What's wrong with this picture?

In our kitchen, I have this dry erase board that I use for menu planning.  The other day, it looked like this:

It's hard to tell, but all of those coupons are covering up this:

Isaiah 9:6 A Child will be born to us.  God will give a Son to us.  

That is Kaleb's memory verse for Sunday School.  I felt very convicted that I had allowed the commercialism of the holiday to literally cover up the true meaning of Christmas.  I immediately took down the coupons and made a vow to Selah - pause and reflect. 

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Halloween Candy Pop Tarts

There are some ingredients that I always have in the house, you know, for emergencies, and store bought pie crust is one of them.  There are so many things you can do with it!  Tonight we decided to make homemade Pop Tarts.  Yum!  We did three different kinds but the Snickers were definitely the winner. 

First, cut up your Snickers, or whatever candy you're using. 

Look how pathetic that little Snickers on the right looks.
Almost not even worth it.

Next put your fillings on the pie crust.  We used a quarter crust for each one.  

 Snickers

 Chocolate Chips and Coconut

 And the healthier option, strawberry jelly.

Then fold them in half, seal the edges, and poke with a toothpick just like you would a pie.  

 Kaleb making the steam holes.

Bake them according to the instructions on the package...

...and build a tower of chocolate chips while you're waiting.  Kaleb was very proud of his!

Eat and enjoy!  

Happy (Day After) Halloween!

I seriously never thought I would say this, but I LOVE HALLOWEEN!  When I was little, I didn't really care for it but seeing my boys all dressed up and having a great time made me see this "holiday" in a whole new light.  

This year was Kaleb's first time trick-or-treating and he was so cute!  I think we could have left after the first house and he would have been more than thrilled with his one Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  

When we went to a few more houses and his pumpkin bucket got a little fuller, he came running back to us saying "I like doing this".  Of course you do kid!
 

Jakob was just along for the ride but I couldn't resist dressing him in this cute monster costume. 

We had such a fun time with all our friends and I can't wait to do it again next year!!

Pumpkins!

Today was a pumpkin filled day!  This morning we went to Tabora Farms and picked out our pumpkins.  Tabora is not the best place to pick pumpkins but it definitely has THE BEST store for some lunch and treats.

They had a couple of cut outs you could get your picture taken in:

Kaleb and Mommy as farmer mice

Kaleb being carried away by a big bird

Daddy and Kaleb

Mommy and Jakob

Kaleb on the tractor

After we chose our pumpkins, we got some yummy treats from the store and headed home.  After a nap and some dinner, we got to work carving.

Dave and Kaleb making the first cut

feeling the goop - he wasn't too crazy about it

We tried something a little different and let Kaleb drill out a K in the pumpkin.  This was perfect for him and it came out looking great!

drilling his first hole

by now, he's a pro!

really not sure why he's licking it but he thought he was pretty funny :)

Kaleb with his "K"

finished product.  not bad!

Dave's monster (that he's very proud of - rightfully so!) and Kaleb's "K".

And to cap off the evening, we made these cinnamon sugar roasted pumpkin seeds.  Delish!!

 Happy Halloween!

Seriously Cute Video: Kaleb Making Jakob Laugh

I know I'm a little biased since they're my kids, but this is pretty cute!!  

How does God want you to respond to the things He shows you?

When Jakob eats, he doesn’t like to take breaks to drink.  He pitches a fit when the continuous food supply is paused for a sip of water.  But because I’m the momma and know all things (sarcasm anyone?) I stop feeding him, give him his sippy cup and then he’s happy.  “Trust me Jakob, you need this water!”

Gratuitous picture of Jakob with his sippy cup...so cute!!

I feel like God must feel the same way about me sometimes.  “Would you just listen to Me?  I have something you need to know!”  That happened to me today.   

The Bible study we are currently going through is Beth Moore's "Breaking Free".  I was doing my Bible study homework and when I got to the end of the lesson for today, I was asked “How does God want you to respond to what He showed you today?”  My answer surprised me a little bit; but then again not really, considering God often shows me things at seemingly weird times.  The lesson was about taking the earthly heroes in our lives off of the thrones we put them on so that there is only room for God. [The example from Scripture being Isaiah’s immediate and obedient response to God after King Uzziah died].  I’m assuming that’s the genre of epiphany Ms. Moore was looking for.  Don’t get me wrong, that is a very valuable lesson but where I am in my life right now, God showed me something different.  I’ve always liked Matthew 12:34b “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  Beth put a new spin on it.  Referring to Isaiah’s cleansed lips followed by the beautiful words he wrote in his book, she said “For indeed, out of the overflow of a changed heart the mouth most beautifully speaks”.   

So, how will I respond to what God showed me in my homework today?  Have a changed heart and speak beautiful things to the Hubs and kiddos.  Easier said than done, I’m certain, but I’m sure going to try. 

Fall Leaves Craft

I'm not the kind of person that decorates for holidays.  Christmas is one thing but for all of the others, our house pretty much looks the same (ie: toys everywhere, dishes in the sink, laundry in various stages of doneness, etc).  I do LOVE crafts though so when I saw this one, I knew I had to try it with Kaleb.  It was so easy and I'm thrilled with the results!

In the original post, it was labeled as a "no mess" finger painting craft.  However, that did not turn out to be the case with my wee one, as nothing can be mess free.  It wasn't too bad though.  The best thing about this craft is that pretty much any age can do it.  If they can bang on the table, they can do this.  If I didn't think Jakob would pick up the wax paper and eat it along with the paint that's on it, I might try it with him.  Give him another month and we'll revisit it.

Step 1 - Lay a piece of wax paper on the table and then put a piece of construction paper or cardstock on top.  

  I seriously can't believe he's smiling for the camera all on his own - no bribery!

 

Step 2 - Then drop some blobs of paint on the paper.

 I went a little heavy on the paint blobs but they still came out good.  

Also, Kaleb got excited with the rolling pin and started rolling 

prematurely, but you get the idea.

Step 3 - Place another piece of wax paper on top and start rolling!

 The original post said to use your hands to move the paint around but Kaleb 

quickly (as in, didn't want to do it at all) got bored of that.  But when I broke out my big rolling pin, he thought that was pretty cool and wanted to do many more.  It's like it's a power tool or something!

 

 This is Kaleb complaining about getting paint on his shirt. Seriously child?  Did you not see yourself after the shaving cream craft?

This is the result if you shmush the paint with your hands.  

And this is what it looks like if you use a rolling pin.  

Step 4 - Cut out some leaves and hang them wherever you need some festive fall-ness :)

Now I'm just trying to think of something else that would look good with this same color blending effect. 

Music

I love music.  I always have.  Not in a way that suggests that I know anything about how it works; I sing on our worship team at church and most of the time, I have no idea what the real musicians are talking about.  No, that's not the way I love music.  I love music for the way that the lyrics speak to my heart like nothing else can.

Tonight at worship practice we sang a new song called "Lord, I Need you".  I can't stop listening to it!  Here's a link to Chris Tomlin's version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0bSTs2KnAs

The whole song is so great but my favorite part is the bridge.

"So teach my song to rise to You
when temptation comes my way. 
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on you;
Jesus You're my hope and stay."

I have absolutely no issue with recognizing that I need God.  My issue comes with the practical application part of it.  I beat myself up daily for the fact that turning to God isn't always my first response.  Honestly, I'm glad someone else put this sentiment into words.  Teach me to turn to You.  It's not a natural response; it's something that has to be learned. 

Kaleb's Birthday Eve

"Mommy needs to snuggle you extra long because this is the last night you're going to be two."  That's what I said to Kaleb as he went to bed tonight.  Three?  Really?  Was it really three years ago that I was brought into the hospital for high blood pressure and ended up being rushed into an emergency C-Section at 36 weeks?  It certainly doesn't feel like it!  Tomorrow we'll have a super cool Transformers party with our family but in the midst of it all, I'm sure I'll be thinking about the tiny 5lb 11oz baby that we met that day.  He changed my world and I'm so grateful to have him in my life.  

8-7-08

First Birthday Party, 2009

Second Birthday Party, 2010

Birthday Eve Bowling, 2011

Shaving Cream Marbled Paper

I LOVE to do crafts with my kids.  Right now, it’s mainly Kaleb (for obvious reasons) but soon enough Jakob will be joining in on the fun.  Any morning we are free, there is paint, glue, glitter and, in this case, shaving cream scattered all over our kitchen. 

This is one of my favorites we’ve done so far.  It’s a throwback to elementary school that's super easy with pretty cool results.  We did it in the kitchen but next time, I’m totally doing it outside so I can hose him off when we’re done. To say we made a HUGE mess is a HUGE understatement! 

Step 1 - Squirt shaving cream all over a cookie sheet.

Step 2 - Dot the shaving cream with food coloring.  I'm sure you could use however many colors you'd like, but we just did two.  

Step 3 - Swirl with a toothpick.  In my opinion, when it comes to the swirling, less is more because the colors are much more vivid.  You can see from some of the final product pictures which way you like it better.

 {And yes, the wee one likes to do crafts (and many other things) in just his undies.  Wouldn't you if you looked that cute?}

Step 4 - Place paper (cardstock works best since it’s a little thicker) on top of the shaving cream and press it in, making sure all the corners are covered.  

Step 5 - Take the paper out of the shaving cream and use a spatula to scrape the paper clean.  See how the color stays behind? 

Step 6 - After you have scraped most of the shaving cream off, use a paper towel or washcloth to wipe it completely clean.  Then set it aside to dry. 

They come out so pretty!  We used cardstock and also blank note cards so we could write letters and mail them to people we love. 

Here’s some of our finished products:

 

Step 7 - Carry your child directly from the kitchen to the tub!  Kaleb was a hot mess!