Adoption Creates Families

2012-01-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

Day 8: I love play dates with friends

When my friend Kim and I are out together and people see us holding our youngest ones, we get quite a few stares. I imagine they are wondering why she is wearing my white baby in the Bjorn while I am allowing her black baby to snot all over my shirt. HA!! :)

So far no one has asked for clarification.

daddy's girl

2012-01-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

Day 7 of my LOVE posts has me at this:

I love seeing my husband with his Curly Girly (our nickname for Viv).
Thursday was Donuts with Dad at school.
I had previously told Vivi's teacher that Billy would not be there as it would make him more than 2 hours late to work and we need to save those for when he has a Dr. appt. or something.

When I gave the invitation to Billy he said,
"I'm going. This is something Dad's should do with their kids."I couldn't agree more.

And The Winner Is...

2012-01-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

**UPDATE: If you want to order the reusable envelopes you can put LAURIESBLOG in the coupon code line at checkout for 10% off!**

I had a whopping 46 entries in the Reusable Envelope Giveaway offered from the Etsy shop, SassyMoneyEnvelopes&Such!

I wrote everyone's number on a piece of paper and the kids each drew one, giving me 4 finalists:

Vivi pulled out...Wendy

Jasmine pulled: Tammy

Jayden pulled: Melinda

Isaac pulled: Whitney

Then I put each child's name in the bowl and Isaac pulled out the name of the child who held the winning number:

You can see he is quite disappointed to have not pulled out his own name!! HA!

That means Jayden's #26 is the winner!

WOOHOO!!!
Congratulations to my Facebook buddy!!!
I happen to know that Melinda is a working mom of an almost 9 month old son who would love the chance to be home with him.
Maybe these envelopes will help you towards that goal, friend!
Have fun over at SassyMoneyEnvelopes&Such choosing your winning print.
I will let Marcia know you will be contacting her via Etsy with your address.
Make sure to print out the budget sheets I mentioned in my earlier post to increase your success rate at sticking with it!

Thank you to all who entered, I love to do Giveaways as you long time followers know...so there will be more up for grabs in the very near future.
And a BIG thank you to Marcia for her generous gift!
Please show your support by going over there to purchase a set of Reusable Cash Envelopes for yourself!! We are already budgeting them in as I really am going to need that polka dot set! :)

Jasmine is 10 months!

2012-01-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

Look who is another month older already!
Just TWO months until she turns one.
I cannot believe it.

Jasmine just gets sassier every month and is such a DIVA.
She is a very high need baby.
We adore her and all she is,
but sure enjoy when she is willing to let someone else hold her for a short while.

She loves to stand up on everything now and has a couple walkers we practice with.

She has become more social this month and will smile and "show off" for strangers, something she never did before.

Happy 10 months, Baby Girl!!!

**P.S. The giveaway drawing will happen this afternoon and the winner will post in about 4 hours, so stay tuned!

Money Management

2012-01-26T02:19:00.000-08:00

Day 5 of my LOVE posts brings me to this:
I love the Cash Envelope System.

Oh I have not always loved it. I have had times of resenting the crap out of my raggedy paper envelopes which never seem to have as much cash as I want them to have! But on this day I can say I LOVE our cash envelopes system. With the start of a new year come the two most popular resolutions: to diet and exercise more AND to get your finances in order. We have been doing the envelope system for almost 4 full years now in our household, and it has been incredibly liberating for us. We plan to always live like this...yes it is tight with little flexibility...but sticking to our money diet has brought so much freedom to our finances and most importantly no more worries about how we will pay for this or handle that. This year alone our financial plans include 2 vacations, possibly paying off ALL of our remaining credit card debt, and Billy purchasing a new (used) car. And of course we will continue to pay cash only for birthdays and Christmas.
I have zero anxiety about taking any of this on.
This could have never happened all those years ago when we sold our house and moved into a tight 2 bedroom apartment as a family of four.

But today we stand redeemed by a God who honors good stewardship.
We are living proof of that fact.

I thought on this topic I ought to link to the blog post I wrote on exactly how we budget and spend our money, Budgeting For A Family Of Six.

Check it out.
I hope you find inspiration in our story to take steps towards your own financial freedom.

And because I am an Etsy addict (I browse WAY more than I buy...hence the above mentioned tight budget) AND because ya'll know how much I love gifts: I couldn't resist offering this super fun giveaway for one of you, dear readers!!

Reusable colorful money envelopes made from durable vinyl, tear resistant material, with blank white labels to fill your own categories in, and in so many adorable patterns!!
Check them out here at the Etsy shop:
SassyMoneyEnvelopes & Such

Sweet Marcia is offering one of my lucky readers a set of your choice of six colorful envelopes, that she makes and sells for $30 a set. Isn't that fantastic?
The envelopes also come with metal rings to connect them to one another in an easy portable pack.
I love, love, love this.Thank you, Marcia!!!
Please browse her site and consider purchasing a set of your own. I can attest to the fact that paper envelopes get worn, they tear, and are just plain boring! Imagine how much more motivated you will be to stick to your system if you get to look at these beauties?I wanted to add that Marcia began her Etsy shop in August to raise money to pay for a Mission Trip she will be attending with her church this summer. What a great idea...create a product that will encourage people to act responsibly with their money AND use the revenue to go help share the gospel with others. A win-win endeavor if you ask me!

To enter to win the giveaway, please become a follower of
Adoption Creates Families.

Leave a comment with your favorite budget tip
(you can leave your first name only).

If you share this blog post on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest,
you can come back here and tell me you did to enter twice!

On Friday, one of my children will randomly choose and announce a winner.
Then the winner will have 24 hours to contact me via email with your name, address, and the fabric pattern you would like to receive.

Best of luck and happy budgeting!!

Chairback Mailboxes

2012-01-25T05:23:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite Valentine's Day decor in our home. I bought these off Pottery Barn Kids years ago. Isaac and Vivi have theirs with names but for some reason when I pulled them out to hang up, I discovered that Jayden's does not have his name on it, which means I snatched it up at an actual Pottery Barn Kids store when the website sold out in a week as it does every year. I use these adorable mailboxes to put the Valentines and candy we buy for the kids and those that arrive in the mail awaiting the 14th to be opened. I will tell you though that even though PBK re-issues these every season for $25 (with name)/free shipping, they sell out fast. As you will discover they are already gone from the website, even though I know they were still there as of a week ago. So your best bet in getting one is to find a PBK store, CALL them and have them pull one off the shelf for you...they can often go that fast.
In store, they should be $19.

So Jasmine's will have to wait until next year unless I can get out to the mall by Friday.

They also sell this adorable white envelope chair backer as seen on the left...which is of course, you guessed it- SOLD OUT on the website. If you can sew I found this tutorial to make one similar yourself (on the right) for surely a fraction of the cost.

However, if you really have your heart set on the red mailbox and can't wait until next January 3rd to snag yours off PBK and have zero sewing skills, like myself...then I have GREAT news for you!

I did some hunting and there are talented Etsy sellers who make similar bags with red and gingham and the names...all the cuteness of the PBK bag for a little more money:StitchesAPlenty for $20 with shipping plus 50 cents a letter.

Or this one which is made out of felt not fabric, so decide how you feel about that:
From mommytobeboutique for around $30 with shipping.

And finally there is this super cute option for around $32 with shipping costs: That can either say "Mail" or your child's name according to the seller aLittleFrayed.
(Don't you love these Etsy sewing shop names?! Hilarious!)

So happy shopping or sewing your way to a fun filled Valentine Mailbox Chairbacker!

Monogram Yarn Wreath

2012-01-24T18:24:00.000-08:00

Here is the tutorial on making a yarn wreath.
You could also buy a styrofoam wreath circle and use the same technique!

Yarn wreaths are so easy!!
Just pick your colors of yarn and felt. If you want it to be year round, might I suggest twine and black felt or grey yarn with ivory and blue felt flowers.
Michaels sells these white wooden letters for $3.99...you will want a coupon for that OR the yarn making the entire project under $10 if you already having hanging ribbon.

If not, don't forget to pick up coordinating ribbon too.

It is as easy as hotgluing your yarn strip to the back and beginning to wind it tightly around the letter. TIGHTLY. Pushing together as you go.

Depending on your letter shape, you will have to trouble shoot how to turn the yarn in a way to cover the entire thing, but I will leave that for your creativity!

As you come up the the middle top of your letter, tape your ribbon to the letter center and then just twist your yarn right over about a one inch portion. You will want your tape to be very loose because when you go to tie your bow and hang it, you will need the ribbon to move freely to get it centered just right. (i.e. pulling up the tape under the yarn)

Then once you have completed your letter yarning, it will be time to hot glue your felt flowers in a grouping of your choice.

What felt flowers, you ask?

You may want to purchase 3-4 sheets of each felt color you want, they are cheap and it is nice to have extras in case you mess a bunch up!Cut the felt in squares depending on the size you want your flower to be.
After that, cut the square into a circle, and then spiral cut to the center.
Then beginning at the center you will just wrap your spiral up into the shape of a flower, hot gluing it closed!
Really easy, people!!

Then apply your flowers with hot glue to your letter wreath.

With the extra flowers, you can make a rose ball for decoration!!
Simple hot glue all the roses around a dollar store styrofoam ball.
I placed my rose ball on a silver candlestick on my piano (photos later!)

When you are done, you will have a lovely rose ball and a trendy yarn monogram wreath for your door or home wall.

Sidenote: these babies are currently going for $35-$55 a piece on Etsy.
With these steps and minimal craft items,
you too can make it for way more than half off that cost!!

Have fun crafting for Valentine's Day!

Valentine Ribbon Wreath

2012-01-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

Have ya'll discovered Pinterest yet? I have been getting a lot of ideas there for Valentine's Day and birthday party planning. It is fantastic. Go get a free account!! I don't always have time to read through tutorials, but often just seeing a photo can inspire, which is what set me on the path to creating a Valentine ribbon wreath.

The ribbon wreath tutorial

You will want lots of ribbon in different sizing (priced 50% or more off is the only way to go cause it gets expensive!) I bought seven rolls but really could have used 8 for the pattern...I ran out of the bottom pink and have lots leftover of the others. So, I do not recommend cutting your whole roll right away. About 3/4's of each roll would have been best to not have so much waste. But I have a plan with my scrap pieces which I will get to later.
You could use any ribbon combination for various holidays and events.

I chose a 14 inch wreath (keep the plastic on)

Then I cut all of my ribbon to 6 inches and then in half to create 3 inch strips.

It is helpful to lay them out because you will need to see them all as you put it together.
Then just loop and pin. I began with the floral pins I already had which were not sharp, so I don't recommend it.

So I switched to sewing stick pins...much easier and faster!

Here you can see it filling in.
When you are done, go around and fill in the gaps with more ribbon loops, until it is complete!
I used 200 pins.

I wanted to enjoy its beauty, so I put it on a plate stand on my mantel.
To give you an idea of how big and full it is, here it is IF it were on my door:

But I have this on my front door instead. (Tutorial on this beauty tomorrow!)

Valentine's Day Blogging Here I Come!!

2012-01-22T19:35:00.000-08:00

Beginning today, I am going to blog something about Valentine's Day every day for the next two weeks to commemorate February 14th. I want to give you plenty of time before the love holiday rolls around to do some of this for your own home and family. Many of the posts will be DIY crafts. Other posts will be items you can purchase for your kids or home.
Some posts will just be photos of things I love or things that inspire me.
Tomorrow will be the tutorial on how to do the above wreath that took me 2 days and 7 spools of ribbon to complete!

Tonight,
I leave you with this:

I Heart Valentine's Day

2012-01-20T04:31:00.000-08:00

Okay I know ya'll are thinking, do what? It is mid January!
That's right, only a little over 3 weeks until Valentine's Day...eeek!
I am in the official throws of planning some cute crafts and decor for the month of February.
The above is a treat I plan on doing with my left over candy canes, that I saw on this blog.
Don't you love it?

I really do love Valentine's Day.
Growing up I remember just wishing someone would give me chocolates in a heart shaped box.
(I had the same wish about a chocolate Santa in December and a chocolate bunny come April...see a theme I have had going in my life? ;)
But I do remember anticipating all of those adorable little cards that would arrive in my paper bag at school. To this day I get giddy when the kids come home with their Valentines.

However, I will never admit to snatching the bags right out of their hands and saying "Let Mom see what Valentines we got!!" while pouring them all out on the table.

That wasn't me.

I love Valentines Day because it makes us stop and think about how blessed we are to have positive relationships in our lives. Valentine's Day also makes me stop and reflect upon the great love our God has lavished upon us.
That we even have the ability to love because He first loved us.
It also helps me to reflect on how I can better love those people (and children) God has placed in my life for this season of time.

So I decorate with joy and we celebrate with joy, knowing that the LOVE we have is not because of an earthly romance or the parent/child relationship, or even the affection for a best friend.
It is because of Christ's eternal love for us.

Stay tuned for my decor post hopefully sometime next week which will include a new ribbon wreath, framed printable art, and some special shots of the kids!

Randomness

2012-01-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

Because I have nothing profound to write,

and I didn't want you to miss me for too long! ;)

Jasmine getting some big brother lovin'.
I couldn't resist saying, "she will bite your face!"
(Gloria...that one was for you!)

Jayden loves to receive anything new.
It does not matter what it is.
It is always a big deal to him.
So you can imagine how often he wants to wear his new Animal pajamas.

I needed to get the girls some new winter clothes this past weekend, as they have both suddenly grown out of much of their winter wardrobe.

I don't buy clothing from resale shops, but you can imagine how expensive it can get to outfit four kids...so I have to be quite savvy with my purchases to help stretch the dollar.
My most exciting deal this weekend was to walk into Old Navy Outlet to discover that the entire store was an additional 40% off including clearance items.
Plus, I had printed off a 25% off your total purchase coupon.
So guess what?
I bought the girls 17 items with an initial total of $219.00.

With the discounts, my final price rang up
$100.93.
Vivi got jean shorts for the summer for $4 and the above winter dress and a gingham dress for $7 each, among other things.

It was so so fun!

I am still living off that high!

I scored another major discount for Jasmine.
She has grown out of her 9 month winter pj's so I had to get her a bigger size before her feet busted through in protest. I needed several pairs to replace all the too small ones and you know pajamas are not cheap. I was not looking forward to forking over the money for sleep wear that she will only be in for a couple more months.

So imagine the thrill when I stumbled upon two pack sets in size 12 months at Target.
Originally $16.99 a set.

I bought them for....
drum roll.....

Yes, you saw that right. Four pairs of infant pajamas for $10.16.
SCORE!

Now I might just be able to justify my desire to go back to the mall and purchase the overpriced, but super adorable hot pink and zebra striped swim suits with matching flip flops that I saw for the girls at Osh Kosh. Because they just have to have those for Florida this summer, right? :)
Oh to dream...

And to complete the randomness of this post:

Vivi wanted me to put on her hello kitty nails that she got for Christmas.
They stayed on for about 3 minutes. :)
But it was CUTE while they lasted!

Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Dallas

2012-01-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

We went into Dallas to attend the parade today. We stood on the street as a couple of the only white people in a crowd of thousands. We got lots of stares from all the little kids around us but we smiled at them, chatted it up, and had fun!!

This street filled completely up.
Billy was packed in like a sardine and I was thankful the kids and I were secure in our chairs!

Superheros! We saw an African American Batman, Green Lantern,
Captain America, and two Super Women!
Jayden and Vivi loved it!!!

The marching bands were very fun!

I Have A Dream

2012-01-15T01:54:00.000-08:00

"I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls
will be holding hands with little white boys and girls,
as sisters and brothers...

Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children...

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
~Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
March on Washington, 1963

Billy

2012-01-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

A friend told me today that something I said about my husband made her think, and also made her go tell her husband how much she appreciates him.
I thought it sounded like the making of a blogpost!

I don't talk about Billy on here near as much as I could. But that is mainly because as Real Simple magazine pointed out in this article on FB etiquette, nobody wants to read about somebody going on and on about how much they love their husband. Even if you think its sweet, it would get old. And it may come across as though you are bragging about your relationship. As one friend pointed out, people who have to talk about how fantastic their husband is all the time...may not actually have a fantastic husband afterall!

But you see, readers...I DO have a fantastic husband.
So why need to talk about it, eh?
Why not save the brown nosing for Father's Day?
Well...that is because of the afore mentioned conversation with my friend. She and I were discussing the fact that our husbands work so hard to provide for our families. We agreed that we have to be cautious about saying things like "we don't have the money to do those things." or "I wish I could buy this or do that, but my husband wouldn't want to spend the money." It comes across as though you somehow wish your husband could do more for the family.

That what he does do is not enough.

My husband works 2 jobs and gets paid to write and edit on the side.
There is not anything more he could do.
He is gone every week day, works 3 nights a week until 9:00, and Saturday afternoons. We don't see a whole lot of Daddy around here. And sometimes it gets me down and makes me sad.
But mostly it makes me so appreciate that I have a husband who is willing to literally work until exhaustion to provide for us.

He was selling some guitar equipment on Craigslist this week and a guy came over to buy it. Billy pulled out his new guitar to demo the products and the guy mentioned how great that guitar is. Billy said, "yah it is... it took me a year and selling several things to finally get it!" I chimed in..."for every child that we have, Daddy gets one less guitar!" Billy smiled at the guy and nodded. Not in a feigning annoyed look, but in a genuine..."that's right and it is OK by me" look.

I know there is so much more Billy would rather do on payday than to go to the bank to get out cash for grocery and gas envelopes, I am sure he would like to actually buy some clothes every once in awhile for himself instead of forking it over for the kids every other Friday. And I know he would rather eat out at Kobe Steakhouse on the weekend instead of Kid's Eat Free at Dickeys BBQ. But he doesn't complain. And he spends all his free time with me and the kids, cancelling plans cause "he misses us too much". And he actually chooses to fold clothes, bathe kids, change diapers, vacuum, and empty the dishwasher...almost always without being asked. OH...and I forgot to mention but had to come back and add this: he disciplines his kids. ALL the time.
That is huge for me.
He also calls me atleast 3 times a day every day.
I joked with another friend that we are practically dating...we tell each other everything.
Nine years of marriage and it is as beautiful of a relationship than I could have ever hoped for.

Yes, my husband is pretty fantastic.

And I thought I ought to say it every once in awhile.

It Is Ok If Your Baby Eats Only Yogurt For Dinner

2012-01-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

The title of this post was supposed to be:

The Day I Decided To STOP Making My Own Baby Food.
But I thought it was too long for the Title bar.
However, I am not sure the title I did go with is much shorter. ;)
In all honesty there was not an official day that I stopped making baby food. It just started to dwindle down to nothing in the freezer. I would find myself buying produce and before I knew it, days had passed and it spoiled. Meals would go by where I just fed her yogurt and called it a day. She was hungry, I was defeated. And I came to the difficult realization that with 4 kids, I just didn't have it in me to make baby food. The process of purchasing, steaming, packaging, and freezing became the most daunting task in the world- right along with folding the obnoxious amount of socks this family consumes. Not to mention attempting to vacuum with the worst vacuum cleaner man created. *Note to self and husband: Do not EVER buy a Hoover again.*

The socks and vacuum were not giving me daily angst, but the baby food was. Cause my baby had to eat! And during the week I do 14 school drop off and pick-ups. FOURTEEN. Not to mention the baby needing to fit naps in there and the fact that the blender is a very loud appliance. But it plagued me nonetheless.You see when Vivi was a baby I enjoyed making her baby food more than any other mothering task (other than rocking her). I looked forward to finding new recipes and trying out new textures on her. I relished the fact that my baby would eat anything. At almost 5 years old, she still does! But for some reason back then, the smell of beets didn't give me the gag reflex like it does now and pureed chicken didn't quite have the cat-food effect on my nausea like it does today. And I was actually able to feed myself lunch 5 years ago.
But times...they are a changin'.
What caused me to fully embrace my packaged baby food only lifestyle?
Two things ~ One: these little bad boys
As my mother in law calls "space food". Awww...yes!! Isn't it glorious? All the nutrition of homemade with minimal processing in a feed yourself style pouch! Genius, I tell ya. I did try several different kinds of jarred food to which my sweet baby, with clearly a high class taste, spit right out at me and gagged. But she sucks these down like she hasn't eaten in a week.
So we have moved on to the most expensive line of baby food.
And it is okay by me, as long as my blender can stay in the cabinet.

The second thing that brought me to this personal quest to simplify my life was this little gem of a book I am reading from the library:Oh bless you, Mrs. Lisa Quinn.
She says that she is a recovering Martha Stewart Wanna Be after having written countless books on home decorating, crafting, etc. and having a show on HGTV. She says this within the opening chapter: "Recognizing the problem is the first step to recovery. Whether you like it or not, the truth is simple: We don't slave over all this domestic drivel for our families or ourselves, we do it for the other moms. For us, Mommy Competition is on, and dangit, we're going to win."

Oh my!!!
Y'all I laughed so hard when I read that. Such truth. Oh my goodness.
Then she goes on to write about how she was watching Martha Stewart on tv sewing by hand 3,500 real cranberries to a wreath. The author says that on a normal day she would have ran down to Costco for her own 3500 cranberries,
"but for some reason, this time was different. For the first time ever, I looked at Martha, my idol, and thought "this chick is crazy!"
Hilarious! And oh SO true.

So as I read through this book that will likely liberate me from the wife/mommy guilt that plagues us all when we sit and reflect on all the things we don't do right...I will not be folding my fitted sheets (I never did anyway). And I will be waiting awhile before I begin what was going to be my latest project:
The New Year House Cleaning Weekly Regimen
and
Weekly Meal Planning and Grocery List Charts.

Who am I kidding?
I need a new vacuum first.

This Baby Cracks Me Up!!!

2012-01-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Party Detail Walk Through

2012-01-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

When I am planning a party (approx. 2 months in advance), I start out by choosing a theme and the color scheme I want to go with. Then I scour blogs, Pinterest, google images, and event websites for ideas. Photos of people's wedding receptions give me a lot of great inspiration for my food tables. This party was a lot of craft involvement, so I thought I would share how I did some of the items for the party. I was a scissor cutting fool for about 2 weeks.
My right thumb is still recovering! You already saw how I did the balloon wreath, here.
But I also bought more balloons for the banner above the food table. It looked stunning but was fairly easy to do. Just blow up a variety of colors to match your decor to about the size you want your banner to be. I used 5 colors and the packs were 97 cents each for 15.
Then tie them together, alternating the sides they go on...leaving some space for hanging.
Once you hang them (staples work great!),
they have the appearance of helium balloons without the expense.
The total cost for this banner with the string was around $6 and included 60 balloons!

So then there was the extensive use of comic books. I went to Half Price Books and dug through dozens of comics focusing on Batman and Superman. They were 50 cents to a $1.50 a book, I bought about 6. I used brightly colored pages with my (50% off after Christmas) polka dot wrapping paper, in dollar tree black frames for decorations (4 of these).
I also cut a triangle template out and traced out a banner on 8 comic pages, stapling them to black and white polka dot ribbon.
And then I used darker old comic pages to make the letters here:

Just snip out the pages you want, put gloves on, and start painting! It is important to apply the mod podge to the letter before the papers go on and then paint the entire thing over after. The letters are $2.47 a piece at Hobby Lobby but if you plan in advance, you can go on a week they are 50% off which is what I did! Let them dry overnight.
This project took about 45 minutes to complete.

Now on to some of the food items. For the Super Bears, I made a pan of Rice Krispies, making sure to pack them as flat as possible. Then I sprayed a bear cookie cutter with Pam, and cut out 12 bears. After that I wrapped them in cellophane and refrigerated them so they would be firm enough to tie on felt capes and masks. I finished them off with a foam star sticker on the capes.

For the super hero lollipops, I simply downloaded a free cape and mask printable found here.

Finally I did snack cones for the first time.

I LOVED how these turned out and will likely be including them in all my parties from here on out. You can use a variety of papers and holders. I printed off black and white comic pages.
Here is the tutorial on these.

I found my BAM and POW signs on various websites.
Just google "superhero free printables" and print away!

I hope this post inspires you and shows that with a pair of scissors, a computer and printer, and your friends at Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby ;)... you too can throw an amazing Super Hero party on a budget!

The Party!!!

2012-01-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

Jayden's party went great! It was so adorable and I was very happy that what I had envisioned came to life in a BIG way! I am so thankful to Billy's mom and sister for being here to help me pull this party off. I could not be more pleased with the results.

Seeing that a whole lot went into this...I will have to walk you through all the fun details!

This was the invitation that I ordered from an Etsy shop named, Jcbabycakes.
She set me up with an affordable package that included the PDF for the invitations, cupcake toppers, and party favor tags.

The Foyer.

I bought comic books for around $1 each and used them throughout the party decor in many ways.

Costume and photo corner.

The front porch as guests entered.

The party music was so fun with all the traditional superhero theme songs.

The party favor bags which were puzzles, books, taffy, popping candy,
and "Kryptonite" glow sticks.

Craft table.

The food table!

Cupcake picks and comic book covers.

Lime and grape jello.

Rice Krispie treat bears with masks and capes that had stars on them!

White cheddar popcorn in comic book page cones.

Pez!!

I ordered these water bottle covers from a different seller on Etsy by the name of Pixels4Parties.
She emailed me a personal PDF for my own printing that was only $2.25!
A great deal and perfect colors for my party.

As the party goers entered, they had their picture taken in the photo corner.

Super Grace and Super Vivianna!

Even my kids had to get in on the photo ops!

Then they could play with the array of superhero toys or go to the craft table...

Where they colored pictures and decorated masks.

Soon it was time for snacks!

Jayden blowing out his candles!

The food was a big hit.

My friend Ashley and her 3 year old son, Ty.

The birthday boy enjoyed his party treats.

Aunt Beth!

We did a Villian balloon stomp with green balloons that had black masks. Most of the kids loved it but some (including Vivi) did not like the popping!!

Then the kids went outside and did a scavenger hunt where I told them Mr. Freeze had frozen Batman and his friends. The kids recovered 13 superheros and thawed them in warm water.

Then they returned the guys to the batcave!

Vivi and her sweet tooth rocked the Kryptonite.

Jayden opened presents at the end.

He received lots of superhero toys, games, a Vreader book, a giftcard from his grandparents, and a bike from Nana and Padre.

Jasmine sacked out within minutes of the last person leaving.

Riding off into the sunset ready to battle the villians another day.
Happy 4th Birthday, Jayden! We love you!!

(My party detail tutorial can be found here.)

Birthday Reflections

2012-01-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

Last year was the first birthday that my boys had a brother there. These two were instant friends when they met at the age of two and a half and 6 and a half years old. They have been each other's best buds ever since, rarely fighting...always rough housing as brothers should. They play with all the same toys, they make up little games with their sister and run through the house much to my dismay over the chaos and noise that boys bring. They smile and laugh and fuss over one another. They kiss their baby sister's cheeks and tickle her toes.

I often think of all of my children's siblings (including two more older brothers for my boys) and how in a perfect world they would get to be raised together, or atleast know one another. In adoption, sacrifices are made. But in our family, biology has very little to do with what makes a real brother or sister or mother or father. Love and a lifetime of togetherness is what makes a family. However, I am very grateful that my boys have each other in the world...for life. They are currently tucked into the same bottom bunk bed...awaiting one of them turning another year older...sharing the same sweaty pillow...secure in the family that was chosen for them long before any of us knew we would need one another so much. They do this often...sleep side by side. There will come a day all too soon when they are much too big for such accommodations, but until that day I will not stand in the way of a sleeping arrangement that has become so familiar and comfortable to them. Jayden has always felt safer sleeping with other warm bodies, and Isaac is a doting big brother. I am a blessed Mama to have my boys. Both of them. One we planned and prayed for and one that caught us all by surprise.

A very very blessed surprise.

I missed both of my boys' first birthdays.
I didn't get to strap on any Baby's First Birthday hats in blue polka dots or watch them open mounds of gifts...mainly interested in just the paper. I didn't get to wipe cake off their sweet brown faces or blow out a candle, winking at their daddy with a "we made it through the first year!" smile. I thought this might plague me.
But it doesn't.

Because I have been given the immense gift of experiencing a childhood full of birthdays...a lifetime of balloons and cupcakes, games and gifts.

And I intend on making the most of every single one.

Tomorrow is the big day!

2012-01-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

I have been living and breathing ALL things super hero over the past 2 weeks. As much as you know I love to do parties...I have to admit with being sick and doing everything by myself with a baby who does not nap well and is having bowel issues on an antibiotic (I will spare you the graphic details)...I am kinda ready for this party to come and GO! I am excited that most things are coming together as I envisioned...but I am quite tired.
Party planning as a mother of four with a sinus infection: NOT easy, people.

That may have to be my next installment in my Series! :)

Jayden Last Year

2012-01-05T05:38:00.000-08:00

Since I couldn't post this last year with the blurring of his face and all, I thought you might enjoy seeing him blow out his first birthday candle, home...which of course was actually his 3rd.

Sneak Peek And Tutorial

2012-01-04T02:15:00.000-08:00

We are in full party mode around here on the decor for Jayden's superhero party this Saturday.

I thought you might enjoy me taking a
pause in the madness to post a sneak peek on something I created.

Seeing as I have been on a wreath kick lately,
I wanted to do a balloon wreath for the front door.
I looked up a tutorial online and got to work!

I bought this wreath at Michaels for $2.99, but had a 50% off coupon. The balloons are packs of 15 (in your color of choice) for 97 cents at Walmart, along with the floral pins for only a $1 a pack.
I bought 2 balloon packs of each color for a total of 120 balloons.
Such a bargain for something so cute!!

These pins were really easy to work with and may just replace
my hot glue gun as my new wreath fav!

I dumped all the balloons in a bowl so I would be able to easily grab the color I needed. The pins were poured out in the middle of the wreath.
Don't forget to put your birthday boy in front of the TV so he doesn't mess with your project! ;)

Then I began pinning them on, alternating colors.

As you come around, you will see where you have gaps that need filling in with more balloons.
I ended up using all but maybe four. OH, and just leave the plastic on the wreath. It is a mess to remove and it won't be seen anyway with all the balloons. On a side note too, I only covered the front and a little of the inside and outside circle, NOT the whole wreath sides and back.

To finish it off, I taped tiny comic book covers (that I printed off of free websites) and other paper super hero themed items. Have fun with this part! You could print your child's name or age to add to it. It is a great way to personalize it, while still being able to remove the items to re-use as a "boy" themed balloon wreath in the future.

I LOVE the way it turned out!

So festive and a perfect compliment to the rest of the party.
Stay tuned for this weekend when I post pics of all the decor and party pics!

2011 Year In Review

2012-01-03T06:19:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful year we had in 2011.
We are praying for lots more fun in 2012 with maybe a few less surgeries. :)
(Click on each collage to view it bigger)

January~
Jayden potty trained, we celebrated his 3rd birthday, and he had a sleep study which resulted in a tonsillectomy.

February~
It snowed a lot for Texas, we celebrated Isaac's Homecoming, and he had a part in a production at school.

March~
Vivi had a big Barbie birthday bash for her 4th birthday and two weeks later, Jasmine was born!!

April~
This month was spent settling in with our new baby, a surprise shower hosted by sweet friends, and decorating the nursery.

May~
My first Mother's day with four kids was also the day we dedicated Jayden and Jasmine at church, we had lots of visitors, and took our first of many summer trips to the water park.

June~
We went to Arkansas for family camp, got to feed the giraffes for the first time at the zoo, and spent the whole month soaking up the sun at Hawaiian Falls with our season passes.

July~
Had all the families in our lifegroup over for 4th of July dinner, hosted a luncheon of other adoptive moms and kids, and finalized Jayden's adoption in court- celebrating that night with a big icecream party!

August~
One of Vivi's best friends, Aliza and family visited all the way from Dubai, UAE
and the boys started school.

September~

Isaac began his hip hop dance class, the weather finally cooled enough to resume bike riding, and we celebrated Vivi's adoption day at a cupcake shop.

October~
We finalized Jasmine's adoption in court and threw a boys only Lego party at home for Isaac.

November~
Jasmine got her ears pierced and we had the boy's cousins here for Thanksgiving.

December~
Vivi received a scholarship to attend ballet/tap at a local dance studio and we celebrated baby's first Christmas at home and in Houston with family.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T19:52:00.000-08:00

All of our goods laid out.
We had plans for friends to come over, but Billy came down with pneumonia. :(

The kids hammed it up for the camera!

Happy 2012 Everyone!!
I will work on my annual Year in Review blogpost tomorrow.

Busy Busy Busy

2011-12-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

Now that Christmas is over I am wrapped up in this event.
So if you don't see me around here as much, you will know why! :)

Jasmine is 9 months old!!!

2011-12-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

It totally slipped past me that today is the 27th and therefor my baby turned another month old!

So on our way to bed, I took some quick shots of her 9 month birthday.

She is getting so big. She has such a fiesty personality, continues to be utterly devoted to her Mama and noone else, laughs a ton, cries a ton, crawls all over the place, eats bite sized foods and purees, drinks from a sippy cup, pulls to standing, and is increasingly more demanding!
This month we will begin to teach her the baby signs for more, please, and all done.

Vivi had to get in on the photos again this time!

And then Oscar joined the party. :)

Jasmine got so many new toys for Christmas that we had to rearrange her room a bit.

Billy put the rocker in our room and I moved in toy bins from Vivi's room to store the vast array of new baby toys.

As you can see, Jasmine has also begun to wear a satin sleep cap. I put it on at bed, naps, and sometimes in the car seat to protect her style and to keep her hair from drying out. Her coconut oiled head also leaves a dark mark on her carseat, so to minimize the staining we use the sleep cap.

She does not attempt to take it off, but it will fall off as it is an adult sized cap that I used a hair tie to make smaller in the back. She has it in pink and a really pretty purple ($2 each at Walmart).

When she is older, I intend to use a satin wrap and satin pillow case...but this really is the safest thing for now.

Happy 9 months to the cutest baby in the world!!

Christmas Celebrating

2011-12-27T02:54:00.000-08:00

I took so many pictures on our trip to visit family in Houston and then back here on Christmas Eve and Day that ya'll will have to just view the highlights or else this post was never going to happen!

Isaac with his Nana.

Jayden with Padre.

Vivi with Aunt Beth

The older 3 kids received VReaders and an Innotab from their grandparents. They love them!!

Our church service on Christmas Eve.

So much BOY. :)

Vivi was thrilled to open Wuggle pets.

Jayden received lots of Cars 2 toys from everyone.

It is not easy to find a tan skinned, brunette Barbie head. But I did! And it was on sale. :)

Opening stockings on Christmas Eve!

There ya have it! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We were very blessed this year by sweet friends and Billy's family who spoiled the kids...and our close church friends who had us over for Christmas dinner. I was also proud of the fact that the kids were not greedy with their gifts or selfish. No one complained about what they didn't get, or fussed over wanting to open their gifts before the other kids had a turn. It was beautiful to watch and so peaceful to be with my kids and husband on Christmas. There are so many new toys just sitting by the piano that have not been opened because they are content with what they have and that makes me very happy as their Mama. Now on to New Year's and planning Jayden's Super Hero themed birthday party for January 7th.
Does it ever end? :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

I will blog more about our 5 days of Christmas celebrating sometime tomorrow, but for now I leave you all with this.

The Eve Before...

2011-12-24T20:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight was a beautiful service at church where we were reminded of the wonderment of a Savior coming just for us, His chosen people.

And now our kids are tucked into bed in their matching
Christmas pajamas dreaming of sugar plums and whatnot...
Anxiously awaiting the morning when they come out to this:

Hope everyone has a beautiful Christmas as we celebrate the first coming of our Lord.

Until He returns again...

Gifts

2011-12-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

Last night our family friends came over to give our kids Christmas presents and enjoy our annual red velvet cake.

Here is Steph...I babysat for her when she was 2 to about 8 years old.

We all discovered that if you purse your lips Jasmine will lean in and kiss!!
Of course today I have been trying it out often. ;) We don't kiss our kids on the mouth for health reasons, so I would have never known Jasmine could do this. It is just so sweet.

Both the gifts Vivi opened she exclaimed "Ooooh, my FAVORITE!!!"

Jayden was so excited (this IS him excited, trust me ;) to open a trunk of super hero costumes. He calls it is "treasure chest". He also received a superfriends board game.

Isaac literally flipped out over receiving a spy net video camera watch...a very desired toy!! It charges via a USB port and only took an hour to charge. Then it allows him to video in the dark, play games, and receive spy challenges via the website. We are looking forward to exploring what it can do this afternoon when he finally gets out of school for Winter Break.

Here is Vivi all tucked in with her "pretties" as she called them! This morning I awoke to the Ariel doll singing Part of Your World over and over again. She sings by pressing her hand...a really cool doll. The Disney store makes them in all the princesses and they are BIG.

And in case you are wondering, "what about Jasmine?" Well seeing as I am the one who takes photos in this family and about the only one Jasmine wants to hold her...you get the picture! She did receive a set of adorable disney socks that look like little black mary janes and a very fun Leap Frog Discovery House, perfect for her car seat as we travel to Houston to celebrate with Billy's family tomorrow. Oh, and a baby doll. :)

Thank you Shannon, Mike, and Stephanie!!!
We love you!

Twists

2011-12-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

I decked my baby girl's hair out this morning in twists and barrettes so she would look good for our multiple events today and tonight. It took me 45 minutes to co-wash, detangle, part, moisturize, put into 10 puffs, moisturize again, twist, and clip. She was such a trooper eating away at a mass amount of cheerios in her hair chair. But I think you can tell by that first pic on the right what she thought of it when it was over. HA!!I just think she can't get any cuter than this!!

She has also become the queen of standing. She pulls up on everything now.
Walking is just around the corner, I'm sure. Yikes!! Where did my baby go?

Gingerbread House Party & Weekend Events

2011-12-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, we went to our friend's house for a gingerbread making party.

This was my inspiration for our family's design:And our supplies:

It was stressful as this was our first attempt creating without a pre-made kit!

I attempted to create all the scenes from the game.

I added the game cards and gingerbread men and Viola!

Some of the other creations were SO cute!!!

Angry Birds!

Check out that jolly rancher chimney and gumdrop cobblestone walkway.

The boys wanted a winner to be named and theirs to win of course.

I had a little time with just Jayden on Sunday so I took him for a coveted Happy Meal.
With all these kids, we order off the dollar menu in this family!
But it was an Alvin toy and I couldn't resist.

This weekend, we also took the kids to a local church that does an original musical production of A Christmas Carol in exchange for voluntary donations to two local charities.
It was soooo good!! The set was gorgeous and the acting was really well done.

Snow even came down several times during the production.
Last year the play earned $15,000 for the charities. I hope it is more this year!

Vivi's class party

2011-12-17T15:39:00.000-08:00

Vivi had her class Happy Birthday Jesus party on the last day of school before break.

Vivi chose all fruit and a cookie. No big surprise there!

They did a book exchange which was fun!
Can you guess which one Vivi brought? ;)

Sister Babies

2011-12-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

This season has brought back many memories of having a baby girl at Christmas time. We enjoyed Vivi's first year a ton and feel an incredible joy in getting to experience so much of it over again!

Including putting them in the same outfits. :)

School Christmas Program

2011-12-14T05:20:00.000-08:00

Vivi had her church preschool Christmas program last night.
I tried to get sister pics before the performance.

It didn't go so well...but the sibling picture turned out cute!

Jasmine was a big hit in her Santa Baby outfit.

Until she threw up all over it! From Easter to now she has pooped or puked on almost all of her cutest outfits. It's like she knows!We all got a big laugh when the pastor's daughter, Grace (whom Vivi adores)
showed up dressed just like Jasmine. Her mom and I couldn't resist this photo op!

I imagine Jasmine saying, "Whose the blonde in my dress?

Vivi with her classmates. So adorable.

After the performance, there was a reception
where the kids decorated cookies and made paper wreaths.

A rare picture of Isaac. He does not stay in one place long enough anymore for me to take his picture. Putting food and drink in front of him buys me some time. ;)

Here is Jasmine with our pastor's wife who cannot get enough of her! (They have 3 biological kiddos and their homestudy is today to adopt a baby that will complete their family. Woohoo!)

Of course once Jasmine saw Mommy she was having none of being held by anyone else. This picture cracked us up SO much...Just look at that face!!

Waiting On God's Timing In Adoption

2011-12-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

Every once in awhile I have blog readers email me...for advice...or just to share their story. Sometimes an email really impacts me, as a recent one did. This is part of what she said:

"Both my husband and I still feel that adoption is the path that God wants us to travel to build our family, but it has been extremely discouraging to wait and wait and not know if, or when, we'll become parents. I imagine the struggle is so great for us because this will be our first child & we just so very badly want to be parents. Anyway, all of that to ask - how did you find strength and encouragement during the dark hours of the wait? Did you ever lose hope that you would become a parent? I see the way God worked in all of your adoption stories & I guess I just feel like He's being so silent in ours right now."

This struck a real cord with me because it is a topic that is dear to my heart...couples who pine to be parents for years and years with no real answer from God. I responded to this dear reader. And I wanted to publish my response here because I imagine that some of you who come to read my daily happenings and delight over my adorable kids, may also have grieving hearts, crying out to God... "When? When will our time come?" You may wonder if God has forgotten you. You may wonder how you too will make it through another Christmas childless.

Christmas is especially tough for waiting families, so I hope my words will bring you comfort as I prayed they would to this reader.

"As far as advice...I don't have much. I know I have often pondered why God would give people pregnancy after pregnancy and adoption after adoption when there are so many couples waiting year after year without a child to love. It is one of the greatest griefs a married couple can go through along with losing a child. I am so sorry this has been a long journey for you. I will tell you what I told a woman who contacted me via our adoption agency that had been waiting 2 years. The reason for your wait is not because your profile isn't appealing enough. It isn't because you don't have as much to offer as a Mom as the rest of us. And it certainly is not because God is punishing you. It is simply (or not so simply) because your child has not been born yet.

When I look back at all of the "could have beens", all I see is that if this had happened that way or that had happened another way, then one or all 4 of our kids would not be ours. Things had to be orchestrated exactly the way they were...including our devestating loss through foster care to bring us to Vivi...our already having started the domestic infant process when we got the call for Jayden to bring us Jasmine...etc. Had I gotten pregnant at anytime during the past 5 years, surely at least one of our kids would not have come home to us. And that thought brings me to my knees in thankfulness and praise to the God who carried all of my tears, who knew intimately my desperate need to be a mother. And it is He alone that conceived my children in their birth mother's wombs... set apart for me. Their loss was my gain. That concept also keeps me on my knees in praise to a God who makes ALL things new...who brings joy out of pain. Life from death.

I don't know if you are a Christian or not as we have not gotten that far in our conversations! But what I can tell you for certain is this: The same Lord and Savior that died on a cross for our sins to reconcile us to God the Father, is the same Lord that will bring your babies home. He WILL bring them home. Adoption is His heart. It is how we enter the kingdom of God...adopted as His daughters. Your adoption wait is a trial in your life. A BIG one. It is not there to teach you a lesson as some would say...that when you learn that lesson your kids will come. NO. I don't believe that. I believe it is a trial because as His creation we are not promised an easy life. He suffered and so should we. It is a trial because in it you will be all the more blessed and thankful when motherhood comes to you.

I say this to you, friend...Cry. Grieve. Call out to God. He hears you. But ultimately...it is my belief that He planned before the creation of the world how our lives would be. Who our spouses would be. Who our children would be. It is not an accident or a twist of fate. And if we embrace that and believe that, then we can carry on. We will carry on. Our children are counting on us to see this through. To bring them home. When it stops being about us...then it can so much more be about God's plan for our life."

My Christmas Present

2011-12-13T05:59:00.001-08:00

Peppermint Pudding Parfait

2011-12-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across candy cane pudding and peppermint marshmallows at the store.
I figured there had to be something I could do with these!
So we made the pudding and let it sit for 10 minutes in the fridge.
Then we added half a tub of cool whip.

Next stir in a cup or two of marshmallows.

Add crushed candy canes for crunch!

Then layer crushed peppermint oreos with the pudding mixture.

Top with extra candy cane pieces.

Garnish with peppermint whipped cream, one of the cookies, and a tiny candy cane.
Yummy!!

It was so filling that all of my kids chose to eat just half the cup and finished them up the next day.

Church Choir Performance

2011-12-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

Our church choir performance was last night. Isaac had a part in a little skit in the beginning, sang in the choir, and "played" a saxophone during a song called "Big Band of Shepherds".

Isaac is the second band member from the left.

Vivi was an angel! SO pretty!!

I did her hair in an updo and sprayed it with glitter.

The production was called "Star of Wonder".
A fellow Mom and I had the pleasure of heading up the prop making department!
So much glitter....so many stars...

Vivianna's scene was at the end where she came out as an angel in the manger scene.

Then the angels moved to center stage for the final 2 songs.

Isaac taking his bow.
Then after the performance was a reception.
I wish I could have gotten that picture cause the table filled with Christmas cookies and treats looked great!

Here is a video of the beginning scene that Isaac is in:

Breakfast With Santa

2011-12-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday, we went to Breakfast with Santa! This is an invitation only event that the board of Child Protective Services hosts. I am assuming because of Jayden we were still on the list from last year. It is an awesome event so were were very happy to be invited.

I don't have pics of anyone eating breakfast OR with Santa...LOL! There was a guy taking pictures of the kids on Santa's lap so I didn't bother. But I have lots of all the activities.

Vivi's first thing to do is always face painting!

They had balloons and I wanted someone to choose the adorable Christmas tree on a stick, or a reindeer balloon hat...or even the north pole with the beads that jangled around in the top.

ALL of my children chose swords. sheesh.

And Ninja face painting...
Next year I will have to put my two sense in a bit stronger...but I tend to hover and be quite the helicopter mom. So there are just times I have to sit back and let it play out!

There was a reindeer cupcake decorating station.

This was the tastiest frosting EVER!

And they got to bring them home in a little red box. So cute.

The kids did lots of crafts: puppets, personalized mugs, jingle bell jewelry, and sock snowmen.

Jayden won a raffle prize!

Jasmine was showing off her Baby's First Christmas outfit and was the hit of the party!

Christmas card pic ;)

We couldn't get enough of her in the outfit...can you tell?

She quickly grew tired of all the pictures...and it was time to go!

This is all the loot the kids were given, including stockings stuffed with treats and Walmart giftcards!

Ick

2011-12-09T06:32:00.000-08:00

Jasmine's first time to play at a mall playground lasted the amount of time it took me to notice that the carpet was dirty and had a lot of debris on it.
I promptly picked her up and playtime was over.
Yes.
I am that Mom.

Christmas Dreams Come True

2011-12-08T05:28:00.001-08:00

I told myself years ago that I wouldn't give into the holiday toy fads and crazes. You know what I am talking about...long lines, crazy moms, and hiked up prizes just to get that coveted item ALL the kids suddenly want 2 weeks before Christmas. Remember Tickle Me Elmo, Ferbie, and Zhu Zhu pets? So far we have been able to avoid this madness because my kids don't watch cable television and therefor are not subjected to the bulk of tiny tot advertising. Until now. The kid infomercials have been spotted on regular TV and a certain four year old daughter has been lured in to their siren call. Vivi has had it in her head for weeks that she just has to have "Wuggle Pets".

She asked Santa for them and we don't even "do" the Santa thing around here. She prayed for them. She dreams about them. Thankfully these little stuff-at-home animals are not hard to find. They are sold at a couple of stores but were just so overpriced at $19.99 plus $7.99 shipping if you order them off the tempting commercial seen here:

This commercial has been the reason she has begged for these. It is all she talks about! I told her that she was not going to get them because that price is ridiculous for two little not so cute animals that you clip to your backpack. And besides we do not do infomercial buying. Yet she so sweetly persists. And I will be honest, Y'all. It pained me not to be able to get her the one thing she tells everyone she wants. I should be able to just say "No" like I do about everything else all year long. But she got me at my soft spot...

Christmas.

You see Vivianna is the same age I was the Christmas I asked for the fiercely popular brand new Cabbage Patch Kids. Those close to me have heard this story a time or two. Ha!
My sister and I were told we would most certainly get the coveted dolls that Christmas. I was four, my sister almost six. Christmas morning arrived and we were handed our gifts one by one as was our family tradition. We received wonderful things, I am sure. But I do not remember any of them. My sister opened the final present. A doll similar to this one:

We gasped. We screamed in excitement. We couldn't believe it!! Cabbage Patch Kids!!! What luck! My turn to open came and I received a handwritten note. It stated something like, "I am so sorry, but I ran out of Cabbage Patch Kids because so many kids wanted them. You will get one for your birthday. Love, Santa."

What?

I was four. My birthday was in August.

This was devastating. I cried. A lot.
How could Santa forget me?
My Mom promised me my sister would share hers with all the adorable outfits she received.
She didn't. Ever.

And I am sure my Mom felt intense guilt over that decision. You see, my sister's birthday was the following month...January. I am sure hindsight told my mother that she should have just hidden the doll and presented it at my sister's birthday instead of snuffing her youngest out of the coveted Christmas toy. But I think she was just so lucky to have been able to snag the one doll and outfits that she just had to see our face when it was presented on Christmas morning.

And honestly...I laugh about this now. Because my mother was the queen of Christmas gifts. She really was very good at it. In following years, if we wanted a "Jem" doll...we didn't just get the doll, we got all the Misfits, the stage, tons of clothes, and the convertible car that played her songs out of the little radio.
It was awesome.

But it didn't give me back the Christmas I didn't get the Cabbage Patch doll.

Many years ago, Billy and I found this ornament on clearance and bought it:
It is a little removable ceramic blonde cabbage patch kid in a 1984 dated box.
The very doll I would have wanted.
It cracks me up to see it and remember, as it now hangs on Vivi's bedroom tree.
This has become such an inside joke in our family. If I am sad about something, Billy has been known to tease "is this really about the Cabbage Patch kid you didn't get for Christmas?"
It cracks me up every time.

The baggage I bring to the Christmas table dates all the way back to when I was four.

So...when I saw that the Wuggle Pet starter kit was marked down from $20 to $10 at Bed Bath and Beyond, I just had to drive out there and get one. Plus I had a 20% of coupon for the toy.
And I didn't have to fight any crazed Mama's to get it! Score!!

It is now wrapped with her other gifts in the garage. She often checks under the tree in the morning and says, "Mommy...my wuggle pets haven't gotten here yet? I wonder where they are?"
Wuggle Pets: $8.00
The look on Vivi's face on Christmas morning: Priceless.

Tiny Dancer

2011-12-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

Vivi started ballet at the same studio and night that Isaac does Hip hop. The owner of the studio was a Dallas Mavericks Dancer and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader so when she said Vivi has a dancer's body and natural talent and just has to do ballet/tap...we agreed. Of course the huge discount on tuition for having 2 kids at the studio helped a ton!

The recital that Isaac and Vivi will perform in is in June and apparently it is HUGE!
I can't wait to see what their costumes will be. :)

Teacher Gifts

2011-12-05T03:53:00.000-08:00

I have 6 teacher gifts to do this year...so I needed something affordable and that I could do across the board and not have to come up with 6 different gifts.
That led me to the idea to do Coke bottle reindeer!

With a hot glue gun, brown pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and a red ball nose...a coke bottle is transformed!

Each teacher will get a 6 pack "sleigh" with a Sonic gift card attached to the back.

That means I have got to get on the task of doing my 36 reindeer bottles! Yikes! :)
I will likely also give boxes of peppermint cupcakes as is my tradition.

It is a relief to have this out of the way so early on.

Rained Out

2011-12-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

I am bummed because we missed the city wide light parade and show last night due to a day of steady-never-ending rain, which supposedly is going to last for days and days. We did redeem the night by ordering pizza and watching our favorite Christmas show.
And this is my favorite scene when Cindy Lou Who confronts the Grinch.
So cute! Hopefully we will catch a light show in the next week or so cause the kids were sad.

And I worked on my teacher gifts which I will showcase on Monday.
You will not want to miss it...they turned out better than I imagined they would!

Christmas Decorating and Cookie Exchange

2011-12-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

I spent the week getting all the Christmas decor up in time for my Cookie Exchange.

Our years of Santa photos are on display.

The kids bedroom trees are up and decorated.

And they have been enjoying their manger scene and box of Christmas stories.

For the party, we did a fire...it was so warm and cozy on a chilly, rainy night.

The kitchen was ready for the display of treats.

Jasmine took a late nap, so instead of being asleep like I planned...she was awake and ready to party dressed in her Christmas cookie pj's!

Such yumminess!

I set up a coffee and hot chocolate bar.

We also drank a cranberry orange pineapple punch and egg nog.

The ladies gathering around introducing their treats to everyone else.

Everyone took home a box full to share with their families.

It was a lot of fun. Several friends stayed past midnight!
We just couldn't stop talking. :)

Here Comes Santa Clause

2011-12-02T05:11:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa's Wonderland.

All the events are free including this adorable Reindeer Carousel!

A Reindeer Carousel is a gorgeous sight to see!

Jasmine LOVED her first merry-go-round ride. Every time she passed, the people near me would ooh and ahh over how adorable "that baby" is. I just smiled.

Frosty wandered around taking photos with kids. Our daughter who has always had an intense fear of people dressed in costume...was having NONE of the jolly snowman.

Jayden's best friend Cooper and his parents met us there and we thought what a great photo op in front of this oversized Nutcracker!! Umm...not so much....

Cause Frosty was on the prowl and Vivi knew it.

And she spotted him!! Ahhhhhh!!!!
The horror!

Soo...here is our adorable Nutcracker photo...minus a certain 4 year old girl. :)

But she got it together in time for Santa photos. This was fun...."Isaac, don't make that face!"

"Jasmine, look over here!!!"

"Seriously, Isaac. You are the oldest! Come ON!"

Well...the baby isn't smiling, but atleast she isn't crying, right?

Santa wandered over to play race track with Vivi. I loved this!! So picturesque.
She was happy to tell everyone that she was not afraid of Santa anymore!
Took us 4 years to get here. :)

And we had to get one last shot of Baby's First visit to Santa...

She may not have smiled for Saint Nick...but she smiled BIG for Daddy!

Bass Pro has lots to look at.

Pop guns.

And Christmas presents for all the cow folk in your life.

There is also a beautiful train the kids can control.

And shooting ranges!

And of course lots and lots of beautiful holiday photo ops.

Oh Kitchen Tree....Oh Kitchen Tree....

2011-12-01T05:40:00.000-08:00

My final decor project of the season (for now!) is something I have wanted for a couple of years...a Kitchen Tree! This is a tree that only holds food and kitchen related ornaments. I finally was able to get it this year! I found a 6 foot very skinny white pre-lit tree.
The perfect size and color for a kitchen.

The tree has gingerbread houses, candy pieces, cookies...

Plus a toaster, blender, and mixer!

There are also foods like a hot dog, hamburger, and soft pretzel that I collected on clearance over the past couple of years in anticipation of getting the tree going!

This is one I added to my collection this year and is my current favorite: a jar of wrapped peppermint lollipops! Adorable!!

The gingerbread cookies and houses that adorn the tree match the super cute tree skirt I found.

What could be more "kitchen" then gingerbread men, cupcakes, and ric rac!!

The only gift that will go under this tree is the one the kids open at "Jesus' Birthday Party". Our annual celebration with red velvet cake, the kids dress up in costume..and we celebrate the birth of Christ. It is a lot of fun!

All of our Starbucks ornaments are also on this tree.
7 Christmases of Billy working for the company!

The tree topper was also purchased last year the day after Christmas. I knew I wanted a white tree with cherry red and apple green colors. It was a perfect match!

Trimming The Tree

2011-11-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

The boys decided to break into song and dance.

and Vivi would not be upstaged.

Jasmine needed a different viewpoint.

So everyone joined her!

Christmas Projects Continued...

2011-11-30T02:00:00.000-08:00

I wanted a new wreath for our front door, but felt bad just tossing the old one that I made our first Christmas married...it felt wasteful. But as you can see...the wreath was tired looking, plain and not at all cute!! Plus, over the years pieces of it had gone missing.

It definitely needed a makeover.

So I took everything off it and fluffed the branches...

And with my clean bare wreath, I used some red and green tulle I had left over from last year's package wrapping to tie bows all around it.

Then I hot glued a $2.50 package of 6 red glitter balls all around.

I added some small ornaments I had bought last year on clearance, a bow made from coordinating ribbon, also left over from last year and....

Tada!!!

A brand new wreath that this year only cost me the price of the ball ornaments!!

The wreath needed to match my new porch rug bought last year on clearance (do you sense a pattern here...I hate paying full price for Christmas decor!)

And our flag has the same shades of green and red.

Perfect!

Here are the before/after shots of my wreath transformation:

Does this inspire you to take something you are tired of looking at and make it brand new?
Have fun crafting for Christmas!!

Christmas Projects

2011-11-29T05:57:00.000-08:00

I have been adding some new Christmas decor to the house this year. I will do my house decor reveal post this weekend. Some of it I bought last year on clearance, and the other stuff I have found this year on sale. Here is one project I completed.

Kitchen chair wreaths!
They really dress up the table.

The wreaths were $1.50, then I bought ribbon and chose 6 packs of bells for 99 cents each.
A hot glue gun later and Viola!

Every time some one goes to sit at the table you hear the gentle ring of bells. Love!!

Last year I bought this snowflake table runner at Target on clearance and forgot all about it.
The wreath ribbon matches perfectly!

Stay tuned for my other projects....coming soon.

Oh How I Love Those Christmas Cookies, Sugar

2011-11-29T00:05:00.000-08:00

This Friday I am hosting a Ladies' Christmas Cookie Exchange. I will spend the week narrowing down my cookie recipes to pick my favorite ones.

My question is, do I go with a traditional decorated sugar cookie like these found on surebabyblog?Or some yummy, gooey bars?

Or something easy like these from bakedperfection.com

I could always try a different treat.
Are ya'll with me in our love for peppermint bark? Mmmmm.
This recipe can be found anywhere, but here it is on recipegirl.com.

I love, love, love using oversized sugar crystal sprinkles at Christmastime. Here they are on molasses cookies which I also LOVE.
Featured on Martha Stewart's Traditional Christmas cookies recipes.

Well...I sure have some searching to do!
I can't wait to see what everyone else brings.

The Cousins

2011-11-28T06:25:00.000-08:00

Last week, we had our boys' cousins here for three days. It was the second Thanksgiving in a row they have spent with us and we are hoping this continues to be a tradition for them. For those of you who are just tuning in to the blog: last year we were told that Jayden's cousins whom he had been raised with, had been removed by CPS on the same day he was. They were living in two different foster homes about an hour from our house. CPS wanted us to have a "goodbye" visit with them. But that was not good enough for us! We were able to get clearance to have them for Thanksgiving, a weekend in December, and about 3 more times throughout this past year. We enjoy having them, but two pre-teen boys are not an easy transition to our 4 little ones. Isaac and 11 year old "T" get along so much better than they did a year ago. And 15 year old "K" loves to play with Jayden and Jasmine. Vivi...well she just tags along.

Atleast she doesn't seem to mind being outnumbered by boys!!

Last year we gave them lots of presents, but this year with the baby and all, I just didn't have the energy level for that. So several friends, some church members, and Billy's parents contributed to getting us the boys' each a $100 giftcard to Walmart, a box of treats, games, and a trip to Main Event. It was a fun-filled 3 days! We appreciate our support network SO much in making this another special Christmas for the Cousins.

I took them to Walmart and "T" spent some of his gift card on a guitar. Of course he wanted Billy to give him lessons the minute he got home from work! We noted that "T" asked about Billy a lot when he wasn't here and engaged him constantly when he was. We really feel for him that he does not have a Dad in his life. We can see how very important that is for a kid when he is here.

The boys enjoy watching all the movies and cartoons we take for granted. K told me that his mom's parental rights had been terminated. I asked how he felt about this and he said "I dealt with the emotions awhile ago. So it was okay." These boys will age out of the foster care system, and that is a sad reality for them. It is our goal that they always know they have family with us. K told me that 5 of his foster brothers go with family every weekend. It made me sad we can only get them every other month or so. But I know that he is in a solid foster home with a very devoted foster dad. K made all A's on his recent report card (first year in highschool) and his foster dad gave him $100 cash. Woohoo! I told him I was so proud of him and I see him going far in college. We are hoping to get them again early January for Jayden's birthday.

All I Want For Christmas Is You

2011-11-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

My Christmas wish from last year has been fulfilled this year.
Our baby is home!

And she turned 8 months old today!
We felt it appropriate that she take her monthly photo in front of the tree...in Christmas pj's of course!

She is crawling ALL over the place now.
That is when she lets Mommy put her down...which is only after a nap and bottle and while a sibling plays with her!

I need to point out those two pearly white things on the bottom of her mouth! Yep, she has teeth!!! They popped up together on Thanksgiving day. We were so happy.

Jasmine is the JOY of our family. Everyone adores her and she is super cute and silly and fun!

A little bundle of baby sweetness.

Last Christmas, we had our surprise blessing: an almost 3 year old son! But we were still a waiting family, waiting on our baby to come home. I couldn't wait to see FOUR stockings on the fireplace. What a blessing it was to see that come true today!

Our mantel is complete!
This is the Christmas I grew up dreaming about. A loving husband, a comfortable house, a small, intimate church where we are home with people that I trust to do life and ministry with...and of course a bunch of little kids to love and adore. The Lord has been very good to me over the years...in abundance and in want. He has given me the desires of my heart.

I will never forget the pain of facing the holidays barren.
I will never forget the first Christmas with a child, a toddler foster daughter.
I will never forget the next Christmas when our son was home and was officially OURS.
Or the Christmas after that, when our baby girl was 9 months old.
And then 3 years later...when our surprise son was home and safe.

And I will never forget this Christmas...

When our family was complete by an infant daughter.

For an infertile mom....A Baby Changes Everything.

2011-11-26T19:55:00.000-08:00

Today we went to visit Santa and tomorrow we will decorate the house.
Christmastime has begun around here!
Pictures soon.

Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving.

Jasmine has not quite acclimated to Mama's over-the-top way of doing the holidays!
By next year, I expect she will be all smiles!!

I baked and cooked all day.

While the kids played lots of games.

And watched the parade and football.
Billy also took them all on bike rides to the park so I could shower in peace!

And before you knew it, it was time for dinner!

Jasmine's Feast was sweet potatoes and avocado.

I didn't get the other stuff made that I wanted to do for her. The day was just too busy!

But she did enjoy some cranberries for dessert.

An hour after dinner, we had our dessert.

After dessert, we all watched America's Funniest Videos and then I left to get my shopping on! I was out with a college friend until 5 am!!

We had tons of fun and I was able to buy all of my kids' presents. Woohoo!
Now onto wrapping and house decorating. Bring on Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

2011-11-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

The Day Before Thanksgiving In Pictures

2011-11-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

Anticipation

2011-11-22T04:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving and Christmas begin to merge in our home every year during this week, as we have more time to devote to the house. I refuse to take down my Fall decor until after the Bird has been eaten...as Thankfulness will not be snuffed out by lights and glitter! However, our Christmas decor is more involved every year and takes quite a bit of planning...so it helps to do it in small installments.

This leaves the little kids quite confused by all the goings-on and asking daily, "Is it Thanksgiving yet? Wait...is today Christmas? When is it coming, Mama?" All I can say is "it will come, love. It will come. Just wait and see." This will be the year our Advent calendar comes in real handy as they have gotten to the age of anticipation.
Which makes me reflect on the hymn, "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" written by Charles Wesley.

Here are the lyrics:
Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Wow...these lyrics say so much. Freedom from sin and fear. Rest, hope, joy in Christ...eternal life. These are gifts we long for more than anything. This is the anticipation we Believers feel in our restless souls. As a mother, I prepare our home for my children...from the mundane to the magnificent. But Christ is preparing our Real Home. And we long to go there. I ask my Father...."When is it coming? When will the Kingdom be revealed for all to see? When will your glory be seen on earth and not just in Heaven?" And this is always the time of year when I feel His promise most. It will come, my love. Just wait and see.

Potty Training

2011-11-20T20:10:00.000-08:00

No...I am not potty training anyone in THIS house for the next 18 months. But I had to share my friend, Tiffany's picture that she posted to my FB wall today. I absolutely adore this photo. I mentored Tiffany through the arduous process of potty training her two year old over a year ago, if I recall. Tif was so faithful to "The System", as I called it when training Vivi. You can read about that, here. What I love about this photo is the dedication this Mommy took to getting her little one to drop the diapers. Doesn't that bathroom look like so much FUN?! I have said before...Potty Training is truly a team effort! You gotta love the doll potty and the fact that Mommy is sitting on the floor right there with her little tot. Reese did a wonderful job responding to her Coach and was trained in no time at all! If you are thinking about taking on Potty Training, go check out The System that has worked for me to train 3 boys and 1 girl...all before their 3rd birthdays. I have had half a dozen friends follow it and they have all raved about how well it went. Fun times, Ya'll. Fun times!! Thank you for sharing this, Tiffany!

Thanksgiving Baskets

2011-11-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Today we went to an inner city outreach center to help pass out Thanksgiving baskets to families in need. Our church had filled over 100 baskets for the event and many of our friends were there.

Here is Vivi with her preschool best friend!

We would walk with the families to their car with a basket, a turkey, and a pie.
I enjoyed the conversations we had. What struck me as so hard to see is that all of the volunteer families were white and the families picking up baskets were black. There was such an obvious social divide between the races...that white people start out in life with an advantage.

And that this advantage continues from generation to generation.
All people are equal but not all people are given equal opportunities to succeed.

We are praying for all the families we met that they have a wonderful joy-filled Thanksgiving.

Preparing...

2011-11-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

The kids are out of school for the next week, and our Thanksgiving plans are officially underway! I love having them home...no annoying drop off and pick ups...no homework! Isaac works so hard at school. He got his second report card of the year yesterday, with all A's once again except for an 89 in Math. Needless to say I was a bit annoyed...could she not have bumped that up ONE for him to stay on the All A Honor Roll list?! Grrr... But I love his teacher very much so I am not frustrated with her. It is what it is. And I suspect it is his bad habit of leaving his name off his papers and getting points off that led to that anyway!

This weekend I will go shopping for the big Dinner. We have the boys' cousins coming Tuesday through Thursday and a Feast at our church on Tuesday night. We also have in the plans a trip to the zoo with the boys and Main Event. I have been working on the cousins' big Christmas surprise to present them on Wed. since we will likely not be able to get them in December.

On a side note, Hobby Lobby had ALL their fall decor 80% off. I have been eyeing this pumpkin for 2 years but was not going to pay $30 for it...or even $15 when it went 50% off. And by the time I got to the big sale, they were always sold out. Well, this year it was my luck that I showed up the morning it all got marked down so I got this beautiful ceramic pumpkin for $6!! Woohoo! And the leaf garland behind it for around $2. This allowed me to redecorate the piano:

As much as I love fall...I can hardly wait for Christmas decor to go up. I have two new things I am adding to our home this season and am excited to see how they turn out!
Plus, our beloved piano is back. I have not had it to decorate since the Christmas of 2007!

Hope ya'll have a wonderful Thanksgiving week.
I will begin my Thanksgiving posts tomorrow, with a surprise for you all on Monday!

Jasmine Makes A New Friend

2011-11-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

Huh...what's that?

I will just have to go see.

Almost there!

Mom, what IS this?

What big weird eyes you have!

I will kiss you now.

And then hang you by your tail. But we will be friends...

Until my sister's shoes distract me!

And then, friend. You are history.A girl's gotta have her shoes!

Vivianna's Preschool Feast

2011-11-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

Today was Vivi's school Thanksgiving Feast. It was adorable and had so much yummy food for all the parents and siblings!

The kids sang a few songs which were SO cute. I wish I had known so I could have videotaped! They all looked great in their varying hats.

Vivi and her closest friend who is a boy. Billy and I want to make clear that he is NOT her boyfriend...no matter how many times she tells you that! LOL!

2011-11-17T05:34:00.000-08:00

Just some morning reflections.

"When you have decided what you believe, what you feel must be done, have the courage to stand alone and be counted."
~Eleanor Roosevelt

"Never 'for the sake of peace and quiet' deny your own experience or convictions."
~Dag Hammarskjold

Today I am THANKFUL for sweet supportive friends who are riding this cultural tide with me. Your participation in my life, your words of wisdom and encouragement, and your steadfast loyalty to what is good and right are a huge part of the lamp the Lord uses to guide me and sustain me.

“For if God is for us, who can be against us?” ~Romans 8:31

Saying "No" To Your Child

2011-11-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

Are ya'll aware that there is a whole parenting philosophy that discourages parents from saying "No" to their child? I got my Bachelor's Degree in child development and I remember we were taught that when leading a group of toddlers or preschoolers, it was "best" to distract them from what they were doing instead of informing them that their behavior was out of line. We were told that the word "No" breeds negativity and a child who will have low self esteem and be resentful. I knew back then that was a load of you-know-what, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why until I was a Mom myself. I read a blog once where a Mom outlined all of the discipline tactics she used, including tying furniture to the wall, baby gating off every room but a small space in the living room that was way more child proofed then a pediatrician's office...all in an attempt to not have to ever say NO to her child. I questioned her on what she expected this child to do in another person's home where things were not so micro managed if he had never learned to respond to the word "No"? She didn't have much of an answer for that.

This has come up lately in our home as Jasmine has begun the bad habit of wanting to roll onto her tummy on the changing table every single time we put her on there. This is a problem for several reasons: One it makes a mess when trying to change a dirty diaper. Two it makes taking clothes off and on virtually impossible. And three it is dangerous...she could very well take a nose dive onto the floor while I am busy messing with that darned wipes container with the annoying habit of when you go to take one wipe out, three come with it. I am convinced this a conspiracy to make you have to buy more wipes. But I digress...

So when Jasmine does her little spin, Billy or I will flip her on her back and firmly say in her face "No, Mam!!" This usually sends her into a fit of adorable giggles. Why is this a problem you ask? Who doesn't love their baby's laughter? Well we DO love her laugh. But not when we are trying to discipline! This has got me thinking about this ever popular "do not say no to your child" philosophy.

I mean who wants to say "No" to this face?

A quick search of the Internet gave me lots of resources of articles where "experts" are spreading this false teaching. First off is a Redbook article actually titled "How to Say No Without Saying No". The oddest statement of the article says this: "According to studies, kids who hear "no" too much have poorer language skills than children whose parents offer more positive feedback."
Ummm...what studies may I ask? There was nothing sited. Don't you love how people can use the blanket phrase "statistics support, studies show, research tells us..." yet there is no actual reliable research to back these statements up.

Dr. Sears takes a different philosophy, he states: "It's necessary for a parent to say "no" to a child so the child can later say "no" to himself. All children—and some adults—have difficulty delaying gratification. "I want it now" is a driving desire, especially in toddlers. Learning to accept "no" from someone else is a prelude to saying "no" to herself."

Amen, Dr. Sears!!

This quote can be found in his online article titled, 18 Ways To Say No Positively. I LOVE this quote from him! Both articles gave the advice to master "the look"...a way to correct your child with your facial expression. But remember, the look only works if your child knows without a shadow of a doubt that their continued disobedience WILL result in an immediate consequence.

For us, we can take all of these parenting philosophies into consideration, but the ultimate guide is what the Bible says. We currently have our kids memorizing the verse "Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Colossians 3:20.

But what we want them to learn is why is this right?

For starters, Hebrews 13:17 says,
"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."

We as parents will have to give an account to God for how we watched over and shepherded our kids throughout their life.

As their authorities, we are to be held responsible for their childish behavior.

And then also, Romans 13:2:

"Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement."

I don't know about you, but I don't want my children to incur the judgement of God! I want them to live rightly in submission to Christ as their Lord and Savior. And the best way for them to ease into that transition at their personal conversion is for them to have known what obedience to authority is in their childhood.

So back to Jasmine and her disobedience that yes, begins even in infancy...for as you know the Bible tells us we are born with our sin nature. It is not learned.
On a side note, I once read a forum post where someone asked "at what age did you start disciplining your child? My son is 16 months old and quite unruly". My response: "Well before 16 months old".

It is very important that all of my children learn to submit to me as their authority. Not only so they will learn to submit to ALL authority, but also so that they will even learn to deny themselves what they want, thereby learning the virtue of delayed gratification and wants vs. needs. And do NOT get me started on the very popular "ignore bad behavior and it will go away" parenting technique. Silence is acceptance, people.

This week I had to have a stern talk with Isaac over the fact that he has been giving his choir directors some grief with an attitude of sassiness, and uncooperative behavior. I told his choir directors that if he even so much as gives them an annoyed look from here on out, they are to send him to me (I stay in the church to help with prop design). So in an attempt to curb this disrespectful behavior, I have written out several Bible verses on obedience in his journal. When he chooses to not obey fully and with a positive attitude, he will be sent to me to copy a verse from his journal. This way he is removed from the situation, given an opportunity to hide God's Word in his heart, AND gets to work on his handwriting skills. Bonus! We will see how this goes!

What he will not be allowed to do is disrupt choir for the whole group.

A recent trip to Target with all of my precious ones in tow proved my parenting philosophy well. When my children behave (i.e. stay with me, do not touch things on shelves, no fighting amongst yourselves) their "reward" is we will run by the toy section for a few minutes to browse. When they state they like something I always say, "We will put that on your Christmas or birthday list" And we move on. I do not ever buy them toys on days that are not special occasions. There are four of them afterall, and money doesn't grow on trees!! :) But often times while in the toy aisles, we will observe at least one child giving their parents "the business" about wanting this and that. Sometimes the child is crying, sometimes they are nagging incessantly, and often times the parents have to tear them away in a huff. I have even seen parents with carts filled with toys as they try to negotiate, "you have enough here. Put something back if you want that one!" and of course the kids are having none of that logic!

Well, I will proudly say "Not my kids!" They do not even ask for anything. They know the answer is "No." They look at and play with the boxed toys and when I say, "It's time to move on!" They move. Yes, I can shop with 4 kids. I go to the Dr. with 4 kids. I went to the dentist with 3 and sat in the chair getting my teeth cleaned. How? Because I am teaching them to obey. It is grueling work. It is exhausting, it is HARD to do, and some days I fail miserably.

But I will carry on for their benefit and mine.

May we all be challenged to do right by our kids and our greater world that is going to have to live with them in it!

Parties

2011-11-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

You all know I LOVE to plan and host my kid's birthday parties. The problem is, Jayden's birthday falls 2 weeks after Christmas. I am usually quite exhausted around that time...so last year we took him to Gattitown for his 3rd birthday. Next year, I said...he needs a party! So because the holiday season is CRAZY, I have had to begin my planning now. We agreed he could have a Superhero themed party as long as I didn't have to commit to one hero in particular...because it is easier to go generic AND I am not a fan of the scary superhero look for a 4 year old.

This is the invitation I purchased on Etsy. I just love it! I will print it at a photo lab to pass out. I have also begun to research what I want the party to look like. I bought paper mache letters to spell his name for less than $10 at Hobby Lobby and bought two comic books at Half Price Books for only 75 cents each. Score!
I am mod podging the comics to the letters for the food table centerpiece.

I have done the letter "J" but you can't see the finished product until the party...sorry! :)
Candy buffets are all the rage at parties and events right now.
I will go for primary colors something like this:

And I have also been on the hunt for a reasonably priced batman cape and mask. But I want his name embroidered on it too. This will be his b-day gift from us.

And since it is a winter party, there will be no bounce house or pinata. :(
BUT I did find a fun game idea ~ to hide small superhero guys in blocks of ice and spread them out in the yard for a scavenger hunt. Then when they are all found, you bring them back inside to "rescue them" by thawing the ice blocks in a bowl of warm water and freeing the heroes. I love this cause the kids will have coats with them that they wear here, so 10 minutes outside will be a refreshing break from the party!