It's ORANGE Friday!

It's college football time. Yes, we love football around here; Fridays we wear solid orange. Tailgate food is on the menu, which means it's time to boil some eggs for deviled eggs; make pimento cheese spread; and wash some grapes. Nothing fancy, just good. And of course, we can't forget the fried chicken. Football season is a special time for our family. Some of my most fun childhood memories include tailgating and football games. Now we have the opportunity to start our own family traditions! There are many important lessons to be reminded of during football season! I may take some time to share a few over the next few months!

All in a day's work

Goodbyes...

We said "goodbye" to our friend who is headed out to fulfill her commitment with the army. Here are some observations from the morning...
1.There are so many unknowns, new experiences, and possible difficulties ahead for these soldiers.
2. They have commited to serve our country however they are called upon to do so.
3. Many are leaving a spouse or children behind. All have family they are leaving behind.
4. They are leaving the comforts that we enjoy and often take for granted every day.
5. The only media present were 2 local newspapers. No local TV news picked up their departure as a headline.
6. A motorcycle group, several fire departments, and police escorted the buses as they left the unit.
7. As the soldiers gathered in formation before loading on the buses, so many thoughts go through your mind. Will they all come home? What will they face before they come home? What will their families face while they are away?

So many thoughts. So many tears. Yet, it was also a day of gratefulness for me. Gratefulness for the friend God has given me, and the work He has done in her life and in my life through her friendship. Our God is faithful, and He has each step of life planned for each of us, according to His perfect plan. I am excited about the opportunities that God has given my friend to serve Him as she serves our country over the next months!

Interesting Article

I picked the mail up today at the Post Office and the following article was printed in the Wall Street Journal. I have a congenital heart defect, and although I have not faced surgery, I have been closely followed since I was born. My pediatric cardiologists have been excellent. I have had 3 doctors, and my current doctor is an adult-congenital specialist. I am grateful for her, and for my previous doctors. Their care has been excellent, even through pregnancy. The pediatric cardiology field has always interested me (probably because I have been a recipient of the expertise of many), and I have no complaints about the excellent care I have received. I do have my opinions on trasitioning from the pediatric cardiologist to the adult-congenital specialist. I will save those for another day! It is a transition, but so far, mine has gone well. There were a few tears early on, but I will save that story for later...when I need to write a new post! I am thankful that the adult-congenital specialty is developing. Going straight from a pediatric cardiologist to an adult cardiologist does present it's challenges; so having the adult-congenital specialist has been a great development for the practice that follows me. More to come, but here is the article.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444443504577601403187689064.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_LeadStoryNA#articleTabs%3Darticle

Milestones

Miss E is pulling up to sitting, and Sunday I found her standing in the crib. I remember when Little D hit those milestones. Can it really be true that Miss E is growing up this fast? She is so much fun, and Little D loves her!

A quote from Little D tonight at dinner "I 'hafta' (have to:) learn to play golf and not whine about it."

Sunday School

This past Sunday was "promotion Sunday" for the children's Sunday School program at church. I have been working with the 2's and 3's for the past year, but I have now been promoted to 4th-6th. I am very excited about the opportunity to work with the older children, but I sure did have fun with the 2's and 3's. My teaching time was during the last hour of the morning schedule, so my goal was to keep them happy! We would start out with a rest time and listen to a CD; then we would usually do some sort of craft; and finally we would have a snack (if there was time)/play a game/sing songs. Here are a few pictures of my summer "wall" ideas. There are so many easy preschool craft ideas, and the children had a great time!

If you think creatively you will recognize that these are Octopus creatures!

Jelly Fish don't swim under trees, but these are special jelly fish! The rainbows were fun to color with 2 and 3 year olds. Trying to keep the colors close to in line was fun!

The sailboats were probably my favorite "under the sea" crafts. We have hundreds of popsicle sticks in the craft closet, so we used a few for texture :)! The fish and starfish were fun too. I love wiggly eyes. There are hundreds of those in the craft closet too.

The lighthouses were from the dollar store. Our last lesson together before most of the children moved to their new 4-5 year old class was that "The Light of the World is Jesus."

I enjoyed the 2's and 3's. The class was mostly boys and full of energy, but what a great opportunity to share truth and plant the seeds of the Gospel even in simple teaching of the Word! 4th-6th is going to be a ton of fun too! I just have to try to think like an "older kid" now!

Monday Musings

One of my favorite things to do is help with bridal and baby showers. My mom, sisters and I have a lot of fun with these kinds of things! I have a dear friend who loves to create invitations, and so often, she takes care of that detail! Here are a few pictures from past events. The key is to keep things simple! And that's what we try to do. It is always fun to try to incorporate things that are personal for each shower recipient too. Here are some ideas from past showers.

For church showers, there is a small budget that we are able to work with. This was a morning shower, and we had had several "breakfast" occasions with the ladies recently. Instead of quiche and casseroles, we had Panera scones and bagels. That was a treat. My friend had used the "blue paper" hanging decorations for her son's first birthday party and let me borrow them. That reminds me...I need to return t hem. They are in my trunk, probably smushed to pieces by now!

This beverage dispenser shows up frequently at parties and events. It came from Sam's and has gotten lots and lots of use! This is a juice blend that I just threw together. You can add ginger ale to just about anything and float ice cubes and fruit and have something nices to look at.

This was one of the more elaborate projects I attempted. You cut a watermelon in half and stick flowers down into the flesh part of the watermelon. They stayed fresh in the refrigerator overnight! The ribbon and monkey came from Hobby Lobby. It was a bit of a sticky project- one that was fun to do but not necessarily a quick, do it every time you have a party centerpiece!

Often at baby showers I have the attendees write a card of advice/encouragement for the new-mom-to-be. It is always fun to see what the ladies come up with!

Sometimes instead of cake we serve petit fours. These are from Publix. They have little baby booties on top. They are pretty little things and taste pretty good too!

It is fun to have a variety of foods. Having friends who help is great, especially when they make really good hummus!

This cake is from Publix. They have a great bakery and always do a beautiful job! This phrase was taken from text of a couple's engagement story. Just a little something to make the shower personal for that bride.

Diaper cakes are the easiest things to make! It makes a great gift too! The scrabble pieces were one of my favorite parts of this cake. They were in Mom and Dad's basement from a project Rach had gotten into. There were plenty of pieces available, and the right letters :)...so they made it on to the cake!

We spent an evening painting letters for this decor. Hobby Lobby has more "cheap stuff" for these kinds of decorations. It's especially nice if it happens to be 50% off when you need it too!

A lady in our church made this cake. As you can see diaper cakes can vary in different ways. They always look amazing and hard to make. But they aren't!

We have thrown a lot of parties/showers/receptions this summer. I should have taken more pictures, but I didn't. It is always a lot of fun to share in special times in the lives of friends and family!

Miss E and Little D

Teething first, then a drum lesson!

Best Friends already.

Out with the old; in with the new.

We recently had our bathrooms completely remodeled. There are still finishing touches to add, but here is a look at the progress!

Monday Musings

DIY. Do It Yourself projects. Websites are devoted to such ideas. My personality does not lend itself to a crafty, DIY lifestyle. However, many people close to me (ie. Family) love to try DIY projects. Here is a look at today’s progress.

1.       Toy Box for Little D.

2.       Coffee Table for Auntie S. (J’s thoughts on the project: “I am considering boycotting Pinterest.”)

3.       Auntie A’s house. Many DIY projects lined up. Today it was ripping out sub-flooring, removing the old oven and painting.

4.       I like to keep my DIY projects simple and easy to accomplish J. Laundry, dishes, etc.

Overall, it is fun to see what you can do to make “something out of ‘almost-nothing.’” I am almost inspired!

Learning for Life

"Mommy, I am learning to clean."
I hope he always thinks cleaning is this much fun!