Keys to my heart and two weeks of valentines

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Tonight David will come home to
"Keys to My Heart"
We wrote what we love about him on
the back of the hearts

 

 

 

 

For the past two weeks we have been busy with Valentine

Crafts and hosted our Annual Valentine Party

All captured in pictures below

Valentine wreath
repurposed a wire frame -  grey yarn and cut out
pink and red felt hearts



Easy and Fun craft to make
David cut out all the hearts for me
On the back of one of his hearts is "I love you because you
help me with all my crafts and never complain"
Baby Food Jars and chalk spray paint
add a tea light and bakers twine - quick and easy

annual valentine party

Best game ever - paper plates/popsicle sticks
and one balloon.  Balloon Paddle Ball
 We played this for Family Home Evening the next day and
discovered that a balloon filled with helium and a day old (this is the key)
 works the best
 

 

Heart Mailbox Chair Backer
Pottery Barn - love this store!
 

The girls

 

 

 

Texas Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving  with cows, fireworks, s'mores on an open fire, and the beach -- only in Texas where the weather is gorgeous!  Our Thanksgiving started on Grandpa's Ranch with a great visit with family.  Next stop --- Galveston for a stroll on the beach and later a visit to the Rain Forest and Festival of Lights at Mary Moody Gardens.  Many memories from this trip... Hope you had a memorable Thanksgiving. 

 

The beach was empty - our own little paradise

 

sunset - almost time for fireworks

The Light n' go bonfire logs are the best.  Portable and inexpensive

fireworks on the fence line - great for staging

 

 

Fish made out of plastic water bottles

Pumpkins in the mist

After a rain shower we visited our local pumpkin patch and corn maze.  The corn maze was tricky to maneuver and very slippery.   The fog and mist on the camera lens  produced some interesting pictures. 

hiding from her daddy

scoping out the maze

we only took a couple of wrong turns

a tired little girl

A spooktacular day

The next two posts should have been posted in October but time has slipped away.  So here are our fall October festivities

The weather here was extremely warm for October but that did not prevent us from having a Halloween get together.  The most fun was creating these cute egg Ghostbusters.  They were so easy to make and the girls loved them. 

hollow out eggs, wash, dry, and add baby powder, glue wax paper on the top

throw on the sidewalk and the baby powder explodes with a puff of smoke

spider web cupcakes

Donut Tree a tradition from England

Hard part was getting the string not to cut through the donut

Plush Memories - something real that lasts forever

Stuffed animals – we each had one or several and remember them well when asked.  They were our comforter in the night, a confidant and playmate for tea, pirates, dress-up and adventures.  They shared our lives as children and we could not imagine a day or going to sleep without them.

As we aged they were forgotten or replaced and carefully packed in a box to be stored in a remote area of the closet.  Years would go by before we would remember them or even open the box.  But when we did – childhood memories would flood our minds and tugs at the heart would emerge of long ago. We would hold in our hands a ragged and worn dear old friend.   Even in adulthood we cannot imagine parting with something so small yet significant.

My plush friend was a clown – a handmade sock clown with button eyes and patchwork material.  Sarah has a pink bunny that her daddy bought when she was two months old.  Bunny is everything to her.  She sleeps and travels with bunny and absolutely adores him.



 

Bunny and Clown

Courtney had Bugs – her favorite gift one Christmas.  She is now 24 and expecting her first child but Bugs is tucked safely away in a box in her old bedroom.  Jared's was a handcrafted Care Bear and Christopher a white lion.


Courtney and Bugs



Jared and Care Bear

Though we are grown and no longer require or need our beloved friend we will always remember with tenderness the security they provided and the love we felt when they were tucked beside us. This was and still is something real.

 What was your favorite stuffed animal?



Sarah with Bunny always right beside her

 

still....


 



 

 

Family Conversation Jar - February Giveaway

As a Girl Scout Troop Leader - (never thought I would be this) --my girls do a variety of activities and of course we earn badges.   Last week we made Family Conversation Jars which the girls decorated.   

So, what is a Family Conversation Jar?  Take an ordinary Mason jar and paper (we used scrapbooking decorative paper).   Type or write questions, charade, riddles, etc. on the paper and cut the paper into strips and add to the jar.  Add a label for the lid and tag and you are ready to go.  Each night at dinner or anytime you are gathered as a family-   you pull a strip of paper out of the jar and answer the question or act out the statement.  The girls were very excited to get home and try out the jar with their family.   

What question would you place in your Family Conversation Jar?  February Giveaway is a Family Conversation Jar filled with lots of questions, charades, riddles, and of course Hink Pink Poems.  Leave your question by February 15th to enter for  a Family Conversation Jar. 

 

 

 

 

Paper from Michaels .25 each

 

 

 

Tag from SweetlyScrappedArt Etsy Shop

Where a girl can be a girl...

Sarah:  Mama, do you want to be a Doctor?
Me:  No
Sarah:  What about an x-ray person?
Me:  No
Sarah:  Well, what about a folder person?
Me:  What is a folder person?
Sarah:  You know, those people who walk around and check the folders.

Today  Sarah wanted to do a Spa-Day with her friends.  She spent this morning preparing for their arrival.  Remember when all we had to do was to keep our ponytails straight and catch fireflies?  Times have changed.......



Spa Day

she created a menu of services

 

 

Adirondack Chair to relax in

 

Everything nails

Baptism - It's Great to be Eight

Between birthdays, Christmas, and trips we also scheduled into the busy month of December a Baptism.  This was such a special day with family and friends -- special talks  by her Primary Teacher and her big Sister.  Music by Cindy on the harp, played Sarah's favorite primary songs.  The best part- a room full of support for this sweet little girl.  Later that evening ---  Sarah memory for the day:----   "David (her brother-in-law) asked me earlier if I felt different and I said, No.  But, mamma, afterwards I felt  really clean." 



Program from  CardsEtcetera Etsy Shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CardsEtcetera



Programs from MeckMom etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MeckMom

 



Cupcakes and Truffles from Dough Girl Bakery
https://www.facebook.com/DoughGirlBakery



She loves Grandpa

 

Big Sister and husband David were in town for Christmas and more importantly the Baptism