A beautiful pot of flowers? Or maybe NOT!

Yesterday, Tyson said, "Hey mom, can we get out that book of recipes and bake something?" It was a great idea, but unfortunately, being we're mostly health concious people, I don't carry boxes of cake mixes or brown sugar in the house. Needless to say, I was short of at least one ingredient for every recipe he wanted to try and bake. We came up with a plan though. And in honor of Grandnee's 61st birthday, we decided to "bake" this for her.

A beautiful pot of flowers? Or maybe not! Maybe both flowers and dessert.

Enjoy the pictures of a plant pot filled with vanilla pudding and layered with chocloate cookie crumbs to replicate the "dirt". We went to Hallmark today and I got tickled when I cam across the tiny little garden shovel which reads, "Special Grandma". What a perfect touch. And how appropriate for the dessert and the celebration.

Hey wait a second, is that a worm I see? This was the perfect thing to bake with a little boy. Ty got a chuckle and kept whispering to me (even though we were the only two people in the room), "Hey mom! Grandnee's going to think it's real. She's not going to know to eat it. Isn't that hilarious?" Yes, he actually uses that word. Too cute!!!!

Need the recipe? Just let me know. A box of pudding 69 cents, cookies $1.99, plant pot $1.00, flowers $1.00, garden shovel on sale for $1.49. Gummy worms $1.00. You could make this beautiful and delicious $7.00 or even less if you buy everything at the dollar store or better yet if you already have the ingredients at home in your cubbard. The taste and the way it makes grandma feel so special... PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Grandnee! Be careful not to eat the worm. We hope it cheers your day and helps you to feel better too!!!!

Thankfulness Murals

Today, Tyson and I did the 2nd devotional in the book titled, "52 Fun Family Devotions". The focus was on thankfulness. We were asked to read Luke 17:11-19 where Jesus healed 10 men with leprosy and only 1 man came back to simply say "thanks" to Him.

When was the last time your family paused to thank God for what he has given to you? Was it last Thanksgiving? Christmas? This devotional was used to encourage Tyson to make thankfulness a part of his everyday life.

Equipment:

Bible, white paper, and colored markers

Exploration:

Spread the paper over the dining room or kitchen table. Have each family member take a seat around the table. Pass out markers to everyone and instruct them to make a mural full of pictures of things for which they are thankful for.

When everyone is finished, take turns sharing your pictures with the whole family. Then remove the pictures from the table and hang it in the kitchen or hallway. These pictures will allow them to be reminded of what they have been given.

Discovery:

Discuss the following questions:

• Was it difficult or easy to think of things to draw? Why?
• Why did you choose to draw the things you did? What other things could you add to the mural?
• How do you show your thankfulness to God? To others?
• Why do you think only one leper came back to thank Jesus?
• How would you have felt if you had been Jesus? How do you think Jesus actually felt?
• Who in the story are you most like? What can we do to help ourselves become better at expressing our gratitude to God and to others?

Prayer:

Sit in a circle. Have everyone hold hands. FIRST, make each person in the circle take turns telling one specific reason they're thankful for each person in the circle. Then close in prayer of thanks for the way each family member contributes to your family as a whole.

Tyson really enjoyed this devotional. He loves to draw. We spent about 30 minutes drawing things we are thankful for. A few of the things he drew were: food, Jesus' blood, animals, his family, the cross, sports and silverware. Random and funny.

I stated a few things myself: my husband, my kids, the cross, Jesus' blood, my Church, family, friends, my car, food, water, toothbrush, and my house.

A few things that we didn't have on the paper but mentioned afterwards that we were also thankful for were shoes, toilet paper, blankets, and our beds.

Ty said he was thankful for me because I "cook him lunch". He was thankful for Jax because "he was born healthy". Daddy was at work and Lilah was asleep.

He said that the way he shows God how thankful he is is by "praying and being respectful to others".

I am most grateful to God for revealing His word to Tyson (as well as myself) through these devotionals, through his school teachers, and through the hard work and preparation Jill Higginbotham puts into the children's ministry, which tremendously helps these children learn God's word. Before I even began reading Luke 17:11-19, I said, "We are going read about how God healed 10 lepers." Ty said, "Yeah, I already learned about that mom in Church and in school." We actually read that same story to him the other night using his children's bible. So he got it in EVERY direction. He began teaching me the lesson. He's a human sponge. It's my prayer that this knowledge becomes not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge as well.

Finally, I encourage and challenge you to sit down with your child and help them to be reminded of how much they have to be greatful for. Even things such as a toothbrush that I am sure they take for granted.

God Bless!

Cousins, Nieces, Nephews, & Aunt Salene Get Their Groove On

Don't ask for an explanation of the title. It will just confuse you :) Our family tree is crazy!!! But, as crazy as it is, I have to admit, it's pretty exciting, fun, and definitely nice that everyone has a child(ren) of their own. We all understand cranky kids, not being prompt, going to bed early, getting up early, and making sure there's always a pot of coffee brewing!!!! We are all living the same exact life in regards to having children. It's fun witnessing our children play together, bath together, eat together, laugh together and cry together. Enjoy a clip of the kiddies dancing in Will's room as we prepare to pack our bags and say our goodbyes until the next time we get together.

"Mommy, I need a cast!"

A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine - especially a boy's routine. Unfortunately, mothers of boys deal with a lot of "heart stopping" injuries. On Thursday, I had (3) of them. As Ty is getting older, he's getting more daring, more brave, and more injured. It's not really something any mother can prepare for. It's just something you have to get acquainted with and adjusted to.

After falling off of his razor and injuring his right elbow, falling off the monkey bars and flat onto his face, bruising his head, and then FLYING, literally, off of his razor down a very steep hill, I had to document it. The last fall, where he flew off his razor, he flipped out. My heart stopped. I couldn't react quick enough. I mean, how could I, I was pushing a double stroller with 40 pounds worth of babies in it.

When we got home, he said, "Mommy, I need a cast!" So, I babied him a little bit; kissing his boo-boo, peroxiding it, neosporining it, and "casting" it up!!! He laid on the couch afterwards, resting. Here and there, he rested with his arm raised in the air. I thought it was so pitiful yet so cute all at the same time.

Kindergarten Registration

On Tuesday, Darren and I registered our baby boy for kindergarten. It's so hard to believe that 5 years has flown by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday he was placed in my arms for the first time.

Ty will be attending Fort Lewis Elementary school. We will have a lot of decisions to make over the next couple of months before school begins. Please be in prayer for us. The few prayer requests I can think of so far are below:

• Should we allow Tyson to take the school bus to and from school
• Should we request a specific teacher
• Mommy's "empty nest syndrome"
• Tyson's anxiety (if he even has any)
• Tyson's behavior to be representative to how he is raised.
• Tyson to stay focused, learning and retaining as much as possible.

We are not sure of when the first day of school is yet, but as much as I thought it would be a nice break away from responsibility, honestly, I am so sad to see him go!

Like Father, Like Son!

For Christmas, two of the gifts I bought for Darren were a blue-ray dvd player as well as the blue-ray movie Napoleon Dynamite. If you've never seen the movie before, but love plain dumb comedy, it's a must see movie. Everytime I watch it, it's like a train wreck. I just can't take my eyes off the tv. Ty has taken a real liking to it too, but the sad part is that he doesn't get the dumb comedy. I think it's almost like a drama to him.

Anyway, last night, while I was unpacking from our weekend trip to my brother's, Darren yelled, "Momma, come here!" You will never believe what surprise Ty and Darren had for me. I almost peed my pants.

The New Trendy Dessert: Microwaved Popsicles!

During my mother's last visit, she gave me a book titled, "52 Fun Family Devotions: Exploring and Discovering God's Word!" By Mike and Amy Nappa. I picked it up at one point and began to "explore" the first devotional and then life and holidays got in the way and I forgot all about this book. Now that the holidays are over, BIG SIGH OF RELIEF, I picked up life where it seemed to have ended weeks ago and tried the first devotional with Tyson today. This experiment is Christian based and relates to the topic of peer pressure.

In an exert taken from this experiment and this book's author, it says, "Families members of all ages are pressured to conform to the world's standards. "Cheat to get ahead." "Look out for number one." "Everybody's having sex just use a condom." "Popularity equals power". This devotion was supposed to show Tyson how Paul's warning to the ancient Romans is still relevant today. You should try it with your children, Christian or not.

Equipment: Popsicles, microwave oven, bowls, and a Bible.

Exploration: Tell the family that you are going to have the latest trendy dessert that everyone is eating these days. Get some popsicles out of the freezer and place them, wrappers and all, in the microwave. Cook them until they are good and soggy, and then hand them out to each family member. Be sure no one gets burned by a hot wrapper or popsicle juice.

Now point out the obvious: microwaving popsicles may be trendy, but it's also a pretty "stupid" (authors' words, not mind) way to eat a frozen treat. Popsicles are not meant to be cooked.

Share with your family how people are often encouraged by their friends, commercials, advertisements, celebrities, and society to do things that aren't very smart. This is often like trying to eat microwavable popsicles. It's not what the maker intended.

Discovery: Read Romans 12:1-2 and discuss these questions:

• How did you feel when I handed you the microwaved popsicles?
• How is microwaving popsicles like following some of the trends our friends follow?
• What are some of the ways the world tries to get us and our friends to do everything it does? What can we do when these actions or ideas are not smart or are against God's plans?
• What are the rewards in following God instead of the world?

Prayer: Lead your family in prayer like this: "Lord, give us wisdom to be able to recognize when others encourage us to follow them instead of you. Give us the strength to follow the encouragement of Romans 12:1-2 this week and for the rest of our lives. In Jesus' name amen."

Then pass out frozen popsicles and allow your children to enjoy them the way God intended them to be eaten.

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