Stunningly Six

I think I've heard at least 50

different themes Emma wanted for

her 6th birthday party.

She is one of those kids

that can't help but thinking

and planning for that yearly

special day.

Finally the day came!!!

Thankfully she agreed that a surfer girl

swim party was a "good" idea!

(mom couldn't agree more!!!)

Earlier in the week she got a gift

from Grand Nan & Grandpa Jeff

that needed to be opened ASAP.

Usually we have a strict rule about

only opening presents on your birthday

or at your party...

But we made an exception this time

because Emma's WEBKINZ account

was on hold until she added another

animal to it.

She is in love with this sparkly blue & pink

bunny that came with her own witch costume.

Promptly named: Sparkles

Time to make invitations:

Daddy had a great idea to use surfboards!

Emma loves to swim,
so this was an easy decision!

Ella, Madison, Emma, Taylor, Ben & Hudson

Emma & Madison are always playing!!

B.S.F.

(best sister forever)

"Pizza Time"

(Emma, Ben, Keira, Cameryn,

Madison, Hudson, Taylor & Sydney)

"Swimming Cupcakes"

(Mom, Hudson, Taylor, Sydney,

Emma, Ella, Ben, Keira & Cameryn)

We had a blast decorating the

cupcakes with water and gummy fishes.

"Present Time"

(Mason, Stephen, Madison, Emma,

Ben, Taylor & Ella)

I think Emma likes this present!

Polly Pockets!!!

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY!!

We love you!!

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1.02.28

What Is That Ringing?

It's the weather service and firehouse bells BLARING because a simple, little thing called a tornado is coming toward your house.

NO BIGGY!!!

So I sufficiently scared the pants off the kids explaining what a tornado is while Larry moved items out of the closet under the stairs in case we needed to use it as a safe-room.

Thankfully the tornado touched down just a few miles south and avoided us all together!!

But to repair the damaged emotions of the kids we drowned out their fears by delving into a scrumptious  homemade banana bread drizzled drowned in cinnamon icing.  Yum-o!

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1.02.28

My Chick Bad, My Chick Good

....and my Chick does things

 NOBODY should!

Let's point out the numerous amount

of things missing from this picture.

1. a diaper

2.  pj's

3.  a pillow

4.  3 blankets

5. stuffed leopard

6. a pillow case

(yes, she not only strips herself,

but her pillow too)

7. a sippy cup

And where do I find all of these items?

On the floor,

most mornings and sometimes

after naps.

But the worse part is when you have a

diaper-less kid,

a large washer full of bedding

is sure to follow.

Drowning It All Out

If I could describe myself as an adult it would definitely include "behind the times" when it comes to electronics.  Not that I don't know about the new stuff, in reality I find it very fascinating.  I just don't OWN any of the new stuff.  So far we've stayed away from purchasing big ticket items when they first hit store shelves and wait for better deals after the BUZZ has quieted.

But now that I've started putting my Christmas present to good use (just a few 9 months later) ...the MP3 player Larry got me...I feel lame for not putting such a prime piece of electronic equipment to use sooner.

I guess I was intimidated by the whole concept of downloading music and then adding it on to a little palm-size digital piece of gum.  And now that I've taken the plunge and filled it with my old cd's, I'm hooked.  It helped me add 3x's the length to my running this week.  It's strange how music has the power to drown out the sounds of my body saying screaming in pain to stop and filling me with giddy-ness as I sing along to N'sync, Spice Girls, Destiny's Child or AC/DC.

(I wasn't lying when I said "behind the times"!!  Well at least my CD collection is.)

Family Proclamation

A few years back our church published a

"Family Proclamation",

that defined what God intended

the divine purpose of the family

here on earth.

We love having this posted in our home.

But I was super excited when I found

a fellow-blogger that had given it an update.

You can download it from her site

and print it on any paper you want.

Check it out.

Do You Have Any Where To Go?

Because we don't.

Just takin' it easy.

Putting our feet up and relaxing.

Or in my case, dozing.

Feeling Inspired

I'm usually not one to deep think.  Actually it's rare that I can keep a straight thought in my head at all.  But this quote I read today from a friends blog got to me.  I just couldn't get it out of my head.  I've read it several times and each time something new pops out to me.    Very intuitive.


So I want to share...

God, being all-knowing and anticipating every eventuality that would befall our children's mortal experience, carefully positioned our children into selected families to provide them the best chance of nurture, repentance and exaltation. This is a critical piece of information for parents. Despite their feelings to the contrary, a child's rebellion is not a parent's failing but rather a parent's calling.

God organizes his children into saving relationships so that the weak might be nurtured by the strong. That fact is most evident in families. God's divine positioning often calls for weak children to be placed with strong parents, strong children to be placed with weak parents, or strong individuals to marry into weak families. Why? To do the work of redemption.

Larry Barkdull,  "Rescuing Wayward Children"

 And if that isn't enough to make you think about the effects children have on families, maybe this 6 week old little man of mine will.

4 weeks, The New 4 months.

Are you ready to be amazed?

To be wow-ed?

To be so shocked your jaw will drop?

Introducing...

a 4 week old who is trying to crawl!!!!

I guess all that baby PX-90

is really working for him.

Dusting Off Old Projects

Newborns grow lots.

They grow really fast, especially during

the first month.

Which means they are very sleepy.

And oddly enough,
I find myself with time on my hands.

Strange?

So I love to take advantage of this down time.

And for some reason 3 kids at home

instead of 5 seems to be relatively easy.

(I know most people think I'm nuts

for saying that, but it's true)

This past week I've read through a new book

that came out, kept up on household chores,

created a mini-schedule for after school time

with the kids and made dinner every...single...

NIGHT!

What?

Crazy, right?

Ok, maybe not for the average SAHM,

but for me...let's just say it's been awhile.

Remember these past 10 months I've

sufficiently neglected my duties

and focused on storing up energy to 

bake that bun in the oven?

See, I was just doing a "different"

kind of cooking!
HA!

So I've dusted off the 1/2 empty recipe box...

...and started to fill it up with loads of

delicious meals / desserts that I fully

intend on making.

Reading through recipes has always

been a favorite pass time for me.

Besides some great books I've collected

there are also some super websites 

I steal from, like...

this, there, here and here.

Good thing there are plenty of people

around my house to taste test my

new obsession!

Creamy Italian Crockpot Chicken

I've tried many recipes to get just the right flavor and consistency.  And finally this recipe was perfect.  Although the next time I make it, I'm going to reduce some of the more "fattening" ingredients.

5-6 Chicken breasts
1 stick of butter
1 italian seasoning packet

Place in crockpot.  Cook all day on low.  Or at least 4+ hours.  Chicken will be very moist.  Stir randomly.
1 hour before serving...

1 pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom

Place cream cheese and soup in bowl.  Heat up for 2 mins in microwave.  Stir until creamy.  Pour over chicken in crockpot.  Finish cooking 1 more hour.  Then stir to incorporate butter and soup mixture.  Eat over rice or egg noodles.

You know it's a good recipe when your husband takes out the leftover tupperware to eat more before it's even cold!!