Fishers of Men

This post is months overdue as the pictures were taken back in February after my blogging break began. I thought they were worth pulling out of the archives though.

While teaching the 2's and 3's class at church, I tried to incorporate some fun activities to keep them engaged and to help them make a connection to our lesson at hand. Our lesson this day was on being fishers of men.

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 
Matthew 4:18-20

Afterward, I gave them each a plate with goldfish and pretzel sticks (fishing rods) and cream cheese (a.k.a. bait). I saw this idea a couple years ago in my Parents magazine. The kids had so much fun dipping their fishing poles into the bait and then catching fish. Ellie was more than excited to eat her goldfish so I couldn't get a great picture of any of the fish she "caught." This would make a great activity for your Family Bible Time too.

If you do this for a Bible class, I would suggest portioning out the cream cheese beforehand to save time. I brought a plate with dollops of cream cheese ready to be placed on each child's plate. If I did this again, I would look for some blue paper plates to look more like water. Either way, the kids will enjoy it. To keep the parents involved, I snapped a picture of each child showing the fish they caught and texted/emailed it to their mom. I know I love pictures that give me a glimpse of what my child has been doing in class and it helps us discuss their Bible lesson more when we get home.

My Journal Accomplishment

I really enjoy journaling but I am really bad at it. By that I mean I never actually write in it. For instance, my January 1, 2011 entry is immediately followed by my January 1, 2012 entry (new year's resolutions and goals). But when I do write,  I enjoy it in a therapeutic kind of way. There is something so special about the written word. Unfortunately, my perfectionist tendencies have always kept me from writing anything on the first few pages of a journal. A first entry always feels cheesy to me and I just can't bear "messing up" my journal on the first page. Today, I combatted my fears and wrote on that first journal page and I'm okay with my handwriting being less than perfect and my spelling error too ;-)

Maybe you will be encouraged to write down your thoughts today. Recently,  Lil Blue Boo posted a journaling series on her blog. I haven't been taking part in it but it sure looks like a lot of fun if you are more consistent with your journaling ;-)

The Big News

A few weeks back I announced that...

Yep. This was a total surprise and it took me a little while to get over the shock! I have a barely three year old and 10 month old, so I wasn't exactly looking to add a newborn to the mix. However, I fully believe God is in control. I'm thankful for this tremendous blessing and can't wait for the next several months to pass! Seriously. I have felt pretty lousy and have been taking a break from blogging and basically everything. In the mean time, I am constantly on a quest to find something I can drink. Most fluids make me even more nauseous so it is a constant battle finding what I can stomach.

Last week's winner was spa water. An ice cold pitcher of water with slices of lemon, lime and cucumber. It was so yummy and refreshing! I've also been adding lemon zest to my water and I've heard it provides even more health benefits if you use the zest. Enjoy...pregnant or not!

Sharing this with...

A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 

French Country Cottage *Home Stories A to Z * House of Hepworths 

I can teach my child *I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy  

Positively Splendid *Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  

The Delectable Home * The Girl Creative *The Grant Life 

The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Happy Valentine's Day!

Did the Valentine Bear visit your house this morning?

I made this garland using white doily hearts and these mini red lantern lights that my mother-in-law found in Cambodia. Isn't that cool?!

♥♥♥Wishing you a day of love, sweet notes, and lots of pink and red hearts ♥♥♥

 May we always remember who loved us first:

"Beloved, let us love on another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:7-10

Sharing this with...

A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 

French Country Cottage *Home Stories A to Z * House of Hepworths 

I can teach my child *I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy  

Positively Splendid *Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  

The Delectable Home * The Girl Creative *The Grant Life 

The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

The Birthday Blessing

Last year, I shared how I used the principles of Gary Smalley's book The Blessing to honor my husband on our anniversary {click here for a recap}. Smalley also stresses the value and importance of blessing our children. This basic idea is that the child experiences elements of a blessing from the parents. It may happen any number of times a year. With my girls still being young, I haven't implemented this concept as much as I hope to in the future. 

At Ellie's recent Whimsical Fairy Party, I invited individuals that have played an important role in her life. Most of these fall into the step-in grandparent role since our family is so far away. These are the people near and dear to our hearts who have made room in their own hearts for our sweet girl. Therefore, my favorite party of Ellie's birthday is the personal blessings we video record from each of our honored guests. Some of our guests recorded their third video birthday blessing for Ellie this year! We enjoy watching these after the party with Ellie and hope she will appreciate them for years to come.

Here is an example program including some of the ways I have shared with my daughter Ellie the love and value I have for her and others I plan to use:

• Praying together for her future
• Count down the days to the party - half the fun for a child is in the anticipation
• Ask her what food she would like for her special day
• Make her a homemade gift
• Bless her with a spoken message using various elements
• Putting together a slideshow including pictures for each year of her life
• List several specific things that each parent appreciated about her over the past year
• Explain how certain character traits will help her become a godly or loving person in the future. {Basically, give her the blessing of hope for the future. For example: "You are such a good helper with baby sister. Someday you are going to be a great mommy.")
• Write out her birth story starting with the nine months before birth, trip to the hospital and the joy experienced when holding her for the first time.

I hope this gives you some ideas for blessing your children. Would you share your ideas too?

Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage * House of Hepworths * I can teach my child
I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy * Positively Splendid 
Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  *The Delectable Home
 The Girl Creative *The Grant Life *The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Twelve Months of the Gift of Romance: January

I can't believe today is the last day of January! I just barely squeezed in the first installment of Cindy Colley's Twelve Months of the Gift of Romance. I shared this idea  last month on my Facebook page. Are any of you committing to this idea for your spouse? I can be such a slacker as a wife and I hope this will help me remember to do something extra special each month for my sweetie.

If you'd like the recipe for this delicious white chocolate mocha, you can find it here. Enjoy :)

If you plan to commit to this 12 month challenge, message me and let me know. I'd love to hear your stories and ideas. If you take any pictures, please let me know so we can share them with our little blog community.








Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage * House of Hepworths * I can teach my child
I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy * Positively Splendid 
Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  *The Girl Creative *
The Grant Life *The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Whimsical Fairy Party

Welcome to our whimsical fairy party...

I can't believe my little girl is three! I had a BLAST planning a dinner party for her birthday. (If you want to see how we decided on the fairy theme, read here.) We enjoyed a great evening with some of our closest friends. Since our family all lives too far away to visit on birthdays, I enjoy making the girls' birthday celebrations intimate with a few special families who have stepped in as family and made room in their hearts for our sweet girls. I just used the word "family" three times in one sentence which pretty much cements my whole point that I try to make birthday celebrations a family ordeal. I want to share a few more details with y'all in the coming week but for now, here are some pictures of the party.

If you would like to see more ideas and the inspiration I used, check out my fairy party board on Pinterest. Once we wrap up our weekend celebrating, I'll be sure to post some recipes, project how-to's and {free} printables from the party. So please come back or sign up to receive email or Facebook notifications.

For more details on where I purchased party supplies, etc. click {here}


For more info on the birthday girl's apparel, click {here}


 



Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage *Home Stories A to Z * House of Hepworths 
I can teach my child *I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy  
Positively Splendid *Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  
The Delectable Home * The Girl Creative *The Grant Life 
The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Advent Calendar {a little late}

I realize it is now New Year's Eve. Christmas is over. But I really meant to post this. You know, before the whole fam came down with the flu (ugh) and ear infections (double ugh). So for the sake of my blogging self-esteem, just go with it. Please :)

As you search out those after Christmas deals (if there are any left...), be sure to think about projects to work on for next Christmas. I bought this advent calendar five years ago from Starbucks. Can you believe it?  It was just after Christmas and only cost me a few bucks. It's durable enough to last our family a long time. We have used it every year. In the past I've filled it with candy, other times with notes and this year I did a combination of candy and trinkets for Ellie.

Did you notice that the boxes are reversible? 

By Christmas, all the images are revealed to form a picture.

I've realized using an advent calendar is a great way to practice numbers with a toddler! Each morning Ellie asked to "pick a box." I would tell her the date and help her find it. She can only count to ten but I think she recognizes some larger numbers even though she hasn't been taught them directly. Whenever she had trouble finding a number I would help her by saying, "Find the nineteen (or whatever day we were on). It is a one and a nine."

I love how all my crafty bloggy friends made amazing advent calendars. There is some major talent out there. I also love that I didn't have to because Starbucks sold this for cheaper than I could have made one.

Hope everyone has a great New Year's eve!

The Christmas Express

Okay I have to share our new favorite Christmas tradition. I was checking out the latest pins on Pinterest when I found this from Confessions of a Homeschooler:

Source: confessionsofahomeschooler.com via Kristen on Pinterest

She is brilliant. She created these awesome free printable tickets. The ones I printed say "Christmas Express" since we don't have a minivan ;) Go to her website and read about her family's tradition and the ideas she has to share. 

On the eve of Christmas Eve (yes we celebrate that!) I let Ellie unwrap a present. It was The Polar Express which I actually rented from the library. (We'll be returning it next week, no worries.) We all got in our comfys a.k.a. pajamas and read the book together.

Next, I sent Chase and Ellie to her room.While they were reading books, I secretly popped some popcorn and made rich homemade hot cocoa. I used individual buckets for the popcorn and put the cocoa in our travel cups. Once I had everything in the car, I had everyone check their beds and lo and behold they found their tickets! Just like Erica from Confessions of a Homeschooler, I punched the tickets and loaded us up. I drove through the neighborhood lights playing Christmas music. It was such a fun and spontaneous activity....well not for me but for the rest of the family :) We are going to continue this tradition for many more years. The hubby even suggested keeping the same tickets and just punching them again each year. I hope you'll go check out Erica's website and get the free printable. She also has great ideas for teaching a range of ages and shares the curriculum she uses with her kids. You'll also find a wide range of educational printables. Have fun and start planning some traditions for next year. 

Hats for every occasion

I've been trying to prepare some sort of craft or activity to go along with the books and movies Ellie has been watching lately. Do you remember the rapunzel wig we made? She still enjoys wearing her "rapunzel hair" when she watches Tangled.

After reading One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by Barbara Hennessy and learning about the Wampanoag Native Americans, we made this hat to wear on Thanksgiving.

A few weeks ago after watching Rudolph, I whipped up a reindeer hat for Ellie. I forgot to take a picture of it but it was similar to this one I pinned on Pinterest.

Source: google.nl via Kristen on Pinterest

Then last week we watched Aladdin. When we got to the part where Genie turns Abu (the monkey) into an elephant, Ellie looked at me and said "Mommy, make me an elephant hat please!" Before I had a chance to respond, she went to find my craft supplies. After looking around she pensively put a finger to her mouth and said "Hmm...let's see...." This was a proud mommy moment for me.
Two reasons:
1. Ellie didn't ask me to buy  her an elephant hat but, rather, make one.
2. She is learning that if we can imagine it, we can make it. It makes my heart happy how confident she is that I can make whatever she dreams up.

So...here is the elephant hat. I was a little unsure how to go about this craft. I actually checked Pinterest but I couldn't find any elephant hat crafts. It is nothing fancy and I threw this together in less than 5 minutes. I used a gray foam paper sheet that I happened to have in my craft box. First I cut two strips and stapled them together to fit the width of her head. Then I drew a trunk and two ears, cut them out and stapled them to the hat. I can't draw. Like at all. But I have a daughter that believes in me and she loved her hat so that is all that matters :)

As I write this, Ellie asked me to make her some feather wings. Hmmm...