper, and aside from the small bit of grass, the eggs, and the bunny you see, I didn't do any decorating.  I left most of the package blank for Monkey to fill in this time.  That was a terrific idea, because I had a test to study for, and it took her quite a while to design the perfect Easter box for Daddy.  My only regret is that I didn't get a picture of her finished product.

     What I lacked in decoration on the outside, I made up for with creativity on the inside.  I had Monkey helps me stuff Easter eggs full of goodies.

     While she stuffed them, I wrote cheesy phrases on the outside of the eggs like, "Hoppy Easter", "SomeBunny loves/misses you, "Hop to see you soon", or "Love, your two chicks".  I am the queen of all things corny, so this was so much fun for me.  

     After stuffing the eggs, we filled our box with a few extra things such as Peeps, a giant Warhead Egg, and a book of devotionals for J.  Overall, I think it was a pretty good substitute for an Easter basket.

We're Going Nuts Without You!

     One thing you have to deal with in deployments is the unpredictability of the mail delivery system.  I sent my husband a care package on March 15, and another one on April 1.  He received both of them today.  O.o  I don't understand that, but I'm just happy they made it there.  I'm going to share the first one with y'all today, but I'm saving the second one for Sunday.  It's his Easter package, so he's not allowed to open it yet.  In the meantime, here's our "Nuts without you" package:

      As usual I started by lining a flat rate box with orange construction paper.  I then cut out letters for the message on the inside of the lids.  I enlisted Monkey's help with the pictures.  I asked her to make crazy faces, and well, this is the result:

   
     I also included some pictures of Monkey all dressed up for her Superhero Party.  Next I added a few acorns and one Planter's nut man to tie it all together.

     Next was the fun part: filling the box.  I had a ton of ideas, some of which are included in the actual box, but then my husband messed up the theme by requesting his favorite pair of combat boots (how dare he!).  I ran out of room, but here's a list of ideas in case you want to make one yourself:

• Planter's nuts 
• Clif Bars
• Peanut butter or Nutella (or both)
• Peanut M&Ms
• Snickers bars
• Homemade granola (for a recipe, click here)
• Peanut butter cookies
• any Chex Mix with nuts (can even be homemade)
• Mr. Goodbars
• Sunflower seeds
• Chocolate-covered sunflower seeds

     If y'all think of anything else, feel free to share.  

   

Happy Mardi Gras, Y'all!

     I have a few minutes to spare before I rush back to studying, so in honor of Mardi Gras I want to share the awesome care package I just sent my husband:

     I had a lot of fun coming up with Louisiana/Mardi Gras items to put in this box. It made me a little homesick, to be honest.  We weren't able to go to any parades this year, but this made up for it a bit.

     First I lined the inside of the box with yellow, green, and purple construction paper like so:

I then decorated each flap with one word of the phrase, "Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler" like so:

     Next I filled the box with some Louisiana signatures, like these Zapp's potato chips, Tabasco sauce,  and Moon Pies like they throw at the parades.

     I also threw in some Clif bars, and some homemade Banana Bread in a jar.  Monkey contributed her own letters and drawings before we threw some Mardi Gras beads on top and shipped it off.  I'm sure J will enjoy his little bit of Mardi Gras in a box.

Valentine in a Box

    I know it's a little early, but since J already got his package, I thought I'd share our Valentine's Day goodies we sent off.  I had a lot of fun putting this one together, and J seemed to enjoy digging into all the fun stuff inside.  First I got one of the large flat-rate boxes from the Post office, and then I decorated the inside by lining the box with some pretty scrapbook paper I found on sale at Walmart, like so:

  Next, along the flaps I wrote, "I have loved you 2,529 days".  I found a cool website that tells you the exact amount of days between one event and the next.  You can check that out here.  All I did was type in the day we started dating and the date I planned for him to see the box (Valentine's Day) and voila!

  Next I cut out little hearts and big hearts from construction paper, and I had Monkey decorate them with glitter glue.  On each one I wrote, "I love you like..." on the front and something super cheesy on the back.  Here's all the cheesiness laid out before I glued them front to back:

    Monkey and I had fun coming up with the different ways we love J.  Some examples were things like, "I love you like Sheldon Cooper loves his spot" or "I love you like Flash loves running", etc.  J's favorite was, "I love you like Gollum loves his precioussss", which reminds me of this awesomeness:

   Next, I began to add different treats with equally corny messages attached:

     Of course, I added the little message hearts that are a Valentine's Day staple.  And finally, what would a care package be without some homemade goodies?  I did a few pink cakes in jars, and I added some icing to the package.  I also found a recipe for plain biscotti, because they ship well, being a hard cookie, and J isn't one for super fancy, complicated recipes.  So I thought these biscotti would be the perfect fit.  Here's the recipe from Allrecipes.com:

Biscotti
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 TBS baking powder
1 TBS anise extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, beat together oil, eggs, sugar, and anise extract until well blended.  Combine flour and baking powder.  Add to egg mixture, stirring to form a dough.  Divide dough in half.  Shape each piece into a roll until it's as long as your baking sheet (or close enough).  Place each onto a cookie sheet.  Press down to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from baking sheet to cool on a wire rack.  Once cooled, slice each into 1/2 inch slices.  Place slices, cut side up back onto baking sheet.  Bake 6-10 minutes more on each side.  They should be slightly toasted.

Enjoy!

     I forgot to get a picture of the entire box once everything was in there all nice a cute, but J sent me one after he dug into it a little.

     I asked J to send a picture of himself with the box, so that Monkey could see he had gotten it.  He obliged with this:

 Monkey said he's guarding his box from anyone else who might want to eat his goodies.  I guess...

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

   Four years ago today I married the man I loved.  Although my love for him then was as fierce as I could manage, it's a mere shadow of what I feel for him today.  After four years of marriage, not only is he the man I love above all others; he's the man I share a life with, a home with, a child with, and a story with.  He's the first one I want to call when I have some funny story to tell.  He's the first one I run to when there's a crisis.  He's the one that can make me smile, make me laugh, and bring me to tears with just a look.  Even when he's far away, he's still the voice in my head encouraging me to be a better me, to go after that goal, and to believe in myself.  I am so grateful for these past four years, and I can't wait to see what the next 50-60 hold.

    In addition to our anniversary today, Monday is J's birthday, so I wanted to make sure I sent off a care package with enough goodies to spoil him for both occasions.  That's why I was so excited when I found Cake in a Jar!

All you need is 4 Pint-sized jars and the cake mix of your choice.  Prepare your cake batter.  Spray the inside of your jars with cooking spray.  Then fill the jars up about 3/4 of the way with the batter.  Place them on a cookie sheet and bake for the time required in your recipe, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes away clean.  (You may have to adjust the time slightly.)  When it's cooked, remove from oven and carefully screw the tops on tightly.  You'll hear them pop as they seal.  Voila!  Cake in a Jar lasts up to 6 months!  I sent 4 jars of red velvet cake to my hubby with a can of store-bought cream cheese icing.  He can either share or hoard them for later :-)

   In his care package I also included a little photo collage Monkey put together:

And I packed a bag of my Homemade Granola in there along with a few essentials such as razors, vitamins, etc.  I haven't heard whether or not he's received it, but considering I sent it at the end of July, here's hoping.