Trying Something New

Am I really reading the calendar right??  Could it possibly be March??  I'm just now getting over my sadness for Christmas being over, and now we're getting ready for Easter!  Wow!

It seems the older I get, the faster the year goes.  Gotta love that my daughter is STILL listening to her Christmas cd at night...a girl after her mother's heart, but it doesn't quite feel the same hearing it, knowing it really isn't "time".  

Last week was Ash Wednesday and it just seems like we can never make it to services that day for whatever reason it may be.  But I didn't want to let that start our Lent season and our preparation for Easter on a down note.  So I googled various family activities online, and there were a couple ideas, but nothing that I thought were down on the kids level and could boost their level of excitement, so I decided we'd make our own activities.  That evening, we cut 40 strips of paper and wrote something POSITIVE to do, that we could pull out of the jar everyday after school.  The kids came up with some great ideas...do something for someone in our family without them knowing...bake a treat for a neighbor...go for a family walk...read a Bible story...make cards for the children's hospital...do something helpful...try something new.  

It's hard to come up with 40 ideas, so there were some, like pray, that we put in the jar 2 or 3 times.  They were so excited and Daddy came up with some ideas of his own that we added to the jar at dinner.  So far, they have been the ones telling me "It's time to pick a paper out of the jar!"  This weekend we had two great experiences...we went over with a few other families to help beautify/spruce up the school grounds by picking up trash, trimming trees, cleaning out flowerbeds, etc.  I really want to teach them how important it is to take care of their school and our community, and with us living so close, we're able to do that often, which is great!  Even though we didn't plan it that way, it worked in perfectly with contributing in a positive way.

  Saturday evening, we were able to "try something new".  Spring and Easter is a time for new beginnings, and we thought it would be fun to try a new food.  Wes took it to a whole other level by making the entire evening full of new things.  He prepared us a Mediterranean/Greek/Indian/Lebanese inspired meal, complete with music!  It was awesome! We even brought the globe out and talked about where these various countries were.  Very fun!

Up to the Moon also does a culture night in her home and I loved reading how she incorporates that into their monthly schedule...way cool!

Here's our meal...complete with Greek meatballs, Dolmas, Couscous, homemade Hummus, shishkabobs, Tandoori bread, Tzatziki sauce...IT WAS SO INCREDIBLE!!  And the best part, he made enough for us to have leftovers last night too!!  Can't beat that!  

Full of smiles & fun!

Annie trying a Dolma...

Jack LOVING the couscous...

Sam is like his mama...loves all things bread, even Tandoori bread!

We had a great weekend and our tummies were full!!  Most importantly our hearts were full too!  The kids still had their arguments, but that just comes with the territory.  They already told me this morning they wondered what they would pick out of the jar today...I think this will be our best Lent season ever, and we've created a tradition that I think will  be around for years to come!  

Love the music from Slumdog Millionaire, so thought it went with the theme for today!  Enjoy!