Note To Self

I heard the best sermon at church the other day.

It was all about how important it is to pour blessings into our children, spouses, families, and friends.

I know that I was insanely blessed with parents who invested into my life. James was blessed the same way. Even our grandparents invested into our lives (and still into the lives of our children).

Our parents took us to church, taught us about Jesus, told us we were made for a special purpose, and told us how loved we were.

I never realized the importance of their words and actions until I had kids of my own. I see the desire for acceptance in their eyes. They beg for approval, physical touch, and time with us.

Our pastor gave us 5 things (from the book The Blessing) that are essential to do in order to bless our kids. I had to write is down and make a mental note…I cannot forget to do this!

1. Give them meaningful physical touch.
For my kids this means wrestling. Boys….
But they love to rough house. They love to know they can play with us (yes…me included)
They need for me to kiss their battle wounds, cuddle with them, and give lots of hugs.
Touching my kids is a key way we express our love for them!

2. Spoken Message
For Josiah, this is so important. He needs to hear words of affirmation. "You are special." You have a specific purpose that the Lord created you to do." "You are funny." "You are handsome." "You are smart." "I love you to the moon and back."
These words can change their life, and speak into it.
If you never tell your kids what they are worth, or how much you love them, how will they know?

3. Attach High Value
This one is pretty self explanatory…tell them what they are worth! They are created with a special purpose. They are needed. They are special. They are irreplaceable. Make them feel it…make them believe it!

4. Picture a Special Future
This one is fun to do with my kids. I ask them what they want to be and then tell them that it can happen! You want to be a fireman today? You will be the best fireman and you will save so many people!
You want to be a barber when you grow up (Josiah said this once…it was so cute!). You will make people look so great!
It is so fun to hear their dreams and tell them that anything they choose to do will be astonishing! They will be good at their job, successful, and leave a meaningful impact!

5. Active Commitment
I must choose every day to invest into my children. I cannot "drop the ball". I have to be involved, active, and invested into their lives. They need to know that I am with them every second of every day (even if we are physically apart). I am not even close to being 100% involved with them at all moments. I don't think that's even possible. But I know the importance of being their Mom and being part of who they are.

I had to get this down! I have to remember this. I need to invest into my children's lives. They will know they are loved. They will do great things (to me….this has nothing to do with making money). They will be kind, loving, and full of compassion.
I will speak this into their lives. I will fill them with love and I will attach high value to them.

They will know their worth in Christ…I will tell them…every….single…day.

Superhero Fight

According to my 4 year old:

In a fight who would win?

Spiderman VS Batman
~Spiderman because he could wrap Batman up with his web

Spiderman VS Green Lantern
~Green Lanter man because he has a laser ring to shoot spiderman

Green Lantern VS Captain America
~Captain America because he has a gun, and a shield to block the laser from Green Lantern man

Captain America VS Peter Pan
~Peter Pan because he can throw his tiny sword at Captain America…and he can fly

Peter Pan VS The Hulk
~The Hulk because he's huge. 

The Hulk VS Everybody
~The Hulk because he's so so huge.

Who's the best superhero of all time?
~Jesus. Because he can do everything. He can turn to any superhero and he can become invisible. And because he came back to life. Nobody else did that!


Yeah…I really love this kid.

But with a mind like that….who wouldn't love him?

Housework

We have been working so hard around here.

Ella will be 1 (sigh) on Friday and her party will be the week after. We want to celebrate with a party in our backyard.

When we bought our house a couple of years ago it was newly built with an unfinished backyard. That meant we had to finish it. Last summer was the patio, the grass, the fence, and the retaining wall.

{Baby footprints…Ella was less than 2 weeks old!}

This summer is the garden box, the rock (all 22, 500 lbs), the mulch, the dirt, flowers, and plants.

{the garden box my handsome hubby built for me}

When James and I get onto a task…we want to accomplish it immediately. It's actually how we make most decisions. We get the idea, we pray, we discuss and usually within hours we're moving toward accomplishing it.

This massive pile (over 11 tons) of rock was moved within a week. My back hurt, James' back hurt, my shoulders hurt, James' shoulders hurt, and my kids were neglected playing by themselves for a bit.

Once the rock was moved I decided to paint the hallway (because I'm insane), and do a little redecorating.

 {Kid's bedroom doors}

{the butterfly wall in our bedroom. Butterflies collected from significant moments in our past}

I feel so fortunate to live in the home we do, and I want to use it to glorify God. I love to bless families with playmates at our house.

I cannot wait to get the backyard DONE!

And I can't wait to post all of the before and after pics.

Sucker

I have always considered myself to be a "stand your ground" kind of a parent.

I will admit that I have never enjoyed the sound of a crying baby {this is a shocking statement}.
But I have always been able to let my boys cry. I didn't do "Baby Wise", and I've never tried to sleep train my kids. But after the initial "baby phase" they both boys became great sleepers.
When they were babies I woke up to feed them. And, like clockwork, at 9 months the boys both stopped nursing and began sleeping 12 hours at night.

But this one….

I am a total sucker.

Yesterday she was throwing her food onto the floor {Micah is was a pro at this, and passed his talents on to her}.
James gave her a tap on her hand.
Food on floor.
Another tap. Another handful of food on the floor.
A third tap and her eyes welled up, she pooched out her bottom lip, and looked so sad.

James scooped her up and snuggled her.
Not that I was encouraging him to comfort her or anything…no, not me.


Suckers.

I know this is what she is thinking.

She squeals when her brothers come by, I pick her up.
She turns her nose up to carrots, I give her yogurt.
She cries in the middle of the night, I give her a bottle.

Yes…I see the pattern.
Yes…I see that I am giving into her.
Yes…I know that I will turn her into a spoiled rotten princess if I keep it up.

I can't explain why I do this. Maybe it's because she's our only girl, or last baby, or the cutest thing ever. But we know we have to stop.

The little lady cried for 2 hours {2 HOURS} last night because I wouldn't snuggle with her. When I comforted her, she fell asleep in my arms. She never does this. She's not a snuggle baby, and she's never loved to sleep in my arms. But lately that is all she wants. To sleep with me. It took every ounce of strength I had to put her back in her crib and listen to her cry.

She's manipulating killing me.

But it's time. I have to let her become more independent.
{wipes tears dramatically}

Let's face it, she's nearly one. And this Mama needs to sleep.

Mommy's Day

Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day is like a second birthday for me. James is so good to me.
It's now tradition that he and the kids bring me breakfast in bed (doughnuts and a frappachino and sent me into a diabetic coma), flowers and the kids drawings.

I'm kind of high maintenance I guess, but I do love to be spoiled. And I love James for making me feel so appreciated. I didn't even change one diaper all day!

Hooray for commercialized American holidays Mother's Day.

I'm a fan!

Off And Away

She's a full time walker now.

As of May 7th.

She's a terrible teether. The worst of all three.
Still wakes up at night {I'm now wearing earplugs}.

She makes me smile with her obsession with her tongue.
Will not drink from a sippy cup, but will gladly chew on her brother's cups.

She squeals constantly. The boys didn't do this.
This drives her brothers {and parents} to the brink of insanity.
Can even cause Micah to cry when trapped in a car with her.

She loves me. This overjoys me.
It also overjoys me that she will always keep her headbands on. It's silly…but girl's got no hair still.

 She's a sloppy kisser. But gives them freely upon request {most of the time}.

She is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on.
Ever.

And yes, she is insanely spoiled. My 11 month old baby girl loves to have her bottle held for her.
And I'm the biggest sucker in the world….I can't say no.
{For the record she will hold it if forced to, but if I hold her, I'm holding her bottle too}

With Ella being my only little girl, and my little baby, I'm having a hard time trying to push her to reach new milestones. I want to keep her tiny. I love giving her a bottle, I'll be sad when it's all over.
I don't want to stifle her, I want her to grow and develop. I just want to keep her a baby as long as I can.

WIW…Derby Style

Here in Colorado the Kentucky Derby isn't really a thing we celebrate. Unless you are cool and you live in downtown Denver; like my brother-in-law and his super trendy wife.

They have their annual Derby Party and I guess we're cool enough to get invited.

So I was excited to get dressed up and wear a super big hat.
Why would I ever say no to an invite like that?

Dress w/Belt: Ebay ~$8.00~

Hat: Sister-in-law's Bridal Shower…good reason to re-use it!

Shoes: Target Clearance ~$6.00~

Necklace: Gift (so ~free~ for me!)

I also made these lovely Mint Julep Cupcakes for the party.
They were yummy…and with over 1 cup of alcohol in the batter, were for adults only.
I found the recipe here.
But they sure were pretty!

There's Micah, Photo Bombing

"I do declare…you are my hero!"

Last year this is what wore…9 months pregnant with Ella.
What a difference a year can make.

This year was much more fun I was able to bring Ella with me…

in my arms this time.

"Celebrate" Plate Tutorial

I saw these on Etsy and I loved them instantly!

I loved the idea of using this plate at the special plate for our family.
The Birthday Plate, or good grade, or special reward…

This will be a special plate.

I'm a table leader for my MOPS group and we get to give little gifts to the moms at our tables two times a year. The year is wrapping up so I get to give gifts again!

I love this. And this is what I decided to do.

They were a breeze to do.

Here's How To:

I found some of these plates at a garage sale for $.50 and the rest of them for $1 at the dollar store.



Then I bought some Enamel (or ceramic) paint at Hobby Lobby.

First step is to out line your plate. I used a sharpie to draw a thin line where I needed to paint.

Then I just traced it in with the black paint.

Then it's just like a paint by number! Fill it in with your other colors.

Bake them in the oven.
Place the plate in a cool oven and allow oven to heat up to 350 degrees.
Let it bake for 30min then allow plate to cool in oven.

This step is critical. If you just let them air dry the paint will chip easily…boo!

Easy…Easy….Easy…

These made for a great gift for my MOPS mommies!
And maybe for Mother's Day too!