Bye-Bye Three, Hello Four!

It's official.   No more babies in my house! :(  4 years ago today I became a mommy for the 2nd time, to a sweet little boy!   What a joy he has been for our family!!!  I have struggled with this upcoming birthday for some time, but seeing the joy on his face this morning erased all of the anguish I have felt (for now, at least!).  Last night he cried because "I don't want to be four!  Four is closer to being a grown-up, and I always want to be little so I can stay with you, Mommy!"  If only he knew how much I sometimes wish the same!

Today is all about the little man.  Daddy took off work as a surprise today, and big sister, Daddy, and I woke the birthday boy up with a birthday serenade.   He hopped right out of bed and has been going full-steam ahead ever since!   Daddy made him a special breakfast of sausage and blue pancakes (with candles, of course!), and now they are spending the morning with Mario and the rest of the Wii gang. :)  The highlight so far has been riding in a booster seat for the first time!  I've never seen someone so proud to ride in a car!  

I'll update more about the big day later, but for now, it's time to spend the day with my big, precious FOUR YEAR OLD!!  Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!  We love you!

Pirate P-AAAR-TY

Today was the big celebration of my little boy turning 4!  His "real" birthday isn't until Thursday (which has totally confused him!), but today was the day everyone could party.   Just a word of warning...I tend to go a little, shall we say, overboard? when it comes to birthday parties!   We try to go low-key on gifts and really play up the party party of it.   So, here goes!

First, everyone dressed the part.  We wore bandanas and pirate gear, large dangly earrings, gaudy necklaces, etc.   Grandaddy even came with sword and gold medallion necklace that just "happened" to get left behind for the birthday boy. 

I colored pictures of all of the Jake and the Never Land Pirates characters and laminated them.  Then, we glued them to tag board, and my wonderful hubby cut out the tag board and made little stands for them.   About halfway through this process, I told my hubby that I probably should have had it in our marriage vows about all the birthday parties.  You know?  "To have and to hold, in sickness and in health...and psycho birthday bashes."  I know he thinks I'm crazy sometimes, but he's such a good sport and helps me out when I start having meltdown and realize that I've been over-ambitious with the party-planning.  Anyway, he bailed me out when I wasn't strong enough to cut out all the tag board AND we were running out of time, and here's the finished product!  We are quite proud of these, because now my little boy has Jake characters to play with!  Kind of like "boy" paper dolls.  Hahaha.  They don't sell Jake toys in the Disney stores yet (not until June!), so this is the next best (and maybe better?!) thing!

Then we come to the pirate pops. I  saw these about a year ago (I think?) in an article, and I knew they'd be in our future some day.   I'm so happy with how they turned out, although I've learned all kinds of things about making cake pops!  Quite the adventure, but a cake pop maker (kind of like a waffle iron gadget that makes cake balls) makes ALL the difference!  I've tried it the other way before (smashing up cake and icing and freezing it), and it was not a success.   These, on the other hand, almost make me think pirates could be cute and cuddly!

And, as if that weren't enough chocolate (I know, there's no such thing as "enough" chocolate!), my hubby offered to hand-paint these yummy candy pops as party favors. My son picked them out at the store, but I just ran out of steam (and time) and had decided to just pour one color of candy in them.  Daddy to the rescue!  Even though he was drained from a long week of school and getting over a cold, he persevered and made enough for everyone! 

On to the other decorations.  Big Sis colored a sign similar to the title screen on Jake and the Never Land Pirates, substituting her brother's name in it.  And, she made a sign that said "Stash Yer Loot Here" so people knew where to put the loot...er...gifts.   Somehow I didn't get a picture of it, but maybe I can add one when I do "real" birthday postings.

No pirate shindig would be complete without a plank, would it? 

We walked down the plank, jumped in the "water" (blankets), and searched for hidden treasure (chocolate gold coins) in the waters. 

We also had a photo-op pirate cutout that resulted in the most hilarious pictures...but in keeping with my self-imposed privacy rules, I won't post those.  Close friends, feel free to ask and I'll send them to you!

 And, then, the cake.  The big production.   Usually I'm not really happy with my creations, but I love this one!  I wish I'd taking pictures as I went along, because it looked pretty rough up until the end!   By the way, Jake's ship is named "Bucky."  :) The big ship is funfetti cake with "slightly chocolate" icing. Pretzel mast, fondant accents, pop tart railing in the back, and a cookie for a steering wheel.  Captain Hook's rowboat is yellow cake with buttercream.  The island is yellow cake iced in buttercream with brown sugar "sand."  I really like the palm trees, a last minute, desperate attempt to put leaves on the pretzels when I realized I'd forgotten the leaves!  The people are laminated pictures on popsicle sticks, and the water is a mix of leftover cake pieces, blue icing, and cool whip. :) 

Nostalgic

Here I am, sitting on the couch watching my little man play Toy Story on the Wii...quite well, I might add!  I am SUPPOSED to be unloading groceries and starting on birthday party preparations, but I'm feeling a little nostalgic. I can't seem to drag myself away from sitting beside him.  I find it so hard to believe that he will be 4 years old in less than a week!  Tomorrow is the big party, a Pirate bash!  Usually I'm prepared way in advance for parties, but this year I think I'm in denial that the big day is almost here!  I haven't really struggled with any of the birthdays for my kids to this point, but for some reason today he seems so BIG!  And I don't like it!!! :)  I mean, I'm grateful he's growing up and is healthy and is becoming more independent, but at the same time, I want him to always be little!  He's such a cuddle-bug, and he'd rather be with Mommy than do just about anything else.  I know the day is coming (sooner than I'd like, I'm sure), when Mommy won't be his #1 friend.  I want to enjoy my status as #1 while I can!

With my daughter, it didn't seem so monumental for her to grow up because there was another one coming behind her. We still had "baby" stuff around, so we could just enjoy her new milestones.  Knowing that this is probably our last one, I'm quite sentimental about it!  So, for now, the dirty dishes and cake pops can wait, and I'll sit here cheering him on as he defeats the bad guys on Toy Story and comes to the rescue!  I'll listen to his constant giggles and revel in his grins, triumphant cheers, and "Watch me, Mommy!" yells.   My to-do list may still be full at the end of the day, but so will my mommy-heart. 

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday, so last night he came over and we fixed him a big birthday meal.  Country fried steak, hashbrown casserole, green beans, yeast rolls, salad, and dessert!  YUM!  

I had a hard time deciding on a birthday gift.  What do you get someone who has all they need?   So, I reverted to childhood and made him a gift to frame for his office.  :)  Here it is!

Happy Birthday, Dad!  February 2012

Though I’ll never be a poet,

(Yes, I do know it),

I started thinking of all the reasons I had

For being thankful that you are my dad.

I realized quickly that the number was high,

And that, as far as dads go, you’re a pretty swell guy.

This list isn’t complete, but contains some of the best

Memories with which I have been richly blessed!

THANK YOU FOR:

v     Baseball games with the Shreveport Captains

v     My first set of major league baseball tickets

v     Helping solve 100s of Friday’s brain puzzles for Gateway

v     Teaching me to work hard, be on time, and never quit

v     Pushing me to do my best, no matter what

v     Skipping rocks, kicking sticks, and crawfish hunting

v     Coming to every event, even when you were needed at work

v     Letting me buy the wedding dress of my dreams!

v     Shopping with me for my first car

v     Shaving cream fights in the backyard on Sophia

v     Treasure hunts for birthdays – a group of witches is a coven!

v     Bailing me out when I locked my keys in the RUNNING car!

v     Shoney’s before & ice cream at McD’s after Miss Louisiana

v     Teaching me to ride a bike…even if I couldn’t use the brakes!

v     Camping trips in floods and THE CLIMB

v     Interviewing my friends before a college road trip

v     All-you-can-eat crawfish dinners

v     Loving my mom for so many years

Let them celebrate

Last night during family prayer time, my daughter said something that really caught my attention, and it's been on my mind ever since.  I think she misspoke, but her words still rang true. 

After praying for the "usual" things, she said, "Let those who have lost loved ones to celebrate."  

Again, I don't think that's what she meant to say, as she usually will say, "Let them be comforted," or something along those lines, but it really made me think about how we view the loss of a loved one.  Obviously, we mourn what is missing in our own lives when we lose someone, and the idea of death can be a very scary one.   I, for one, have thought before about how I would be totally unable to cope if I lose my husband or one of my children.  (Of course, the good news is that I would not have to do so alone, as God would most certainly be with me!) However, the more I think about it, the more I think she hit the nail on the head!  If we are confident in the salvation we have in Christ (or that our passing loved ones have in Christ), do we not have every reason to celebrate when someone is allowed to leave this world of pain and sorrow to move on to their eternal reward in Christ?  I must admit that this "peaceful feeling" is something with which I greatly struggle, but I'm thankful my daughter gave me reason to ponder this.

Bean there, done that!

Several weeks ago on Pinterest, we saw some cute bean mosaics.   We rushed out to buy the dried beans in all sorts of colors, and then life got in the way!   Every day since then, my kids have begged, "Please?!  Is this the day we can do bean mosaics?"

Finally, my daughter was out of school for a few days of "professional development," so we dumped all the beans and some unpopped corn into individual bowls, pulled out the Mod Podge and school glue, found an old piece of black tagboard, and got to work!

Here are the beans we bought.

We started with the blank tagboard, cut to the desired size.

 Then, we drew our designs with white crayon so that we'd know where to put the beans and wouldn't have to figure it out while we were trying to glue.

Next, we added our beans with Mod Podge as the glue.  If you use it, make sure to glob it on fairly thick and to only do a small section at a time, as it dries quickly!  Here are a few pictures "in progress."

I gave my kids no guidance, other than to "be creative."  My daughter ended up getting a little too carried away and "lost" her picture in the process.  In an uncharacteristically flexible move, she decided it was now a "hidden picture" mosaic.  Can you spot the hidden picture and initial?  :)  My finished mosaic is at the bottom, a little easier to see. 

I was surprised at how relaxing this was!   I had expected it to be high-stress and drama-provoking, because my kids are both perfectionists (as am I!).  However, it was so calming, I guess because it required so much focus.  And, it was good, quality TALKING time.  At 6, my daughter already realizes she can control how much info she shares with me, so sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get her to give me more information.  During this craft, she shared a great deal of thoughts, feelings, and stories.   Totally worth the price of beans!

You've got mail!

Winter, although mild, has kind of given my family a case of the "blahs."  The inevitable letdown after the holidays has left our normal days feeling a little...well...normal!  So, in an effort to promote the loving spirit of Valentine's day, I made a trip to the Dollar Tree the other day and purchased some cheap gift boxes.  With a Sharpie, I put each of our names on one and placed them at our respective spots at the dinner table.

The first night, I put something in each mailbox and then explained the idea. Our little project will run through Valentine's day.  Throughout each day (preferably when no one is looking), we can place small gifts, cards, or trinkets in each other's boxes.  The only rule is that it can't be expensive.  Each night at dinner time, we are allowed to open our "mailboxes."  The kids have delighted not only in seeing what is in their boxes, but also in seeing the rest of us find their gifts.  Immediately, my kids began searching for treasures to share with one another (and with us).  We've seen pieces of candy from their individual stashes, sweet cards written to each other, and even money from their piggy banks in mine and Daddy's boxes!  We've traded coupons good for reading time, snuggle time, etc.  The fun of hiding things from each other during the day has led to many giggles, much shushing of anyone who knows the secret, and pure delight upon pulling one over on us.  Even Daddy's in on the game!  Who knew that $4 at the Dollar Tree could result in so much fun? 

Hands on the Sword!

En garde!  Hands on the Sword!

About a year ago, we started doing Bible drills with our two children, who are now 6 and almost-four.   It started out very simply, with finding only the two testaments, which we highlighted in a Bible (our then-2-year-old couldn't read yet) solely for this cause.   Soon, it expanded to Genesis and Malachi, Matthew and Revelation.  The beginnings and ends were fairly easy to find, and we highlighted them as well.  Then we moved on to Psalms, the middle of the Bible.

Since that time, we've included Bible drills in our nightly family devotional times, and the kids have gotten amazingly good at them!  When we started them, I had no idea that this would be something they could legitimately learn to do, but I have been pleasantly surprised!  Now that the 3 year old can read well, we have moved onto harder books, without the highlighting.  We've also moved into giving them harder and harder clues.   We started out by saying, "Find Matthew, find Psalms, find Isaiah, etc."  Now, we say things like, "Find the book with Mommy's favorite story in it," or, "Find the first gospel," or "Paul's last epistle."  Sometimes my hubby and I participate, too, and up until now, we've always been way ahead of them in finding the books.   Until now.  Tonight, my children beat me to several books!  I was so proud of them, and amazed by what even little ones can accomplish if given the adequate training.

I'm sure some of you are asking, "Why?  What's the purpose of teaching this at such a young age when they don't understand what's going on?"   I have seen it bleed into other times in our days.  In class, in worship, and even in their own readings, they are becoming more adept at finding people, places, and stories in God's word.  They follow along during sermons (mostly) and take such joy in reading God's word for themselves.  They know where to find their own favorite stories, and thus can find them anytime they choose.  What a blessing for them!  My prayer is that, with this foundation, they will continue to develop their own study times and that knowing how to find books will allow them to focus on what they are reading more than where it is found.  I challenge my friends to try this with your own kids.  You might be as surprised as I have been at the blessings it will bring!
En garde!  Hands on the sword!

Facebook Fallout

At the end of last week, I did the unthinkable.  I deactivated my Facebook account.   I had no idea the fallout that would result!

This was not a decision that I took lightly.  I had been considering it for months, but was hesitant to pull the plug.  I tried taking an unofficial break from it in late fall, and, honestly, I didn't miss it.  AT ALL.   I  checked my messages only about weekly, just to make sure someone didn't have an important need I needed to address, but other than that, I was AWOL.   Then, in December, I decided to get back on there for just that month to post pictures of our Elf on the Shelf, Snickerdoodle.  I had many friends and family members who wanted to be a part of that with us and share in the humor of the elf.  

Instantly, despite my best intentions, I was drawn back into the drama and time warp that is Facebook, so I decided to cut the cord for good (or, at least, for now!).  My husband and I discussed it, and I finally took the plunge and disconnected from this community.  Little did I know how it would affect others!  Within minutes of my deactivating my account and sending out emails about it, I was receiving countless messages from friends bemoaning my decision.   I think some took it very personally, although it had little to do with anyone but myself!   I think, perhaps, I'm not the only person who realizes a need to depart from that social network!  I realized just how much each of us can influence others, even with seemingly trivial decisions!  

Don't get me wrong.  I am NOT Anti-Facebook.  I think Facebook can do a lot of good for a lot of people.  It is a wonderful way to connect with people all across the country (and world!).  My high school pen pal from France found me on there, as did some long-lost college friends and people I grew up with in my home state of Louisiana.   I also believe that, for Christians, it provides a wonderful place to share prayer requests, announcements about events, and to share with others joys and sorrows of our days as they occur, rather than after the fact.  It saves us the time of sending multiple emails about the same topic to different people, it allows groups to form and converse, etc.   I like Facebook.  At times, I've even loved Facebook for the convenience it affords!  I don't think less of anyone who chooses to use it, and I may even come back to it someday when I can make time and energy for it. 

However, for ME, Facebook had become something that was not a good way for me to spend my time.  I would get on "just to check something," and, 30 minutes  (or an hour!) and 5 chats and 10 email messages and 3 photo albums and 2 friend requests later , I would have accomplished nothing on my to-do list for the day, and I would be frustrated about wasting my time.  Also, I was becoming discouraged by posts from some of my friends on Facebook.   People I respected and trusted were letting me down with the words and pictures and topics they chose to post.   It wasn't worth the anxiety of seeing all that.   Thirdly, I felt nosy.  I felt like, oftentimes, I was learning things about people I shouldn't be learning!  Granted, they were posting those things for all the world to see, but still...I felt like I was privy to private information about people's lives that I had no business knowing.  And, it became all too easy for people (me included) to gossip about what we had seen posted online.  Lastly, I wanted to keep myself as pure as possible.  I had little control (if any) over what others posted on my wall, and I wanted to make sure that I was not tarnishing my reputation as a Christian through my Facebook account.  I make enough mistakes on my own without worrying about how what someone else did or said would affect my standing with God and my reflection of His church. 

Okay, so I said all that to say this:  What the old adage says is true.  No man lives to himself, and no man dies to himself.  We are constantly influencing others!  Since I left Facebook, I have learned that no one makes a decision in a vacuum.  I knew that already, of course, but for some reason, this decision has brought that into focus.  I didn't realize how many people would be affected by something so small that I did.  I don't say that to make myself seem more important than I am, I say it to make us all think!  I had no idea that anyone would even really notice that I'd left Facebook, much less CARE!   It has really made me think about how much what we do and say as Christians can impact and influence the world for good or for bad.  Just a thought to consider!

Sorry this was not very concise.  :)  I tend to be a little wordy!

On a side note:  If you ever decide to deactivate Facebook, make sure to write down any important email addresses first! :)