December 11,12

Just a reminder: I am following the ornament suggestions and Scripture references from www.ourjessetree.blogspot.com

December 11:
Ten Commandments Ornament
Exodus 20:1-36, Romans 10:4

Discuss how God gave His people the law, and how we needed Jesus to fulfill the law. Again, emphasizing WHY we needed Jesus to come and what a great miracle and blessing that His coming was!

Lammy made a new friend at Courtney's request. She wrote this letter:

"Dear Lammy: Wold u minde making friends with the kittycat? Love: Courtney. PS the cat's name is Ladasha"

 

 

The next morning, she found Lammy and Ladasha playing a game:

 



 

 

With this note:

 

December 12:

Wheat Ornament

Ruth 1-4

Discuss how Ruth was not a Jew but loved God and was part of the lineage of Christ. This is important because we (at least, my family) are not Jewish but are welcomed by God into His family through Jesus.

 

Courtney decided to sleep with Lammy in her bed so that she could catch him getting into mischeif. Well... she fell asleep... and when she woke up she found a note that said: "I mustache you a question. Read the story of Ruth. What does that have to do with Christmas??"

 

When she looked in the mirror, she discovered that Lammy had drawn a mustache on her!! Sneaky little lamb :) Lammy also got Matthew and even baby Kait! Courtney was amused until she saw Kaitlyn... then she wanted me to wash them all off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 10

Bread Ornament
Exodus 16 and John 6:31-39
We discussed how God provided manna in the desert and how Jesus is the Bread of Life.  This is helpful when talking about how we are sustained by God and His presence, not the stuff we have- especially this time of year, when "What am I getting for Christmas?" is the primary question of our hearts!

Lammy Pajammy finally arrived and stayed through the day! He took selfies on my phone, set his face as my wallpaper, and even posted a few pics to Facebook- silly lamb! The kids were really excited to finally get to see him!

Catching up: December 4-9

(Just a reminder, I am following the ornament suggestions and scripture references from www.ourjessetree.blogspot.com)


Wow, I had no idea it would take me so long to find a minute to blog! I'll try to keep up a little better. My tree is finally finished- here it is:

My husband made the base from Sassafras wood, and I got the tree from Hobby Lobby. The ornaments are flour & water clay. here is a closeup of the 1st 8 ornaments:

The kids have LOVED waking up each day to find out what Lammy has been up to. Here's what the last week or so has looked like for us:


___________________________________________________________________________________
December 4:
Noah's Ark Ornament
Genesis 6:9-9:17 (we read the story of Noah's ark in the Egermeier's Story bible)
Lammy went bowling in the kitchen with my cans!

___________________________________________________________________________________
December 5:
Tent Ornament
Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6
We discussed God's promise to Abraham and how Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise.
Lammy hung toilet paper streamers on the kids' doors!

__________________________________________________________________________________
December 6:

Bundle of Twigs Ornament
Genesis 22:1-14
We talked about Abraham's willingness to obey God, even if it meant giving up his only son- and how God gave His only Son so we could be forgiven of our sins.
Lammy left some new friends under the tree for the kids to take care of!





___________________________________________________________________________________
December 7:
Ladder Ornament

Genesis 27:41-28:22
We discussed Jacob's ladder, and how Jesus is our ladder to God.
Lammy hid all of the stockings, leaving our socks in their places. At least there were prizes inside!!

Courtney left a note for Lammy: (Sorry, it's sideways)

It says, "Dear Lammy, What r u doing? How r u? Why r u so shy? Woold u come to our house? Thanks for the gifts. Thanks for calling Momma. I'm glad you did :) Love: Courtney"

___________________________________________________________________________________
December 8:
Coat of Many Colors Ornament
Genesis 37:1-36, 39:1-47:31

Lammy worte a note back to Courtney: (Again, sorry it's sideways) It says: "Dear Courtney, Thank you for your letter. I like letters. I would like to stay out during the day so you can see me, but I am nervous. I am afraid the baby will chew on my ears! Do you think your mom could put me away after you find me each morning? I like your mom. Maybe I will see you soon! love, Lammy. P.S. Read about Joseph's coat and how God used him to save many people!"

___________________________________________________________________________________
December 9:
Lamb Ornament
Exodus 12:1-30
We discussed the Passover and how it is a picture of how God passes over our sins when He sees Jesus in us.

Lammy covered our Christmas tree in cotton balls, and even made an ornament of himself!

_________________________________________________________________________________

And now for BIG NEWS!

Lammy has FINALLY arrived in the mail, so I can start leaving him out at night. Hooray for 10cent amazon deals! (No joke- he was 10 cents!!)

Thanks for following Lammy on his adventures. To tell you the truth, I'm winging it most nights as I set him up- but I am SO blessed by the conversations I've had with my 6 yr old about Jesus and salvation. At the end of every story, I simply ask, "What does that have to do with Christmas?" and the rest just flows. God is working in her life and in our family. It's been great so far- I can't wait till Christmas, when we talk about Jesus' birth!!

December 3

December 3:
Apple ornament
Scriptures:
Genesis 2 & 3 (I read the synopsis from Egermeier's Story Bible)
Romans 5:12-19

We discussed what sin is and why we needed God to send a Savior. I was really surprised at how easily the kids made the connection between the Garden of Eden and Christmas. We talked about our own sin and how it causes us to be separated from God, and how Jesus was sent to bring us back to Him.

And just LOOK at what Lammy Pajammy did last night!! Guess he liked our Christmas tree (which we decorated last night) so much that he had to make one of his own! The kids loved it. I know Courtney is super excited to play with this when she gets home from school. I spent about $5 on felt and about 20 minutes cutting out shapes. Seriously easy. Seriously fun.

Introducing: Lammy Pajammy! (December 1 & 2)

It's Christmas time!!! Every year, I try my best to help my children (6, 3 & 7mos) understand what Christmas is really all about- each on their own level. I love the ideas floating around on Pinterest and Facebook. I like the Elf on the Shelf thing, but we don't really do much Santa in our house... well, we do, but we are all "in" on the game. We all pretend Santa is real so we don't break our Granna's heart- you know, 'cus she still believes in Santa (*wink, wink*). Say what you will, we all have different traditions and beliefs. I liked the idea of the Elf, but was looking for something just a bit different. (Note: I'm not knocking the Elf... I think he's adorable!)

One thing that caught my attention was the idea of a Jesse Tree. It's basically a journey through Jesus' family tree, leading up to His birth. Through it all, we learn why we need a Savior and why this beautiful miracle is the hope of the world. There are a million ways to do a Jesse Tree, so on this blog I'll share how we are doing ours. Bear with me- this is our first year.

Step one: I have a tree. It's not set up yet, so I'll post a pic as soon as possible. This is just a small tree that we can hang ornaments on. I got ours at Hobby Lobby for $10 on sale (WOOT!).

Step two: I looked and looked online until I finally found this website: Our Jesse Tree. I am using their Scripture references and ornament suggestions, but instead of their literature choices I'm using our Bible and the Egermeier's Story Bible (because it's the one I have- nothing against their choice of literature).

Step 3: I made ornaments out of flour, salt & water. I painted them with paint pens and sprayed them with a high gloss lacquer spray paint.

Step 4: Enter Lammy Pajammy. The kids haven't seen him. He's sneaky. He's lovable. He's a little lamb who wears pajamas. He loves Jesus and leaves us a gift each night (the ornaments), but often gets into trouble while he's here. His job is to put a little fun into the Advent season by getting the kids curious about learning why we celebrate Jesus. So far, after two days, the kids are SUPER excited about it all.


I'll post the first two days here, then I'll update as I can throughout the month so you can keep up with our mischievous little lamb and our journey to learning why Jesus came to save us.

December 1:
Tree Ornament
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Isaiah 11: 1,10

We discussed who Jesse was and what a family tree is so the kids could understand why we call it a "Jesse Tree".

Lammy left us a sweet note... but he ate our cookies and left a mess on the counter!

 

"I'm a very little lamb, my fleece is white as snow.

And there's a special something that I think you ought to know.

Christmas is a special time- it's full of cheer and joy,

When we celebrate the birthday of one special baby boy!

So every night I'll visit, and I'll leave a little prize.

Your job is to find it- it will help you realize

The truth behind the magic, and the Joy and 'Peace on Earth'

is all revealed in Jesus and the story of His birth!

Love, Lammy Pajammy.

P.S. Thanks for the cookies!!"

 

 

December 2

Sun Ornament

Genesis 1 (We read the creation account from the Egermeier's Story Bible)

John 1:1-5

 

We discussed God's creation- that He made everything perfect and that He made each of us.

 

Lammy wrote all over the bathroom mirror! "Lammy wuz here"- "God made you!"- "Jesus <3' s you"- "Sheep are Sweet" and a self portrait. Courtney found it when she went in to brush her hair for school and was SO excited!

 





Those are days 1 & 2. I can't wait for the surprise Lammy is leaving tomorrow- it's going to be EPIC (at least, for my kiddos, anyway!).