Our first real snow that actually stuck around came today! The kids were very excited and played in it for bit. We are not really “playing out in the snow” prepared as far as clothes go but we are working on that. They had fun eating and throwing the snow and Pa even took them on a quick sled ride which was loved by all! Hopefully the snow will be around for a little while and we can get out there again. In the meantime I have a wonderful friend visiting me from Chico so I’ll be signing off for a couple days. I am going to soak up every minute that I can!
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5 on friday.
1. mason is quite the the star wars ship builder. he comes up with some amazing creations. each and every little part of the ship has a purpose. and the battles that these ship engage in are awesome! i am always amazed at how different the ships look while using the same pieces. maybe a future engineer?
2. the christmas decorations are up at my parents house and everything looks beautiful and festive. my mom does a wonderful job making her home look merry and bright! today i hung up a decoration i got her last christmas. this cute little “rejoice” banner is from my friend courtney’s etsy shop called joyful joyful. along with being a very talented and successful wedding and event coordinator courtney shares some of her creations in her shop at etsy. she has all kind of seasonal banners as well other cute items. i love this one because it is a visual reminder of what this season is truly about. let us REJOICE! check out joyfuljoyfuletsy to get your own banner and see what other goodies you can find!
3. I love the excitement about SNOW around here. To born and raised (until now) California kids snow is very fun, interesting, confusing and exciting! If only they had this much excitement about their winter coats!
Here they are catching snowflakes on their tongues. I joined in too after I took the pic:)
4. tonight we have a fun planned that includes watching the polar express in our pj’s, hot chocolate and popcorn. really there isn’t anything else i would rather be doing. it’s the simple things that make us happy:) abcfamily has their 25 days of christmas movies on. if you have a dvr (which we don’t, but hopefully soon!) this is a major score!
5. last but not least i celebrated my birthday this week! i’ve had a great week celebrating with my family and friends. i had a wonderful breakfast date with my husband and fun birthday dinner with my whole family and 2 high school friends! i got lots of birthday wishes and hugs from the my kids all day. many birthday wishes from friends all over. i felt so special and loved! 33 is off to a great start!
thankful thursday.
belated butterscotch pie from my grandma
lots of birthday wishes all day long
a husband that is safely across the world
a helpful and caring dad
a mom full of surprises because she loves me that much
a core group of friends that pray for me and my family consistently
the christmas season to celebrate all that He has done!
a moment in real life.
lots of birthday love on facebook from friends all over makes a girl feel real special!!!
handmade ideas.
each year i like to hand make one gift for each of the kids for christmas. i love doing crafty things and involving my kid’s personalities and likes in my creativity. i hope that someday these homemade gifts would be something to forward to and cherished, more than another toy to put in a bin.
this year the girls LOVE getting and giving mail. they pretend to write letters to family and friends all the time. when i saw this tutorial on making play mail out of felt at Lu Bird Baby i immediately envisioned hours upon hours of fun. ha ha! wishful thinking! can’t wait to get started on these.
now for my little dude the star wars love runs thick and deep so I know if I have any chance of him taking a second glance at what I made Star Wars would have to be incorporated somehow. one of my go to craft sites helped me out. she has some star wars lovin’ boys herself and came up with this diy boys art journal.
it’s an art journal with a pocket on the front made out of contact paper that is full of “idea cards” for mason to draw. ex: storm trooper, anakin defeating count duku (can you tell I’ve been well informed on my stars wars stuff?). I think he will like this because it’s star wars, it’s his own journal and he can draw whatever comes to mind with a little jump start from the “idea cards”. i like it because it promotes creativity, imagination and alone time:)
what are you crafting up this christmas?
fill ‘er up!
In my 5 1/2 years of being a mom I am happy to say there are a few things I have figured out. Not that I do these things well all of the time but it isn’t a point of confusion or mystery to me anymore. One of these things is how to help my kids be emotionally full and content. I look at it like they have gas tanks inside their little beings that need to be filled up each and every day. If/when I take time to engage them by getting on the floor and playing with them, imagining with them, talking, listening, asking questions, speaking truth to them, encouraging them praying with them etc. their cups get filled, they overflow. When I take a chunk of uninterrupted time to give them my full attention, give them eye contact their tanks go to overflowing. And I see a difference. They are satisfied and content, they treat others with kindness, they have joy and are more content to play by themselves. But when I try to put a drop in here, a drop in there in the midst of checking email, making phone calls and doing laundry it doesn’t work as well. I’ve learned that when those tanks get low or empty it is not pretty. Things go badly quickly. I ultimately want them to find their full satisfaction and contentment in Jesus. My desire is for them to be overflowing with Him. But in the mean time my prayer is that along with building my relationship and having fun with my sweet little kidders I will point them to Jesus.
I have not mastered this by any means. It is a continual balance of filling myself first with His Spirit so I can then fill them up and point them in the right direction. If my tank is not overflowing I surely I cannot fill anyone else’s. It takes discipline to put my kids needs before meaningless busyness “when I just don’t feel like playing Star Wars or babies” one more time. But as their mom I am called to lead them, build them up and pour into them. Even when I don’t feel like it, or when it’s not convenient my desire is to “fill ‘er up”!
In my 5 1/2 years of being a mom I am happy to say there are a few things I have figured out. Not that I do these things well all of the time but it isn’t a point of confusion or mystery to me anymore. One of these things is how to help my kids be emotionally full and content. I look at it like they have gas tanks inside their little beings that need to be filled up each and every day. If/when I take time to engage them by getting on the floor and playing with them, imagining with them, talking, listening, asking questions, speaking truth to them, encouraging them praying with them etc. their cups get filled, they overflow. When I take a chunk of uninterrupted time to give them my full attention, give them eye contact their tanks go to overflowing. And I see a difference. They are satisfied and content, they treat others with kindness, they have joy and are more content to play by themselves. But when I try to put a drop in here, a drop in there in the midst of checking email, making phone calls and doing laundry it doesn’t work as well. I’ve learned that when those tanks get low or empty it is not pretty. Things go badly quickly. I ultimately want them to find their full satisfaction and contentment in Jesus. My desire is for them to be overflowing with Him. But in the mean time my prayer is that along with building my relationship and having fun with my sweet little kidders I will point them to Jesus.
I have not mastered this by any means. It is a continual balance of filling myself first with His Spirit so I can then fill them up and point them in the right direction. If my tank is not overflowing I surely I cannot fill anyone else’s. It takes discipline to put my kids needs before meaningless busyness “when I just don’t feel like playing Star Wars or babies” one more time. But as their mom I am called to lead them, build them up and pour into them. Even when I don’t feel like it, or when it’s not convenient my desire is to “fill ‘er up”!
5 on friday.
5 things i loved about my thanksgiving…
1. starting the day in a lazy way with cinnamon rolls, tangerines, egg nog and watching the parade.
2. sitting at a table of 22 family members that i love. listening to bits and pieces of conversations. enjoying each other in the midst of the chaos.
3. stuffing. stuffing. and more stuffing.
4.taking part in another family tradition; rummaging through all the christmas adds and making our lists for grandma. we are not aloud to leave the house until it is in her hands.
5. ending the day with the one i love the most. relaxing. laughing. talking. enjoying quiet time together.
Hope you enjoyed your day to give thanks for all that He has given to you!
thankful thursday.
much to be thankful for today and everyday.
happy thanksgiving!
enjoy your day of giving thanks to Him.
a moment in real life
12:45 pm
a good card game of war between father and son