Easter Bunny Lessons

As I researched more for Easter and how to teach a toddler some of the significance behind this holiday, I came across this post thanks to Focus on the Family.  I especially loved the suggestions for incorporating how the world views Easter (fuzzy, adorable, Easter bunnies!) and using them as an object lesson for how Christ wants to help us act.  So, I came up with some visuals because I like to waste a nap-time and not do dishes...  Feel free to download these, print them off and use them to remind yourself and your children of how to act like "Easter bunnies."

You could attach these to a bag of chocolate bunnies, marshmallow bunnies or place them next to a REAL bunny (!!).  You could also have older children look up and read the Bible verses mentioned or have younger kids look for books and stuffed animals that have bunnies in them to further the illustration.

In looking for cute ways of incorporating God's wisdom into the world's foolishness, I came across THIS BLOG which has dozens of adorable printables.  I'm in love.  I especially liked her cute suggestions for how to redo an entire Easter basket with Scripture references.

I had a little too much fun playing on Canva, as always.  Have you tried to make visuals on here?!

The carrot.

Hope you enjoyed this creative concept from Focus on the Family as much as I did.  Make sure to check out their ideas for more object lessons!

Staying Focused on Easter in a World of Bunnies.

First of all, I blogged every day last week two weeks ago on my teacher blog.  That's unheard of from this blogger-wannabe.  I'd like to say that's the explanation for why I haven't blogged on here all week for a while, but I have not yet fully committed to a set schedule in blogging, so that can also be blamed.  Thanks for hanging around, even when I'm inconsistent, y'all :)

As we get closer and closer to Easter this year, I'm increasingly convicted by how much I just let it creep up on me.  I anticipate Christmas and plan out a whole week of celebrations for birthdays at times, but when it comes to the celebration of my Savior rising from the dead, I just do my normal thing and try to be more grateful?!  How utterly lazy and ridiculous. 

For the past couple of weeks, I have been trying to intentionally plan out ways of reflecting and celebrating Christ's life, death and resurrection.  Last week I really began to (try to) put the plans into action!  My list includes some things for me personally, some activities I want to try to do with Naya, and some things that we will do as a whole family.  Here is what I am shooting for:

1. John Piper's 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die:  My goal is to read 3-4 of these short chapters each night before bed to help me slowly process the multifaceted purpose of Christ dying.  My husband read this aloud to me two years ago, but this year I am hoping to really spend more time in it.  Piper's readings can be pretty deep for some people, but I have really enjoyed reading more of his articles and this particular book includes a lot of direct Scripture quotations (which I really appreciate).

2. Easter Breakfast/Sunday Service: Our home church has a free breakfast before the church service on Easter.  The food is great, the conversations are genuine and enthusiastic and I love seeing Naya interact with our church family.

3. Hidden In My Heart: Volume III A Lullaby Journey Through the Life of Jesus:  This set of CD's was first brought to my attention on Revive Our Hearts when I was listening to a podcast.  With Naya's obsession with music, and our playlists getting annoyingly short and repetitive, I thought this would be a great "Easter gift" for her.  I know I will enjoy listening to it, too!  My favorite part is that this volume is explicitly the words of our Savior set to music.  How lovely.

4. The Gospel of John: My husband reminded me, when I was trying to select a passage to read, that the Gospel of John has the most amount of chapters dedicated to the time between the Last Supper and the Ascension.  That, in addition to the fact that we are in a long series on Mark in church and I am very familiar with Matthew, led me to believe John might guide my mind and heart well in this time. Side note: I'm reading it aloud, and in Spanish.  It's SO CHALLENGING for me this way, and I think it really makes me stop and focus on each word and phrase.  I feel like I'm reading John for the first or second time.

" 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.' By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive." -John 7:38-39

  5. Focus on the Family's Free Resources for Holy Week: This was a direct answer to prayer! I received this email on the exact day that I was asking God how I could start teaching Naya about the meaning behind Easter.  I am hoping this year we will start by making the palm branches, baking bread, foot washing.  I know that the conversations will be pretty much by myself at this point, but I also want to get into the habits (for me AND her) of being intentional. Celebrating things worth celebrating.  Learning by doing.  Experiencing.

6. Extended Family Luncheon: After church we will drive to my parent's house where my mom's family will celebrate by eating together.  I always enjoy being around my cousins, aunts and uncles and other family members.  Now that there are 3 great-grandchildren in the bunch, it is really fun to see them all around each other.

7. "O the Blood" by Kari Jobe: Last Sunday, Marc Eckel did his Splat Experience display during our church service and used this song as his background music.  The words combined with the incredible image brought tears almost instantly.  I have listened to it many times since, and will continue to listen to it throughout the week.

" O what love, no greater love.  Grace, how can it be that in my sin, yes even then He shed His blood for me?!"

*****************

When Naya is a bit older, I hope to spend more time diving into resources such as these: 

1. Resurrection Eggs DIY

2. Age Specific Activities from Focus on the Family

3. Dr. James Dobson's Pinterest Board!

And if you are reading this post thinking "What IS the Spiritual Truth behind Easter?  Why don't we just go on Easter egg hunts and eat chocolate bunnies like everyone else and call it good enough?  What is so special about Easter?"...oh, dear friend, let me show you.  Read this for a good starting point. Then, comment here or reach out to me with questions.  Because the reason behind Easter is the reason for life.  It's everything.

:::17 revelations about my 17 month old:::

Our daughter is 17 months old and I can hardly believe it.  She is going through so many learning growth spurts lately, and I wanted to record all my thoughts and memories in one place:

Here are 17 thoughts, struggles, developments and obsessions of my 17 month old daughter:

1. Diaper changes are changing:  She hates them.  She throws a fit, arches her back and does everything in her power to roll over in the most inconvenient times.  She must have an item in her hands at all times, although she will normally just throw it over the edge of the desk that serves as her changing table.  We have started changing her standing up every once in a while and although it is very tricky for me, she seems to do better.

2. Everything that is not a toy, is a toy:  She can reach everything. She can open everything.  She only just started walking and running often and well.  So, she has hit the inevitable stage of playing with envelopes, tupperware, headbands and dirty laundry rather than toys.  Yesterday the little sneak got a tortilla off my plate OFF THE TABLE. I think she is getting taller and more devious by the day!

3. One nap is rough. We dropped her morning nap just after Christmas, and I think I can say just in the past couple of weeks have we got it "down."  This includes:  getting up a little later (8ish),doing activities in the morning, eating lunch earlier (11ish) and trying to get one dirty diaper changed BEFORE laying her down.  Her one nap really has to be 3 hours if it's going to be a pleasant evening.  So, if said dirty diaper happens to interrupt that, she gets books and stuffed animals in her crib until 3 hours is up.

When mom takes too long on that next bite of lunch...

4. My inconsistency in language teaching hasn't slowed her understanding.  This baby responds to Spanish and English better by the day.  She definitely doesn't hear Spanish as often as I intended.  But even when I "get back on the horse" she knows a few body parts, all her signs, and a few commands in Spanish which is AMAZING to me considering the days that I forget to intentionally practice at all.  Thank you, God, for grace here.

5. Sand is icky.  On our most recent trip to Florida, the ideal day at the beach was cut very short by the whining that ensued the second any body part touched the sand.  She seemed to freeze on the spot and lose her ability to walk/crawl/communicate.  She would FREAK.

6. Snow is fun!  We've really only had one major snowstorm this entire winter and it came this past week.  I bundled her up, but in her curiosity she took off her gloves, touched the snow, smiled, crawled, tried to catch snow flakes.  She enjoyed it for a full...six minutes I'd say.  But still

7.  The baby that stares back at her when she walks by any mirror is really fun to talk to.  I can't stop laughing when I see this.  She waves, she talks, she even tries to give headbands or books to this new friend...and gets very frustrated when that baby can't take them from her. Also, she puts both hands on her newly growing hair and acts like she's fixing it.

8.  Really, the stainless steel trashcan in the kitchen, is pretty much just another mirror.  She KISSES the friend in this "mirror." (GAGGGG)

9. "What did you find?" is a much better way to get said item out of her hands than "NO!"  She will happily bring whatever she has to me and set it on my lap if I ask it in this way.  It's all in the intonation.  Trying to encourage her rather than scold her seriously changes her attitude, even if it's a dangerous object (yikes, crochet hooks) or a highly desired item (hi, mom's phone).

10. She is a bottomless pit. She is getting dangerously close to eating a normal "kids" portion of food.  She wants snacks constantly.  Anything that is on my plate is something she wants to try, even after she has asked to get down.  Then, of course, there are days when she nearly starves herself.  But those are fewer and further between.

11. She learns new words every week.  Most recently, she has used "up!" correctly and something that sounds like "butt" means belly button.  She also regularly says "anks!"for thanks while signing it simultaneously...as a matter of fact, she has started to do that with all her signs at this point, which I love..."ma" (mas), "po" (por favor) and "agua" are the only distinct Spanish sounds she makes when she signs; the rest she tends towards the English word.  BUT STILL!

12. Music cures everything.  Ever since we started attending a weekly music class, this girl is obsessed. She knows the ipod plays music so she points to it at every nap/bed-time while pumping her hands in the air so we get the picture.  She has instruments that she gets out while we listen to CD's.  And she LOVES watching people sing/dance/play instruments at church or in videos.

13. I may have accidentally made her a lefty.  In my selfishness to avoid a mess, I haven't really been giving her many opportunities to feed herself.  I know, I'm slacking here.  So, we've been doing more and more the past couple weeks and I've been accidentally putting the spoon in her left hand, thinking it's her right.  So now she heavily favors her left when eating. Oopsie.

14."Can you put that back?" makes cleaning up sound fun!  She has a really good memory for what toys go where and where she found something.  She even starts to say "bah" for back when I say it, and really does try for the most part to put things away.

15. The word "gentle" gives her an idea of how NOT to hit.  She has been a hitter for a while.  And I (cluelessly) started smacking her hands.  When that didn't work, I squeezed them and said "NO!" loudly.  We tried crib timeouts.  Then someone suggested "gentle hands" and showing her what that means, and that has worked much better.  So now I say, "Are you being gentle?" and she awkwardly pets my face.  It's great.

16. Yoga is interesting.  And mom is a jungle gym, duh.  Self explanatory?

Mom in crow pose.  Baby about to pounce.

Watching #doyouyoga 's 30 day challenge & trying some moves...

17. DADA IS THE BEST PART OF THE DAY.   When that man walks in the door, her world stops.  She nearly screams "DADA!!" and runs to him.  Probably 10+ times throughout the day when she sees a picture of him, she points and says his name.  Momma might as well be chopped liver.  But I love it :)

What is YOUR 17 month old up to, or what you do you remember about when your child was this age?

(09.20.14): FAST Natural Hospital Birth Story

In honor of my daughter's birth story being featured on Birth Without Fear this morning, I thought I would share it here:

I was blessed to have a very easy and healthy pregnancy.  Praise the LORD for that!  It was truly one of my favorite seasons of life:   I felt great for the majority of the time, was able to remain very active, and even got relief from my horrible allergies for many months.

I had taken two pregnancy tests that confirmed my suspicions in January, while my younger sister was living with us.  I remember the initial shock and disbelief and even weeks later looking at the first ultrasound fully expecting them to say "There's no baby in here, you must have imagined it."  Instead, I saw a tiny pea-sized miracle with a flickering little heartbeat.  I was in awe.

I proceeded to do an incredible amount of reading in my pregnancy.  I wanted to know it all:  The good, the bad and the terrifying.  I read helpful books like "Your Best Birth" and I bought "The Pregnancy Journal" to read about Baby's daily development.  I also watched The Business of Being Born (which my husband was NOT quite ready for).  All of that, coupled with talking to one of my best friends about her experience, helped me decide I wanted to give birth without pain medication. There is a birth center located about 45 minutes from us that I thought sounded ideal, but my husband requested a hospital birth for our first experience.  Our perfect compromise was to choose a hospital with a great reputation for natural births and deliver with a midwife instead of a doctor.  We took prenatal classes there as well, which were excellent in getting us both on the same page and prepping us for what was coming.  They educated us on many natural ways of handling pain.  I enjoyed meeting to go over our birth plan and the details I wanted to include:  a birthing ball, a birthing stool & my husband revealing the gender of our Baby to me.

At that first ultrasound, the local OB/GYN originally predicted Baby would arrive in early August. Since in the months leading up to this pregnancy I had been reading up on Natural Family Planning and keeping meticulous records of my cycle, I knew that I was not that far along.  According to my calculations, I thought September 19 would be about 40 weeks.  We discussed, disagreed, and finally after the measurements on the ultrasound, the OB/GYN thought September 23 was most accurate.  I was only 8 weeks along. I decided to try to keep teaching part-time and coaching cross country up until the baby came because I knew that would be best for my overactive mind and I had read staying as active as possible helps labor and delivery as well.

Week 39:  Only two more weeks of teaching!

I taught on Friday (September 19) and then packed up my things in my classroom. I planned to spend the following week at home and let my maternity substitute take over the teaching. I hadn't felt any contractions (just very mild Braxton Hicks) so I was assuming I still had many days before Baby would come.  I had my 40 week appointment with my midwife that afternoon and found out I was 2 centimeters dilated and close to 80% effaced. I was thrilled! 2 weeks earlier I had been 1 centimeter and 70%...so at least I was finally making some more "progress".  My favorite moment leading up to birth was at the 39 week appointment when they did a "bone check."  The midwife who performed that complimented my birthing bones.  She told me I was fortunate that my small body was lined up well and doing exactly what it needed to prepare for birth.  I smiled as she told me I would be an excellent candidate to deliver at the birthing center.  Maybe next time, I thought to myself.  The midwife that saw us at 40 weeks (Betsy) made the comment that dilation and effacing don't necessarily give us an accurate picture of how soon this Baby might come, however.  So we headed back to Warsaw in that surreal state of "it could be any moment now...or we might have to wait two more weeks..."

Saturday, September 20, I woke up early and decided to head to the farmer's market. Maybe this week would be my big opportunity to get some meals in the freezer! Many vendors commented on how I looked like I would "pop any day now," but I just smiled politely as I thought to myself how off they were.  I didn't feel any different.  When I got home, my husband, J, and I planned to go on a nice long walk to enjoy the sunshine and mild temperature.  We mapped out a four mile route and began with a nice big bottle of water.

Within the first mile, we had stopped three or four different times because I was so out of breath and crampy.  Each time J would ask me, "Are you having contractions?" "Are you SURE these aren't contractions?"  "Are you OK, babe?" and I would assure him, "I'm just so tight!  I'm fine.  It's nothing." And then we would continue.  As we neared the mile mark, however, it was clear we needed to turn around:  I was short of breath and all my muscles felt tight no matter how many times I tried to stretch them out.  As we walked in the door (about 4:00pm), we received a text from our friends who had just had their baby boy!  We were so happy for them, and talked about how jealous we were that they were already holding their precious child.

I soon went to the bathroom for the fiftieth time that day, and I noticed that my underwear were pretty wet.  "I think my water might have broken," I said to J, without much confidence.  No contractions.  No pain.  Huh! Maybe I was wrong.  It wasn't the dramatic moment I imagined it being.

After getting changed, I decided I wanted to dust the furniture in the living room (even I should have known this was the nesting instinct!).   I was moving the couches, vacuuming the baseboards, and  periodically stopping to lay on the couch for a few minutes to rest.  I still didn't notice any contractions, but I did start feeling menstrual type cramping in my stomach.  I was tired & out of breath.   I decided the midwife on call might want to know if in fact my water had broken earlier.  I called her, still feeling like I was over-reacting. "Eat some protein, drink lots of water and lay down or take a shower.  See if you are able to time any contractions, " she suggested.  "Call me back in one hour to let me know how you are progressing."  So, after a long shower and some peanut butter toast I tried to nap for a while.  J read quietly on the couch, waiting for me to let him know if and when I needed help.

Pretty quickly I noticed that the "cramps" I had been feeling earlier were getting pretty uncomfortable and making me feel like I had the wind knocked out of me.  I started trying to time them (which was way more complicated than I imagined it being!) and realized they were about 30 seconds long and coming about every 7-8 minutes.  I would nap in between them, and then the next one would wake me up.  I began having to close my eyes, change positions in bed and consciously breathe through them.  I began to get a little nervous that this was the start of labor, and it was already more challenging than I thought to remain calm and in control.  I asked J to get the car ready, so he left quickly for gas.  When it was time to call Beverly back, they were closer to 45 seconds long and coming about every 4 minutes.  She told us to head to the hospital, "but you're not in a big rush" she added.  She said she would meet us there.

I text our mothers, J grabbed our bags, and we sped to the hospital at around 6:20pm.  The weather outside was brewing something special: The trees swayed violently in the wind and the clouds looked dark and ominous.  By the time we were on the road, I was extremely uncomfortable and having to stay in one position was really frustrating.  I propped myself up on pillows, closed my eyes, tossed and turned...but nothing seemed to help.  "Where are we?" I would ask periodically, hoping to hear we were nearing the hospital...what a patient, kind husband I have!  J later noted that he would try to time my contractions based on how labored my breathing got;  he quickly realized we might not have much time!  I don't remember feeling any "breaks" between the heavy cramping at this point; the entire 45 minute car ride felt extremely uncomfortable.  Neither can I remember any normal conversations at that point;  I think I was starting to drift into "the zone" of just listening to my body, periodically freaking out about how tight my stomach was, and then trying to remember to breathe and relax.

As I got out of the car and waddled to the doors, I could tell my contractions were very close together. I distinctly remember being self conscious because I was wearing a shorter sundress, but with my pregnant body it all the sudden felt very revealing as we rushed through a crowd of Amish men outside the hospital entrance.  Oops!  I was so paranoid this whole time that what I considered "strong contractions" were going to be written off as false labor and we would be sent home.  My family consistently talks about my low pain tolerance growing up, and my tendency to be overly dramatic, so I think part of me assumed I was not going to do well with birth.  I squeezed J's arm the whole elevator ride, wondering how in the world will I survive many more hours of labor if I think THIS is bad already.  We made it to the third floor, and the second that I approached the desk a nurse said, "You must be Alison...let's get you weighed and checked in."  She wrote down that we checked in at 7:19pm.

In our room the nurse put monitors on my stomach to check on Baby.  I wanted to remain standing because any pressure on my back or sides made me uncomfortable.  I knelt on the bed, facing the wall.  I stood next to the computer, swaying and bending.  I was extremely annoyed by how one nurse seemed to be taking her time, asking me questions, writing things down, and I felt like HOW CAN ANYONE BE CALM RIGHT NOW?!  I remember after one particularly strong contraction I asked in frustration, "So am I even having contractions, or am I making this worse than what it really is?!"  My soon-to-be favorite nurse, Amy, replied, "Oh, honey, you are definitely having contractions, I don't need to look at the monitor to tell that!" I also remember saying in desperation "I really don't think I can do this without medication.  I think I need something to help."  I looked at my husband, not sure of what I wanted him to say.  I truly thank God that Amy jumped right in replied for him:  "Well, we talked about this in detail, Alison, and you want to do this naturally.  You CAN do it." And that was exactly what I needed to refocus!  One of my most vivid memories of labor is one particular contraction where I was on my hands and knees in the bed and I focused on relaxing my face and my shoulders.  I just tried to imagine my body opening, and then I distinctly felt my pelvis open ever so slightly.  It was so amazing to feel like my body knew how to do this process even though it was unknown to me.

I remembered hearing that getting in the shower relaxed muscles during contractions, so I told Amy I would like to try that to help with the pain.  She asked to check me before I got in, but I was hesitant because I didn't want to hear that I was less than 5.  She smiled and half-laughed, "Honey, you're already an 8 at least!"  YES. I was shocked!  This was when the realization truly hit me: this baby is actually coming. Like, SOON.

I sat on the toilet through one contraction as they got the water ready, and then got in the shower for a few more.  I was so annoyed that the water felt like ice and I didn't want to sit on the chair.  In frustration, I looked down at my stomach and realized all my ab muscles were contracting and pushing...but I wasn't doing anything consciously. I instantly felt like I was going to be sick.  As soon as she heard me say that,  I heard Amy yell to another nurse, "Um...we're going to need the midwife NOW!" and she asked me to start getting out of the shower.  Everything was happening so fast!  With the help of J on one side and Amy on the other I made my way across the hospital room and to the birthing stool.  This is the first time I remember seeing Beverly, our midwife.  I felt my body pushing without me doing anything for the next two or three contractions.  I loved the reminders from Amy to breathe and moan in a lower register to make each sound and push productive.  Just when I felt like I might be tearing or might not be able to do anymore, Beverly told me I could touch my baby's head! J whispered in my ear as he supported my arms behind me, You are so close.  I can see Baby.  You are almost done.  I reached down and felt the soft tiny hairs on top of Baby's head and it gave me the energy to try one more push...I felt instant relief as Baby's head was delivered.  With two more pushes, our Baby entered the world!  As I grabbed the Baby and towels were brought to keep us warm, all of the sudden the detail I thought would be so important (son? daughter?) was the last thing on my mind.  The emotions I felt at that moment were absolutely overwhelming as I felt a slippery little person wiggling in my arms. I remember the midwife asking, "So, is it a girl or boy??"  and I laughed as I realized I didn't even let my husband check.  He told me we had a daughter!  All I could say was "Thank you, God, thank you!  Mommy and Daddy love you so much, Naya (n-EYE-uh) Renee.  God loves you so much.  You are such a miracle." She was quiet, and wide awake just staring up at me.

They asked me to push again for the placenta, and I literally could not have cared less to listen to them anymore.  I just held my baby and closed my eyes and loved my life.  Favorite-nurse-ever Amy even grabbed my cell phone and took the only pictures we have of that moment:  me on the birth stool, J behind me, Naya in my arms.  Exhausted, naked, relieved smiles.

5 minutes after her birth!

Only after I made it back to the bed and got cleaned up did we look at the clock.  It was exactly 8:00pm...41 minutes after our arrival.  I needed just 2 stitches, which Beverly later told me surprised her for it being my first delivery, using the stool and it going so quickly.  J text our parents, grandparents and siblings but didn't reveal the gender of our daughter to my parents, since they really wanted to visit us in the hospital.  They drove nearly 2 hours and arrived just after I nursed her for the first time. Her grandparents walked in the room and J handed a tiny bundle to them as he said, "She's just falling asleep."  Their eyes lit up as they exclaimed "A girl?!"  Later,the nurses weighed and measured her next to my bedside.  She was 6 pounds 14 ounces and 19 inches long.  We praised God, snuggled our daughter and soaked in the best night of our lives.

The rest of the time in the hospital is truly a blur.  I healed quickly and was able to be up on my feet later that evening.  Naya nursed well, but it was very painful for me, so the lactation consultant visited with us and helped me learn a few pointers.  We had visitors the next day, and we left the hospital Monday morning to head back home.  When Betsy came in to say "hi," she could not believe that I had given birth so quickly after seeing her two days before.  She complimented me, encouraged me, and fawned over Naya.  Self conscious as always I commented, "Well, I guess God knew I was a wimp so he gave me a quick labor that I could handle," Beverly kindly interjected and said "Each birth has a certain amount of intensity.  If you were here for hours that intensity would have been stretched over that time.  Instead, you went from nothing to everything in under 4 hours.  Be proud of yourself!"  I still replay those words from her when I feel "less than" others.

I know now that I was likely having contractions all afternoon and just didn't realize it at the time.  I also realize that God was incredibly gracious to me throughout the entire process in allowing it to go quickly and almost exactly as I had asked of Him.  I praise Him daily for that. I genuinely loved my experience at the hospital with the midwives.  I know many people who want to birth without pain medication fear that hospitals will push you into something you don't want, but I just encourage everyone to find a hospital with a good record of supporting natural childbirth.  Naya's natural hospital birth was everything I wanted it to be and we were so comfortable with every decision, suggestion and response during her delivery and our recovery stay.  She continues to amaze us each day and we are so thankful for our pregnancy, delivery and life with her.

Naya Renee with her beaming parents only a few hours after being born.

Naya (one day old) with the midwife that delivered her (Beverly).

All swaddled and ready for visitors!

Recipe: Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

I always love ordering a bowl of French Onion Soup when we go out to eat. The broth feels  so good on my throat and something about that bread and cheese on top is just. delicious.

But I have never felt capable of making it at home because I have none of the adorable, personal sized crocks to use and none of the fancy G cheese that I can't even pronounce.  Until now!

I found this recipe from one of my favorite Slow Cooker blogs ever.  If you haven't heard of her, be prepared to have your world rocked:  she cooked in her slow cooker every day for A YEAR. NO REPEATING. Yeah. So, let's just say her blog is where I go when I feel like I'm out of ideas in the kitchen...she has unique and surprising recipes that are usually super simple and quick to throw together.

Best part:  I learned something new about my Slow Cooker!  It can be used as a giant crock in my oven.  (Some of you are like duh that's why it's called a Crock Pot).  And now I,too, realize that :) Although that is not the way I chose to do this recipe, I loved reading her original post to see that I can do that in the future!

So, here ya go! Try it out when you buy those bags of yellow onions buy-one-get-one-free and then you think how am I going to use all these onions?!  It's even great warmed up throughout the week.

Recipe: French Onion Soup
From: The Home Stretch (www.schemmerhomestretch.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
2 yellow onions, sliced in rings
2 boxes beef broth
1 tablespoon sugar
kosher salt to taste
3 tablespoons butter
garlic powder, oregano, parsley
1 loaf "Everything" Italian Bread from bakery
Sliced Provolone cheese

Directions:
1. Heat crock pot to HIGH while you slice the onions in rings.
2. Separate 3 T of butter and melt in bottom of hot crock pot.
3. Separate onion rings and place them in hot butter, stirring with spoon to coat.
4. Add beef broth, sugar and salt.
5. Turn crock pot to LOW and cook for 6-8 hours or until onions are translucent.
6. Set oven to LOW BROILER option.
7. Slice loaf of bread into 1-2 inch pieces.
8. Melt 3 T of butter in microwave and add dash of garlic powder, oregano & parsley when melted.
9. Brush butter mixture on one side of each piece of bread.
10. Place 1 slice of Provolone cheese on top of each buttered side.
11. Place slices on baking sheet and broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese starts to brown.

To serve, ladle soup into large bowl and place one piece of garlic cheese bread on top of soup.

If serving as left overs, you can remake the bread fresh and add to "old" soup or even just place the bread in the toaster for an easier option!

Crossover Post: Teacher turned Stay at Home Mom

**This post was originally published on my teaching blog "Language Is Influence".**

Maybe you're like me.

Your life is changing directions very quickly.  

You're a young wife and teacher.  You are learning new things in the classroom and you love pouring your energy into getting better and trying new things.

You're looking for your first house and you search online for something that could be part of your future.

And BAM.  One day you find out your pregnant.  And your life priorities and energy and five year plan sorta kinda goes down the toilet...as you knew them, anyway.  Perhaps you go back to work after having your baby.  Or perhaps, like me, that wasn't a sustainable way to live for your family.  So, for now, you are no longer the young wife and teacher who loves to learn new strategies for formative assessments and search for inventive new apps.  Maybe you are now the young wife and mother who goes to baby music classes and says "please don't play with the trashcan/outlets/cough syrup/permanent markers" a lot lately.

Maybe, like me, you still feel like that young teacher.  You still have a heart for teaching and learning and traveling and languages and students.  You're not ready to be DONE but you are choosing something different (and better, for you) for now.  You've been wondering things like How can I keep using and improving my target language? How can I keep a foot in the door in my local school corporation?  How can I keep connected with students I've invested in?  How can I stay involved?

I've been there.  Actually, I'm still wandering around there a little bit.  But, here are five ways I have found to stay connected to Spanish teaching, even while staying at home with my baby.

1. Social Media:  While teaching I created a "teacher account" on Twitter and Instagram.  Even now, I re-tweet articles I have found about traveling, jokes in Spanish or resources for students.  Sometimes I post pictures of my daughter or things I'm doing with Spanish captions to engage students in reading a bit...and often times they will comment me or message me, which keeps those lines of communication open, safely and professionally.  Plus, I participate in Twitter chats where I'm still interacting with teachers and administrators in this area and learning what is going on in their classrooms.

2. Group Tutoring Classes:  I had heard people say before that companies might hire a tutor for their employees to learn Spanish, but I actually had better success within the church.  A local church and organization sends missionaries to the Dominican Republic and they were looking for a teacher to help them learn what they need before going on short term and long term trips.  One night a week, 1-2 hours at a time, and ADULT LEARNERS who are very motivated.  Hello, dream job.

3. International Travel:  I had planned and enrolled students in both my Peru and Spain trips before deciding to stay at home.  So, I kept my word.  Education First (EF) has been amazing at helping me prepare for meetings, communicate with parents and make a near flawless transition.  One meeting a month, a few emails in between, and a bit of organization.  EF does not require you to be a teacher to lead these trips, so if there isn't a program in your area...consider heading it up. I get to promote my tours in the schools, meet new students and travel. to. other. countries.  So.

4. Individual Student Tutoring:  I sent an email to all of my teacher/friends in the Spanish department at two middle schools and the high school, letting them know they could pass my information on to students and parents who needed additional tutoring.  I meet one night a week for an hour at Starbucks and help the student re-learn what they missed.  It's ideal for me (additional income & practice), the teacher (ain't nobody got time for that), and the student (additional reinforcement).

5. College Supervising Teacher:  The Christian college in my area has a strong education program and sends many prospective teachers into the public schools to complete their student teaching.  I get to observe them 5 times throughout the semester, evaluate them, mentor them and then eventually recommend them to pass student teaching if I feel they have earned that. It's entirely on my own schedule and allows me to not only know what is going on in the area public schools, but also keep up to date with what is expected of prospective teachers.

I didn't include the reading, ESL volunteering, conference attending and other ways I have enjoyed practicing Spanish and learning how to improve my teaching.  Obviously, you find options that work best for your family and passions.  I have loved my decision to step back from full time and even part time teaching "officially" and spend this time learning and growing "unofficially" as I soak up every minute possible with my precious daughter.

If you're like me, maybe you can find ways like this that you didn't know existed and enjoy some of your favorite aspects of classroom teaching...without the actual classroom, for now. 

What ways have you stayed involved in your temporary, or long-term, absence from classroom teaching?

Christmas Cards Rethought

I absolutely love decorating the entire side of my fridge with all the Christmas cards that come throughout the entire month of December.  When you're my age, your friends are always having babies so it's fun to see their tiny faces change and grow.  Plus, it progressively gets you into the "Christmas Spirit" as you open another letter and oooohhh and aaahhhh over it and make space next to the rest.

I remember as a child reading Christmas letters that families would type up and mail out every year.  You found out all the major milestones of their family members, and you felt like even if you hadn't been in contact regularly you knew the big events that they had gone through.

But, I'm not a person that can get a Christmas card, letter, picture...or gift for that matter...made, bought, and sent in time for it to be enjoyed.  Calling it a "Christmas Card" in fact, sorta stresses my procrastinating side out.  That's a tight time frame!

So, for the past two years our family has re-thought and re-vamped the idea of traditional Christmas cards ever so slightly.

Presenting: The New Year's Card!

I know, it's not that different.  But, it is to me.
Because...

• You can send it practically anytime within the month of January and not feel too guilty about it.  For me, that is critical because between out of state Christmases and chronically late family pictures, I just need the grace period.  
• Plus, when people place them on their fridge all year...it is STILL 2016.  Whereas, when I'm looking at my yearly Christmas cards in March, I feel like tossing them in the garbage even though I really want the pictures.  
• Websites like Vistaprint and Shutterfly tend to have really great sales on online prints and designs right after the holidays.  I saved 50% this year waiting until the second week of January to order!

Two years ago I included a Bible verse that I wanted to reflect our year.  My hope was that friends and family who need the reminder and encouragement would see Scripture on their fridge throughout the year.  This year,  I did a mini-Christmas letter idea on the back (thanks, VistaPrint).  I included an update about our daughter, my husband and myself. If it feels too Christmas Card-esque on the front, you can flip it over and read about our family....which isn't necessary for every person I know, but for family members we are trying to reach out to again after a long time, I think it is a nice touch.

Also, who doesn't want precious little baby faces on their return address labels that match their design?  Check out the baby cheeks from last year and the TODDLER that appeared out of no where this year!  *jaw drops*

Did you send Christmas cards this year? Why or why not?