Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Back Home

 
 The corner of my grandparents' backyard is overgrown with tree saplings, but behind the branches is a piece of my childhood...


 
This little playhouse is the place where I spent hours at a time, cooking, cleaning, rearranging furniture... imagining. 



When I pushed my way through the brush to peek in, I found it just as we left it when my brother or I last played it, frozen in time.  The little pots that I used to make mudpies were still on the table with leftovers from the last  pretend meal. 


I was simultaneously transported back to my childhood while being vividly reminded of the passage of time.  It tugs at my emotions weeks later as a I post the pictures and when I see my kids play with the little stool that I found in the playhouse and brought back with me.  So I needed to hear from the One who is unchanging...

"God, my shepherd!
I don't need a thing. 
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. 
You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life."
                                          Psalm 23 (The Message, emphasis mine)







Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Happy Birthday, Naomi!

 
Our baby girl turns 9 this year!  This future dolphin trainer had a fun day of a lunch date with Daddy, enjoying her decidedly dolphin-inspired gifts, and a family dinner of steak and Cookies 'n Cream ice cream pie



She shared her pie with Daddy, because, of course, his birthday is the next day.  As of nine years ago, he's always had pink streamers up on his birthday!  Good thing they both love ice cream pie.



We love our sweet, bright, determined girl!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Backyard Breakfast Birthday Bash

We celebrated Naomi's 9th and Johnathan's 7th birthdays this year with a backyard breakfast bash!
 
Here are the BEFORE pictures.  All set up to bounce, decorate pillowcases...


mix pretend coffee and play with homemade flubber...

 
 eat donuts...

make yogurt parfaits...

















and, of course, the adults needed real coffee, because this party started at 8 am. (You gotta beat the heat when you try to have an outdoor party in July in Texas!)



And here are the DURING pictures.  We had a lot of fun!  So much fun, in fact, that we used up every drop of energy and did not take any AFTER pictures.  But if I had, they probably would have featured a very large blob of homemade flubber with every color mashed together and smooshed into the grass!  We are so thankful for good friends for our kids and the fun of watching them play.
 




















Happy birthday, Naomi and Johnathan!!


Monday, July 15, 2013

Sensory Summer Part 2

Another squishy sensory experiment... homemade flubber!  It was amazing to make and play with.
 

 
To make it, we dissolved a teaspoon of Borax in a 1/2 cup of warm water in one bowl.  Then we mixed a bottle of glue with a cup of warm water and food coloring in another bowl.  Then we poured the glue mixture into the Borax mixture and mixed it until it was... well, flubbery!
 
We did this one while Abby was napping because Borax and babies don't mix.
I found zillions of versions of this recipe on Pinterest, and I also discovered it works with glitter glue - so pretty!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Happy Birthday, Johnathan!

 
It's Johnathan's 7th birthday!


We celebrated him with lemon cake, Legos, Star Wars... all his favorites.





 
His birthday was on a Sunday this year, so we spent the morning at church, had pizza for lunch, and watched David Meece perform at a concert at church in the evening. 

 
We love our funny, sweet, insightful son!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Sensory Summer Part 1

These unscheduled days of summer have been a great break, which means we have time to do more messy, fun, outside projects that are wonderful for sensory development.  One of the first ones we tried was sidewalk chalk painting.
 


I got the simple recipe that uses cornstarch, water, and food coloring here:
http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2013/06/summer-boredom-buster-sidewalk-chalk-fun.html

Now we have a beautiful sidewalk (until the sprinkler hits it!).


Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy 4th of July!

 Our 4th of July was filled with... 

Food (Flourless Chocolate Cake was fabulous!)
 
Fireworks  (The Kurten Volunteer Fire Dept. put on an amazing show, as usual!)



and lots of FUN!



This post was brought to you by the letter F!