Beauty in Bloom

The party.

Get ready because I am about to show you a bunch of pics of Faith's birthday party on Sunday.

Let me start by saying that it rained all day the day before and there was a 60% chance of rain the day of. I was a wreck because I did not want to have to move the party indoors because I had no activities planned for the kids. That was what the playground was for! Luckily, it stopped raining the morning of the party. The weather was chilly and the playground was a bit flooded but overall everything turned out great.

The girl had a blast and collected a lot of food for the Hope Center.  Misson accomplished.

The food table centerpiece. Notice that the jars with (fake) strawberries in them look like the invite I sent out. :) You can see those here.

 

All set up under the pavilion at Glazebrook. A favorite park in town.

That is what 14 dozen cookies looks like.

Donation table...before.

Donation table...after. More came in as people showed up.

Guest were able to keep busy by writing Faith a note or a doodle. This is Aunt Billie Jo and Aunt Lynn.

The cake. I usually like to make our cakes but I was trying to keep it simple because we were expecting over 80 people and I did not want to make a cake that big. I did, however, add the sprinkles and the tiny mason jar with the carnation ;)

It tasted great too!

It was so windy. The candles would not stay lit!

Faith opening cards and presents. Even though guests were instructed to not buy presents, some did anyway! She was not expecting it! But, she was very excited!

This owl rag quilt was made by my super talented Mom. I think it took her only 4 days or something. She may have pulled a few late nights ;) Faith told her that she wanted one too after seeing Annie's butterfly quilt at Christmas. Thank you Mom! She loves it! It is purple and it's an owl. Perfect.

Faith and her best friend from school.

Annie had a blast too. I think I took this picture after she had just fell though. Poor thing.

The only picture obtained of Olivia was from Aunt Lynn's cell phone. She only left the playground to snag a cookie! Ha!

See the puddles under the swings??

All the food that was donated.  We had lots of generous friends and family show up to support our Faithy.

I want to thank everyone for braving the weather and coming out to celebrate with us. Faith is a special girl with a kind heart and you helped continue to nurture that within her. She truly had a great time.

Annie told me today that she wanted to have her 6th birthday party here and do the same thing(her favorite thing to be is like her sister).

On a side note...Faith stayed home from school yesterday because she wasn't feeling to well when she woke up. It worked out though because she was able to go with me to drop off the food. She got to see first hand where it went and who will be receiving it. It was very humbling, but she did great. We also met the director of the Hope Center. He gave her a big hug. It was something I won't soon forget...Her little shy face...with that sweet shy smile.

Be still my proud Mama heart.

 

Pinned it, then made it. {chalkboard}

So, I think I mentioned that we were making a chalkboard over here.  I stumbled across THIS awesomesauce chalkboard over at Just a Night Owl that I pinned on Pinterest a while back.  Darcy has a complete tutorial over on her blog, by the way.  I loved the planks of wood behind the chalkboard, so off to Lowe's we went.  I painted it, the hubs did the rest. Mine is a bit different because I went with cedar fence planks(because it didn't feel like staining).  Also, I had to modify the measurements for the space we had.

I bought the crochet heart garland on etsy from here.  I love it so much. I want to add something above it since we left off the top and bottom planks, but not sure what yet. I will know it when I see it.

The finished product:

 

 

The little ledge even holds the chalk. :)

My kiddos are dying to draw all over it. I have had to tell them NO for a few days. Sorry kids, mommy has to blog about it first. HA! 

Thank you Bobby for being willing to do whatever crazy thing I ask of you.

Check out how messy that kitchen table is....before I cleaned it off for pictures, of course. :)

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Faith's trip to American Girl was so much fun. That place slays me. We went on the third day it opened in St. Louis.(which also happened to be her birthday) Sister Annie wanted to go but she surprisingly didn't throw a fit.

It was nice that it was just the two of us.

 

I felt like a kid all over again. I may have even shed a tear. It is fun to take her places like this because she is not a greedy kid. She knew what mama was willing to get and was just fine with it. I swear that girl thanked me a million times. "Best birthday ever, Mom!!"

Her big party is this weekend. We are hoping for lots of food donations!

The party is outside so I hope it doesn't rain!

 

 

 

Happy 9th Birthday!

Dear Faithy Sue,

Happy Birthday to the sweet baby girl who made me a mama. You are my special first born who is sensitive, caring, selfless and smart. Always making sure everyone else is ok, like a little mother hen.  You teach me daily. You have Jesus in your heart. No, you are not perfect(especially grumpy in the mornings and a bit dramatic) but you are more than a parent could ever dream of having in a daughter. Daddy and I love you all the way to God.

Love, Mom

ps....I love that you still love to wear giant hairbows at age 9. Be still me heart.

(at Mr. Donut this morning before school)

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I am so excited to be taking Faith to the new American Girl store across the river in St. Louis this evening. We are going to spend time together, just mother and daughter. She is excited.  I have to admit that I might be just a little more excited.

Here's to spending more money on a doll outfit than I do on my own. Cheers!

Happy Monday!!

Mason Jar invites

{Ugh! I have been trying to post for days! I finally had to download Firefox to fix the problem because Internet Explorer has issues! I hate technology sometimes.}

So, my sweet Faith is turning 9 on April 23rd. She is getting so big. I love who she is. Smart, loving, generous. That's my girl in 3 words or less. I do miss her as a toddler with a cute little lisp sometimes, but mostly I love being able to have those intelligent conversations with her about what she loves and wants to be when she grows up and a million other things. I am really loving her indepence and willingness to help me out when I ask. SO much. In fact, that sweet girl changed her sister's diaper for me last night because I was just too tired. (Probably won't win any mother of the year awards for that move. Proof here.) She is a major blessing, that is for sure.

While discussing and planning her party this year, she decided that instead of people bringing her presents she wanted them to use the money they would have spent to buy food for the Community Hope Center. Don't you just love that? At first, she wanted to donate all the toys(books, etc) people would have brought her. But, I decided that might be to hard because afterall, she is 9 and that would be hard for me as a 34 year old to donate items that I love that I just received as gifts.  So we came to this solution. To donate food. Our foodbanks are always in great need anyway.

That is why the invites are mason jars. A food theme of sorts. Mason jars are very cute anyway so all the more reason to use them as a theme. I went out on the intranets and found a super cute free printable that I doctored up in Photoshop Elements to add the event details. I made the invites for her friends and people who don't use Facebook. The rest of the people were invited on Facebook, mainly to save money because I invited a lot of people.

(Go here for the original invite, my inspiration)

 

 

Everything else for the party is a little undecided. I will be keeping it simple...that much I do know.  However, I am sure that mason jars will be making an appearance. Ha!

Yay for fixed computers! How is your week going????

Right now.

Right now these 2 sisters are besties.

Maybe I should say that Faith is her mini-mommy. Yes, that is more accurate.

Whenever Liv is in trouble she runs to Faith for comfort. Not Daddy. Sometimes Mommy. Almost always Faith.

In Faith's eyes, she can get away with a lot.

I found them this morning before church like this. Big sister reading to baby sister.

Again, be still my momma heart.

{she caught me}

The book is about little sisters and big sisters. Kinda perfect.

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I thought this sweet moment deserved a post all on its own. You see, moments like these are why I blog in the first place. So I can always remember them like this. I don't want their childhoods to be one big blur. I often ask my mom about what I was like as a child and it's almost always hard for her to recall. I mean, its ok. I understand. But, when you know better, you do better. Right? I am sure my mom would like to remember more, but I will cut her some slack. Ok, a lot of slack. She did this parenting thing on her own. I am just proud of her for taking a few pictures!

Hope your weekend was great! We didn't do a whole lot. I will probably post more on Tuesday because our weekend will continue through tomorrow {Monday}. For those of you who don't know, the kids are off school for Casmir Pulaski Day. A holiday only observed by the state of Illinois! {Click on the link if you want to know why.} All I know is, I'll take it!

The girl loves hippos.

I just need to document this sweet girl and her latest school project because I do not want to forget the details. I even learned something this time. 

They were to pick a favorite animal. Research them, their habitats, behaviors...etc. Then get a poster board and fill it with pictures and facts about their chosen animal.

Sister chose the hippo.

It's her current FAVORITE animal.

I asked her why because I was curious. It's not the most beautiful animal around, I mean, am I right?  She told me it was because it was my favorite animal. Uh, ok. Sure baby. "Why do you think that?"  She answered, "Because when we go to the zoo, that is always the animal you want to see first." Oh......ok. Really, it is just one of the first animals we always park the closest to. And it is located in the Rivers Edge. I always try to get that out of the way first. Especially when it is hot. That is a longer exhibit to get through, and once your in you must go all the way through to get out! If you have been to the St. Louis Zoo then you know what I am talking about. 

How sweet is it that she picked it as her favorite because she thought is was mine?

{We used the Silhouette Cameo to cut out the letters & hippos}

Of course, this project was my domain. Mommy takes care of all homework that is even remotely artistic. Daddy takes care of Math.

As someone who is more on the creative side, inspiration and motivation have to be present to get any project done. She had this assignment in her hands for about a week before we tackled it. Everyday she would come home and beg me to work on it. She would say things like, "Mom, Suzanne already turned her project in." OR, "Mom, I really need to scratch this off my to-do list." Really Faith, your to-do list? You crack me up girl! And as for your over achieving friends who turned in their project a week early, well, they do not have a procrastinator for a mother. OR maybe their mother isn't a perfectionist and let them work on their project by themself with no supervision.

Sorry baby, that is not how it works in this house.

You are stuck with this kind of momma. A procrastinating perfectionst. I am not sure that even makes any sense, but that is me. As I type this it occurs to me that this is not who she is. I must do a better job at letting her spread her own little wings. I NEED to chill out.  Relax. Let her take a little more control. I must do this. 

(Mom, if you are reading this, I do listen to you. Sometimes it's just hard to admit where I fall short as a mother.)

She was SO happy with how it turned out.

Even with her momma's help.

a Friday update....and phone dump

 

So, friends. It's the season of Ortho around here. Orthodontics & Orthopedics that is.  This week I took Faith to the orthodontist per her dentist's request. She has quite a severe open bite it seems brought upon by tongue thrust. Normally this kind of bite is from thumb suckers or binkie users, which she was neither. Instead when swallowing or speaking, she pushes her tongue forward against the back of her front teeth forcing the bone to grow upward. If you are still confused, Google it I guess.

On the bright side, her Orthodontist's office was great. She was welcomed with balloons and signs. There was a fab coffee bar and the coolest brushing station stocked with toothbrushes preloaded with toothpaste. A total plus because that was the one thing Faith forgot to do since I rushed her to make our 7:15 am appointment.

On the not so bright side, Faith needs to see a speech therapist to train her tongue from pushing her teeth forward. Which means a specialist copay once a week until further notice. Yikes! Tight budgets suck.

 

That is where we are starting. Hopefully, she will stop pushing her tongue forward. I have a feeling she will need an appliance in her mouth in the future to block her tongue. Kinda wish I wasn't so strict when she was a baby about not letting her use a binkie.

Didn't do me any good anyway.

 
 

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phone dump:

Crazy baby at the Goodwill.

 

Annie at ballet class.

 

Picture day!

 

What my living room always seems to look like.

 

A playdate at McDonalds.

 

One cool chick!

 

That's what happening around here. Monday we visit the other ortho dude. Here's hoping Faith's foot is all healed up! She is dying to go to dance class!

My hubby is off all weekend so we are headed to Eckerts to pick gobs of apples on Saturday then Sunday is my niece's baptism. It's gonna be great!

I live for time with husband cause there is never enough. Ever.

Have a great weekend & make it count!

Lessons learned

 

I am sitting here trying to think of the correct words to properly express how proud I am of this sweet soul.  I don't know if it's her age or just the fact that being super sensitive runs in her gene pool, but I am so thankful that she belongs to me.

I give God ALL of the credit for creating her.

I guess I need to explain. Let me start by saying that Faith has a heart for others. Especially those who are less fortunate than her. Tonight, we went on a prayer walk. This is something that I have never done before. I was not sure how it was going to go, but I will say that I was pleasently surprised by how well it went. Our missional church communtity split into a few small groups, kids included, and just walked the streets of a part of our town and prayed over it. We prayed for peace. We prayed that people would know a sense of community. We prayed for the physical and spiritual needs of the people living here. Some of the kids *ahem* (Faith) prayed for no litter. It wasn't particularly earth shattering and I am not sure it made one bit of difference to the people we were praying for, but for our little family, it made an impact. I see more of these walks in our future. Focusing on our specific area of town.

Anyway, I bring this up because as we were driving home I was telling my husband about a women that I saw today that was on Ellen. She is a principal of a school in Nevada where almost 85% of the children are either homeless, hungry, or in need of clothing, etc. She explained that almost immediately upon arriving at this school that she noticed children taking ketchup packets home. She asked other teachers why and they told her it was because they were going to make ketchup soup because so often, so many of them, never knew if they were going to eat at night. This woman took it upon herself to make those kids her mission in life so she started helping these families. She uses her own money and asks for donations and will take anything she can get. She helps them with their rent, food bills, electric & water bills, clothing, & various other needs and all she asks from the parents in return is that they give her their children. She wants them to make sure that they get their kids to school everyday so that she can give them a safe and loving environment on a level playing field so that these kids can get an education. Her hope by doing this is so that one day they will break the cycle. Her biggest motivator...their sweet faces and hugs. Also, Ellen got Target to donate a bunch of money and pledged to this woman that she would always be there to help in anyway. If you watched this, I apologize. I just felt it necessary to explain the next part of this story.

Sometimes I forget that our kids our listening when I am having conversations with my husband in the car. Maybe it's because they are watching a movie on the DVD player or maybe it's because I think they are too young to understand. All I know is that my 8 year old heard her Momma crying over this beautiful, inspirational story.  I was crying to my husband telling him that I wanted to be the kind of person that saw a need and then actually did something about it. I do not want to be this selfish anymore.

Faith was listening. The ketchup packet part of the story just broke her little heart.

We got home and she asked if she could speak to me privately. She wanted to know why they didn't have any food to eat. This sweet girl wanted to do everything she could to fix it. "Mom, we need to send canned goods," she said. She just kept saying that she couldn't believe they didn't have any food to eat. I asked her to begin to pray for them. She did, but started sobbing so I had to finish. I promised her that our God sees everyone and He will not foresake them, or her for that matter. I did the best I could to explain why this is something that happens in the world. I told her that the most important thing she could do was to pray and to be thankful for her many blessings. I hope she understood. She seemed to. In the very near future I want to sit down with her and help her come up with things that she can do to be more outwardly focused. Things we can all do as a family.

 As I sit here and type this it dawns on me what I want most in life for my babies. Of course, happiness is up at the top of the list, but the thing I want most for them is to not lead a selfish life. It's exhausting. I am so tired of worrying about what everyone else has that I don't. What vacations they take that we would never be able to afford. Public vs. Private schools. *Sarcasm alert* Hey, how many activities can we get our kids involved in so that we look like we have it all together? That makes you a good parent right? I don't think so.

If you are still reading this, I thank you. It was about 700 words longer than I normally type in a typical post.

I love you Faithy. I have learned so much by being your Mom. You and your sisters make me want to be better. I promise I will never stop trying.

 That is all. :)