A day with Nana

Saturday we had a great day having fun with Nana. We did lots of cutting with the Cricut, made our own "Subway" style lunch and opened Titus' birthday gifts.

Titus loves his new tractor. (And Faith actually likes it too. :)

Thomas big boy underwear....to be continued. Not ready for those yet.
Titus is showing some interest in watching movies. (10-15 minutes of him being "busy" I'd be a lier if I said I wasn't enjoying that!) He started with Thomas the Train and also likes Bob the Builder. He has watched them mostly on Netflix, but it was nice to get a few DVD's for his birthday that we can take in the car. Move over Strawberry Shortcake the boy movies are a comin'.

We also did quite a bit of cutting with the Cricut. Nana got a new toy- a Gypsy. We put it to good use cutting out some more "cows" we need to complete our nativity block project. The girls also made some cards with Nana's sticker collection and princess paper dolls. I am always amazed at how much they LOVE the Cricut. Even Titus wanted to see what what happening....which led to a bit of craziness at the table.

Oh, and I forgot the best part. Nana spoiled me with fleece sheets she found on clearance. Not flannel, but fleece. They are like a blanket turned into sheets and SOOOO warm. I'm not gonna lie since we moved to the basement and its quite chilly I'm totally in love. (and appreciate my husband's tolerance of them since he actually likes cold sheets)

These are the Moments Monday

These are the moments.....I laugh out loud.

(This picture may be reenacted for the purpose of this blog post. But, no children were harmed in the process.)

The other day I was watching Cupcake Wars with my girls. We love to watch that show now that we have a cupcake business, but its a rare treat since it is on Sunday night when we normally have small group. Titus watched/played for awhile and then declared that he needed a drink. Well, life happened and the next thing I know I saw him walking down our hallway with his own drink. He had gotten into the bathroom, got down his sister's spray bottle (a key tool when you have curly hair), taken off the lid, and was helping himself to his own stale luke warm H2O. Yummy! It was really quite a hilarious sight.

It got me thinking though. How often do I ask God for something only to become impatient?Instead of waiting for him to bless me with something wonderful in His time I instead "get my own drink." And even though I'm drinking lukewarm spray bottle water at least I'm not waiting. Because being patient can be hard. Very hard. I am a resourceful person by nature. And in many ways its a great thing. It helps our family live on a tight budget. Its a work with what you have type attitude.

However, in my spiritual life it can get me into trouble. My friend Sheri and I call this, "helping God out." You need something. You ask. You trust. And then you work on a little side project to try and take care of the need in case God doesn't show up. You attempt to help him out just a bit just in case. You might end up with what you needed. But, you didn't learn more about our God the great provider instead you accidentally convinced yourself you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps and do it yourself. But, isn't that what we idolize in our culture the self made woman?

Even as I write this a part of me is thinking....but SOMETIMES you do need to do something. Maybe God won't send someone to buy your house without listing it, or a new job without applying for it, or needed finances without asking for it. See I have a long way to go.

But, I'm also trying to think of a single time I waited it out with the Lord he didn't come through. I think one of the biggest blessings in my entire life was one of the times I got it right. It was when I was in love with my best friend. I knew I REALLY wanted this guy in my life, but I also knew I wanted God to lead him to me. I wanted it to be Him and him not me. And even though others at times encouraged me to define our friendship I stubbornly waited it out with the Lord. Almost daily having to give it back to him. And one day when I LEAST expected it he showed up and asked me to be his (with my parent's blessing!). Yes, waiting on the Lord to provide is hard, but it is definitely good.

Lord, show me in my life where I am drinking luke warm tap water when you eagerly wait to give me refreshing living water.

Groundhog Day Fun

For Groundhog day my friend Karen planned lots of fun activities for our play group. My kids loved these groundhogs they made. I had to take a picture because this is the first craft Titus has ever shown interest in making. He actually helped! I think he thought it was a lollipop because he kept trying to lick it.

Happy groundhog day.

2 Down...A few more to go.

Motivated by the reward of earning ice cream for her and her siblings Grace bravely let me help her pull her second loose tooth. Way to go Gracie!

Jeremy's Birthday

We celebrated Jeremy's birthday with a nice homemade meal complete with ham, homemade bread, cheesey potatoes, and fruit salad. For dessert we went simple and iced a pan of brownies.

Then on Saturday our friends kept the kids so we could go out on a date night. It was so nice to have a quiet meal downtown at The Brick Oven. Afterward we went to sit and chat by the river. I love living along the river its such a nice view. Then we headed back to pick up our kids and share an ice cream cake I had made for the occasion. It was a simple birthday this year, but a good one.

My husband's love language is words of affirmation. So, in our spirit of buying used gifts this year I took this list entitled "7 Qualities of a Good Husband" and remade it just for you.

7 Qualities of A Good Hubbie

7- Handy: I think you might actually finally be convinced at this point in our marriage that I believe and love the fact that you are handy. :)

6-Provision Oriented: Since you are the sole provider for our family I think you're an ace on this one.

5-Humility: In the past few years you have shown me your strength through your humility. I am so proud of you!

4-Adaptibility: Our life is pretty much listed in the dictionary under unpredictable. You have always been great at adapting and making the most out of the blessings God brings. I think you might even be rubbing off on me.

3-Sensitivity: I love when I read a book about how men are "cave" men and completely insensitive by nature and I keep thinking...my husband doesn't do that.

2-Faithfulness/Loyalty: I am a fiercly loyal person and so I could marry nothing less. You always believe in me and are my best cheerleader.

1-Good Listener: You are my very best friend and a great listener (as long as the TV isn't on ;)

Happy Birthday!

Titus' Truck Party

I decided in honor of Titus moving to his own room that was going to have a vintage truck theme that he would have a truck cake for his birthday. After searching the internet I found very little inspiration/instructions on how to make one. So, after talking to Kristina I decided to make it up as I went. She suggested I use a loaf pan for the body of the truck This was a great idea. Here is what the cake looked like after I carved and stuck the pieces of cake together.

Here it is with some icing before the fondant.
Here is the finished product. I used items from my candy jar/pantry to make the different parts of the truck.
Grace thought the truck looked like Mater and thought it needed eyes, so we added two chocolate brown M & M's. Looking back at the pictures she was right, this added so much personality and fun to the cake.


My parents hosted Titus' party for us so my grandparents could attend. My mom was in charge of the ice cream for the party and planned a fun activity. We made our own homemade ice cream in a bag. The kids loved it!




Titus was a great opener this year.
Pulling out the tissue and saying "Roar!"
Eating the icecream, it was super yummy!

Opening a truck from Papa & Gramy for his new room.
Titus was an expert at blowing out his candles. He would have them blown out before you could even get them both lit!


I really loved making Titus' cake and celebrating my little man who loves trucks, tractors, and all things with wheels!

100 Day

I can't believe we have survived 100 days of school- Hooray!

Titus turns 2!

The day of Titus' birthday was pretty laid back. We started the morning with a special birthday treat- birthday cake popcorn for breakfast. I found the recipe on pinterest. While it didn't turn out quite like the picture the kids loved it.

When Jeremy and Grace got home we let him open his presents. Here he is saying, "Cheese!"
He got a Thomas the Train depot for holding trains.
He also got a Thomas DVD and some big boy underwear (for the future).
Titus,

Mama loves you so much. I am so thankful for the fun, silliness (tickle tickle), and excitement you bring to our family. You are definitely all boy. This past year has been an adventure for sure. I've found you eating out of the trash can (leftovers I had cleaned out of the fridge), drinking medicine, dumping pepper all over the hallway, putting a screwdriver in my distilled water jug, unrolling the toilet paper, dumping my spices all over the floor, banging my table with various utensils, reaching for knives off the counter, and so much more. You are God's gift to make me into a prayer warrior and I adore being a mama to a boy more than I could have imagined. You have a gentle spirit and if you don't turn out to be a magnificent cook it will not be for lack of practice with ALL of my kitchen utensils. Love you my Mr. Man.

Mama

January Birthday Bonanza

January is a very busy birthday month in our family. We started the month celebrating Aunt Jo Jo's birthday.

Then we have three in a row. My future sister-in-law Wesley's is the 23rd, my mom's is the 24th, and Titus was born on the 25th. This year for my mom's birthday meal we planned the menu around her favorite restaurant's menu. It has been fun seeing our family so much this month!
More on Titus' birthday in an upcoming post.
Happy Birthday Jo Jo, Wesley, & Gramy! We love you guys.