It's For the Birds. . .

We actually did this months ago and last year and the year before, but this particular post is overdue. Here goes. . .

We love to feed the birds this special little treat! Here are our supplies. . .


And, here are sweet hands preparing bird gifts. . .

And, here is the finished products ready to hang on the tree outside our kitchen window. . .

And, here is a CRAZY child outside, in winter, wearing short sleeves, and no coat. . .

My Goodness, I love that silly, silly boy!!!!!

An Autumn Evening!

I think the high yesterday was 73, and it was perfectly beautiful ~ clear blue skies and a soft breeze. I'm not sure if it was the weather or what it was, but I decided in the middle of the day yesterday that we were going to have a fun fall dinner. . . outside!!!!!!! So, I swept the back porch and cleaned off our outdoor table. Then I just played and played making it look festive and fun. JCT helped me make fall cupcakes during naptime, and after we picked up Joshua from school, we went to Wal-mart to pick out some mums and pumpkins to surprise Daddy with when he came home!

The finished product. . .


A close up of Lacy's YUMMY Salad. . .

And, what were the boys up to while I was so busy preparing dinner and table decorations. . .

They were playing with a frog. . .

Bless his poor little heart!

May I Have This Dance?

It is that time of year again! March Madness, Baby!!


I drew up our chalkboard bracket yesterday because the madness begins today. . .

The boys wanted to wear jerseys yesterday. And, I thought this picture was appropriate because, after all, the Hoosiers were not invited to the dance this year.

But, JCT is really just being silly. He doesn't know that his team wasn't invited. Let's not tell him, okay? There will always be next year, you know?

I have a feeling that this time of year will only get more and more fun as the years go on and the boys get more and more into watching sports! Filling out brackets is just a little fun, friendly family competition! Enjoy the madness!

Summer in the Wintertime. . .

And, this is what our little snowman looked like yesterday morning. . .


Sad for him.

And, sad for me, too. I just wish that we could have more days like Sunday ~ unexpected days of rest and home~time for the whole family! Ahhh. . .

Anyway, the morning of the great snow I put on an episode of Little Bill for the boys. And, in this particular episode, the kids were snowed in and had cabin fever. They came up with the idea of having Summer in the winter. They dressed in summer clothes and sang a silly little song that stuck with me. "Summertime, summertime, summer in the wintertime!"

And, that is what I decided to do last night. I gave the boys their bath early, so that we would have one less thing to do in the evening hours, and after they had their bath, I let them choose clothes from their summer clothes bins. I can't tell you how fun they thought this was. . . And, they sang the song from Little Bill over and over and over as they paraded down the stairs in their swim trunks, t-shirts, and sunglasses. Then, I changed into a summer skirt and shirt. And, we waited for Daddy with great anticipation! He came in, and was quickly made aware of the seasonal change that had taken place in our home during the late afternoon hours. I had the burger meat out and ready for him to season and grill - on the stovetop grill, of course. I think it was thirty something degrees outside at the time!
Then, we ate our little dinner of fresh fruit, cheeseburgers, and potato chips! The boys loved it!

Even Erik Daniel got into all the fun!


And, for dessert, what else??

Strawberry shortcake!!



I think the boys really enjoyed it! We may just do this every winter while they are young!

Happy Mardi Gras, Dawlin'

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, and 15 years ago I'm not sure if I would have known what Fat Tuesday was. But, into my life walked a tall, dark, and handsome New Orleans boy, and he changed all of that.

Several months ago, I decided that I loved celebrating holidays and my kids agree, so I sat down and made a list in the back of my calendar of fun holidays that we could celebrate as a family. And, Mardi Gras was on that list, so for the first time ever, this year we celebrated it! I wanted to make a King Cake from scratch, but Erik wanted to order one from a traditional New Orleans bakery. Forty dollars and two days later this arrived in the mail. . .


Yeah, we won't be ordering our King Cake next year. I'll make it. I'm too frugal for a forty dollar mediocre king cake.

Last Friday Erik read to the boys all about the symbolism of the King Cake and a little background on the celebration of Mardi Gras. Then, we put on beads and passed out coins to make the kitchen feel a little more festive!



Even Rain got into all the excitement. He could hardly contain himself! Can't you see it in his eyes?



I'm sorry, but this was the cutest part of the evening. . .

And, then it was time for the unveiling of the amazing king cake. . .

A close up. . .

And, guess who (two days later) finally found the baby in his piece of King Cake?? The King, himself, King Joshua!

It was fun, and I believe it will make a good family tradition!

The Pumpkin Patch Parable

The basic gist of it is that God is the farmer. He grows the pumpkins. Some of them are tall and thin, and some of them are short and fat. After they are harvested, he puts a knife to them and cuts them open. This part hurts, but it is necessary. Then, he cleans them of all their yuckiness (the sin in their hearts). He reaches into them with His hands and pulls out all the seeds and pulp, and takes it to the compost pile ~ never to be seen again. Then he carves a smile on the pumpkins face. And, most importantly, He puts His light inside of them, so that they can shine His light into the dark night.

It has become our Halloween tradition. First we read the book, The Pumpkin Patch Parable, and then Erik carves the pumpkin reminding them of what each step signifies. I have never been a big fan of Halloween, but this little book has really given Halloween a spin that I can be excited about!!

So, here are some pics from our evening. . .

Reading the book. . .


The boys watching Erik carve. . .

JCT didn't like the smell of the pumpkin's sinful heart. . .

Putting a candle inside of the pumpkins. . .

Letting our lights shine. . .

In other Halloween news, all the kindergarten classes at Joshua's school went trick or treating around the community yesterday. As I drove through town running errands, I saw them downtown sitting on the sidewalk outside one of the banks eating candy. Then, later I saw them entering the nursing home. Later, I asked Joshua about his visit to the nursing home. He said that they were all dressed up and waiting in the front room for the kindergarten classes to come. I asked him what they were dressed up as, and he said, "Well, like one of them was Elvis! And, another one was a penguin!" I had fun imagining the older people in these costumes!! What fun this day must have been for both the kids and the elderly! Then, the kids went back to school in time to eat lunch, play on the playground, and have their Halloween party. I'm telling you, I want to go to kindergarten. Too much fun!

That evening we took the boys to one of the local church's trunk or treats. I have never been to one of these, but it was great fun! The boys walked through the church's parking lot from car to car getting candy from many of the church members. Then, we took them to a few friend's homes to trick or treat. And, finally we went back home to do the pumpkin patch parable. As we drove home, Joshua asked me to hold his bag of candy. I opened it check out his loot, and the smell brought back a thousand memories. It still smells the same. The smell of a bag full of candy!!! It took me back to a time many moons ago when a little red headed girl sat in the middle of the living room floor, dumped her candy bag out, and gently sifted through the sweet wonders that she had collected. Good memories, and now I making them with my boys!

I'll end with this picture from the trunk or treat. Elijah was not real happy about taking the picture!! When you have four kids, you are doing well if only one of them is melting down during a family picture!!! Ahhhhh. . . . the memories!