Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

My kids LOVE to paint! Their creations rarely look like anything recognizable but.. it is their art! I think they just enjoy mushing the paint between their fingers! Here is JB in the creating process: Um...I don't know HOW she managed to have paint on her elbows!
JB
HC
Um.. this isn't bath time buddy!!! (I am just noticing that JB had a wardrobe change in between painting jobs. Maybe this part is their second try at painting a flower? We did paint twice this day so HC could have a second try. I failed to get a shot of HC's 2nd creation. Sorry HC, JB clearly distracted me with his creation!!)
It's bath time now!! That's for sure!

The end result - HC devastated that her picture didn't look like anything to her and JB proud of his body paint! We started out with them trying to paint a flower... I know that will come in time. Soon they will be too big to be so messy. Not too soon, I know, but soon!

Precious In His Sight

I was in a small group with ladies of all ages during the fall. There were College age girls, Young Marrieds, Moms like me, Moms of College age kids, Empty-Nesters and Grandmas. Quite a fun mix!! I enjoyed my time with all these ladies thoroughly. There was a great nugget of wisdom that was shared and I finally put it to use!

One Mom said that she wished she had encouraged her kids to pray on their knees at an early age. She wished they knew the importance of humbling yourself in prayer at a young age. I've meant to try this and haven't until Tuesday night. We pray with our kids each night but we haven't bowed on our knees to do it. Hubby or I usually pray for them after they are tucked in.

So Tuesday night was our first go of this knew adventure. JB was fussy and tired so I just had him repeat a prayer I prayed and then tucked him in (initially he said "No Mommy. I not pray." He has learned that he can say no and lately he practices saying no a lot). I didn't know what to expect with HC. I went to tuck her in and told her what we were going to do. She was thrilled! I closed my eyes and started to speak a prayer for her to repeat, before I could speak she began her own prayer!

My heart was full of love and I was beyond proud of my sweet girl. She told God how thankful she was for her family and she named us one by one telling God how much she loved us. She thanked God for our neighbors (we don't really know our neighbors) and prayed for them to have peace. She prayed for peace in our home and that God would help her and JB to not fight. She told God she trusted Him and loved Him and thanked Him for taking care of her. Amen. (Her prayer was way more detailed than this. I am summarizing.)

I was teary eyed! This was stored up in my baby's heart! This was not prompted by me at all! This was her little heart's cry!! I was amazed. We prayed again last night and she brought me to tears with her passionate and kind hearted prayer! She was thankful, loving, full of praise and humble. This is my baby's heart! I am amazed! I love that she loves God and I love that she is thankful and I love that she is caring! She is amazing! She is amazing! She is amazing! I love sharing this journey with her! She asked me "Mommy, why are you crying?" I said "HC, you are the best prayer I've ever heard! It makes me happy to hear you pray and it REALLY makes God happy!" She giggled and was beyond excited to have this moment with me. SHE thanked me for praying with her and teaching her and she told me "Mommy. You are the best teacher ever ever ever! You always teach me good things!"

What Mom wouldn't be proud of this?

The Tweens

In between! Such a yucky place to be. I know it is a stage of life but that doesn't mean I like it! The tweens hit, of course, in those awkward pre-teen years and I was THRILLED to outgrow that stage. It appears to sneak up on you again when you least expect it. I am guessing it is a season. Great!

Big enough to do things but not big enough to do things. That's how I feel! There was a time when hubby and I had mentor couples in our lives. That led to a passionate search for God on our own that I would not trade for anything. But this stage... this one stinks!

I feel FULL of life giving information. I feel FULL of so many things yet without the direction of how or when to use it! Currently I vomit it out to anyone who dares ask a question I have the answer to. I have looked for a mentor couple for hubby and I but we haven't found that fit.

Wanna know what we are finding. I've found that I am no longer the gooey young girl just aching for someone to lead me. I want a mentor, I know I need it, but I see others around me (younger girls) giggling in awe of the information these ladies are sharing with them. That isn't me anymore!

I feel like I now have experiences with God and I don't hang on to the stories of others like I used to. I have kids - I'm pretty busy with real life these days! I want my security blanket of a mentor again but it seems that doesn't fit me right now. I totally know I always need someone more experienced in my life to pour life into me, but at the moment that lady has not appeared! So here I remain.. big enough yet not big enough! What a yucky feeling!

Some School Fun

We've returned to handwriting after a short break. We've taken about 1 or 2 months off from practicing Handwriting because HC was not ready. Her vertical lines were at an angle, so I began printing sheets off of the internet for her to practice. It really helped her make BIG progress. Her letters are not perfect, but that wasn't my worry. I am just glad to see she seems ready now! She was THRILLED to see her Handwriting Notebook again! I was happy that she was so eager to try!!! Our new game. HC LOVES this game. We bought this game before our road trip in December. The first few times she played this I helped her do most of it. Now I hear "OK Mom. OK. You can go away now. I can do it." I literally help her with a few pieces and she does the rest!
The game has a game card with clues on the back. I am amazed that she can do this without my help.
Tada!
She's so proud!

Raindrops and Field Trips and Parties Oh MY!

This was our weather yesterday! I canNOT remember the last time we had a day of steady rain. The entire day we had raindrops falling! Boy oh boy did we need it! So refreshing! Today we had a school field trip! We went to see the Birdhouse Factory! I didn't really know what to expect but it was fun! JB was unsure when we first arrived. Last time he covered his ears during the entire field trip but today he enjoyed it all!
The show begins!
Waiting to see what is behind that gate!
There was jumping, body contorting (is that a word?), balancing, juggling! So fun and so unpredictable!

After that - we headed on over to celebrate with our friend who was turning 2! And that means PIZZA AND CAKE!! YIPPEE!!
Who said eating cake wasn't work?? It is a science! Not just ANYBODY can make this kind of mess!
After singing, cake and presents... it was game time!! This was a fun one! I wanted to ride this horse and see if I could do better than HC! She loved it! She seemed to get the gist of it after about 3 rides. The first two rides I had to help steer her and the horse away from the walls! :)
All aboard!
And then we were off to the house for our naps! What a full day, not to mention it is Friday and that means... no work for Dad tomorrow!!! YAY!!! Daddy's home ALL day long! :)

My technological rant

Can someone PLEASE tell me EXACTLY what this means??? I've seen a story, for the past two days, on Yahoo news regarding blu-ray. It says Blu-Ray beats out HD DVD (is this really big news?). Are my DVD's obsolete?? What is a blu-ray anyway?? Are DVD's still available?? What about the DVD players? Didn't we JUST begin adjusting to DVD land? Am I the only one who wants them to stick with one thing for a little while? I still have VHS people!! I mean SEVERAL VHS, I was thinking which would I want to buy in DVD form first. My computer is about 5 years old and although it is great - there are times when it is so slow and so annoying!!!! I am amazed that I can be so behind the times with a 5 year old computer!! Didn't DVD burners (or whatever they are called) JUST become available. I still use a PAPER calendar, and if necessary I PRINT out my online calendar! I can't move ahead in this techno world. I want my DVD's. Is HD DVD different from DVD?? Am I clueless?? I think I am!

Sew What!

I have a new project!! I invite you to visit my new blog!!! Pulling Thread is mine!!! Even if you do not sew you MUST visit my new blog once!! Why?? I am glad you asked! BECAUSE my friend MommaRoar created my header and it is FABULOUS!!!!! I just wanted to let you know about my other world. I hope you enjoy your visit!!

Business trip with Barbie and McQueen

Early Monday morning Hubby, Barbie and McQueen left for a business trip to Tampa. After a day of work they were thrilled to kick their feet up at the hotel. They enjoyed the sunset,
Brushed their teeth,

Checked their numbers one last time,And were ready to catch some z's!
Then it was off again to the board room. One last look at the view before it was time to re-focus on the job at hand.The meeting. And finally... h.o.m.e...... Ahh... It's nice to be home!

What a great adventure!! Thanks Daddy for playing along! (HC has sent many items to work with Dad and this time he took pictures!) You are the BEST!!!!!!

Birthday Party Part 2

The friend party!! We made it to our party day holding our breath for good weather. Earlier in the week we had highs in the 30's and a few days of rain! Thankfully we made it to Saturday with a cloudy but warm-like day! The highs were in the 60's!!! YIPEE!! (Thank you all for your prayers!)

The MVP of the game: our very own JB!!

Once we made it to the party I took pics of all the guys in their gear except for JB - so here are pics from before the party!

Such a beautiful sight!! Our favorite colors!! The cake! (No purple and gold kits - ho hum! It was still good! It is a cupcake cake too!)The kids are eager to have some CAKE!
We have Auburn, Bama, Bama, Auburn, Bama!
On the other side of the table we have Steelers, Bama, LSU, and LSU!!
Georgia arrived and JB had to find his helmet!
This was one of the more funny moments. These 3 were growling at each other! So hilarious and not prompted either!! Just instinct! ha ha

So yummy!!
My sweet HC - so grown up!

What we've all been waiting for - the game!!!!!
The cheerleaders! (A few kids joined us in cheering AND in playing the game. What was funny was their parents were taking pictures of them joining us as if they were a part of our party - it was fun for all I think!!) The mom below was with the party but not the girl in pink with our pom poms! So funny!
GOOOOOOO! Sometimes we also needed to say STOP!! They kept running!
We had to remind JB and this Bama player that we weren't tackling! They wanted the full effects!

Geaux JB!
The girls were waning in their enthusiasm because they wanted to run and play too!!
The game plan - I just noticed JB in the back cheering! funny
All aboard for the next play!
The teams: LSU

Bama
Bama
Bama The Steelers
And I forgot to take a picture of our Auburn attendees before they left.

And Georgia