Sensory Table

B’s teacher has mentioned (repeatedly) B’s interest/infatuation with his classroom’s sensory table. He isn’t much into coloring or the craft projects but is always eager to play with whatever stuff be it sticky, gooey, gritty or doughy that he might find at his favorite spot in the classroom.

Remembering Mrs. F’s comments is what gave us the idea to create our own little mini sensory table for B’s birthday party.  The table was a hit both during the party and afterwards. 

These two played and played and played…

So much that we decided to keep the fun going and build a sensory table for our backyard!

C made the table out of scrap wood from a pile in our garage and I painted it with left over paint from the myriad projects we have tackled over the past several months (the under the bed storage bin was left over from our former house)…the entire project was spontaneous and cost nothing, making me even more excited about it.

(The helmet is just a glimpse of the shenanigans taking place in what is our backyard…oh the joy of being 3 years old!)

My goal for the spring/summer is to rotate whatever resides in the table each week or two….right now we have rice (left over from the party)…I can only imagine what might we might play and explore with next!

Ella makes sure chaperone all the new sensory table happenings as they develop.

Happy Playing.

Be blessed.

Park Dates

We have been trying to get out to enjoy our recent stint of atypically warm March evenings…which means lots or walks and lots of park time!

All the fresh air can really wear little ones out!

Be blessed.

Grateful…

To get to spend my days loving on these two nuggets…

Be blessed.

Jobsite Party

We kept the birthday celebration going by hosting a construction themed party for B on Saturday morning.

The invitation read…

“B is turning 3 and trucking his way to a birthday celebration!

Please join our work crew and truck on over to our jobsite for loads of tasty breakfast fun!

Work begins Saturday, March 17th @ 9:30am

Regrets to the foreman @ _____”

We found the theme quite fitting as B is about anything construction/truck/worka man related right now and our home continues to be the definition of a worksite!!!

We kept the party rather simple…and put B’s toys to work as decorations and as always…the birthday banner was hung.

The work crew was greeted by none-other than B’s big bulldozer, dump truck and photos of our little worker throughout the past year…

We thought it appropriate to serve the work crew one of B’s favorite meals…French Toast and goop (yes, we had this two mornings in a row). We added fruit for the healthy workers in the group.

I used B’s toys as serving pieces…this was one of the first times that we’ve had to worry about fruit quite literally rolling off the counter .

In honor of St. Patrick’s day, the kiddo crew enjoyed green milk and Lucky Charms…

In lieu of a birthday cake, we celebrated with a coffee cake…this was my attempt at making an edible construction site…

Last year, B was quite hesitant about everyone singing to him…this year he took it all in and confidently blew out all three of his candles!

After full tummies were achieved, the work crew safely got to work…

They worked on a rice work site…

The crew also made tracks with this little road made from fabric (thank you pinterest).

All in all, it was a great party…we missed several special family members and it was hard not to have familiar Texas faces celebrating alongside our little guy…but B felt celebrated and the entire day proved to be magical for our little construction worker.

Happy Birthday to the hardest working little boy in our neck of the wood!

Be blessed.

Birthday Date

On B’s actual birthday, he woke up to a special skype date with two very special people, Gigi and Papa,  in Texas. Later he enjoyed phone calls from other loved ones…it was fun to watch his eyes light up as he talked on the computer and phone.

Later we enjoyed breakfast together at home as a little family. B requested French Toast with Goop…so we enjoyed just that. 

As we ate, we interviewed B all about his favorite things…

These are B’s actual responses from the interview:

What is your favorite memory from being 2? Playing with L (neighbor)

What makes you happy? Playing in the backyard

What makes you sad? When people take toys away

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite game to play? Playing chase

What is your favorite toy? Fire truck

What is your favorite place? Mall of America

What is your favorite book? Fire truck book

What is your favorite animal? Dog

What is your favorite food to eat? Noodles

What is your least favorite food to eat? Green beans

What is your favorite snack? Pretzels

What is your favorite drink? Milk

What is your favorite thing to do with our family? I think go walk

How has God made you special? Build things

What do you want to be when you grow up? Pick up wood

What is your favorite Bible Story? BSF, God

What is your favorite Bible verse? God, This is the day that God had made let us worship and be glad in it

What do you think will be your favorite part of being 3? Fire truck

Can you write your name?

We hope this new tradition provides smiles and memories in the years to come.

Later, B opened a special book  from A called Little Blue Truck Leads the Way.  This book is the companion to  another book B enjoys called The Little Blue Truck by, Alice Schertle.

He was elated to discover the book and asked to have it read on the spot.

Little A sat back and took it all in, realizing what a fantastic choice her gift had been .

Later, we dropped little A off and headed to the Mall of America to side some special rides with just B.

Both C and I enjoyed the time we had with him, we missed little A, but it was a treat to head out sans stroller and experience the birthday adventure through our little guy’s eyes.

We found a fountain to through coins in…

And then found the rides. Our time was complete with rides on a train, bus and big rig trucks.

After the mall, we headed to pick little A up and enjoyed some special playtime Gram and Grandpa.

Our goal was to make B feel honored and to celebrate our three year anniversary of parenthood…we accomplished that by simply taking it all in and seeing B’s face light up as he took every part of his ‘boorthday’ in.

Still can’t hardly believe our little man is three!!!!

Be blessed.

B is THREE!!!!

Happy Birthday to the hardest working little guy we know.

Our lives changed forever at 4:54am just a few short years ago…and we couldn’t have more reason to celebrate!

We love you more than our hearts can begin to articulate and are so grateful that God chose for you to be a part of our family.

Keep on ‘constructing’ with your whole heart…we know that God’s got big plans for you!

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

Be blessed.

Ho…Ho…Hosanna!

Ha…Ha…Halleluiah!

He…He…He…He saves me!

I’ve got the joy of the Lord!

Be blessed.

Safety First in Our Neck of the Wood

This Video Speaks for Itself…

I am without words.

Be blessed.

Callused Knees vs. Instant Gratification

When trouble barrels down the chute or I have joy I simply can’t contain, I typically pick up the phone and wait for familiar voices to provide encouragement, prayer or cheers of joy.  I find my heart satiated by the instant gratification of a good phone call and often let that be enough in the midst of a trial or triumph.  It’s my heart’s desire for these phone calls to take a second place to the Ultimate ‘Calling’ that needs to be done.

I am convicted by Paul’s words and description of prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19…

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

I desire to have callused knees…

I desire for my first response to anything/everything in life to be to drop to my knees (literally and figuratively depending on the situation’s specifics) and pray.

I desire to earnestly pray Paul’s words over our kiddo's hearts as they grow and Lord willingly begin their own faith journeys.

I desire for others…C, family, friends, neighbors, store employees, co-workers, etc. etc. to be strengthened and encouraged by God’s power…that they may know that width, depth, length and height of Christ’s love.

Next time I call…please hold me accountable by asking if my knees are callused.

Be blessed.

Completed and Hung.

I have been working on this project since our little Pinterest craft night. 

The project initially caught my eye because it seemed to be one that wouldn’t cost hardly anything.  I assumed I could use scrap fabric left over from other projects I’ve started and hoped I might even get C to build me a frame to stretch the fabric around using scrap wood from our bathroom renovation. 

I’ll be honest, I never imagined I would ever see this frugal project through to completion…and assumed the states would collect dust and be forgotten amidst the myriad other projects waiting to be completed in my sewing bin.

To my surprise (and delight) with the help of some extended afternoon naps (and a couple late nights) I actually completed it without spending anything!

A couple of the women at the craft night asked what I might do with the map when it was complete. One suggested using it as a way to remember different trips our family has taken.  Being one who loves to memorialize special happenings in our family’s life, I ran with the idea and printed little flags to attach to the map (with the help of buttons) to remind us of places we’ve been together since our wedding in 2006.

The project itself was really quite simple…I’ll be honest, I didn’t follow the tutorial to a tee and really just did it how my little brain thought it might work .

1. Trace the states onto tissue paper from a large map

2. Cut the tissue paper states out and pin them to random scrap fabric

3. Lay fabric states out

4. Find a large piece of backing fabric

5. Iron states onto backing fabric (it’s like putting a puzzle together) with iron on adhesive

6. Once the states are ironed on sew around each state…it doesn’t have to be perfect (the edges fray and look really neat)

7. Ask someone handy to make a wooden frame

8. Stretch fabric over frame and stable with a staple gun

9. Enjoy!

It is fun to imagine what little flags might pop up over the next several years…I look forward to being reminded of lots of future memories and am grateful for the memories we already have.

Happy crafting.

Be blessed.