Sunday, October 31, 2010

Watcha Doin' Tuesday?

A special word of advice from Noah Webster, 1882:

Exodus 18:21 (NIV)
But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the
government will soon be corrupted ... If our
government fails to secure public prosperity and
happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the
Divine commands, and elect bad men to make and
administer the laws."


What's on the ballot?
 

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Princess Pajama Pants

Last Saturday was Erin's 6th birthday. She wanted her friends to wear pajamas, and for a craft we painted pillowcases which I thought was really fun, even if a bit messy.

She also agreed to sacrifice store bought cake for a pinata. I didn't have any pinata experience, but we were quite certain to shield the patiently waiting children from the bat being wielded around their heads!

This is when the girls were all jumping, but stopped for me to take a picture. I love how they got progressively sillier!


Present time! Can you tell the princess' are what she had been wanting for nearly a year? Thanks Granny & Paw!


Self explanatory goodness!


And the unicorn slaying. Can you see everyone's mouth dropped when Anna busted open the pinata?


It was a super fun day!
 No pictures of the painting, there was no time, but we used fabric paint, stencils & sponge brushes.


Thursday, October 28, 2010

I Wonder...

This Halloween, Luke has deserted his soldier costume we bought on sale last year. No amount of talking will change his mind. Nothing will do but for him to be a "Daddy".

I wonder where he gets the idea....


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

A Recipe To Share

I made these for Erin's birthday party this weekend and they were so gooood!

(Photo from Life in a Peanut Shell)

The only mistake I made was cooking them a bit too long. I found the recipe at Life In A Peanut Shell . Her description says "muffins", but there is nothing muffin about these. This is not breakfast food. Although I did eat one in the morning anyway!

Click on the link for the recipe, you won't be sorry!
The only modification I made was using milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet.

Enjoy!

~Drenched~

Saturday, October 23, 2010

October 23, 2004 ~ 8:02 AM

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance


I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance

Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking

Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making

Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider

Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Shenanigans

Mr. Luke has kept us on our toes lately, to say the least.

He hasn't slept a full night in who knows when....

I overheard him having a conversation with my Mom & Aunt just the other day, and I'm not sure one word of truth came out of his mouth...

I mistakenly thought we would be spending the night at the camp a few weeks ago, because Luke told me "Daddy said yes". I believed his dimpled smile.

Here are some of his latest activities.

Me: Luke! What are you doing?

 Luke: Washing my hands.



He also has an unending love for blueberries...




He gets frustrated with me when I pull his undies & pants up a bit too much...
But he thinks it hilarious to do this:



It's a good thing he's funny, sweet, silly and thoughtful, so we'll continue to provide room and board.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Stuffed

Last week we received our first letter from Adriana! I had forgotten to check the mail earlier in the day, and thought about it when Erin got off the school bus. So....we got to open & read it together. The letter was written from her Mom, since Adriana is just 6. She has a pet cat, and plays with her cousin, who is 1 year old. She does very well in school and her favorite subject is math. She also goes to Sunday school. Then I turned it over & saw a picture that brought tears to my eyes. A beautiful, fridge worthy picture drawn by Adriana. She even draws apple trees like Erin :) I was so thankful God had me wait to check the mail so we could open it together!




So today, my house was quiet and I got a chance to respond. And I tried to see how much love I could stuff into a standard envelope. Math worksheets, coloring sheets, a picture from Erin, some stickers and our letter. We are also sending a financial gift to her family, which we can do twice a year. I know they use these to buy things that we take for granted. A Bed. Food. Clothes.



It is stuffed with goodies. I pray the love makes it there too.


Matthew 14:18-20 (New International Version)
"Bring them here to me," he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Jesus can take little and make it much in His name.

Friday, October 15, 2010

School Is Her Bag Baby!

This morning I had my very first parent/teacher conference. At 8:15.
Nevermind the kids were out of school & actually slept past 7:00am.

We knew Erin was doing great, she always does the bonus questions on her tests and loves her teacher.

So when the kids & I got to our appointment, this is what we were presented with.



Her teacher said she is a great student (of course). She is always willing to help in any way she can, and loves to look around the class for words to write. Her teacher said even though she knows the information is sometimes repetitive for Erin, she never loses interest.

Erin's reading level is also the best in her class. Some students are reading the same books she is, but not as easily. Erin is reading so well, in fact, her teacher wants her to go to a first grade class for her reading lesson!

It would be about 30 minutes a day, and they have to get their schedules together, but I'M SO PROUD!
And - she may even get to skip naptime! Wahooo! No more staying up late!

Way to go Erin, we are all so happy for you!

Friday, October 8, 2010

A Bowl Of Fun

Erin was invited to participate in her first ever "Fun Bowl" at our local fairgrounds. I suppose her grace & athleticism have surpassed her name. ahem.

The Fun Bowl is a competition from some of the elementary schools in the parish. I think about 8 schools competed for a trophy that is kept at their school.


Erin was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, not knowing what to expect & all. We knew there would be a 3-legged sack race and probably an egg toss. The only reason she was willing to do it was because her good friend Hallie, who invited her, would be her partner.

Post-competition
They had on their game faces. Or dog faces.


After that, anxiety.

Luke, of course, didn't know what all the concern was about, he was ready to go. But yet again he was told, "when you are in kindergarten, you can..."


This was the group from Erin's school to compete - K through 5th grade. The actual competition was K-2nd & 3rd-5th.


 First round, the sack race. She was a trooper and chose to hop instead of scurry.


 Even when she took a spill (or two) as many did, she jumped up & got back at it.



Next round was the 3-legged race and I have to say she & Hallie did great! They didn't fall at all & looked like they were having fun.


SCORE!


She & Hallie did sit out of the balloon relay & the "cottonball stuck on your nose with vaseline race", which was by far the cutest. They were convinced to go back in for the egg toss by Hallie's mom when she assured them if they were in the back of the line, the egg would never make it to them.

In the end, the team took 3rd, which I think was pretty good!


And she got her candy apple for a prize!



Tuesday, October 5, 2010

~Color Splash~