We had a lot going on this week – not a first birthday party to plan like Amanda (Happy birthday, Asa!!!), but it’s been a busy week.  With me being sick this week and trying to do most of what needed to get done… we didn’t get too much done craft-wise.  But we stepped it up today!  Daddy’s 30th birthday is this weekend, and Elias wanted to make him something special for his big day!

Elias has recently learned the song This Little Light of Mine, and we’ve also been talking about Philippians 2:14-16:  ¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe ¹⁶as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

Not only are we trying to get Elias not to complain or argue, Josh and I have been working on this for ourselves, too.  It’s so easy for me to complain about driving in traffic or doing the laundry or having to think about dinner, and it’s even easier for the boys to pick up my complaining spirit.  But if we do everything without complaining or arguing, we will shine like stars in the universe – blameless and pure!

I decided we’d do Amanda and Lydia’s beautiful stained glass bank craft and use it to create candle holders, to remind us all to be lights unto the world!

*safety note: do not leave candles unattended when lit – and it’s probably best not to light real candles at all when kids are around.

We gathered all the necessary supplies… (am I the only one who is disappointed by the lack of variety available in tissue paper these days?  I went to a mega-store and this was all I found.  Would a craft store had a better selection?  I was expecting to find a huge pack of rainbow colored tissue paper…)

We painted glue all over our clean glass jars…

And then we got busy sticking paper to the jars!  And the results?

One of these things is not like the others! One of these things just isn’t the same!

Can you see that little guy over on the left there?  Here – do you need a closer look?

Elias got a little bit tired of trying to stick the tissue on one piece at a time.  I expected that (see #3 on Amanda’s post), so when he said he wanted to stick all the paper all over it all at the same time, guess what this control-freak of a mom did?  I took a breath and let him do it!  Yay, mom!  He also had a fun time sticking all the paper that wouldn’t stick to the outside of the jar inside of it.

After he declared that he was done and scampered off, I un-stuffed the little jar (fire hazard!) and painted over his creation with a mixture of glue and water as Amanda suggested – which worked out wonderfully!  It flattened down his wonderful little creation and took away some of the overt danger of fire – but it still left a beautiful candle holder that you can tell he made by himself!

Since we’re not playing with fire when the kids are around, I got out some of these handy little battery operated tealights…

… and we all trooped into the hall bathroom to look at our pretty creations!  Even Elias’s clumpy handmade with love one is absolutely beautiful in the dark!

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Happy birthday, my love!  Thank you for being a light in our lives!

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