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mara williams
on Jun 18 2013 - 06:00 AM
Hey, manchild, mama says: clean your room, wash the dishes, don't drink and drive.
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Emily Parnell
on Jun 16 2013 - 06:00 AM
Eating fresh, local produce is good for body and soul
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Jim Cosgrove
on Jun 13 2013 - 06:00 AM
I just want to buy some pants. Please, turn down the music.
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- mr. stinky feet - Profile | Pictures | Blog
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Nothing says “He has risen!” like little plastic men armed with automatic weapons.
My wife Jeni was cruising down the aisle of a CVS trying not to get sucked into the overwhelming Easter display when something caught her attention, and she screeched to a halt. It was a plastic egg. Pretty common for Easter, but this was quite uncommon. It was a camouflage-decorated Easter egg full of plastic army men. Being the mother of two girls it took her a second to wrap her head around the fact that a male-type kid might actually like something like this. But the more she thought about it, the more it disturbed her.
Gun-toting soldiers and Easter? What do soldiers and weapons have to do with resurrection or even the renewal of the earth? (Other than that Roman soldiers escorted Jesus to his death.)
I understand that for kids who have parents serving abroad in the military, a camouflage egg or basket might make them feel closer to someone they love and miss. But it’s hard for me to understand how a plastic figure carrying a gun is an appropriate gift for a celebration of renewal, peace, and redemption.
A Jewish friend of mine recently wrote this to me on Facebook: “I'm overwhelmed by all the Easter marketing. Happy to be Jewish when all this nonsense starts....I mean it is a deeply religious holiday. Why do kids 'need' new toys?”
I love Easter. It gives me hope, especially after 40 days in the desert of Lent and the anguish of Holy Week. I love spring for the same reason. And I’m cool with bunnies and eggs and jelly beans.
As with all holidays, my wife and I try to focus on the meaning of the day and keep things simple while honoring traditions. Yes, we’re dying eggs – that’s always a hit. And we’ll have baskets for the girls, including one chocolate bunny each. But, we’ve grown weary of filling our children’s lives with plastic trinkets and loads of sugar, so we’re looking for some other good alternatives for the Easter basket.
Someone has suggested including packets of flower seeds to represent renewal, and the kids will enjoy watering them and watching them grow. Anybody have any other good ideas?
Easter baskets haven't graced our doors for many years now. I always thought they were over rated and very pricey. I was too lazy to make my own. I usually get a small chocolate bunny (operative word: small). One year I bought a family movie that everyone really was excited about, another year bubbles. Something springy. I don't even decorate eggs unless the teenagers initiate it because I hate to boil that many eggs and then what to do with them? I hat to waste them.I am trying to be practical this year and put things in my girls' baskets that they need anyway, like underwear and swimsuits. Maybe something crafty and bubbles too. Yes, they'll still get some candy, but I am so over the little plastic trinkets. I like the flower seeds idea!I like putting things like coloring books or story books, and maybe even something like those little seed starter pots to watch things grow, and colored sidewalk chalk has always been popular around here. I'm not much for the candy, so i find other things to make the day fun.We try to focus on less-plasticy spring gifts-- sidewalk chalk, bubbles, a butterfly house, etc. I'm going to adopt a tradition of my sister's which is to give a plant for the yard to the kids, like their own bush. That might actually help us get some landscaping! Love the blog.My kiddos are older--DD will get a gift card to JoAnn's and DS a gift card for gas,and a chocolate bunny. I once made a basket with Peter Rabbit books, bunny shaped scissors, paint with water book, etc. Miss those days!Ohhhh, paint with water books! I miss those! I like the idea of planting flowers (planting anything, really). My kids are older now (we keep moaning, "The baby is 21..." at my house), so we're way past Easter baskets. I used to put together a basket of candy, a nice treat after giving it up for Lent. We colored eggs with crayons and dyed them, then had them for breakfast on Easter morning. Leftovers made egg salad. Plastic eggs with hard candy or pennies inside were hidden after Easter lunch with family. Cameras are pulled out for the egg hunt afterwards. We stuck with family, food and candy at Easter, no toys. I think we'll start planting something, that's a great idea!Nice blog. I'd probably be one of those people to buy the camo egg with soldiers inside. Bo LOVES playing with soldiers. Probably hard for a mom of girls to understand. He gets them all the time at the dollar store. But you are right, it doesn't have anything to do with Easter... I'm not sure what we are putting in his basket this year. Usually we try to add some kind of outdoor activity thing like a basketball or baseball or some summer clothes. I usually don't put hardly any candy in there. His grandparents buy him lots of chocolate for Easter anyways.I loved this blog. I understand about wanting to find an alternative to the candy and sugar. My father is a diabetic and so every year for easter after church we would go to a tree farm and pick out a baby tree or a beautiful bush and watch it over the years as it grows. It was a reminder to my family (at a religious standpoint) the years that we should be thankful for our beliefs, be thankful for the fact that we get to practice our faith in the US and to be thankful for what our savior has done for us. Thanks for sharing, it was great!We do tend to go a little overboard at Easter but we rarely buy toys when it isn't a 'holiday'. Easter is reserved for outside toys though. This is usually when we get new bikes, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, flowers, etc. Things we can use to enjoy what God has created. Recently I have gotten the grandparents to scale back the baskets filled with candy and replace them w/ season passes to the pool, Deanna Rose, etc.After being in a study of Revelation the last few months, the war eggs don't seem that far off base. I tend to view the Easter "junk" as completely separate from the meaning of Easter. There's room for both, I think. Just like turkey goes with Thanksgiving. You don't have to have the turkey to be thankful, but it's a beloved tradition and helps set the stage for the frame of mind. And I wouldn't miss out on a Dove chocolate rabbit for nuthin'.I'm with you....why do kids need toys and candy to celebrate the risen Lord? No baskets here this year.Thanks for the blog. Jesus--rabbits, really? We just had a service at our church explaining the meaning of The Passover and Communion. Discussing that with my 5- and 7-year-olds was great! We've just tried to minimize the emphasis on stuff. It's the same thing we do at Christmas. God Bless you! By the way, I actually liked playing with toy soldiers as a little girl.
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