Erin Akin Carroll

My heart has been really heavy the last couple of weeks. Things at home are fine, but so many of our friends are struggling with sickness, unemployment, longing to have a baby, and other things that just make my heart hurt for them.

I feel helpless. And maybe even guilty? I want to do what I can and I want to help, but I can’t say, “I know how you feel.”

Sometimes I want to kick myself for being so stinking selfish. For spending so many hours a day worrying about when our house will sell and where we’ll move when it does sell. And then I actually stress about what I’m going to wear on Easter Sunday as if anyone at all cares about what I’m wearing on Easter Sunday. I know Jesus sure doesn’t.

We have friends who have a sick child who is praying that she will be allowed and well enough to attend church on Easter Sunday. I have been literally on my knees praying for this spirited, wonderful, truly faithful girl and her family, who mean so much to us.

But what else can I do? Situations like this make me feel so helpless.

How can my life just go on when things like this are happening in the lives of people we love?

I’m not praying for a tragedy in our lives, but I do know that our Lord uses trials to force us to trust Him. And when we read that He works things together for our good, that is what comes to mind. He uses these opportunities to bring us closer to Him.

I also know that as part of the Body of Christ, that means that I hurt when others members of His body are hurting. And loving on our brothers and sisters in Christ is the best I can do right now.

I hope that you all are enjoying this week leading up to Easter. It’s a shame that this is the only time of the year when we’re intentional about reflecting on what God sacrificed for us, but this is why we are here. And this is what is on my heart right now.

On Sunday night at the performance of the The Story, I was especially touched by the “David” song. Because at the end of the day, I really do want to hear people say that my heart looks like His heart.

I want to have time for people. I want them to know they’re loved and I never want anyone to feel like I’m too wrapped up in my world to pay attention to their needs.

*I wanted to give a great big happy birthday shout out to Jennifer, one of my best friends in the world! I love you, Jen!

We’re having another lazy Spring Break day today.

sweet little love bug

While Hayes napped and Hudson was needing an activity to wind down before his nap, we decided to make Resurrection Rolls.

Hudson’s teacher, Mrs. Julie, gave us this recipe/activity when his class dismissed before Spring Break. I’m so glad she did! It was such a fun little quick activity that we could together. It was very simple and still symbolic of Easter and the resurrection. And the rolls were delicious!

Ingredients

1 (10 oz.) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

8 large marshmallows (I only had the tiny marshmallows on hand, so we improvised)

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons sugar

Symbolism

Let your kids have their own crescent triangle. This represents the tomb.

Then have your child take one marshmallow (or in my case a little cluster of 5-6 marshmallows). This represents the Body of Christ.

The butter, cinnamon and sugar represent the oils and spices that Jesus’ body was anointed with when he was buried.

The marshmallow is laid in the crescent roll representing Jesus’ body being laid in the tomb.

Hudson enjoy just eating the marshmallows during the process!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Lightly grease a baking sheet

3. Separate crescent rolls into individual triangles

4. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar

5. Dip a large marshmallow (or cluster or small marshmallows) into melted butter, then roll in sugar mixture. Place marshmallow into the center of the dough triangle. Carefully wrap the dough around the marshmallow. Pinch the seams together very tightly to seal the marshmallow as it melts. Place on baking sheet. Repeat.

6. Bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

(Make sure you pinch the seams really well or the marshmallow will ooze out of the sides, which is also just fine!)

When you cut into the crescent roll (tomb) you’ll see that the marshmallow is no longer there!

The tomb is empty! Jesus is risen and He is alive!

Happy Monday, friends! It’s Spring Break week here. We returned from our doc band appointment in Charlotte a couple of hours ago, and the boys are napping before we head to the zoo this afternoon.

We had a really great weekend, so I wanted to do a little recap for my memory-keeping purposes.

1. Todd and I had a much-needed date night on Friday night. We went to Bonefish Grill and had yummy Bang Bang Shrimp. I had salmon and he had steak. I always tease him that he loves to go to Bonefish just for the Bang Bang Shrimp, but he doesn’t eat fish. We split their amazing Strawberry Shortcake. It’s made with biscuits, y’all. It’s the best!

After dinner, we walked over to the movie theater so I could finally see The Hunger Games. Oh my goodness! It was so good. Everything was exactly how I had pictured it. I read the books back in the summer of 2010, so some of the details were fuzzy, but it came back to my quickly.

I was always Team Peeta when reading the books, but when they cast Peeta and Gale, I knew it would be tough not to stray to Team Gale. He’s a cute fella! But after watching Peeta, I ended up really liking him. I already can’t wait for the second movie. I wish they’d hurry up!

2. My friends and I hosted a sweet baby girl baby shower for our friend Caroline yesterday. My friends at Sweet Birdie’s Nest did the adorable invitations and the really cute paper products. I love the colors of Caroline’s nursery and using those colors for the shower was really fun. It’s a soft aqua, a pale pink and a grass green. We did a dessert shower because Caroline loves sweets! My friends can make some delicious desserts. And my friend Emily ordered the cutest, yummiest petit fours.  I forgot my camera yesterday, so the only things I have a picture of are the paper poms and the white chocolate pretzel sticks I made the night before the shower. It was so much fun! I love all of these mamas and their babies so much!

3. Did any of y’all watch The Sing Off? Well, Kevin Olusola from the group Pentatonix performed at our church yesterday! He is known as the “beat-boxing cellist.” I highly encourage you to watch some of his You Tube videos. I wanted to pull out my phone yesterday and record him. He is absolutely amazing. One of the most talented individuals I’ve ever seen. And he loves the Lord.

Last night, our church put on a production of The Story. This is an incredible musical event where the songs are written and sung by the characters of the Bible. The music was beautiful and powerful. The vocalists were incredible. The video playing behind them showed the different characters. It was really wonderful. And Kevin Olusola played with the band and beat-boxed!

If you want, you can download all of the music from The Story and hear some of your favorite Christian artists performing the songs. It’s beautiful!

4. We are planning a beach trip with Todd’s parents for the early part of the summer. And we have a very late summer beach trip with my parents planned to go back to the Gulf Coast. (Prettiest beaches in the country!) I’m not usually a fan of the summer, but I’m really excited about it. I love the lazy days and giving my boys a chance to play outside.

5. Thank y’all for the Spring Break ideas. We have some fun days planned and a few fun projects up our sleeve. And I’m just so excited about Easter plans. It’s such a fun time of year!

6. I love a day without makeup! I don’t look great without it. In fact, my eyelashes and eyebrows are white blonde despite the dark roots growing in on top of my head. But I love the way my face feels when I’m not wearing makeup. Especially on a hot day when I can just run and splash water on my face without worrying about messing up my makeup! I just got some fun new skin care stuff from Shasta and I’m loving it!

What are y’all up to? Team Peeta or Team Gale? Any fun summer vacations on the horizon? Do you feel weird not wearing makeup? Care to try it with me this week?

image via The Wheat Field on Etsy

Hudson is on Spring Break starting today. I wish it was a super fun thing and we were going on vacation. But, no vacations this time. It’s just preschool Spring Break.

Hudson actually loves school. He cries every day when we leave his teachers. Every morning when we’re getting dressed, I have to say, “Mrs. Julie needs you to obey Mommy and get dressed.” He adores his teachers.

I’m a little bit worried about this next week or so- just because I want to make sure Hudson doesn’t get bored. When I’m at home with Hayes and Hudson is at school, I focus a lot on Hayes because that’s the only one-on-one time he gets all day. So I need some activities to keep Hudson entertained and engaged. I don’t want him to get bored.

One day we will go to the zoo and another day we’ll go to EdVenture, our local children’s museum. We’re going to dye Easter eggs another day. But I need a few fun projects and crafts or outings we can do every day.

I’m actually tempted to set up a daily schedule for him so he’ll have some things he knows he can look forward to.

So, please, readers and friends. Give me your best ideas! Anything fun you’ve seen on Pinterest? Crafts that aren’t super involved?

We’ll also go to the park and maybe even break out the baby pool on a hot day. But I want to be prepared to have a fun week with fun activities. Any early childhood teachers with some fun ideas?

Happy Spring Break week to any of you who are out this next week, too!