A New Year

So, it's 25 days into the new year. 2012. Wow, I can still vividly remember 1984. A few days ago, I was writing a check (yes, I still write those, sometimes) and I accidentally wrote 1/21/02. That made me laugh.

I'm not huge on New Year's resolutions, but the beginning of a new year always lends itself to evaluation and goal making. So, now that I have had a month to think about it, there are a few resolutions/goals I have for 2012.

1. Love more. Do less.

2. Give more. Take less.

3. Live more. Worry less.

It's pretty self-explanatory. I am a list maker so it is a little hard for me not to have a very detailed list that includes finally having that bikini body again or finishing the crown molding in my son's room or taking another trip to Africa. If I can just follow these three things during 2012, I think the important stuff will happen and well, who cares if the walls in my son's room are only up to an inch off the ceiling because I was too lazy to do the trim because I knew that we would eventually install crown molding? ...Well, I do. That's not the point, though. I want 2012 to matter!

I am super excited about a blog makeover and some other fun stuff that will be coming soon. There are plenty of projects I am a little giddy about sharing also. So, here's to 2012. May you be even better than 2011!

An American Girl

So, I'm a little late in posting about my girl's birthday, but better late than never, right? Emma loves American Girl dolls and since the closest store is about 5 hours away, we decided to make a little trip out of it. She invited a friend and we stayed in a hotel where they even provided accommodations for the dolls. They giggled, learned to braid hair and ate cookies and milk.

The next day, we spent a few hours at the store and had brunch in the American Girl Bistro.

She spent way too much money, but it was her money and her day, so I let her enjoy it!

It was a great trip, but we were all tired!

So, that's how her 7th birthday went down. Can't believe it has been that long since she was born. Where does the time go?

Birthday Boy #2

To celebrate Konnor's birthday, we had a football party.

We decorated with all things sporty: trophies, footballs and of course mini Toomer's oaks covered in TP.

Instead of a cake, we thought cupcakes would be easier for hungry little boys. The football toppers were made from scrapbook paper, a little cardstock and some toothpicks. I used a piping tip made for creating hair to make the green icing look like grass.

We made football shaped chocolate sugar cookies for favors.

For the past three years, Konnor has wanted to play a football game at his party, but the weather didn't cooperate. This year, we planned to have his party inside a gym so the weather wouldn't be an issue.

We were actually able to fit 9 candles in a cupcake!

He had a great party and I think he will always remember his 9th birthday as being a great one.

I don't even want to think about having a kid in the double digits next year. Wow.

Birthday Boy #1

We recently celebrated Brady's 3rd birthday! We met up with family the day of his birthday to exchange presents.

Later on in the week, we invited friends over to celebrate. That boy loves trucks so it was an easy theme.

Anyone who knows Brady, knows that it is very tough to get one of his smiles on camera.

This was our attempt to get a pic of all the kids at the party. Brady is not even looking at the camera.

He had a great birthday and has started his 3rd year of life out with a bang by moving to a big boy bed and potty- training. I am so thankful for this sweet but tough little guy.

Since Brady really only plays with cars, trucks and the iPad, we really did not want to overload him with more toys that he probably wouldn't play with anyway. So, instead of gifts, we asked his friends to give a small donation to help buy formula for a mother-less baby in Africa named Alama ( a name given to babies whose mother's die in childbirth). I met Alama's parents when I went to Africa last year and stayed in their village.

I was told by the missionary there that many times when a mother dies during childbirth, the baby "goes away." I don't really want to think about what that implies. The missionaries agreed to help with the cost of formula for the baby and they found another woman in the village who would care for him. The monthly cost of formula for Alama is around $140. The missionaries have had a few donations but are now pretty much paying it out of pocket. Alama will still be in need of formula for about 5 more months. Maybe you feel led to give and make a difference, not only in this little guy's life, but also in a village who have heard the saving gospel of Christ, but not embraced it. If so, leave a comment or send me an email and I will let you know how you can help.

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."-John 13:35

Back to the old routine

Well, summer break is officially over although the weather stuck around! : ) My kids had lots of fun this summer and of course, every year, it seems to go by faster and faster.

This summer, we made our first summer list.

We marked off MOST of them. There are still a few left- one of which is potty-train my new 3 year old.

We spent lots of time on the waterslide.

We had our Back to School family night a couple weeks ago. We did this last year and the kids loved it!

Emma was in charge of decorations. She drew placemats on the paper tablecloth.

She also taped up little pictures she drew of school supplies.

I scored some lunch trays at GW several months ago.

Of course, we had to have rectangular pizza and corn.

Konnor always tries to close his eyes when I take a picture.

Brady said the blessing.

We talked about the new school year and how K and E could be an example of Christ to their friends and teachers.

After dinner, we made pencil cups out of old soup cans and scrapbooking supplies.

Then, the first day of school arrived. Emma started 1st grade and Konnor started 3rd.

Little Brady is still in pre-school!

We are looking forward to a great year ahead!

I WON!

That's right! I entered my kitchen makeover in the Before & After weekly contest and I won!  Now, go here to check it out!

Summer is here!

So technically summer starts tomorrow (which also happens to be my birthday), but our summer activities have been in full force for a few weeks now!

We wrapped up school with my little girl graduating from kindergarten.

Right after school was out, we went on a summer vacation with some friends to the beach!

We had a blast!

The week we got back from the beach, we had VBS- which was also awesome!

Now that we have been home, we've tried to organize ourselves a little.

I've seen the idea of a summer list around blogland a lot. It's such a great way to plan the summer. I also wrote the verse we are going to try and memorize. Can you tell that I am trying to reinforce being KIND and FORGIVING? : ) We also created a reading list. My husband is already reading something, I just forgot the name so, it's not on the list.

In an effort to give the kids a little bit of a routine, I made to-do lists for summer. 

There are reminders of things they need to do everyday. Instead of our usual Thursday chore days, I decided to give the kids a chore to complete every weekday. I even made myself a daily to-do list, weekly and monthly. It feels so good to have it laid out for me and to be able to check it off! I LOVE LISTS!

We celebrated the best dad in the world yesterday! I love this pic we took at lunch. Brady did NOT want to take a picture. For us, if two out of three kids are looking at the camera and smiling...well, we call that success.

So, that's how our summer is going so far.