I love you, Pinterest!

I would not consider myself super creative and not at all crafty but Pinterest as has been a nice breath of fresh air for me and the boys. I love adventure and experimenting with new ideas. I have tried so many little projects with them and they love it! I won't go into too much detail with directions but you can find every one of these projects on my Pinterest page most of which are under the "for the babies" pin board.   Just click my Pinterest button on the right side of this blog. I'll probably write about future activities individually but here's a little taste of what we've done so far.


We made bird feeders! We collected pine cones,  painted them with peanut butter, shook them in a paper bag filled with bird seed and hung them on trees.

We made dinosaur eggs!  This was probably our favorite. I gathered the ingredients- salt, water, used coffee grinds ( that were suppose to be dry but I was impatient), water, dirt, flour, and plastic dinosaurs. I love that most activities I find on Pinterest require supplies that I already have in my house.

Then we got to work!

Then we let them dry

And had lots of fun helping them hatch!

We made fireworks! I put oil and water in a jar and dropped food coloring inside. When the drops got through the oil, it made "fireworks."



 J was very impressed!

 Here are some idea's I got for J's 2nd birthday party. Dump truck cupcakes. It's just crushed Oreo on top.

Joey did all the decorating and even made the sign. ( Yes, he did that on purpose)

 For the party, we also made our own giant bubbles and cut the bottoms of water bottles for the wands. I was amazed at how well it worked. We've made these bubbles several times since.

 

We made sidewalk paint! It was just cornstarch, water and food coloring.

  

Even E was impressed!

We took an ocean bath! I gathered all the ocean bath toys, filled the tub and tinted the water with food coloring and they took a bath in the ocean.! They loved it! And no, it did not dye their skin.

I even tried something with my hair! And if you know me, I am not so great at doing my hair. But I'm willing to work in that! :o)

   

I learned early on as a teacher to beg, borrow and steal ideas! Thank-you , Pinterest, for allowing us to do just that!

Pinky Pie meets Nana

Yesterday we had the honor of taking E to Orlando to meet Joey's 94 year old grandmother (Nana).  She lives in a very nice assisted living facility, and is doing relativity well except she is very lonely. Joey's Aunt Sue lives only a few minutes away and visits Nana often.  She also got to meet E.

Nana was thrilled to have us there and to meet her newest great grandchild!

 The last several times I've seen Nana she always says that when she gets to Heaven she's going to scold her husband who left her at 64 years of age and then scold God for taking him away. She says it with a smile but I know she is still brokenhearted. She said it again yesterday, but then added. "I don't know why He is keeping me here. I don't serve any purpose." I wanted to cry and could think of no words of encouragement to offer her. Joey held her hand, smiled and said, "You do serve a very important purpose, Nana, It's to please HIM." He went on to say that God has her here to enjoy Him and it pleases our Heavenly Father when we take delight in Him. Our sole purpose on this earth is to bring honor and glory to HIS name, no matter how old or young, rich or poor, sick or healthy. I watched her as he spoke this to her and her eyes were fixed on him and filled with tears as if this is the exact reason we needed to be there that day. She needed to hear that God is still real and that He loves her and has not forgotten her. I am in awe at the gift God has given my husband. He has such a passion for Christ and has a way to bringing every conversation back to honor HIM. I know Nana was glad to meet E but she said  that she won't question God anymore and that she knows God sent us to her for that specific reason. Praise God!

Go ahead, be a kid and make a mess!

It all started with L innocently asking to do a "project." I thought it would be fun to go outside and get some rocks to paint and then hide them like Easter eggs. Simple and fun!   We went out and got some rocks. Then I set everything up- keeping the paint with me at all times until we were ready to start. I even remembered to put some newspaper down so we wouldn't make too much of a mess. Ha! Not exactly an easy task when it involves a two year old. L is finally old enough to understand why we do not mix colors but J is still working on that concept. I thought it would help to keep one Q-tip in each color instead of trying to get them to dip their paintbrush in the water after each use.

  

 It worked for a few minutes until J found something more exciting to do.

L was working hard to paint his "eggs"  and did not mix the paint. This is a huge difference from last year.

   

 

I can honestly say that L and J (sort of) painted every egg all by themselves. I love how I think when we start these fun little projects that I will actually get to participate. Instead I am guarding the furniture, walls and E from J. Inevitably, the mess and the blending of every color happened so instead of stressing, we decided to take this party to the bathtub.  ( Listen-I love how J copies everything L does!)

 

 I need to clean those walls anyway.

 

They were so excited to be allowed to make a mess! They had the time of their lives. But as all adventures, this one had to come to an end...until tomorrow at least. 

Everyday Miracles

I wanted to start a blog to document the everyday moments in our family but the main reason is to share how God works in our lives and hopefully encourage people. I have seen too many miracles large and small and I'd like to take time to share some of them. Here is a note that I posted on Facebook about a year ago. It's a great reminder that God is faithful even in the seemingly meaningless things in life.

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Everyday Miracles

by Amy  on Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 3:24pm ·

I am absolutely taken back sometimes at the little ways God shows His love to me. I honestly don't  understand in His holiness and power why He would care about the meaningless things that I care about. It's been about 6 months since I've had my hair done and recently I've been trying to think of ways I could come up with the money since hair isn't exactly in our budget these days. Maybe I could sell some old baby clothes on craigslist? find someone to tutor? ummm babysit? I don't know but in about a week I'm going to visit some old friends that I haven't seen in a while, so I've kind of been worrying about it and wishing I could get my hair done before then.  I'm ashamed to say, I don't think I even prayed about it, I've just been trying to figure out my own way of making it happen. On a side note, on Friday, I went to visit a friend who has cancer and it was so good to see God working in her life and it made me want an even deeper relationship with Him. It also made me want to do more for her somehow. This morning, I sang a song in church with the choir that had an amazing message about God bringing you through the fire and how He always is there to help in time. I love singing this song but I didn't  feel like I was at my best today, my voice felt weak and I really had to pray for strength this morning. It seems like whenever I feel my worst God somehow uses that the most. Several people came to me after-wards and told me of specific situations that God has recently brought them through and how God used the lyrics of that song to bless them. There is nothing more exciting or rewarding than when God can use you even when you feel weak or unworthy. As I was about to leave church a dear, godly lady came up to me, put something in my hand and told me that God has been doing some things in her life and because of some of the trials she has gone through lately she was able to give this to me. I tried not to take it but she said that she felt like God really wanted her to give it to me. Wow! I was so thankful but immediately thought of my friend with cancer and that I wanted to  give this to her. I promise, as soon as I thought that, the lady said to me, "this is just for you. no one else, God wants me to give it to you." I looked at it when I got in the car and it was the exact amount that I have paid the last several times I've gotten my hair done.  I cried most of the way home because I am blown away at God's goodness and love. I want to share this because it's not the first time God has done something like this for me. I have seen so many of my small and large prayers answered. When He answers a HUGE prayer request I want to shout it from the rooftops but He shows his love in little ways too. I know there are a million better ways to use this gift and that my hair is not that important but it was just a little reminder that God still does everyday little miracles.

My little Man

My sweet J was born February 28, 2010. He loves trucks, dirt, bugs, and playing outside. He tries to repeat everything you say and always picks up after himself ( and the rest of us...which is how my shoes ended up in the trash can!) From day one, he was the easiest baby. He would lay down awake and go right to sleep every night. He loves his big brother and loved to copy everything L  does. As a baby, he seemed a lot more calm than his older brother and loved to snuggle, especially with Mommy.

I think he started sensing that his world was about to change when I was about 6 months pregnant with E. At 18 months old, he could climb on every surface in our home. And he did. He started his "terrible two's" a little early. He was still a sweet little snuggle bug but if you told him "NO", watch out. Temper tantrum city! This was new for me since, although he was very active,  L rarely threw temper tantrums. J was into everything and made messes that made my pregnant self cry just about daily.

,

I blame my pregnancy hormones but I was genuinely worried about J getting enough attention when his little sister came. Mostly because he was so young and I couldn't really explain anything to him like I did with L when he was born. I also worried because he was so dependent on me and wanted me to hold him all the time. And I guess I felt bad that he would always be the "middle child." I expected some adjusting but  knew that he would be fine and that he comes from a very loving family who would give him lots of Jesus,  kisses and snuggles.




What I didn't expect was that he would not want anything to do with ME when I came home from the hospital. It took him 3 horrible days to let me even hold him. He wouldn't come near me and if I tried to touch him he would kick and scream. At least he was very good to the baby. When he finally let me hug him on that third day, I held him and cried and cried. ( I blame hormones again!)

The last several months has been a definite adjustment period for my little man.  He's gone from wanting to do everything his big brother does to wanting to do everything his baby sister does. He loves E but he makes sure I know there are TWO babies in this house.

He has tried out all of her equipment.

OK..he's gone too far here

And although he never took a pacifier when he was a baby, he steals hers. He used to suck on his two middle fingers instead of the paci.  I took it from him at first but then he resorted to sucking and biting on his arms. His arms looked horrifying so I gave him back the paci.

I let him help me with the baby. His favorite job is to pour the warm water on her when I am giving her a bath. He also loves to get me her diapers and anything that I can ask him to get. If L tries to get something I asked him to get, he throws a fit!  I hold, tickle, kiss,hug and sing to him. I tell him he's my big boy and my baby boy. I tell him all the things he gets to do that baby can't do like eat yummy food, play on the swings, chase Daddy and L, swim with arm floats and read stories with Mommy.

God gave him a true gift when HE gave J a baby sister. The three of them will always have each-other and will someday be best friends. ( well at least when they are adults I hope) right now, He needs lots of extra love and consistency, but I think he'll be just fine! I love my baby boy!

Strawberry Picking

Yesterday we ventured out and took the kids strawberry picking with some good friends. It's funny how things change when you have kids. If it was just my husband and I, we probably would have packed a lot less and got a lot more strawberries.  For me, the reason I wanted to go was for the kids to have fun. But we had to have a game plan. I was in charge of  Pinky Pie and Joey was in charge of the boys.

My job was easy!





Someone decided it was more fun to swim in the dirt.

 













Usually at least one person looks at the camera, and it's usually me.

 

Even with graphic warnings about chemicals and pesticides. There is no stopping them.

 

There's always a competition of some sort involved. Who has the most/biggest/ reddest strawberries????

 Or who can throw the strawberry the farthest.

 We had fun then went home and enjoyed the fruits of our labor

And even decided to share with our neighbors.

   

 They were very excited to knock on the doors of 3 of our neighbors and give them some strawberries.We keep looking for ways to connect and build relationships so we can minister to them. It also led into a great conversation with L about giving.

This is one our neighbors who takes care of her husband with alzheimer's. People keep telling her that he needs to be in a nursing  home but she said that they have been married almost 50 years and that was not in her vows. I keep praying for ways to be a blessing to her. She loves the boys and Pinky Pie. 

 

Overall, we had a great day with friends!

Top 30 Quotes from my Biggest Boy

1. The first thing L said when he met J " Where are his teef?". 02/28/2010

2. It's funny that L gets highly offended when I call him Baby or if I call J Big Boy. He faithfully reminds me who is who." He is not the big boy. I da big boy and J is the baby boy!" 04/20/2010

 

3."Mommy, watch out for prik-a-ree pork-pine quills cause I love you so much." 05/21/2010

 

‎4."My super power feet have an idea"-L 06/14/2010

 

5. I just caught L praying through his cries after getting in trouble yesterday, "Please, God, please help me to be a good boy." He was so sweet, head bowed, eyes closed and hands folded. Love those teachable moments! 06/16/2010

6. This morning I asked L to bring me a book to read for him and J. He said, "No thank-you". I tried to convince him and he said, "The answer is no, Mom, I'm not gonna say it again." Ha! I hate when you can't get on to them because you’re laughing so hard. 06/23/2010 

 

7. I just asked L if I was his best friend. He said, “I not your best friend. You is a big kid" 07/06/2010

 8. L asked me to sing him a monster song. After several made up songs that were not apparently not good enough, I sang one with a mean raspy voice. I guess that was the one because he burst into tears and said, "Sing Jesus Loves Me quick. " 07/23/2010

 

9.L sat with some of the teens at dinner tonight and when I asked him if he had fun he said, “Yeah, those are my big friends." 08/01/2010

 

10.L informed me that he has a rash because a dragon breathed fire on his butt. Good to know. 08/03/2010

 

11.L went poo poo in the potty all by himself today! I took him the to store to get a prize as promised. When he was picking it out he looked at a little boy next to him and said very casually, “Yeah, I went poo poo in the potty.” The boy didn’t seem impressed. 08/06/2010

 

12. L was in his first musical at church. He wiggled around the whole time but he sang the song. When it was over he jumped off the stage and yelled. “I did it! “ 08/08/2010

‎13. "I have chocolate milk in my boobies"- L 08/09/2010 

 

14. We were laying in L’s bed and saying what we were thankful for. We were naming random things around his room (lights, toys, walls) He looked at me and grabbed my eyebrow and said, “I love you brownie” 08/10/2010

 

15. You know your kid is obsessed with Backyardigans when he refers to his brother as "Baby Tyrone" all day. 08/14/2010

 

16. Today we took him to Open House at our school.
When it quieted down after the applause from teachers being introduced,
he yelled from the back, “Come on, guys, you waked up my baby brother.
Come on, guys" 08/23/2010

 

17. L is watching Peter Pan  in his Peter Pan costume. He is taking this very seriously. He is not happy with Captain Hook..Oh..and he gets very upset if I call him L. His name is Peter. 09/14/2010

 

18. I did not want to get up before 7am this morning. Thanks, Peter Pan. 09/15/2010

 

19. L got his haircut this morning and when we got back to the car he looked upset. When I asked him why, he said with a mean face, “she cut off my horns." Haha ( he thought he was Tyrone from Backyardigans) 10/02/2010

20. "When I do bad things, I am listening to dragons." –Luke 10/11/10

21. Last night after church I was told that L hit Emalee and was sent to time out.
Me: L, why did you hit Emalee? She's your friend.
L: It wasn't my fault. I turned into a dragon and breathed fire on Emalee.
Emalee: It's Ok. I forgave them. 10/17/10

22. “L, will you tell Mommy a story about Halloween?” “No, Halloween is bad and it is scary.” “Who told you that?” “God” 10/18/10 

 

23. L came to me covered in my foundation makeup. I said, “L, if you made a big mess for me, you are going to get in big trouble.” L said, “Don’t worry, Mommy it’s just a little mess. I won’t need a spanking.” 10/18/2010

 

24. I cannot believe how manipulative a three year old could be. L never wants to go to bed. Today when he was supposed to be taking a nap, he came out and asked for a hug. Then he said, “Mommy can we nuggle. I love when we nuggle.”10/18/10

25. [crying] “I don’t want a pokey chin!” He doesn’t like rubbing against daddy’s beard stubble. 10/26/10

 

26 We went out to eat and Joey said to the waitress, “Hey, Hun, can I get a fork?”  L pointed at me and said, “That’s your Hun, Daddy.” Then while he was eating yogurt with a spoon she passed by again and he said, “ Hey, Hun, can I get a spoon?”  05/01/2011

 

27. I took L to Dunkin Donuts and another customer with a missing tooth and a very raspy smoker’s voice asked Luke what he was going to order. He looked at her with a very strange look on his face and said, “Why do you talk like a scary Monster?” The when she said something else to him He said, “Where did your tooth go? Did the tooth fairy take it?”  05/05/11

28. L: I am not going to obey anymore.
Me: You are going to obey. I don't know who you think you are.
L: I am L A T, your son 05/28/11

 "

29. “Listen up, J, if Mommy says no, I say no so you better obey us.” 02/15/12

30. Heard L yell in serious anger, "Stop it, J! You're just a little baby who drinks milk from Mommy's boobies." ( no, I do not breastfeed J) 01/07/12