Under the Sea

I was going through some old pictures and came across Caroline's fifth birthday pictures.

She wanted an "under the sea" theme.
This cake was super easy to make (the "sand" was brown sugar)and I loved how it turned out.

Here are the stairs leading down to "the ocean" . . .

. . . and here is "the ocean".

I taped white Christmas lights all over the walls of the basement, then I covered them with blue plastic tablecloths (they came in a huge roll from the party supply store.)  The kids made fish to hang up everywhere.
I also hung streamers and balloons all over the ceiling to make the girls feel like they were under water.

(I obviously had way more time and energy then!!)

We played a few games.  The favorite was the "fishing booth" . . . Jake was hiding behind it and when the girl's line would come down, he would attach a prize (stuffed ocean animal) on it.

I think Caroline had fun. :)

I can't believe how much she has grown since these pictures . . .she is 8 now . . . time sure does fly.

I can't wait to start planning her ninth birthday party.

What will the theme be????

CAN

I just had to share this with you.

Choosing to SEE

I just returned home from a ladies salad supper at the kids' school.
Everyone brought a delicious salad to share.
The speaker was Steven Curtis Chapman's wife, Mary Beth.
Wow.

My heart is full.
 

She spoke about her loss (of her little daughter, Maria) and her faith in God (the Healer).

She spoke about her struggles with clinical depression.

She spoke about her marriage to Steven Curtis and her passion for international adoption.

After the Chapmans tragically lost their daughter, Steven and their son, Caleb, began fervently praying, "God, we know you're in this, but we're so confused and hurt.  You've got to show us something tangible so we can know Maria's with You! Please, we need to SEE You in this, please let us SEE!"

Well . . . look what Steven found on their little art table.

A flower that Maria had drawn and what do you think it said on the other side??  . . . "SEE".

Wow.

The funny thing is that Maria was in preschool and hadn't written words like that . . . just I love you and names.


And the flower . . . it had six petals (one for each family member) and only one petal was colored in . . . Maria's favorite color, blue.


Mary Beth clings to that drawing and message and she is confident that her little Maria is safe with Jesus.

I love how God works.

Each one of us received a copy of her book, Choosing to SEE and I am so excited to start reading it.

"He has torn us to pieces

but He will heal us;

He has injured us

but He will bind up our wounds."

Hosea 6:1

Project and Popcorn

My parents were here for a little while and I can't wait to show you what my dad started in the laundry/mud room!

It was in need of a makeover.

Since I love our board and batten so much in our family room, I thought we should put something like it in our laundry/mud room . . . with hooks.

Hopefully this weekend I can find some time to prime and paint it and I'll post some before and after pics for you.

I get so excited when projects are underway!  I'm tempted to stay up all night and paint, but I know that would not be wise.  Especially because Jake has two friends sleeping over tonight and Caroline has a play date coming over early in the morning.

This is totally random, but do you own a Whirly Pop?? If not . . . go buy one right now!

It makes perfect popcorn every time . . . it sure beats the microwave kind.  So good, especially with a lot of melted butter and salt on it.

I need to go and get out all of my painting gear . . .

Joyful Noise

Caroline was in a concert at her school tonight.
I don't have any pictures of the actual concert because pictures of concerts never turn out . . .

I did get some shots of her and her friends before the concert, though.

Aren't the tie-dyed shirts cute??

While we were at the school, we found Caroline's torn paper portrait of herself . . .pretty good, right?

On the way home, we splurged and got some shakes to celebrate a job well done. :)

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD."

Psalm 100:1

Ready?? Go!!

There is something about playing a game that just bonds people together.
I LOVE playing games with my kids.
We laugh so hard.
The other night Caroline and I went to a game night and we played Scattergories . . . I used to play this game yeeeeaaaars ago.

I had forgotten about it really.

Now the kids and I are hooked.

Anyone want to come and play with us??

Just for fun . . . your letter is "S" . ..  GO!

a boys name
us cities
things that are cold
school supplies
pro sports teams
insects
breakfast foods
furniture
tv shows
things found in the ocean
presidents
product names

Upward

John's going to love me for posting this photo. :)

He's been coaching fifth and sixth grade girls basketball on Saturday mornings and then he coaches Caroline's Upward basketball team on Saturday afternoons.

Upward Basketball is a great national Christian basketball organization.  Caroline loves it. 

I think she loves it so much because Daddy is her coach. :)

They start every game with prayer.
Every practice with a devotion.

Jake likes to help the girls, too.

Caroline is learning a lot about the game. 

It's so much fun to watch her play and interact with the members on her team.

Organizations like Upward are a blessing to our family!!

To find out more about Upward sports, click here.