Happy 40th Birthday

We just celebrated my 40th birthday. I'm still finding it hard to believe I'm already 40. I remember when my parents were 40 and I thought that was SO old. But when they were 40 I was heading off to college. Maybe this feeling of youth that I have is a result of having young children at home. I think they keep me feeling young at heart.

This year I decided to do more than have quiet time running around a local lake or on a trail. I wanted a PARTY! So my husband, mom, some precious friends, and I planned a get-together I will always remember. We were blessed with sunshine and an abundance of friends. Someone told me they counted around 90 some people, 2/3 of which were probably kids. We had badmintion, bocce ball, horse shoes, a kick ball tournament, tetherball, soccer, and croquet. It was so much fun, but like life time went by much to quickly. Everytime someone came up to me, I said, "Don't tell me it's time for you to leave!" I love having a houseful of friends and family! Thank you to all who came and all who contributed to this special day.

Apparently my sentiment to friends is hereditary. The day after the party I asked our youngest if she had a good time. Her reply was, "NO! I didn't have fun at all!" She played all day long and everytime I saw her she was carrying dolls around with her friends or playing some sort of game. So I was completely unsure why she had such a miserable time. So I asked, "What do you mean you didn't have any fun? I saw you playing all day." She quickly responded, "It was NO fun because I wanted my friends to stay 100 days." I guess she was feeling the same let down I felt when the party was over.

I was just reminded how I need to make a concerted effort to have friends and family over for the backyard bbq's that are so important in relationship building and maintenance. Hopefully this summer will be filled with bbq's and games on the lawn.

Do You Hear A Killdeer?

There's a very loud bird chirping sound around our home this time of year. We've heard it in the past, but this year we actually are learning about these little loud birds known as Killdeer. They are cute little things with a black and white stripe around their neck. They appear to have reddish eyes. Or maybe their eyes are just red when they see us. The unique thing about them is they lay their eggs on the ground, in the gravel, and the eggs look like rocks so they are basically totally camoflauged. When you get close to the nest the parent bird tries to distract you from the nest and will try to get you to follow it or will act like it's lame with a broken wing. Anything to get you away from the nest. It's really quite endearing. What a parent will do to keep a predator away from it's young.

I've thought a lot about these little birds this spring. We've seen a couple of the eggs hatch and we just notice 2 more eggs have been layed in the pathway to our garden. When you're here- step carefully! You never know what may lay beneath your feet.

Check out the photo. See if you can find the eggs.

Spring has Sprung!

We love the sunny days! Here are a few photos of some of the blooming features from our yard. There's many more now that I hope to get on soon.

Precious Moments

I love to capture moments like these. You realize how much your kids really love each other at times like this. Sweet five year old won't move because he doesn't want to disturb his sleeping baby sister. And baby sister is so comfortable with her big brother she just cuddles up to him and fall asleep. Love it!

A Birthday for a Princess

Our youngest decided for her birthday she wanted to have a pedicure party. She invited some of her friends and we had pedicure and manicure stations set up. Each little girl had a foot washing, nail color application and were also able to pick out some rhinestone appliques for their toes. I think they definitely felt like they received the royal treatment. The boys even tried to get in on a "MAN-icure."

In addition to the pedicures, we decorated eggs, did the Martha Stewart silk tie dyeing technique, and did an Easter egg hunt. It was a day filled with SO much fun!

Daughters of the King

During spring quarter at our co-op I taught a class called Princess: Daughter Of The King. I had a wonderful group of precious girls in the class. The theme of the class focused on the fact that God is the King and as his daughters we are Princesses. Knowing this, we should act like the Princesses we are.

We looked at the Bible for verses that told of our royalty. We read books like I'd Be Your Princess by Kathryn O'Brien, The Way Home Princess by Max Lucado, The Princess and the Pea, Princess A Glittering Guide For Young Ladies, His Little Princess by Sheri Rose Shepherd, and a princess book by Beth Moore.
We learned about Godly character, etiquette, and we learned some beading techniques. We made a chipboard scrapbook to chronicle our lessons. We discussed adornments and the girls each made a beaded necklace. One highlight of our class was a field trip to a local tea room. At our tea party the girls had a wonderful opportunity to practice the etiquette we learned in class, but mostly we had a wonderful time enjoying each other's company.

Pine Wood Derby

We recently went to our local pinewood derby to watch these creative cars race. There were so many amazing cars there!! Creativity Abounds! We didn't make a car, but had a very good time watching the others race.