Yesterday I took a walk with my youngest and her friend at a local park. It was still flooded in the lower areas due to recent rains that have followed the tornados, ice storms, and other crazy weather. (As I type this there are 15 men and 1 woman atop my roof repairing the damage done by the hail and high winds)
I am quite happy to bid "hello" to spring and look forward with hope an joy to flowers, green grass and vacations.
Yesterday we finally had a birthday party for young Christi. It was horse themed (duh!) at a local park board owned farm. There were wonderful animals for the kids to pet, watch and learn about. The park was great, the staff wonderful and best of all, the kids got to pet a mini-horse named bandit. The cupcakes ended up being a great last minute order...I had planned on asking Stacy to do it, but then when we were hit with snow days, flooding and every other weather phenom...well, it just made it easier to walk in the day before, order the horse themed cupcakes. I'm sure Stacy's would have been better, but at least I didn't have to make them. :)
The kids and I spent time last night coloring eggs for our Easter deviled eggs....there's something signifcant about using our eggs that celebrate resurrection to make eggs named after the devil. :)
I thought the eggs turned out rather beautiful. The trick? Sharpies! Yep, drawing on the eggs before coloring them made them rather vivid and special.
Happy Easter! And though Easter isn't about eggs, chocolate bunnies nor jelly beans...it is a fun way to celebrate such a joyous day.
Yep! She's 5. And beautiful. And she prayed for snow for her birthday. And...I made a PRETTY cake. I'll post a photo soon. ;)
The path may seem a bit foggy and unclear, but the road still remains. As we head into 2008 I am taking a few minutes to look forward..we so often look back at the "good ole days" that in the scope of reality were just the old days. Sure, some things great happened. Yes, we did lose a few friends and family along the way that are still missed today. But while we were in those days they were just like these days...they were life. So I am looking forward to what it is that I can do to make the coming days, weeks, months and years not only memorable but also meaningful. Happy New Year and Blessings to you and your family!
NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1a)
My littlest one, Christi, has always been a bit of timid one. She hates the big rat @ Chuck E Cheese. She has always been terrified that we would take her to Disney World and make her meet the big Minnie and Mickey. She has never, ever wanted to see Santa, Easter Bunny and even had it worked out that her brother would put her teeth, if she were ever to lose one, under his pillow to spare her the possibility of meeting the Tooth Fairy. But this year?
"Mama, I think I want to go see Santa, I'm not scared."
So, off we headed on Sunday afternoon to meet the Jolly Old Elf himself. Now, we are not huge proponents of the Santa fellow, but we do like to play the game with our kids....and I've always been a sucker for the Santa picture.
While standing in line we met a cute couple of girls were were also waiting to see Santa. One 14, the other a bit younger, but I'm not sure how old. They were sweet and visited with my Christi and Ryan while waiting for Santa to return from his break (someone has to feed the reindeer after all). In years past, we would often just take our own cameras and take a quick picture of whomever was willing to sit with Santa...after all the pictures have always been a bit on the pricey side.
Last year they posted a sign that read "Minimum purchase required to use personal camera for Santa visit." What!!! They had a nice lady inform me that I could purchase the photo CD for $5 and still then I could take as many pictures as I wanted. Deal!
This year? The same sign was posted, but the rules had changed. You had to spend at least $20 for anything to take photos. Gulp! I know, $20 isn't a bunch of money in the grand scheme of things, but come on! It's Christmas, gas prices are higher and there are people out there who would love a photo of their kids with Santa but the $20 is a deal breaker for them.
While talking to the lovely young ladies behind me and their equally nice mom, I decided that I would purchase the photo, since this was our first time to officially have Christi sit on Santa's lap and I would also take a few photos of the other two gals for their mom...sort of as a Christmas present (though it be small) to share the Christmas spirit. I did end up telling the helper elf that I was speaking to that my minimum purchase was going to cover these girls too, so I could take their picture. She winked, said go for it and away I snapped.
After procuring the email address of my new friends I read it, smiled over the clever email address and promptly put it in my jeans pocket. A few days later I realized the mess that had been all over the inside of the dryer had been the address of this family. Groan! I had forgotten to take the slip of paper out of the jeans before I washed them. Amazingly, the email address came to me (which anyone who really knows me will see the miracle of that...my memory is terrible) and I was able to send the pictures on to them today. Merry Christmas to my new friends!
The sweetest part of that day? As Santa came up before sitting on his throne he walked through the line giving "high fives" and hand shakes. As he came to Christi she took a deep breath, high-fived him, and smiled. As he walked on she pulled me down to her and told me "Mama! You made me brave!" (misty eyed mama was so proud)
I went looking for my ideals outside myself and discovered it's not what the world holds for you, but what you bring to it. The dreams dearest to my heart are right here. Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables, The Sequel
While working on some of the photos from a recent photo shoot I came across the quote above and thought that it so perfectly describes what many of us feel about home. So I decided to go outside with my camera and take a photo of my dream world.
Niki has joined the Spirit Squad, a must if you want to have a chance to try out for cheerleader in the spring. Niki has decided that she wants to try out. Niki left a recent game with a proud smile on her face, she had won the spirit stick giving her the priviledge of taking the stick home to decorate and return to school.
Well first games are out of the way...the kids had a good time and so did I! The Coyotes (1st/2nd grade team I'm coaching) played really well, especially for a team that is half experienced and the other half first timers. The Dragonflies (Christi's team, 4&5 year olds) played a spirited game of "run that way". Everyone once in a while, someone would get in a kick and head off after the ball. It was so cute. Christi got in a couple of good kicks, and ran quiet gracefully. Her main objective is to run without messing up her ponytail. On to game #2 on Saturday.
Christi has been loving doing her little learning books. She loves the math the most, but also loves the letters and patterns. She usually brings in one of her activities to do while I'm getting myself ready for the day (after the other kids have left for school) It is a fun time for her, and I get to put on my makeup without needing to share my lipstick...most of the time. :)
This past weekend, as Husband and I were driving to lunch, we noticed a huge tent set up in the parking lot of our closest mall. It intrigued me, so when I found out it was a small circus I decided to give it a try. My oldest two kids had been to the circus before, but the younger two had not....it was high time they saw elephants and trapeze artists and dog doing the cha-cha.
It was a very nice circus, perfect for first timers! My son started out being afraid of clowns (common fear I'm told) but I convinced him to ask for Holy Spirit to help him overcome his fear so he could have this fun experience. He took a few minutes, a deep breath and then started walking. He started out by looking directly at a clown. I told him to focus on the fact that he could tell it was just a man or woman wearing a lot of make-up. I told him to focus on the nose, eyes, ears....the same features that we all have. After he was able to do that, he smiled a little then waved tentatively. The clown guy waved back and smiled. We were then able to walk on into the tent and find our seats. We watched the stunts done with amazement, we clapped when the poodles all stood with their front paws on the backs of the poodle in front and danced the cha-cha and when the elephants did their balancing acts, it pleased all. After an elephant ride for one child and a pony ride for another, we walked out to the van. My son looked at me and said "Thank you Mom for forcing me to go in the tent. It was the best show ever!" I laughed. I reminded him that I did not force him but encouraged him, and then I said "you're welcome!". Christi proclaimed it the "best day ever" and the older two loved sharing this event with the younger two. What a great memory.
Life has been going really well lately, just a bit busy. I love it, I truly do! This is my favorite time of year, school going on a regular schedule, fall craft festivals have started, pumpkin patches have opened and fall soccer games start this Saturday. But I have had to make adjustments in my time allotments to make room for the life going on around us.
One of these adjustments has been finding ways to spend time together as a family without making it a crazy day. Dinner is one of those times, but since I have no desire to cook I have found my list of places where kids eat free invaluable. Tuesdays are our favorite nights....McAlister's has kids eat free night (two per paying adult). This month they have this wonderful lady doing free face painting. We had such a good time watching FacePainter do her magic, all in a matter of minutes. It was amazing, we stayed for an hour watching, getting something cool and enjoying a great healthy dinner.
