Thankful for Teachers

I'm the "party mom" for my son's first grade class and on Friday we had our Thanksgiving feast!

 

 

I had one game planned before the feast.

One game.

A little balance the pumpkin on your head relay race.

There are 15 kids.



I couldn't get those kids to listen to me to save my life!!!

I was so exhausted by the end of the feast, I came home and laid on the couch
 until it was time to go back and pick up my kiddos!

I then proceeded to go to bed at 8:30pm!



 

Teachers are magical and amazing!

I marvel at their patience and creativity.

I am in awe at their grace and organization.

I'm so thankful for brilliant teachers that love my children and

teach them with energy and enthusiasm.

*****



I'm always a little against doing anything "Christmas" before Thanksgiving,

 but this time I can't resist!

Another great teacher and lover of children is my dear friend Kristie Christie

(yes, how cool is that, she married a man with the last name "Christie!!!)

She has worked in children's ministry for over 15 years and is one of those magical people like Mr. Rogers who simply captivates children with her sweet spirit and authentic love for Jesus.

She has developed an incredible children's ministry curriculum, but has also created a wonderful family advent for this Christmas season.

Click the beautiful graphic below to go to her site and make your holiday meaningful by gathering as a family and preparing your heart for the coming of the King of King.

A 25 day family advent devotional!

Halloween Candy For Christmas

Do you still have piles like these around your house?



 

Lord have mercy!
Notice you don't see too many Twix, they're my downfall!
My children go to bed and Moma has a field day of indulgence!

Every family deals with Halloween candy differently and that's cool.
Some send it all to the troops.
Some do the "Switch Witch,"
(my kids were terrified at the thought of a witch
coming into their rooms to take their candy!)
Some turn it into their Dentist.
And some, like us, let their kids eat it!
Not all of it (obviously, it's November 16th and we still have all of this!).
I kinda do what my mom did with the candy - you keep it out in the old school plastic orange pumpkin buckets for a few days and let them have it whenever they want it.
 Then after a few days it goes into a cupboard.
Out of sight, out of mind!
And then, every so often, they ask, "hey, where is my Halloween candy?"
 And I reply, it's in the cupboard, go pick a piece.
They days between them asking for the out of sight candy get farther and farther apart until I hit the
"Expiration Date."
Once we get to Thanksgiving, the candy expires in our house!  And usually I throw it all away.

But this year, I have a brilliant idea.....
Make GINGERBREAD HOUSES with all the candy!
I wanted to make an example to share, but I don't want to waste our candy!!
And it goes against everything I believe in to do anything "Christmasy" until after Thanksgiving!
Every year I go buy a ton of candy to use to make our Gingerbread Houses, but not this year!
Tootsie Rolls become chimneys or stacked for a log cabin effect or stacked outside the Gingerbread House like a pile of fire wood.
Lolly pops become street lamps.
MnMs and Skittles become Christmas lights on the Gingerbread House.
Smarties line the walkway up to the house.
Nerds become tiny Christmas lights on the house or used to make designs on the house.
The possibilities are endless!

So Happy Halloween turns into Merry Christmas!!

Mom's 70th

I just returned from a fabulous adventure with my Mom to celebrate her 70th birthday.

Her destination of choice:  Cape Cod

We flew into Rhode Island and spent a day in Newport, touring the mansions, 

before we drove out to the Cape.

If you know my mother and her dramatic imagination - hats were a must at the mansions in her book!

The extravagance, the opulence, the wealth, it was all too much.

Yet I'm confident I was made to live in one of these mansions!

We had the most fabulous food.

Lobster Rolls to die for and the decadent 3 course breakfasts at our Inn.

We chased sunsets, sun rises and lighthouses.

We did a little shopping and a lot of walking.

 She made her art...

And I made mine.

It was such a treasured time away, celebrating my fabulous mother.

I'm blessed everyday to have my Mom as my best friend.  Some people spend their whole life searching for their best friend, their soul mate, kindred spirit.  I was lucky enough to be born to mine!

All that I am and all that I hope to be is her.

xoxox

Love you Moma

Happy 70th