Jacob's Ten Commandments Party!

What a blessing to have our home filled with wonderful friends as we celebrate Jacob's seventh birthday! For many years we prayed for friends (even just one!) that shared our values when it came to things like homeschooling and faith, and God has surely answered those prayers. Our home was filled with friends who have become family to us. Our cup surely runneth over!

The boys were all so excited to wear their costumes that Mama made. Jacob was, of course, "Moses". Joshua decided he'd be "Aaron". Joseph was "Joshua" (that's not confusing at all, right?) and James was "Caleb". :) They particularly liked their staffs, but little boys and sticks can tend to be a bit...shall we say...troubly?

Joseph and James enjoying their snacks.

The Golden Calf pinata was hilarious! We thought that thing would never break! It was adorable watching them each have a try. When it finally did break, there were bouncy balls everywhere!

Jacob loved the Mount Sinai cake. And he really loved his name candles on top!

 Actually cutting the cake turned out to be quite a challenge! It was messy, but we made it work. 

A Ten Commandments craft project!

Jacob was so excited that all of the gifts were learning related. Oh, how I love  my serious child, and my wonderful friends who love and appreciate him!

I couldn't have asked for a better gathering. My heart is full beyond measure!

In His Name,

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A Ten Commandments Party

We have had such fun preparing for Jacob's Ten Commandments Birthday Party! He wanted to make sure that the importance of the story was not lost in the fun of celebrating. (I've mentioned he's a serious child, right?) We were so pleased that out of everything he could have chosen as a theme, this is what he wanted more than anything. And so, we set to work creating a party that was loaded with biblical teaching!

We wrapped the porch pillars in blue streamer to represent the two sides of the Red Sea. You can't get to the promised land without going through the Red Sea! 

Exodus 14:21 " And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided."

We decorated the house to represent some of the most notable moments in the story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. We had the pillar of fire and clouds, the burning bush, the tablets of stone, and even Jethro's tent!

Exodus 13:21 "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:"

Exodus 13:21 "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:"

Exodus 3:2 "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."

Deuteronomy 10:4 "And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me."

Numbers 20:11 "And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also."

For the cake we decided to make Mount Sinai. It was ambitious, but I am pleased with how it turned out.

Exodus 34:29 "And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him."

And you can't have a Ten Commandments themed party without a Golden Calf pinata!

Exodus 32:2 "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt"

Jacob really wanted to be sure that everyone knew the story of Moses, so we made note cards with the Bible references for each decoration and menu item.

 

We even made Ten Commandments gift bags! We found these great party favors and craft project at Oriental Trading.  

 

And, we had to have balloons for the birthday boy's chair...SEVEN balloons! 

 

Happy Birthday Jacob! May God bless you and watch over you as you grow into the young man He desires you to be!

With Love, 

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Happy Birthday Jacob!

It's become a tradition to take the birthday boy out to the restaurant of their choice. Daddy suggested T-rex Cafe, and Jacob loved the idea!

This place was amazing with giant moving dinosaurs and awesome themed decor.  Even the menu was dino-themed!

 The boys were in awe!

Jacob was super excited to get a special drink in a dinosaur bone! The boys all chose dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets for their meal!

Talk about a cool dessert...This volcanic treat was as neat to look at as it was yummy to eat!

What an awesome birthday!

Love,

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Party Prep!

 We made Ten Commandments gift bags out of paper bags, a copy of the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone, and yarn.

 My friend Deb and I got together to make costumes for our children. Her mother in law had Bible costumes that she let us borrow, so we traced out a pattern to use. 

We found spray paint that makes the paper look and feel like stone. We used that for the Ten Commandments tablets, and for the rock to cover the water cooler. We also found a beautiful metallic gold spray paint for our golden calf pinata.

Such fun!

Pax Christi,

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The Building of a Mountain

 When making a cake to feed a crowd, you'd better make sure you have a HUGE bowl and plenty of eggs...this cake batter took 12 eggs!

 I searched through all of my cake pans and Pyrex to find the right configuration to build a mountain.

 Ready for the oven!

  

It took lots and lots of frosting to hold this mountain together! Once I had all of the layers stacked. I gently trimmed it to just the right shape. 

 I ever so carefully smoothed it all out...adding a bit more frosting here and there to get the shape just right.

 Ready for the fondant!

 The rolled fondant started out white, so I had to work in the color to get it to look like desert stone.

 After a LOT of kneading, the color was finally just right!

 And now we have Mount Sinai! The fondant was a little too smooth for a mountain, so I borrowed one of the boys' toy trucks and ran it along to rough it up a bit. I rolled and smooshed little bits of leftover fondant to make stones. I used brown sugar around the base to cover the platter for the sand.

I'm quite pleased with the final result!

Pax Christi,

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A Look Back at June...

Now that we've reached this last week of June, I'm looking back at the busy full month behind us! We had lots of "big" days, and fun times, but the most precious memories are usually the little moments that happen on random Tuesdays...

Such as helping a friend with a sewing project...

Or playing with activity bags while Mama makes supper...

Or bulk shopping with the family...

Making a new friend, a millipede named Squiggles...

Napping with Mama...

Playing with play dough...

Organizing canning jars...

Falling asleep mid play...

Going to Mass..

Enjoying a play date with good friends...

Sharing a delicious berry smoothie...

Or playing Bible Trivia with Daddy.

I've become almost obsessive with wanting to take pictures. But, these little moments really mean so much to me. These little moments shape who we are. When I think of life, these are the things that I think of. When I think of family and home, it's these moments that warm my heart.

 

 June has been a special month of watching my baby leave behind the newborn era, and begin to transform into this mobile, chattery, playful fellow. He's growing up before my very eyes!

 I made this table runner as an anniversary gift for friend's of ours. Our family attended their celebration of both their 25th anniversary and their daughter's high school graduation. 

Thank you Father, for the many blessings that June brought with it. I know all good things come from you!

Pax Christi,
 

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