Marvelous and Magnificent Mama

Last week in kindergarten we were learning about the letter M, so we invited our moms in for some muffins.  My principal came in to help with my class, so that I could  be with Carson and I'm so thankful.  C and I had the best time.  When I came in he shared with me the book he wrote about me...so precious, he let me sit in his little chair and we ate a chocolate chip and a blueberry muffin together.  It was such a sweet time with him.  I'm so thankful for this little boy...he sat in my lap most of the time, played with my hair and whispered "I love you mama" in my ear.  How did I get so lucky?

Here's the book he wrote me:

"My Marvelous and Magnificent Mama"

My mom is special because I love her.  I like it when my mom reads me a book.  My mom can do many things!  I think she's best at teaching.  My mom has a pretty smile.  I like to make her smile by smiling.  My mom is as pretty as a flower.  My mom is smart!  She even knows how to cook.  My mom is the greatest because I love her!

Carson you are such a sweetheart and I am the luckiest mama in the universe!

Life's Simple Pleasures

So, lately I've been a little overwhelmed, stressed, and overbooked!  Last night I took some time to myself, had a glass of wine and thought about all the little things that make me happy.  I know it's a little cheesy, but sometimes I think it's nice to remember all of life's little moments that make us smile.  So, here's my list of the little things that make me smile, in no real order...

• a clean kitchen and the sound of the dishwasher running
• a glass of wine on the back deck, soul music playing on the outdoor speakers and the kids playing together
• cool crisp mornings on the front porch, before the kids wake up, with coffee, the newspaper and Chad
• Saturday mornings at Carson's soccer games
• Sunday night dinner at my parent's house
• adoration of the blessed sacrament
• clean laundry that is folded AND put away
• lunches made and clothes set out the night before school
• hearing Carson and Kennedy playing nicely together
• Wednesday mornings (My kindergarten class starts their day in P.E., so I get an early morning break!)
• all school mass
• dinner together as a family
• a clean car with a full tank of gas
• lunch with my family after mass
• reading a good book
• an afternoon nap
• holiday decorations
• hearing Carson and Kennedy talk excitedly about their new new baby brother or sister that we are planning to adopt
• colorful leaves in the fall
• going to bed early
• 80's music
• fresh flowers
• being prepared

What are your simple pleasures??

School Days!

We are officially in full school swing!  Carson is LOVING kindergarten and LOVES his teacher, Miss E!  He's had four fabulous days and we are so proud of him!  Love you big boy!

Kennedy has moved up to the fish class and she is loving it too, although all she talks about is wanting to be in kindergarten with her brother and mommy!  We love you Miss Kennedy!

Happy School Days everyone!!!  This is my absolute favorite time of year!  I have a super kindergarten class and am looking forward to a wonderful year with them!  Pics to follow of my Camp Kindergarten classroom!

 

Kennedy Cate is 4!!

This sweet girl celebrated her 4th birthday today!

She was soooooo excited about her Tinkerbell cake!  She has wanted to eat it and take the toy off and play with it ever since we picked it up at 10:00 this morning! 

Her big gift this year was a new sparkly pink bike!  She loved it!

Happy Birthday baby girl!  Your daddy and I prayed so hard for you and wanted you so badly!  God answered our prayers above and beyond what could have ever imagined!  We are so so so thankful for the special gift He gave us.  Love you so much angel! Happy Birthday!

Holden Beach Summer Vacation

We had the best summer vacation this year!  We spent a week in Holden Beach, NC with my parents, Nana and Pop.  The kids absolutely loved it!  We spent every day at the beach and the weather was perfect.  We ate at wonderful restaurants and my mom and dad made some killer scallops one night!  We stayed up late, slept in, when the kids would allow, played games, built sand castles, and just enjoyed every minute with eachother.  Thanks mom and dad for getting a house every year...the memories are priceless!  Just click on the smilebox below to check out our pics...

Land of the Blueberries!

Bless this sweet girl's heart! Have you seen this? My friend on facebook posted this and I just had to share. This girl had her wisdom teeth pulled and when she woke up, she was hilarious from the anesthesia! Her mom recorded her and her awesome sister posted it on you tube for all to see! It's absolutely hilarious...great way to end the weekend!

Enjoy!

All Tied Up!

Barbies simply do not stand a chance when you have a big brother around!  Poor girls!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

Hope you're having a super Saint Patrick's day today!  The kids and I had fun!  Carson kept trying to kiss Kennedy during our little photo shoot!  She was dying laughing!

We made yummy sugar cookies today!  Some are decorated for St. Patrick's Day...

...and some are just for fun!

We also did some art in honor of Saint Patrick.  I talked to the kids about him and how he taught the people of Ireland about the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the shamrock.  Carson said he wanted to wait until next year to make his...imagine that, Carson going against what everyone else is doing!!  :)  So, Kennedy and I made it together!

Happy Day!

Happy Happy Birthday Carson!

My baby boy turned 5 on the 8th of February and we have been celebrating, what seems like, all month long!  We had a family party on the 5th, which he wanted to be all robots. 

It all turned out really cute. 

I even made an attempt at a robot cake!  Pleae don't send this to "Cake Wrecks"  it was my first try!!  Ha!

After I had everything set up, Chad brought Carson in to see all the decorations and his cake.  I think he was happy!

Today, we had Carson's party with all his friends from preschool.  I think they had a lot of fun!  Carson wanted  a scientist party, so we went to Whiteside Park and did all kinds of fun experiments.  The kids through on huge t-shirts and got busy making terrariums, polymer and goo!

We even had our science goggles on hand!

What sweet friends Carson has at school!  These boys are darling and have started preschool together and will most likely be together in school until they graduate high school!  He has even more boys in his class on T/Th, but we couldn't invite all 19 boys, so we just did the M/W/F kiddos.  We missed the other ones, but sometimes you just have to say no to 19 five year old boys!  Ha!!

Time for cupcakes!!

The kids seemed to really like their treat baskets too!  They got a science lab sticker kit, a science journal, Pop Rocks, eyeball candy, science stamps and a beaker or test tube necklace.  They were pretty excited!

Thank you everyone for making Carson's day so special.  We had a wonderful time!

Happy 5th Birthday Carson! 

We love you more than you will ever know or ever understand.  You are the absolute light of our lives.  We are so thankful for you and will be forever grateful to your birthmother for giving you the gift of life. 

Happy happy birthday C!

Theology Uncorked!

Chad and I are so blessed to have all of our family here in town.  We have amazing parents who help us out all the time with the kiddos.  Every Thursday night, and I mean every Thursday night Chad's dad and step-mom (Granddad and Netty) come over to hang with the kids while we have a date.  They offered to do this for us almost 2 years ago and unless they are out of town, they are at our house.  They are amazing!  We are so thankful to have this time to be together, just the two of us!  

Tonight, was no different, it's Thursday, so it's date night!  We had a yummy dinner at Pei Wei and then headed to St. Mary's for Theology Uncorked.

It's a new group the church is starting that pairs a different wine each week with a different talk about our Catholic faith.  Tonight we had a white wine, Beringer Chenin Blanc.  It was ok.  I'm not a huge white wine fan.  I LOVE red and I LOVE it dry.  So, this one was a little different than what I usually choose...very crisp and very sweet.  We also had a great discussion on "How to Read the Bible". 

Fr. Kastl was our speaker tonight and he's just wonderful.  He's funny, such a people person, young and knowledgeable.  He gave a nice talk about different ways to read the bible rather than just starting with Genesis and reading all the way through to Revelations.  One of the ways he talked about is called lectio devina.  It's where you read a passage of the bible, maybe the daily reading, and you read it once, then again.  On the third time around, you find a part of the passage that really grabbed your attention and you meditate on just that part and how it relates to your life.  In prayer, you ask God to help you reflect on that part of the passage throughout the day.    Another way, he suggested, is to read "Word Among Us".  I don't know if any of you have read this, or heard of it, but it's wonderful.  It gives you the passages for the daily readings and you look them up in your bible, read them and then go back to the "Word Among Us" and read the daily reflection.  Another book I love is called "Little Black Book" and it's full of daily meditations, just for Lent.  They have "Little Blue Book" for advent and "Little White Book" for Easter.  These are great ways to start your day, if you have time, between making lunches, getting children ready for school, ironing uniforms and wiping noses! 

In closing tonight, Fr. Kastl said, " Scripture is meant to move our hearts, to draw us in, to continue the mission of Christ."  So true.

Happy Lent!