Simply Delightful

Last Christmas we received a wonderful gift in the mail, a keyboard and a guitar. My brother was helping finalize a family estate and came across these treasures he thought we might like to have. What a gift! I was excited and super thankful. (Thanks again, Jay!) Piano lessons had crossed my mind before but as with anything practice is required. No instrument, no practice.

So when these treasures arrived last Christmas I talked to the older two kids about lessons and both were excited. Fast forward to the summer, which is when I finally got around to calling about lessons. :) Well, recitals were just taking place and lessons wouldn't begin again until the Fall. We scheduled lessons with a lovely Sister who teaches both piano and guitar and does lessons back-to-back for the kids. Fall arrives and Kiersten is still excited but Isaiah has changed his mind. I have to say I told him he was going to take lessons anyhow and we'd just see how the year played out.

If I could convey in words what a gem Sister A is I would. She is a perfect fit and blessing for our family. After the first lesson BOTH kids came out smiling and happy. Nothing has changed in the weeks that have followed. I have had no complaints or whining when asking them to practice. The experience as a whole has been wonderful.

Recently there  was a mid-year Christmas recital. Isaiah didn't play in it but Kiersten did. Sister knew she could accompany her and fill-in the song whereas for Isaiah she couldn't really do that. (All was well because he wouldn't have wanted to participate anyhow!)

  

Christmas piano from Jess on Vimeo.

The evening was simply delightful, a true joy. (We'll not discuss the behavior of the other kids...it'll ruin the moment.) There were performers of all ages and abilities. Each performed a Christmas tune and as it happened they all played on the piano. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the only thing that would have made it better was if the husband and I had made it a date! :)

A Walk in the Woods

Every now and again the urge to get outside hits me. I love to walk but not so much around the neighborhood. If I am going to take a walk I prefer an unpaved trail to a cemented sidewalk. It really isn't the type of path that is important but rather the scenery through which the path passes that I am most interested in. I am thankful that we live not far at all from some really wonderful trails. The kids don't let me go for as long as I would like, but when you are a Mom you take what you can get. True?

This was a lovely Fall day and the weather was glorious. I love seeing my four littles ahead of me. I also love the glorious colors that the Lord puts on display during this time of year. I simply cannot get enough of it.

We know someone who is fully color blind- he only sees shades of white, black and grey. I never felt so keenly the blessing of seeing the beauty of color as I did this year reflecting on that fact that not everyone gets to see what I see.

Back to the woods. 

Another thing I enjoy about walking on a trail is that the kids run ahead of me looking for different treasures. On this particular path a ways in there start to appear white, wooden owls on the trees. It becomes a fun game of who can spot the next owl around the bend. On this particular trip Isaiah spotted this gem.

 

He has a good eye, that one. And in a valiant effort I tried to get a decent picture of all four of the kids together. Here is a sample of that attempt. :) Enjoy & Blessings.

 

 

Halloween First

The kiddos were all excited to head out this year. I will spare you the details for how many times a day and for how many days Katie asked me if it was Halloween. : )

These three hit the streets with their dad this year. I was a bit thankful because it was quite windy and I wanted to stay with my little man. No, Ezekiel didn’t don a costume this year. We had one for him but he isn’t the best of sports and we just thought it best to forego the whole torture- for his sake and ours.

Kiersten opted to be Jessie from Toy Story. I searched and searched for costumes but they just don’t exist in her size.  She belongs to that grey category- doesn’t fit in children’s and doesn’t fit in women’s. Because of this dilemma we had a family first: I made a costume! We bought her shirt at Goodwill and then I painted on the decorative design. {We had painted cuffs for her wrists but with the weather such as it was we knew no one would see them under her jacket.} Then I bought the cow print fabric from Hobby Lobby and made some ‘chaps’ for her. They had loops on the sides so she could thread them through her belt and not have them fall down on her constantly. The ‘chaps’ worked out surprisingly well and were comfortable to pull on over her jeans. We only had to buy the hat and then braid her naturally red hair and we were set. She was very happy with the result thankfully! {A dear neighbor exclaimed over her costume and made Kiersten’s night.}

Next up- Iron Man. I wasn’t sure how this would all shake out because of the face covering mask. Isaiah was sure he would like it. He was a bit bummed that this year no raved over his costume. {I don’t think it bothered him until that neighbor commented on Kiersten’s costume. Then he realized no one had said anything about his costume.}Last year when he was Luigi several people commented on his costume and not really so much on the girls’. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. : )

Last up- Violet Incredible. Katie was precious as Violet. She wore this costume as much as she could up until the actual holiday. I had fears of her ruining it but thankfully she did not. She had a felt mask that had a band to go around her head. She wasn’t super thrilled with that set-up so I promised to paint on her mask. The effect turned out really cute.

The night was short, they were only out about an hour, but they came home with full baskets. All in all the night and each costume was a success. We’ll have to see if future years means more ‘homemade’ costumes! : )

Bagheera

This girl is something else. Truly. She had a wonderful opportunity this summer to participate in a musical play- The Jungle Book Kids. After undergoing auditions she landed the part of Bagheera the panther. I wish I could put in to words what this play was like for her. She enjoyed her self so much and stepped out in courage. Both my Beloved and I watched her perform in amazement knowing she didn’t get that confidence and acting ability from either of one of us. (If you could see my Beloved in action you would know the drama is all him. ~wink~)

She is growing up so fast, this one. We are watching and wishing time would slow down. One sign of her growing maturity was choosing to do this play while knowing the opening night of the show would land on her birthday, prohibiting a party. Oh, we did cake and ice cream and she had her bigger family party a week or so before the play so it wasn’t like she didn’t have a birthday. But the laying down of her special day was something that might not have happened a year or so ago. I cannot share the play with you…but wow, it was a sight to see. You’ll just have to take my word for it. : )

Since I mentioned her birthday here are a few pictures of her celebrating. I have fallen dreadfully behind on updating the blog, so you’ll have to bear with posts with more than one topic. : )

The hot birthday day gift this year was Lego Friends. Both Grandma’s blessed her with a few kits and away she went. I’ll have to show you a picture of the put together parts. They are definitely something to behold. You can completely see how Lego catered to the more detailed heart of a girl versus a boy.

Well, it is beginning, this update of the oldest girl. : ) Take care- lots of love and prayers!

Mazurka

This is the last of the recital dances for the KK girl and it is her ballet number. I wasn’t able to record this particular dance during practice. Thus the vantage point is much further away. She is the second from the top of the screen in the right hand side line. From there you’ll have to do your best to follow her. : ) Again, apologies for my oh so fine camera recording. Blessings on your day!

MVI 0712 from Jess on Vimeo.

Boogie Woogie Jitterbug

Kiersten did two tap numbers, the second of which was the Boogie Woogie Jitterbug. She’s such a knock-out. Did I mention before how proud I was when I saw her? : )

She was hamming it up for the camera. Such a nut! (I am not feeling super wordy so I’ll just cut to her dance, if you don’t mind.)

Boogie Woogie Jitterbug from Jess on Vimeo.

Amazing

That Kiersten-girl did an amazing job at her dance recital. I was just so proud of her!

This year was different for me in that I hadn’t seen Kiersten perform or really even practice any of these dances from start to finish until rehearsal. In the past I had always seen the dance long before the recital and that just wasn’t true this year. I have to say I was blown away by how amazing she did! I really shouldn’t have been because she always does a great job. I suppose it was the element of surprise in seeing it for the first time.

Recital week can be a bit exhausting and I could see it on the faces of those Mom’s newly joining the ranks. Each year gets better in that I know what is coming and can better adapt to it. Not sure if that makes sense- I suppose there is just some comfort (if that is the right word) in knowing what’s expected and how long and late the performance is going to last.

This year I had Kiersten take a rest-time both days of the recital. She laid down in her darkened room and listened to a story on tape and then fell asleep for a little while afterwards. That was a saving grace as she performed her last number about 10:15 both nights. (Have I mentioned she is a trooper?)

Well, I have hemmed and hawed enough already. Here is Kiersten performing the Waltz Clod! (P.S. This was rehearsal and Katie was working a bad nerve. I apologize in advance for my camera taking skills. The few times the camera dips a certain someone was yanking on my arm. You’ll hear my response to said behavior too! Oh dear.)

Waltz Clod from Jess on Vimeo.

(P.S.S. This is only dance #1 of #3. So, more to come!)

Handmade with Love

Kiersten has taken up making some gifts by hand and of course with love. Embroidery, with all its colors and fun patterns has made an impression. We stumbled upon embroidery by accident, really. The art book we were doing had a lesson where they talked about embroidery and then had the kids made a drawing of what they might embroider. I guess that just didn't really compute with me. Draw an embroidery idea? Why not just embroider for real? While I knew this probably wasn't super practical for Isaiah, I didn't see any reason Kiersten couldn't give it a go.

With embroidery on the mind I went to the best free resource a girl has- the library. We found some real gems in the way of books to get us started. One of them was this book -

There were really cute ideas and patterns. We just needed something to get us started. Kiersten chose a sampler type project.

There were a few different types of stitches used; satin stitching, french knots, stem stitching as well as back stitching were involved. The backstitch stitch is Kiersten's favorite. She did a really wonderful job. The sky is the limit now.

The other book she really likes is this one:

There is a CD inside to print off the patterns/designs. This particular gal uses some really eye catching colors which completely appealed to my girl.. I'll have to add a picture another time of the under the sea bag Kiersten made for her cousin.(We gave it away before getting a picture of it.) All the patterns and color ideas came from this book and it turned out really lovely.

After the sampler Kiersten decided to get a set of 3 plain bags in order to embroider them and then give them away. The under the sea bag was one gift and then Kiersten made this bag for another birthday gift.

I gave her a little help adding the fabric on. We got the 'pattern' by tracing the cover picture of a sticker book the girls had. Kiersten was pleased with how it turned out. : ) Next she is on to making a bag for herself. You'll have to tune back in to see the finished product!

A Star (or two) is Born

Kiersten and Isaiah were asked to help the kids pastor at our church out. I have to say I had to beg and plead with them. (Oh, please. It was almost comical trying to figure out who asked who to do this project. The kids were that excited.) You see Mr. J wanted the kids to take part in an espidsode for Orange TV.

This past summer Orange TV was birthed and has become something my kids look forward to. It is a way of further connecting Sunday morning lessons to home. Even with the wider range of ages in the kids - the 9 year old down to the 1 year old- all get a kick out watching what Mr. J puts together.

Anyhow, Mr. J called and asked if Kiersten and Isaiah would come in and film with him. He wanted to put together a quick tutorial for how to find verses in your Bible. Mr. J later confessed that due to Kiersten's animated facial expressions (which he had observed and taken note of on Sunday mornings) he thought she would make a great co-host. (She clearly lived up to his expectations in this department- you'll see what I mean. : )) And even though Isaiah didn't get to be on camera he had a blast being there while they taped and adding his voice to part of the show.

Dare I say a star (or two) has been born? You'll have to take a peek and cast your vote!

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind

The other day I gave Kiersten a writing assignment: Write about an invention you would like to make, provided you had all the space and materials you needed. Tell me how this would help people.

We’ve been working through the Industrial Age in school, particularly with regard to the United States. We had just finished a book on Thomas Alva Edison. She was quite taken with some of the inventions he came up with like the phonograph, both to play and record sound. He also invented the light bulb and what we would call movie projectors. When the end of the story mentioned a museum on the East Coast we both thought it would pretty cool if we were to travel someday to see it.

Some other inventors we’ve learned about this year and last are Eli Whitney (cotton gin and making guns with interchangeable parts), Benjamin Franklin (electricity, stoves),  Robert Fullton (steamboat), Henry Ford (the assembly line)….

My thoughts were on a little deeper humanitarian level when I asked her to do this writing assignment. I have to say we were definitely not on the same page. Or were we? You be the judge.

Kiersten’s invention:

If I had certain parts, I would make an invention called the…”Let-You-Do It Inator.” (LYDI) What it is: a head piece and a remote control that looks like this:

This is how it works. The head piece goes on an adult and the kids gets the remote. When a kid wants to do something, like get two cookies or not do the dishes, the kid flips on the remote that acavates the head piece. Then the kid ask a question, “Can I have two cookies?” And the the adult says, “Yes.” So this invention makes life easer for the kids. THE END

Hmmm…I saw where she was going with this about two sentences in. Slick, real slick. I can see she has a real heart to make life better for other kids. : ) What say you?

I’m a Big Fan of Bon-Bon’s

When they are this cute, how can you not be? : )

This Bon-Bon had such a fun time and reveled in the experience of being a part of the Nutcracker. She has watched from the side lines year after year. But not this year. This year she joined the ranks of many a dancer.

(Kiersten is the first Bon-Bon on the left.) We may live in a smaller town but this production has been going on for close to 30 years. The last several of which Kiersten and her daddy have gotten all fancied up for and went to watch.

This year? This year it was Mom, Dad and Grandma who got all fancied up to watch. Our eyes earnestly seeking out one little performer in particular.

That’s right, Grandma flew in just to see Kiersten in her first appearance in the Nutcracker. It was already special but Grandma’s coming made it even more so. Such a treat and a blessing that she could be here. I know Kiersten won’t easily forget this year or how special it was.

She did have one complaint about the whole thing. It was putting on make-up, in particular the mascara and eye liner bother her. I think she is fine once it is all on but the getting it on is another story. I didn’t keep count of the times she said, “Make-up is my nemesis.” (And yes, that is her exact wording. I blame it on her Dad. : ) )

I won’t hold my breath that she will still feel that way about make-up a few years down the road. Who knows though, this could be one battle I won’t have to fight! (Hope is a beautiful thing.)

In any case this Bon-Bon did a wonderful job and has made a fan out of me. Honestly they don’t get much cuter than this. Congratulations, Sweets, on an outstanding job as a Bon-Bon.

Angry Pumpkins

Oh, yes they were! We had us some seriously angry pumpkins this Halloween.

Every art project we have done this Fall has in some way, shape or form revolved around Angry Birds. At least for Isaiah it has. I should take a picture of a few other projects just so you know I am not lying to you.

(If you don’t know what Angry Birds is, count yourself lucky! It is addicting. We only became aware of it because of the movie Rio. The DVD came with a little card on the inside giving a code that allows you to play a free demo game on the computer. The rest is history.)

Mr. Isaiah wasn’t the only one pleased with how our efforts turned out. When Husbandry came in the house he was chuckling over the black pumpkin. That was the one that got him. Katie liked Mr. King Pig.

Several of the people who visited our house and collected candy commented on our patio decorations. Guess we aren’t the only ones to have been sucked into playing the game.

But just so you don’t think us too sad or ridiculous here are the other pumpkins that we decorated. : )

I’ll leave you to guess which artist painted which pumpkin- Katie or Kiersten? Tough call, I know. : )

Halloween 2011

This one was memorable. (Aren’t they all though?) Many a story needed to be shared with Beloved once we made it home.

This year we had Luigi, a fairy and a sock hop girl.

Isn’t that mustache hilarious on Isaiah? : )

I wish I could have kept a tally of all the people we passed by who said, “Hey! It’s Luigi!” And each and every time we heard that we promptly heard a little someone pipe up, not to be missed or forgotten, “And I am a little fairy!”

That girl. I tell you, she is something else! I wasn’t the only amused at my little miss so-and so.

I can only say, in this season of battle of the wills, that she definitely keeps life interesting. There is never a dull moment with that child. Never. Did I mention there is also never a quiet moment? Ah, well I suppose that is neither here nor there.

Anyhow, back to Halloween. The cuties and I hit the streets around our neighborhood shamelessly asking for candy. I brought the wagon along – just in case. (If you didn’t know it a three year old feels the need to frequently change her mind. Said parent of certain three year old person has come to learn to be prepared. You know, just in case.)

Trick-or-treating took an interesting turn when a little boy tried to help himself to Katie’s candy as he walked by. The Dad intervened and said she wasn’t handing out candy and then moved the little boy along before a crisis of dramatic proportions broke out. The incident, however, didn’t quickly leave Katie’s mind. From then on any time we came near to another child her hand went over the top of her pumpkin basket and she gave them the stink eye, just daring them to make a move on her loot.

It wasn’t long after this she decided she was done trick-or-treating. We weren’t yet home, in truth we were only a few blocks away, but she gave it up and took residence in the wagon. The other two went up and down many a sidewalk gathering more candy. Several people noticed Little Miss sitting in her wagon but that she was making no move to come collect their candy. They inquired and I just let them know she said she was done. (Oh, she meant it.) Few people still made me come get candy for her not realizing the extent to which she sticks by her guns once she has decided the way a thing should be. Lucky them.

Another mentionable thing that happened was a boycott by the girls’ of certain houses. Some decorations were just too scary. Kiersten, my ever cautious one, refrained from a handful of so houses because she didn’t ‘feel comfortable’ going up to the door. No problem. Katie joined her sister on the curb at a few houses as well. One house Kiersten didn’t go up Katie did but as we were on our way down the steps she said, “Scary, but not cool!” (You’d have to have seen the movie Rio to know where she got that phrase from.) The timing and well use of the movie line brought a smile to my face.

What about Isaiah, you ask? Did he pass by any houses that looked scary? No, indeed he did not. He was on a mission to collect candy. He would still be on people’s porch having barely said his thank you when he would yell, “Mom! I got a (insert name of candy here).” No lie, he reported his treasure from each and every house the moment it landed in his basket. Each and every house. What a nut.

There you have it, Halloween 2011. I’ll be back in a few days to show you their pumpkins. There has been a theme to most all things art where Isaiah is concerned. Pumpkin decorating was no exception.

What in the World

I must know for fear of being locking into a rubber room if someone doesn’t share. What in the world possesses a child to wipe their nose excrement on my walls?!! I mean is the three more feet (probably an over estimate) to the toilet paper roll in the bathroom like crossing the Sahara?!!

And why do all children have this issue? It doesn’t seem to be regulated to just boys or just girls. (I know this for a fact!)

If this were only the first time I have discovered a little person using my walls as their personal hankie. It wasn’t the first time but I think it has to be the most disgusting. (Thus far. There are still two younger’s being groomed in the wings.)

Said offender spent many a minute using baby wipes and the blessing of God given nails to get that most offensive of messes off my wall. I find between those two things small offending children do not render the use of my scrubbing talents to assist in clean-up.

Deep breath, deep breath. The wall is cleaned. Children have been warned…again. No need to go off the deep end. This incident has passed and we’ll hope we won’t (knowing realistically we will) find this kind of mess again.

Until next time dear friends! Until next time.

Nine

Another year gone by, another year older. Kiersten celebrated her ninth birthday a few weeks ago. It seemed it bit spread out, the celebrating that is. We had a family birthday party shared between her and my nephew the weekend after her birthday and then a week after that we let her invite some friends over for a party.

The afternoon of the friends party did not turn out at all as I had envisioned it would, but that ended up being okay. Thankfully the girls’ had fun and Kiersten was extremely gracious about what we talked about doing and what actually got done. I lack so much in the organizational, planning areas.

The party consisted of 3 sisters, who also homeschool and one of which danced with Kiersten this year, and then another girl who also danced with Kiersten. There weren’t any awkward moments but rather lots of laughter. I won’t repeat any of the nine year old jokes I heard that evening so as to spare you and keep us as friends.  : ) (Let’s just say bowel movements figured in heavily and leave it at that shall we? They are young, what can I say?)

I did manage to put together a scavenger hunt for them. I had to slow down Isaiah (Yes, he joined the festivities although he wasn’t entirely welcome.) because he knew where things were once the clue was solved. The kids were also racing ahead and leaving some behind. (Drat that child gate before the stairs!) The scavenger hunt was such a hit with my two that they have been begging me to put another one together for them to do with instructions to make finding the clues a little more difficult! Who knew?

We fed them all some dinner and capped off the night with a visit to a local ice cream parlor. One of the girls ordered and ate almost an entire banana split! Amazing. After that the family mobile taxied all the girls’ to their respective homes.

This doing a party for non-family members was a first for all of us and from what Kiersten says a success. For that I am very thankful and she was very happy. A win-win.

A Note of Apology

It’s her birthday and I’m watching her start to write a letter just after breakfast.

“Who’s Christina?” I ask.

“Oh, she’s this girl in my VBS class.”

“Why are you apologizing to her?”

“Well…we were getting ready to play this game and she said, ‘I’m picking Tommy to be on my team because I don’t like you.’ “

“So why are you apologizing? Did you say something mean to her? Did you accidentally push her?”

All these questions and more I ask knowing what the answer will be.

“No,” she replies.

“What do you have to apologize for? I don’t understand.”

And yet I do and my heart hurts for her. My girlie is wanting to apologize because Christina doesn’t like her and she doesn’t know why. She figures it must be her fault.

How do I explain to one so young that kids’ can be mean? (Adults are no exception to this rule, but you know the saying.) How do I tell her that she probably did nothing really for this girl to decide to not like her since they had been together all of 6 hours over a span of two days and had never set eyes on one another before VBS began? How do you explain not everyone will like you no matter how nice you are to them?

But her feelings are hurt and she doesn’t understand what she did wrong. I understand (Seventh grade, need I say more?) and I feel for her, I just don’t know what to say.

I suppose I should have let her finish writing her note- but I don’t. My mama pride and a little bit of anger well up in me so I tell her, “I am not seeing anything you should apologize for so why don’t you just stop?” (When will I ever learn it isn’t about me?)

In truth it might have made her heart feel all the better if she had been able to write and deliver that note. Oh, she might have been rejected again by Christina but then again she might not have. All I know is she would not be left to wonder what she did because she would know that she did her best and tried to be a good friend.

I regret I didn’t let her finish and I am even sorrier she thinks there might be something wrong or unlovable about her that makes someone decide they don’t want to be her friend. But can I say there’s nothing wrong with you, it’s her? I can not. So I’m stuck.

She is a little late to this game, at age 9, since we homeschool. She would have been inducted long ago into this friendship game, if she attended school. She already would have known kids’ will be mean and people can choose to not like you just because. Just because.

Awk, now it’s me who is needing to apologize. Such a bud-in-ski I have been. I’ll be telling her how I love her and tossing in some truths about how much the Lord loves her. About how that love is never changing, always constant, always strong, never failing- the REAL truth about how she is loved and liked.

Singing in the Rain

Alright, so they weren’t singing in the rain. They were playing in the rain.

We had a rare nice rain the other day. It was the straight down kind. No wind blowing and no lightening. The ideal Spring rain to go play in, if you are the type who is inclined to play in rain. (Me? Not so much. I’ve gotten to be an old fuddy duddy!)

The neighbor’s boys were outside and Kiersten made a comment to the effect they were lucky getting to play out in the rain. I simply told her if she wanted to play in the rain too, get out there. Oh, her face! The shock, disbelief…a display of emotions all of which said she wasn’t buying what I wasn’t even trying to sell.

‘You’re kidding!” she said. (This is a catch phrase for her. We hear it often.)

“Certainly not,” I replied. “If you want to go play out in the rain, go on out.”

“We need our swimsuits.” (She is seeing other neighbor kids join the fray and they have their swimsuits on.)

“Not necessary. Just head on outside and play in the rain.”

She, Isaiah and the Katie girl made their way outside to the front where a may lay of children had congregated and were enjoying themselves. There was dancing, puddle splashing, umbrellas (or as Katie says – gumbrellas) appearing and much chit chatting.

There was also this one watching from the inside. It isn’t all its cracked up to be being the youngest sometimes. Awk. His time will come. He just needs to wait his turn! : )

Prima Ballerina

This first year of ballet in addition to tap did wonders for Kiersten. She loved it. I think it made her feel like quite the little lady! : )

Well, with this first year comes the first time performing ballet at the recital. She did two numbers for ballet. There was the Bouquet Dance which was performed before the intermission. (Oh, an intermission is required when said recital is 4 hours long!)

I think it is the bun that adds some years to her…because she doesn’t look little when her hair is all done up in a grown-up fashion. I can give thanks now for this ritual of bun making we did each Friday before class. All that practice made doing her hair for the recital a cinch!

These are some of her ballet classmates- a slightly different bunch then her tap class.

You’ll find Kiersten on the back left next to the young gentleman. Enjoy! 

The Bouquet Dance from Jess on Vimeo.

The second ballet number of the evening fell just a few dances shy of the closing number. This meant dancing at around 10:30 p.m. The first night this didn’t pose too much of an issue, the adrenaline was rushing and she was excited. (Did I mention we got home at 11:15 that night?) The second night, however, you could see the tiredness in those small bodies. As you watch the video you’ll actually see her stumble a little. As I was watching I thought she might have twisted her ankle. She recovered nicely and I was happy to see she was only tired, not hurt.

These costumes were definitely more foo-fooey…more ballet style, if you will. Her partner in the dance came up to her and went, “Poof!” while jumping just in front of her making her own skirt fly up. The kind of thing you can only do in an outfit such as this. It was hilarious and gave us a good laugh.

Kiersten is standing next to her partner for this dance…the “Poof!” girl : )

I know these clips don’t do any sort of justice to what is it like to see her in person but I couldn’t let all her hard work this year go unshared. Here she is ladies and gentlemen…Miss Kiersten Girl in Spoon Full of Sugar! (Cue loud voice on speakers and envision the red curtain parting…)

Spoon Full of Sugar from Jess on Vimeo.

Fit for the Queen

The long awaited tea set has made it to our house. Oh, I am sure you didn’t know it was long awaited, but it was. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift for Kiersten and in fact I ordered it the first week in December on Amazon. They gave me the heads up it was backordered and would be a few weeks. (It was on sale.)

Long story short the 3rd week in February (yeah, you read that right) they cancelled the order. However I could immediately go on to Amazon and order it for the non-sale price and have it shipped a.s.a.p. (Rethinking Amazon for future purchases.)

Anyhow, the tea set. (Oh dear, sorry for getting off topic there!) I thought I would introduce you to it since it is so cute and is indeed fit to serve her majesty, the Queen. This isn’t the original tea set I ordered but rather one Kiersten herself picked out from a little shop here in town.

Now we haven’t as yet served tea in the tea set because Kiersten isn’t fond of tea. However, she is very fond of hot chocolate. So there you go. Hot chocolate it is! : )

The serving plate we grabbed at Goodwill. We needed a little something to set this fine china on. (Ok, you got me, it is porcelain not china. Sheesh! : )  )

It has come out on a few occasions after the older two had spent some time out in the snow (We got it back in March). Kiersten has generously allowed both her younger two siblings to share in the joy of having a spot o’ chocolate served in dainty dishware. Isaiah likes ‘tea parties’. I suspect is has everything to do with those little colored marshmallows you see above. (What they say about men is true for boys as  well: The way to a boy’s heart is through his stomach!) : )

I am hoping to set up some regular times for just the girly and I to take our hot chocolate together (minus the other troublesome troublers). That is the intention – mother/daughter time with a dash of chocolate thrown in. And the Queen? Well…. we’ll think about inviting her over some other time!

While Mother is Away the Children Will...

DRAW

and draw

and draw some more!

I was giving baths to the younger two and to my delight I came back down to some really nice pictures.

Kiersten is a big influence on Isaiah. Art and drawing just aren't really his thing. He doesn't tend to do art things unprompted. Kiersten however loves all things art. She is the one getting scolded during school time to, "Quit drawing and do your work!"

It was no surprise, though, to see his art was tied in with his number one passion- cars! :) Kiersten's are very colorful and different from one another. What fun feast for the eyes these two created for me.