Hope Floats and More

The ups & downs of one NYC adventure & then another trip to NYC

2015-03-01T10:11:00.004-08:00

So Allen & I had originally decided to not share about this audition round, but then we decided to go as a family for this next callback round so here goes.

As many of you know, in mid January Lily Brooks was cast as a lead in SAG feature film, 'Shark Lake' starring Dolph Lundgren where Lily Brooks was cast as Dolph's daughter, 'Carly'. She had an amazing time in Biloxi & the surrounding areas filming off & on for 4 weeks from the end of Jan-Feb. 13th. While we were filming a notice popped up on a casting site for auditions for both Les Mis & for the part of 'Matilda' in the show 'Matilda' both on Broadway. Allen & I talked about it & originally decided against taking her because we had traveled so much. However, we both had second thoughts & decided to use her per diem money from 'Shark Lake' to take her to NYC to audition for both musicals.

We left last Saturday & from the start it was a BUMPY ride. Our direct flight was cancelled, as soon as we made it to Atlanta on our rescheduled flight Lily Brooks started getting sick from that horrid stomach virus that has made it's way around Memphis, we had an 8 hr delay in Atlanta, got to Newark at midnight & Lily Brooks promptly got sick again as soon as we deplaned. (where there was a bomb threat, late arriving luggage caused by said bomb threat, no cabs because of snow, a shuttle with 8 other people & 8 other stops). We made it to the hotel at 1:30am & then spent most of Sunday am in the hotel - she got sick in the am twice but swore she felt better by noon. We ventured out for a stop at Walgreens & the TKTS booth for Aladdin or Les Mis tickets because she was dying to see one or the other. Broadway is dark on Monday & we were leaving on Tuesday so Sunday afternoon was her only chance.

She had Sprite & crackers, anti-nausea meds & we thought we were good. We saw Les Mis and she did great until after intermission when she got sick twice. Poor thing. :(( She rested the rest of the evening & I think slept for 14 hours that night. Monday am we headed to Les Mis for her audition. This was an open call audition but the night before they changed to only accept Equity members for auditions. Poor Lily Brooks who was finally feeling better was crying into her bowl of Cheerios & I felt like a complete failure as a mom & what a waste money. A mom from Texas & another mom from Indiana also sat on either side of me. What a group we were. The Texas mom & I decided to wait it out because we really had nothing to lose as Matilda auditions were that afternoon.

Now for the turn around but I will go back a minute. On the set of Shark Lake, the producers & director suggested that Lily Brooks should have representation in NYC & LA to expand her acting possibilities. We love her & Colin's Atlanta agent but she covers only the south & nationwide searches. Saturday am as I was finishing packing, I contacted via email 3 top talent agencies with strong children's theatrical (film, TV, theatre, & commercial) divisions in NYC to submit Lily Brooks & noted that we would love to meet Tuesday am if they were interested in her. As Lily Brooks is crying into her bowl of Cheerios, I receive a phone call from arguably the top agency saying they would love to meet with us & did Tuesday am work for us? I had held it together for Lily Brooks but had to call Allen after that & cry a bit because I didn't feel like I had let everyone down. We were thrilled but realized that they only sign probably 1 in 10 kids that they meet with so I didn't tell Lily Brooks much about the meeting because she had Matilda still to audition for that afternoon.

The Matilda audition went great! She was nervous after the Les Mis letdown but they asked her to sing two songs & she felt great about it. The casting assistant for Les Mis eventually heard Lily Brooks & the little girl from Texas but it was really a waste because I found out that the Les Mis auditions were union required casting calls with really no hope of being cast.

On Tuesday we met with the NYC agency that also has a wonderful LA office. They told me that although Lily Brooks does need training both in cold reads & vocally, they loved her & want to sign her to represent her in cooperation with her Atlanta (southern) agent. They want her to come to NYC during the summer (July & half of August) to train, meet with casting directors & audition. We are going to try to go to NYC as a family with Allen working out of the NYC office for a few weeks. Colin I know will be in heaven but I am a little worried about Hannah being such an outdoor kind of girl. Thankfully she will get to do swim team all of June & do a couple of soccer camps as well. We left NYC on a high note and were happy with the trip.

Bye NYC - see you next time!

We got home Tuesday night late, school on Wed (& catch up on homeschooling with Colin), Thursday a field trip with Hannah & head straight to Oxford for Lily Brooks to sing the national anthem at an Ole Miss game (which was a bit of an ordeal bc of the snow & more but that is another story). While we were at dinner with Allen's parents I received a text from Lily Brooks's agent letting us know that Lily Brooks had an appt. callback for the part of Matilda - in 5 days! This group of Matildas (they have 4 girls share the role & rotate performances) we think would start in the late summer.

Friday Lily Brooks & I had to head to Nashville at 5am for her to film a web/tv episode that we had agreed to do because we like the script for her & she has needed footage for her reel to submit to casting directors until Shark Lake is released. She had a great time with it & I really liked the director.

Yesterday she worked all day on polishing two different songs than the ones she sang for the Matilda casting director last week, memorizing a very long monologue and more. We had promised the kids as their Christmas gift from us to take them to NYC in April & as Allen didn't want to miss this experience, we decided all 5 of us should go this time. (Allen had also already scheduled vacay time for a trip for the two of us which has now been postponed for who knows how long & both sets of grandparents (who were amazing during shooting for Shark Lake) were otherwise committed). Colin will miss his championship basketball tournament, but he is excited about our adventure. I was also so proud to hear him this morning telling the gentleman he was sitting beside on our first flight about his sister making it to the final rounds for the part of Matilda on Broadway.

I will post more pix & updates as soon as I can. From what I understand from our NYC agent the casting of the 4 Matildas is a LONG process & this group (if this is the group she is auditioning for - that is even uncertain right now) won't start until the late summer. Please pray for her to do her best & be confident in her abilities. We trust that God will lead us as he has quite clearly since we finally agreed to let her try TV/film acting last August (after 8 months of BEGGING several times a week).

We would love your thoughts & prayers.
Love,
Hope

Lily Brooks Head Shot Previews

2015-02-16T09:03:00.001-08:00

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#18

#19

#20

#21

#22

#23

#24

#25

#26

#27

#28

#29

#30

#31

#32

#33

#34

#35

#36

#37

#38

2014 Christmas Letter

2014-12-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

2014 Christmas Letter

Dear Family & Friends - Dec. 2014

As I sit to write this year’s update, I am in the waiting room at Vanderbilt Hospital - one I have come to know well over the past few years - with 3 surgeries here this year for Allen & even my dad’s prostate surgery a few years ago. I realized that I even try to find the same spot to sit in that has the perfect balance of the update board & light from the large window. We have had some wonderful memories this year, but I have to say that 2014 has been a bumpy one. However, I am encouraged by many things - wonderful family & friends, the love & hope of Christ and better health for this coming year. We hope that you have enjoyed 2014 with happy memories & loved ones. Thankfully, Colin, Lily Brooks & Hannah are all doing very well. In the midst of illnesses and surgeries, we were blessed to spend needed family time together & hope that the children will always remember the time we can share as a family.

Illnesses — Allen - I will start with the bad & end with hope for even better in the future. As I wrote last year, in Nov. 2013 we finally moved from Allen’s urologist in Memphis to Vanderbilt urology. Within the first 5 mins the nurse practitioner at Vandy suggested that Allen may have hyperparathyriodism that could be the cause of his over 30 kidney stones per year over the last many years that had in turn caused significant scarring & damage to Allen’s bladder & more. Parathyriod glands surround the thyroid & regulate calcium in the body. Allen’s parathyroid glands were overactive causing his body to take too much calcium from his teeth & bones which caused his MANY kidney stones. 3 endocrinologists, MANY tests, a fabulous surgeon friend who practiced with one of the best endocrine surgeons in the state later, and Allen was FINALLY able to have the much needed surgery in late Oct. to remove 3 1/4 of his 4 parathyroid glands here in Memphis. Allen’s case is extremely rare in that most patients with hyperparathyriodism have only one gland affected - all 4 glands of Allen’s glands were diseased. One day after Allen was released from the hospital post surgery, he was readmitted because his calcium level dropped too low which can cause a magnitude of problems from muscle spasms to cardiac arrest. A full week later, Allen’s calcium finally leveled off & he was able to return home. He will continue to be closely monitored by his excellent endocrinologist as she is concerned that once his gland heals from being biopsied during surgery it will try to take on the work of all 4 glands, and cause problems once more. We are prayerful it will behave and that Allen’s calcium & parathyroid levels will continue to be normal.

His urologist at Vanderbilt has played ‘cleanup’ from the stone damage this year. Allen has needed bladder reconstruction surgery & 2 surgeries to inject Botox into his bladder to stop the constant spasms from damage the stones have caused over several years. We pray that other than quarterly trips to Vanderbilt, Allen should enjoy a healthy 2015 & beyond. Many thanks to Allen’s team of Drs - Ensor, G-G, King, Reynolds & Sasse for their wisdom. Daddy Doc - As you may know, my dad was diagnosed a few years ago with prostate cancer. This summer, his cancer returned, did so aggressively, Dad underwent 10 weeks of radiation treatments and is now cancer free. Praise the Lord!

Everything else - It’s been a roller coaster this year - Allen’s grandmother passed in early Dec while we were in Disney, a broken arm for Colin this spring; endless infections for Allen; Despite everyone having flu shots - 4 of 5 of us recently had the flu; an eye surgery for me; lice hit our house twice - 3 months apart!; and more. It has become comical and although we are very aware things could have been so much worse, it seemed nearly endless.

The Good -

Theatre - Colin, Lily Brooks & Hannah have all fallen in love with the performing arts & we have done our best to nurture this love and help them to use their gifts & talents. We are blessed beyond measure that the Memphis area offers so many opportunities for children in theatre now and that this year our 3 have all been cast together in plays. They started the year with Charlotte’s Web at Germantown Community Theatre (GCT) with Colin as the Gander, Lily Brooks as the sassy Lamb & Hannah as Baby Spider Aranea; the girls performed in ‘Best of Broadway 2’ Musical Cabaret at Stage Door Productions (SDP) in the spring; this summer all 3 were in ‘Alice in Wonderland, Jr’ at GCT with Colin as a Royal Cardsman, Lily Brooks as sassy flower ‘Violet’ & Hannah a flower; this fall at SDP in ‘Mr. Toad’s Mad Adventures’ with Colin the commanding Judge; Lily Brooks a sassy ‘Polly’ (do you see a theme?) & ‘Neighbor #1’ & Hannah as a field mouse; and then this Christmas at SDP in ‘A Lifetime of Christmas’ musical cabaret. Colin & Lily Brooks also continued their tradition of performing in GCT’s Fairy Tale Trails during the month of October in Hansel & Gretel. They have all learned so much, have truly loved it & cannot be prouder of their courage. In our efforts to support them, Allen now serves on the board at GCT and I serve as president of the Parent Advisory Board at SDP.

Film & TV - Lily Brooks has asked since last Christmas if I would help her get into TV acting which I dismissed until March when Allen asked me to look into how to get her started. I tried but didn’t really pursue it again until the first of August when all 3 were chosen to play school children in a scene the ABC show ‘Resurrection’. Colin & Lily Brooks LOVED every second of being on the set, watching the other actors & learning about the process - Hannah not so much. Colin was chosen to be on ABC’s ‘Nashville’ as a student in a talent show & then I took the girls back to Atlanta in early Sept for the girls to be on NBC’s ‘Constantine’ where the director took a lot of time with Lily Brooks (she was featured but the scene was cut), & encouraged me to contact an agent because “she needs to do more than ‘extra’ work”. I contacted a well respected Atlanta agent not expecting much at all but she wanted to sign both Colin & Lily Brooks. After filming ‘Constantine’, Hannah (who knows exactly what she likes or doesn’t) announced she only wanted to do plays & musicals in Memphis. Since Sept., Colin & Lily Brooks filmed another episode of ‘Resurrection’, both have had a few auditions, Lily Brooks was in a music video & both have callbacks soon for commercials & independent films.

Colin (10) - is in the 4th grade having spent this past year at Evangelical Christian School (ECS). He loves reading, math & history. We have very recently made a very difficult decision to pull Colin from ECS & homeschool him next semester to provide him with what we think will be the best learning environment for him. We do not know what the future holds but will continue to seek The Lord’s guidance to make the best decisions for the children in all aspects of their lives. Besides acting, Colin is active in Boy Scouts, playing golf (thought not as much this year because of the broken arm), & playing basketball. He loves learning about computer coding and this summer attended camp at Victory Ranch solo and had his annual week at Lakeshore camp with cousin Kizer & for the first time Lily Brooks was old enough to join them. Colin is enjoying voice lessons and was chosen to be apart of the ECS 4th & 5th grade ‘Go Choir’. He has been able to take acting classes at ECS with Lily Brooks after school & will continue to take classes in acting, voice & more next year.

Lily Brooks (8) - Lily Brooks is in the 2nd grade at ECS & is doing very well. She is eager to please, strives to always do her best, & loves to perform most of all. Lily Brooks would put her loves in order as - voice, acting, piano & dance. She takes voice lessons, takes acting classes, is in a vocal group, piano lessons, tap & ballet, swam summer swim team with Hannah at G’town Country Club & sings in the children’s choir at church. She has sung the national anthem at ECS baseball games, a Redbirds game, an ECS football game, an Ole Miss Basketball & Volleyball game and is slated to sing at two more Ole Miss basketball games. This Oct., I took her to NYC to audition for the part of Matilda in the broadway musical ‘Matilda’. It was a huge trip, a big audition & she worked very hard to prepare. After her vocal audition they asked her to come back for the dance portion the next day. She loved every second of being in NYC & I loved being able to tour with her. While she didn’t get another callback, we may let her try again this coming spring. It can sometimes be difficult to navigate all of this with her but we do our best to encourage & support her while reminding her that she is still only an 8 year old girl who loves dolls, art, board games, & fashion (yes she still hates the school uniform & because of theatre she knows how to apply makeup better than I did when I was 16!).

Hannah (6) - Our littlest angel is such a spitfire who knows exactly who she is & what she likes or doesn’t like. Hannah started Senior Kindergarten at ECS this fall & LOVES school. I was concerned last Christmas about my mental status with her starting school but Lord’s timing is perfect & I have needed her to love school to be able to focus on Allen’s health. She has only gone 1/2 days but will start full days in the spring. Besides acting, Hannah LOVES soccer, playing with Legos, is in a vocal group, sings with Lily Brooks in the children’s choir at church & swam on the summer swim team. Hannah constantly has hilarious ‘one-liners’ that entertain the whole family. She & Lily Brooks are so lucky to have each other & even though they play well together, Colin would walk on water for Hannah if she needed him to do so. Hannah is our full of energy, alway ready for a party child who is not exactly the ‘motherly’ type like Lily Brooks but more of a ‘let’s have a party’ type. She will continue to keep us on our toes we are certain.

Disney World & other trips - We surprised the kids this past March with a very last minute spring break trip to Disney. We picked them up from school with the car packed, told them we were going for ice cream & asked them if they could go anywhere where would they want to go. Their first answer was the movies & then Disney World. They still talk about the surprise & we had a fabulous time on our short trip.

Allen & I went to the Dominican Republic where I taught yoga for the week in April; I took the girls & mom to the Now Jade resort in Cancun for a week girls trip where I taught yoga this July; We took the kids for a quick trip to Dallas just before the start of school & we spent two days at the the Great Wolf Lodge where the kids enjoyed the amazing water park & an interactive game called Magic Quest before we got to spend time with Allen’s sister’s family. Our precious niece, Swayze Mack, (born Jan.25th - also Allen’s bday) is a sweet addition & who Hannah has decided is ok to adore even though she was worried Swayze would steal her coveted ‘baby’ status. We also went back to Disney on a re-scheduled trip the first week of Dec. to enjoy some much needed family time together. The highlight of the trip was our last night at the Christmas party where we were able to ride lots of favorite rides, & really just relax and laugh together.

Us - Allen is still with Suntrust as head of bond accounting & trades loans. This summer, I taught over 450 children swimming lessons over a 9 week period. It is exhausting, still hard on our children not having Mom all of the time, but well worth the effort for our family. I have had to stop teaching yoga & aerobics this month but plan to return teaching once a week soon. We hope you enjoy a healthy, happy 2014 filled with laughter, love, family, friends & showing God’s grace to others.

Love, The O’Briants - Allen, Hope, Colin, Lily Brooks & Hannah

2014-10-23T10:14:00.002-07:00

Colin Headshot Options

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

#21

#22

#23

#24

#25

#26

#27

#28

#29

#30

#31

#32

#33

#34

#35

#36

#37

#38

#39

#40

#41

#42

#43

#44

#45

#46

#47

#48

#49

#50

#51

#52

#53

#54

#55

#56

#57

#58

#59

#60

#61

#62

#63

#64

#65

#66

#67

#68

#69

#70

#71

#72

#73

#74

#75

#76

#77

#78

#79

#80

#81

#82

#83

#84

#85

#86

#87

2014-10-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Lily Brooks Photos for Headshots

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

#21

#22

#23

#24

#25

#26

#27

#28

#29

#30

#31

#32

#33

#34

#35

#36

#37

#38

#39

#40

#41

#42

#43

#44

#45

#46

#47

#48

#49

#50

#51

#52

#53

#54

#55

#56

#57

#58

#59

#60

#61

#62

#63

#64

#65

#66

#67

#68

#69

#70

#71

#72

#73

#74

#75

#76

#77

#78

#79

#80

#81

#82

#83

#84

#85

#86

#87

#88

#89

#90

#91

#92

#93

#94

#95

#96

#97

#98

#99

#100

#101

#102

#103

#104

#105

Christmas Card & Letter 2013

2013-12-22T06:34:00.002-08:00

As you can see, I haven't posted in a little while. As soon as we returned from our Christmas trip to Disney, reality brought a new tire, a dishwasher to replace & a hard drive that crashed. Yes, I was that lady who cried at the Apple store. Once when they couldn't fit me in, once when they told me my barely two year old computer needed a $479 hard drive replacement, and then again after I agreed to the repair and they entered the information realizing that the repair would be free because Apple has had a problem with my model. My computer now has a new hard drive and I didn't lose too much saved information. Yeah!

I have lots planned to share with y'all. A new Chocolate truffle pie recipe, my Christmas coconut cake, Kizer family asperagus casserole, goodies for the school friends, and a new cinnamon roll recipe (I have been pondering this one for a while), but first our family Christmas card. I have written a letter with our card every year since the year after Honey and I married. There was one year when C-man was 3 and the Princess was 1 that I just couldn't pull it together to get one out. My thought was, "Do people really read these letters? They take so much time and people probably toss them anyway." That might be true with some but I received 3 notes & 2 phone calls from family or friends wanting to know why they didn't receive a letter - no joke. I like to please, so even if they are occasionally late, I do my best to get a letter out every year sharing what has happened the previous year.

I hope y'all enjoy the letter and our card. Our family wishes you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May the love of Christ and the hope his birth brought us fill your home and heart with joy. I hope you enjoy this wonderful time of celebration with family and friends.

Love,
Hope
Dear Friends & Family,

    As I sit to write this year’s update, I am reminded of all of our blessings. We have had a few bumps in the road this year, but we have each other, wonderful family & friends, & the love of Christ. Please know that although we don’t see many of you often, we do think about & pray for you often. We hope that you have enjoyed 2013 with happy memories & loved ones. Colin (aka 'C-man) (9 1/2), Lily Brooks (aka 'The Princess') (7 1/2) & Hannah (aka 'The Baby') (5) are all doing very well. They grow up so quickly, but Allen & I are doing our best to not let the rush of life take over what is important & hope that our children are learning how to be servants of The Lord above all. We were very blessed again to have family time together & hope that the children will always remember these memories as a family.
Trips & Events -
Disney World - We wouldn’t be the O’Briant family if we didn’t go to Disney World would we? Honey wanted to go this past spring with my brother, L, and his family to celebrate my niece & nephew’s 3rd birthdays. Who am I do deny such a sweet gesture? Our children were so excited to show LB & D the ropes at Disney explaining the rides & shows with excitement and Lily Brooks was a very gifted cousin babysitter to little D. Some highlights - Hannah did Jedi training with Colin for the first time; L’s family LOVED Hoop Dee Do Revue as much as we do; Hannah was tall enough to ride Expedition Everest & surprised us all by not liking it; Colin became a master sorcerer in the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game; running & laughing through rain showers; the first trip that all of the kids truly enjoyed the world showcase at Epcot; all 3 being chosen in the Pirate tutorial & so much more. I was so grateful that Honey had the idea and happy that L’s family had such a great time.
    Honey sprang for annual passes this year that have allowed us to go a couple of times. We took a short trip for fall break that included our favorite Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party where Honey was ‘Willie’ from ‘Duck Dynasty’; I was ‘Pocahontas’; Colin, ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’; Lily Brooks, ‘Princess Jasmine’ & Hannah, ‘Izzy’ from the Disney show Jake & the Neverland Pirates. Highlights of the trip - everyone now likes to ride ‘Tower of Terror’; the girls now want to play the sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game with Colin; the water slide at the resort & a million trips down it; pirate tutorial; I was picked for the Indiana Stunt show; the girls meeting the new Princess Sophia (Hannah’s favorite); & my special night with Hannah. The Magic Kingdom was open until 2 a.m. one evening so we all took very long naps with the plan of going & having a very late night without crowds. Lily Brooks got sick, Colin didn’t want to go & Honey wanted to watch football. However, Hannah was so excited that a bull wouldn’t have been able to hold her back. Hannah & I arrived at 8:30 & had the BEST NIGHT. We rode almost every ride in the park, saw characters & had an unforgettable night together. She still talks about it & it will go down in my mommy log as a precious memory.
    We head back for a special Christmas trip that is our Christmas gift for the family. We have never been to see the lights & decorations and are all excited to spend time together.
Mexico - Honey & I really, really, really look forward to these trips together and were lucky enough to have a get away together to the Secrets Maroma resort in Mexico where I was the resort Pilates/Yoga instructor for the week. It was beautiful & probably the best trip we have taken where we enjoyed time together.
Dallas - The children & I were excited to take a last minute spring break trip to Dallas to see Honey’s sister, BA and her husband, J. We had a fabulous time and highlights included, Colin getting to attend a Dallas Stars game with Uncle J; a girls pedicure night; a trip to the Stockyards & Rodeo in Ft. Worth; a night at Medieval Times Dinner Show & a day at a new park together. We all went back to Dallas for July 4th weekend and included a trip to the Perot Museum, another Medieval Times Dinner night & lots of pool time. We hope to take a trip to Dallas each year, especially with new Baby S on the way! Lily Brooks can't wait to play babysitter!

Mexico girls trip - This July, after swimming lessons were finished, the girls & I took a very special trip to a family resort in Mexico where I was the resort yoga/Pilates instructor for the week. We had saved money to take Lily Brooks to Notre Dame for her to compete in the Miss Majorette of America competition. She, however, was not all interested in competing & I didn’t want to spend money doing something she wasn’t excited about. I found a great price on flights & for just a little more, took the girls to Mexico for some beach time. (C-man is not a fan of the beach & was so thrilled with a week alone with Mimi & Pappy that he suggested we take a girls trip every summer!) My mom joined us the first 3 1/2 days & Aunt BA joined us the last half of the week. We enjoyed beach time, sandcastles, snorkeling, kayaking, pool time with the other kids, cooking classes, movie nights (In Spanish with English subtitles. When we asked Hannah, who is just learning how to read if she wanted to leave she responded by looking at us like we had grown an extra head and said, “No, I’m watching a movie!?”), the bungee trampoline, Mexican food & more. The girls love the beach so much that every day they would literally just sit quietly at the edge of the water & let the waves roll over their legs for at least 30 minutes. They absolutely my girls & inherited the love of sand, sun & the ocean honestly. A highlight of the trip was a first for me as well. Our birthday gift to the girls was getting to swim with the dolphins. The experience included kisses, holding the dolphin’s fins for a ride & being pushed by the dolphin while riding a boogie board. The trip was so much fun that Hannah, in particular, asks me at least once a week when we are going back to Mexico & plans to ask Santa for another trip to Mexico.

C-man - C-man is in the 3nd grade at ECS. While he is a gifted student, his ADHD complicates life. Honey & I are learning, doing our best to help him learn coping skills to stay focused on the task at hand and balance the pros and cons of the medicine. It’s a daily evaluating process but he is healthy & learning to pave his own way. He loves reading (a LOT), math & science, playing chess, video games & video game creation, acting (he was a Prince & Guard in the all-children’s ‘Aladdin’ the Musical this summer & the Shoemaker in the ‘Shoemaker & the Elves’ in the Fairy Tale Trails this fall. He also started acting classes this fall & had a great time learning), & LOTS of Golf. For his birthday again this year he wanted a ‘Mine-craft’ video themed party at Golf & Games with mini golf, laser tag, go carts, bumper boats & a ropes course - the party almost sums up all of the things he loves most!
    This summer C-man attended two week long camps - Camp Lake Stevens in Oxford, MS, where he attended solo & Lakeshore with his cousin, K, in Eva, TN. He LOVED both weeks. I worried about hygiene & the many clean clothes that came back home, but Allen assures me that it is perfectly normal for boys. I am thankful for the girl balance in the family!
    He & Honey enjoy playing golf together & C-man takes golf lessons a few times a month. This past spring/summer he competed in several TN Junior Golf Association golf tournaments in the 8-9 age division. Allen’s dad, Pappy, was Colin’s caddy & they enjoyed the time together. C-man is still learning & we are very proud of his ever-constant positive attitude. C-man also swam on swim team again this summer. While he enjoys the swim meets with ribbons for everyone, swim team practice every morning is a battle that I think I have now lost. He is probably proficient enough to go to the driving range & putting green while the girls have swim practice this summer. My love of swimming just wasn’t passed on to C-man. Oh well. He is his father’s son. I’m hoping that will make anticipating his moves slightly easier as he matures.

The Princess - Lily Brooks is in the 1st grade at ECS this fall. According to her teacher she is a leader & over-achiever. She is doing well, but her desire for perfection & “fear of failure” (yes she has used those words) are sometimes hard to balance with just growing up. Our princess is quite the fashionista. Yes, she still hates her school uniform, but accepts it & is the first one ready every morning. In fact, she helps me get C-man focused about half of the time & is extremely responsible. Her favorite things include singing (she sings in a vocal group at a local studio, just started private lessons & she sings in church children’s choir), takes ballet classes, piano lessons, acting (she was in the chorus and a townsperson in the all-children production of Aladdin the musical this summer with C-man and was an elf in the ‘Shoemaker & the Elves this fall), swimming (she swam on the Country Club swim team again & is quite the breast stroker.) & baton twirling.
    Her love of baton twirling has only increased and she has enjoyed twirling this spring with the girls from ECS. This spring, she won beginner ‘Little Miss Majorette of the South’. My mom was with us & it was a really fun experience. She decided against the national competition in lieu of Mexico & I don’t blame her a bit. She has been able to twirl at an ECS football game and will participate in several more competitions this spring.
    Lily Brooks’s birthday this year was her first fun & exhausting sleepover party. You may have also noticed that Lily Brooks isn’t wearing glasses anymore. Last summer, because of swimming, she spent more time without glasses than with and the transition in the fall was difficult. My dad told us that she was ready for contacts & she made the switch this past May before swim practice started. She loves them, needs help putting them in, but is doing great. She still battles asthma and the scar tissue in her ears hurts in this cold weather but other than that she is perfectly healthy for which we are extremely grateful.

The Baby - Our little angel is ever-hilarious with a mix of princess & soccer star. With the impending birth of a new baby cousin, I think she is starting to worry about her status as the baby of the family & has started to call herself the ‘Baby Princess’ & likes to be assured that she will always be the baby of the family. I think she really likes her place in the family! She is thankfully still at home with me & I love having her as my side kick. She is the most easy-going child who has become very self-sufficient. She even asks me most days what we are doing so that she can pack her backpack accordingly. She sadly has to wait on her siblings’ activities frequently but she is always prepared with activities of her own. I think that her ability to keep up with her things will serve her well.   She & I have ‘school work time’ 3 days a week for a couple of hours each day & she goes two half days a week to ‘gymnastics preschool’. The Baby will start 1/2 day Kindergarden at ECS next year & I will need lots of prayer to be able to make it through letting her go. Seriously.

The Baby loves soccer (she played spring & fall and did 3 soccer clinics this summer), swimming (she swam this summer on swim team at age 4(!) & loved every minute of it), and now acting (she made her debut in the Shoemaker & the Elves with her siblings as an elf and had so much fun.).

Us - It has been a difficult year with Honey’s health spending 4 weeks in the hospital throughout the year. Thankfully, he was able to see a specialist at Vanderbilt a couple of weeks ago & we are hopeful that they have figured out the root of his kidney problems. We should know more this month. Honey is happy at the bank where he serves as head of bond accounting & continues to travel often to assist clients.    He also took on a new role trading loans.   I taught 8 long weeks of swimming lessons this summer to assist financing private Christian education for Colin & Lily Brooks. It was exhausting, still hard on our children not having Mommy all of the time, but well worth the effort for our family. I am truly grateful that the Lord has blessed the swimming lessons. I taught Pilates/Yoga & stability ball at a local church but had to stop in May for swimming lessons & look forward to returning this Jan. This summer I tore a tendon in my rotator cuff & had surgery in August to clean out the area, remove a bone spur & repair the tendon. We are so very grateful to my mom & Honey’s parents who helped for 4 weeks when I couldn’t drive.   The physical therapy has been slow but I’m happy that it is healing nicely. After much encouragement from Honey, I started writing again and have started a blog that you can read at www.hopefloatsandmore.blogspot.com. We love you all & pray we are able to see more of our friends & family this year. We hope you enjoy a healthy, happy 2014 filled with laughter, love, family, friends & showing God’s grace to others.

Love, Hope

www.mshopessummerswimschool.com & www.hopefloatsandmore.blogspot.com

Sausage & Cheese Bread and more Elf antics

2013-12-12T15:14:00.002-08:00

I make this appetizer several times over the holidays and thought I would share the recipe with y'all. It is very easy to make and is very popular with my boys. If you attending a party with any men in attendance I can pretty much guarantee this bread will be gobbled up quickly.

Sausage & Cheese Bread
(Makes two loaves)

2 loaves of frozen bread dough, thawed (can be found in packs of 5 loaves at your local grocery store. I buy mine at Kroger)
1 lb of browned ground sausage
2 cups of shredded cheddar (or your favorite blend - I use 'light' Mexican blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown & drain sausage, set aside. Roll out one loaf of thawed bread dough in a rectangular shape. Sprinkle half of the sausage and 1 cup of the shredded cheese equally over rolled bread dough. Roll bread dough into a log just as you would cinnamon rolls or a jelly roll as shown below. Pinch dough together at the end of your roll to keep roll in place. Place bread roll, seem down, onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until bread begins to brown. Let bread cool for at least 5 minutes and cut into slices.

One loaf rolled with sausage & cheese and one frozen loaf section

I usually make two loaves at a time to use all of the sausage. While one loaf bakes, I usually roll out the other loaf and freeze the log wrapped in aluminum paper. The trick is to spray your aluminum foil with a non-stick spray before you wrap the bread log and freeze. Also, make sure to thaw your bread log completely before baking.


Yummy sausage & cheese bread

Last, but not least, here is what our elf, Jingle has been up to the last couple of days.

Jingle had it 'snow' cotton balls all over the kids beds!

A paper sack race with Pikachu & Perry

Jingle decorated the entire room with Christmas bow!

This was a huge hit! Jingle brought doughnut snowmen

Jingle wrote 'Ho! Ho! Ho!' on the kids to be silly!

Now time to wake the girls and off to dinner at Epcot.

Hope

Seriously Awesome Homemade Shower Cleaner

2013-12-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

This isn't an exciting Disney or Christmas post. I promise more of those very soon, but I had to share this awesome find.

I really don't mind cleaning the bathrooms. In fact, I would rather do that than fold endless piles of laundry or hand wash the mountain of dirty dishes that I've had to wash since the first of September when my dishwasher first broke. Since that time the extended warranty company and I have been playing tug of war with the repair man having made 8, yes EIGHT!!!!, trips to my house to repair my still unfixed dishwasher, but I digress. Back to the shower.

The girls and I have asthma and the smell of Tilex is extremely hard on my lungs. My process of cleaning the bathrooms for as long as I can remember has been to cover my mouth and nose with a cloth, spray the cleaner, leave the rooms to vacuum for at least an hour and then return to hurriedly clean the bathrooms while I again cover my mouth and nose. I knew that the fumes couldn't be good for me and tried some of the 'green' brand and generic cleaners. While the fumes weren't as bad, the cleaners didn't clean the showers and tubs as well and pretty much doubled my cleaning time. No good. Time is a precious commodity at my house and I'm sure it's the same way at your house. I don't have time for a cleaner that doubles my cleaning time.

After sweet sister shared her homemade laundry detergent recipe with me (more on that soon. Needless to say, I am IN LOVE with the homemade laundry detergent), I thought that a homemade version of shower cleaner might be the answer to my bathroom cleaning problems. After trying a few different versions that are out there, I found a very easy formula that works WONDERS with no fumes. I really don't think my showers and tubs have looked this clean or beautiful since before the precious children arrived.

Seriously AWESOME Shower & Tub cleaner - 1 cup White Vinegar, 1 cup dish soap & 1/3 cup water

Here is what you need -

1 cup of dish soap (Dawn or generic dish soap)
1 cup of white vinegar
1/3 - 1/2 cup of water

Pour soap, vinegar and water into a spray bottle, give the spray bottle a good shake to mix the 3 ingredients, and spray on your shower and tub. Some other versions I have seen don't have water added. I tried the Dawn/vinegar mix without the water and found it was too thick for my spray bottle. Adding just a bit of water helped thin my mixture so it would spray much easier.

This cleaner solved my breathing while cleaning problem and cleaned much better than the brand name cleaner I had been using before. Even if you don't have asthma, it's worth a try. The fumes probably aren't good for anyone.

Hope y'all are having a great week. Stay warm!

Hope

The Greatest Gift

2013-12-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

I follow Proverbs 31 Ministry’s daily email devotionals and they are all always fabulous devotionals. Sadly, I usually only read about 4 out of 7 days each week because time tends to be in short supply with 3 children. (I really think that precious C-man with ADHD should count as two children!) A couple of years ago I happened to take time and read a Christmastime devotional that has truly made a wonderful impact on my life.

The writer shared a gift she had received at an ornament swap. As she opened the beautifully wrapped ornament she found a note included that explained that whoever received the ornament would be prayed over every day for the next year. EVERY SINGLE DAY the giver promised to pray specifically for the recipient of her ornament gift.

I just happened to read this devotional on the very day the ladies from my Sunday school class were gathering for the annual ornament swap. It is a wonderful time that I look forward to each year. I was excited and honestly a little nervous to include such a note with my gift. Other than for Honey and my children, I had never made such a promise. I also didn't want to seem like I was upstaging anyone else with this gift, but truly felt led to include the note and be true to my promise.

A lady who I hardly knew opened my gift and I am so very glad she did. I emailed or texted her about once or twice a month in addition to seeing her at church to check in with her and to see if I could pray over in particular. 'E' and I became great friends and found we had so much in common, including ADHD sons, Ole Miss, and much more. My prayer friend 'E' has since moved, but I still pray over her and her family are never far from my 'prayer thoughts'. I guess old habits do die hard.

Last year, a young mom and newer member of our Sunday school class was the recipient of my ornament and note. (She actually stole my ornament from another and said it was for the prayers!) I made a point to have coffee with her and have tried to make a special point to check in with her. I have loved this year of praying for 'A', her new baby and all of the struggles that every mom of littles endures.

Last week, a precious lady who I adore was the recipient of the glitter trees, a Santa soap dispenser and a year of my prayers. This wonderful mother actually wanted to transfer my prayers for her to her son. Talk about selflessness. I wonder if her son knows how much his mama loves him? Yes, I will pray for her son but mamas need the fuel that prayer brings too.

These past two years of praying for these two women have been such a blessing to me in so many ways. Even when their year was 'up' I still kept each in my thoughts, and of course in my prayers. I highly recommend you consider adding this gift of prayer to your ornament at your gathering this year. You won't regret it.

Hope

Daily Advent Ideas & Scriptures (Downloadable List of Both) and Jingle's Latest Antics

2013-12-06T09:54:00.003-08:00

Daily Advent Scripture, Activity & Treat

I know this post is a little late, but life has just kept me from the computer. Y'all know how that is!

My littles absolutely our elf, Jingle’s arrival as soon as we return from Mama Jane and Daddy Doc’s house for Thanksgiving. They love his ‘Elf Antics’ and Honey & I have enjoyed their joy and laughter about Jingle. However, I also want to teach them the meaning of Christmas and how to have a servant’s heart. One of the tools I use to help teach this is using an Advent Calendar.

Growing up, my family used a precious advent calendar that gave a verse to read each day. It was midnight blue with gold embossed lettering and the nativity scene beautifully painted on. My siblings and I eagerly anticipated our turn to open and read each day's door with the scripture. My guess is that Mama Jane is tearing up reading this realizing that I remember exactly what that Advent calendar looked like. I would bet that my sweet sister (and maybe baby brother) also remember it as clearly as I do.

I wanted to add to the tradition I grew up with to include either something to do together as a family or something to do for others. I found this precious idea at Design Dazzle using 24 Christmas socks that is super easy to put together using 24 socks, a long festive ribbon, numbers, and clothespins. Each day has 3 items - a Bible verse for the day, either something to do together as a family or a way to serve others, and a Hershey kiss for each child if they have been sweet the day before.

You can find festive Christmas socks at Target or your local Dollar store. I found mine in the dollar section at Target. They aren't perfect & didn't exactly fit within my 'vision', but I just didn't have time to go to another store to find the perfect cheap Christmas socks. My thought is that my children won't remember that the socks didn't fit in with our decor scheme perfectly and my hope is they will remember the experience. Plus, my house isn't perfect either so the crazy socks fit in perfectly.

I have listed 40 ideas just in case some don’t work for your family. You can download this FREE printable of family advent activities HERE on Scribd and download our advent scripture list HERE on Scribd

I hope y’all enjoy these Advent ideas. It is my desire that my children not only enjoy the fun of the Christmas season but also learn to have a servant’s heart. Honey and I want our littles to understand that our one purpose is glorify God and to be His hands and feet.

A little Reminder!

Jingle is a little adventurous on a zip line!

On the way to DISNEY WORLD!!!

It’s CHRISTMAS!!! *squeals all around the house*
Hope

Some New Paintings, the Latest from Elf Jingle & more

2013-12-03T15:38:00.000-08:00

A sorority sister of mine asked me recently about paintings that I have painted and posted on Facebook. She wanted to know where I hang them all because I seem to paint so many! Until a couple of years ago I swore that although I was creative, I was NOT artistic at all. Those gifts seemed to pass to my sister who enjoyed drawing as a child and is a gifted photographer. My artistic abilities seemed limited to stick figures. Once I had little ones, I found myself having more and more 'make it work' moments forcing what little artistic ability I had to be pried from deep within. Once it peeked out, I found that I really loved it and actually found it relaxing. Imagine that?!?

I signed up for more and more painting classes at local art studios and try my best to paint about once every couple of months. I am no Monet, but I can follow instructions. In fact, the art classes have helped me to just 'go with it' more and I find myself enjoying painting more and more.

The paintings are throughout the house but I change them according to the seasons. Some of the paintings I really love and some will hopefully soon retire to the attic permanently. The fall paintings were just taken down to make way for the collection of Christmas art. I have plans to paint a Santa soon but am not sure I will be able to fit it in the schedule.

If you are contemplating trying a class at one of the many art studios that have popped up, I highly recommend trying it with a friend. Relax, don't be too hard on yourself (been there, done that) & enjoy two hours of not having to clean up behind someone!

Don't you love the 1970s speaker/sound system? Funny thing is - it still works!

I love this snowman in the kids' snowman themed bathroom for winter

Sweet sister-in-law and I painted this one just before Christmas a couple of years ago

Here are the latest from our elf, Jingle -

He loved playing Disney Apples to Apples with the other toys. The Beast & Marie were on a roll apparently. Jingle brings our children a family game every year as a parting gift so it's only fitting that he gets to play a few games with the other toys while he visits. Below is a picture of the ornaments that the Princess made for Jingle and Santa. I was lucky enough to hear her whisper to Jingle that she made them just for him and Santa and asked him to take them to the North Pole for her.

Add caption


Snow Angels - Crazy elf!

The Princess is the Star Student this week in her class. Below is her poster to share all of the things she loves. I really really love the Walgreen's photo app. My iPhone pictures aren't as good as my Cannon, but they are so convenient.

I had to share this last precious picture of the Baby. She had to tag along on several errands with me this morning, including to Pier 1 to purchase a gift for the Sunday school ornament swap tonight. I assure you I was extremely quick in my shopping, but while we were there she begged to sit on the 'comfy chair'. After I paid for the ornament, here is how I found precious angel. It was nearly painful to wake her and disturb her from the 'comfy chair'. Thankfully, she wasn't too mad at me.

Now, off to make some sausage & cheese bread for the party tonight.

Hope

Prize Winning Caramel Apple Pie

2013-12-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite desserts and I know you will LOVE it. Honey would be seriously disappointed if I didn’t share that I did win 1st place in the pie division with this recipe. It almost always disappears in the blink of an eye at family gatherings and is just down right yummy. This year, the Chocolate Truffle Pie was the first to go but the Caramel Apple was gone by dinner. More on the Chocolate Truffle Pie soon. I sadly didn't take any pictures and wanted to make sure it was a winner before I shared it with y'all.

Prize Winning Caramel Apple Pie

After trying several recipes, I found fabulous inspiration on Allrecipes.com HERE. I tweaked it to adjust it how I love it and hope y’all will enjoy this family holiday staple.

Prize Winning Caramel Apple Pie

1 unbaked double pie crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

7-8 Granny Smith apples, peeleKd, cored, and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a past. Add water, sugar, and brown sugar and bring to boil. Reduce temperature to low and let caramel simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add cinnamon and vanilla.

Place the bottom crust into the bottom of your greased deep dish pie pan. Fill with apples and mound the apples slightly. Pour about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of caramel sauce on top of apples. Cover apples with lattice work from second pie crust. Gently pour remaining sauce over lattice and let sauce seep into pie. Pour slowly. Seriously, pour slowly to ensure that the sauce does not make a huge mess and waste precious yummy goodness. Using a pastry brush, gently cover lattice work with sauce. This will make your crust AMAZING.

Bake 15 minutes in your preheated oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degress and bake an additional 35-45 minutes until sauce bubbles. It is hard to know if your apples are tender. I suggest placing your pie toward the bottom of your oven to keep the top from burning.

This pie is AMAZING. Promise. You and your family will love it. Honey cannot wait to have a piece and I had to bake this without him around to obtain decent pictures that don’t include a fork getting a bite of pie.

2013 North Pole Breakfast

2013-12-01T17:27:00.004-08:00

As soon as we got on the road from Mama Jane and Daddy Doc's house, the girls starting asking about our beloved elf, Jingle's return. Jingle had plans for a snow man themed breakfast for December 1st (his traditional return to our home), but first things first. Unpacking from our trip, bringing all of the Christmas boxes down from the attic and taking the kids to see 'Frozen' filled our Saturday. We all highly recommend the movie 'Frozen'! It was so fabulous that all three children asked to go see it again today. Honey sweetly agreed and we all went for round two this afternoon.

There was a slight hiccup after we returned from the movie yesterday. Jingle's hiding place was a mystery for several hours y'all. He is a sneaky one. Thankfully at midnight, (yes, midnight!!) he graced us with his presence.

The Princess has always been an early to bed, early to rise kind of girl, awoke at 6:15 a.m. to find the table set and plates set out with Jingle and his Elf book. Jingle also left out most of the ingredients for snow man pancakes, apple turnovers (C-man's favorite), chocolate chip muffins, and hot chocolate! The Princess helped me prepare everything and the Baby trotted down around 7 a.m. to find most everything ready and then ran back up the stairs to wake C-man. They loved the North Pole Breakfast and are happy to have Jingle return to our home.

For more of Jingle's plans for this December you can read HERE.

Hope

Advent Wreath Lighting & a Printable Family Devotional Guide

2013-11-30T07:44:00.000-08:00

I'm just not a Christmas before Thanksgiving kind of girl. I really love Thanksgiving and just can't bring myself to get Christmas boxes down until after Thanksgiving. I do however make one exception for the Advent Preparation Workshop at our church. The week before Thanksgiving, our church family gathers for a Thanksgiving feast before making advent wreaths and Christmas ornaments together as a family.

The family LOVES our Advent wreath and enjoys lighting the candle and hearing a devotion each Sunday as we prepare for the birth of Christ. My children do see and maybe hear the lighting of the Advent wreath in church each Sunday of Advent, but if I’m being honest, I don’t think that my littles fully understand or pay attention the entire hour of worship.

Honey and I started the tradition for our family to celebrate the tradition of Advent at family dinner each Sunday when C-man was about 3 years old. It is important to us that the children learn about the tradition and further impress upon them why we celebrate Christmas.

The word Advent mean ‘arrival’ or ‘coming’ in Latin and represents the approach of Christ’s birth (and fulfillment of the prophecies about that event.) and the awaiting of Christ’s second coming. It is composed of the four Sundays before Christmas day, starting on the Sunday closest to November 30th and ending on Christmas. For a more in-depth look perspective visit The History of Advent.

For Christians, Advent is a time of reflection about the amazing gift that God gave us in the person of His Son who came to live among us on Earth. It is also an opportunity to restore Jesus to His rightful place as the center of our holiday celebrations.

About the Advent wreath

The practice of lighting the Advent candles began in Germany by non-Christians. They lit candles surrounded by evergreen branches in their windows on cold winter nights to signify their hope for the coming warmth and light of spring. Later in the sixteenth century, German Lutherans kept the practice alive and added symbolism of the birth of Christ.

The evergreen represents Everlasting life. The circular shape represents God’s unending love and as Christ the true King. The candles represent Christ, the light of the world. Our family uses 3 purple candles, one rose colored candle and a white candle. On the first Sunday, the first candle (purple) is lit and is called the 'Candle of Hope' or the ‘Prophecy Candle’ in remembrance of the prophets, primarily Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. This candle represents hope in the anticipation of the coming Messiah.

Each Sunday and additional candle is lit until Christmas Eve. The second candle (purple) is known as the 'Candle of Preparation' or the 'Bethlehem Candle' and represents that God kept his promise that a savior would be born in Bethlehem and that he loved us so much that he sent his son to die for our sins. The third candle (rose color) is customarily called the ‘Shepherd Candle’ or 'Candle of Joy' and represents the joy in the birth of the Savior. The fourth candle (purple) is often called the ‘Angel Candle’ or 'Candle of Love' and represents peace. On Christmas Eve, the white center candle is traditionally lit and is called the ‘Christ Candle’ and represents the life of Christ has come into the world. The white color represents purity as Christ is the sinless, spotless, pure Savior. You can read more about the history of Advent Here.

I let the children take turns reading parts of the devotion each Sunday evening, lead our song and lead the prayer. It is one of our favorite family traditions and the children were thrilled last Wednesday to make our new Advent wreath.

You can make your own Advent wreath with just a foam board, candles, greenery, and ribbon. You can pick up these items at your local craft store. (Hobby Lobby sells Advent candle bundles.)

Our church’s children’s minister kindly forwarded the weekly devotion that our church supplied this season and you can download the weekly devotions HERE on Scribd.

I hope that your family enjoys the tradition and symbolism of Advent this season. What Christmas or Advent traditions does your family cherish?

Hope

Ideas for the 'Kid's Table' & the 'Adult Table' during Thanksgiving

2013-11-26T20:49:00.002-08:00

This Thanksgiving we will have 9 little ones at the Thanksgiving gathering. What are two things that can help make Thanksgiving a little easier on the moms with littles? Snacks and activities.

I found this cute snack idea from Handmade in the Heartland that can also be used as a 'teachable moment' during the wait for the big feast. They are the perfect little snack and can be quickly thrown together for your Thanksgiving feast. I made several for the Princess and C-man's classes today and the kids LOVED them. The ziploc bags aren't as cute as cellophane bags but I think the ability to reseal the snack outweighs the 'cute' factor. That, and, yes, I was out of cellophane bags and it was 9:30 p.m.

You can download the FREE printable HERE.

C-Man at the 3rd Grade Thanksgiving Feast

The activities planned to keep the kids somewhat busy are a coloring page, a list of what they are thankful for, and a word search. I found these at I Should Be Mopping the Floor and you can download the coloring sheet HERE, the word search HERE, and the Thankful List HERE.

I am most excited about this new addition to Thanksgiving. (fingers crossed that everyone plays along.) During dinner, we will have ‘Turkey Talk’ questions such as ‘What makes you laugh the hardest?’, ‘What is the hardest decision you have ever made?’, ‘What is your most beloved possession?’, ‘What is your favorite Bible verse and why?’, ‘What was your favorite childhood book?’, ‘What kind of student were you?’, ‘If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?’, ‘What are five things you wouldn’t want to live without?’, ‘What is the bravest thing you have ever done?’ and many more. You can download a printable list Here on Scribd.

I really hope that everyone enjoys it and hope we might even learn something new about one another. My grandparents would be so proud! I can almost see my 'Dear' smiling with pride about the family gathering.

After dinner, our family annually plays our Pictionary Relay Race. You can read more about this really FUN tradition with a free printable word page to get you started Here.

Safe Travels everyone!
Hope

The Weekend Report & a Cheerleader Gift Tag

2013-11-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, my parents and sister wonderfully offered to keep the children so that Honey & I could go to the Ole Miss football game and have a little less than 48 hours sans kids. Wahoo!

It all started out wonderfully, except of course for the horrible asthma attack that hit me. (In hindsight, I think the asthma attack was a foreshadow of things to come). We met my parents at the driving half-way point after C-man's acting class performance Friday evening. (He did great and learned so much in his first semester of classes! He has much more to learn, but we were very proud that his confidence has increased.)

After dropping the kids off, we headed straight to the late movie to see 'Catching Fire' from the Hunger Games Triology. FABULOUS movie. Honey & I both enjoyed it and I highly recommend it.

Saturday morning Mama Jane sent me these pictures of the girls having a tea party while C-man was with his cousin at a college football game. Isn't she an awesome grandmother!!

Tea Party Spread

Tea Party at Mama Jane's House

Poor Honey started to feel awful Saturday morning and realized he was passing a kidney stone. :( No football game and fingers crossed that he wouldn't have to go to the ER. Sadly, about 8:30 Saturday night we had to take a trip to the ER. Thankfully he was able to pass the terrible kidney stone, but we were there until midnight.

It was a still a wonderful weekend of just leaving the house we got the notion - such a novel concept. There were no shoes to find, no snacks to make, and no complaints. We had needed a day of just us. Of course we were so happy to see them, but immediately after they got into the car three voices asked for snacks, water, and a bathroom stop all at once. Honey turned to me and asked, "Hope, please tell me. Why did we pick them up again?"

We decided Sunday night would be a movie night and here is the precious sight I found after preparing dinner. The girls were snuggled together watching the movie. Ok, maybe they were just sharing popcorn, but it was still a sweet sight.

Sweet sisters

While my sweeties watched a movie, it was time to turn my attention to the cheerleader gift bags that I was responsible for preparing for the cheer banquet Monday night. (The bags had been neglected during Honey's illness.) Each bag needed the cheerleader's name on the tag because the gift was a t-shirt and there were 4 different sizes of shirts. I prepared this tag and thought it turned out cute. You can download the cheerleader gift tag FREE HERE on Scribd. You can also personalize them!

I hope y'all are having a fabulous Thanksgiving week!

Hope

Elf on the Shelf 2013 Calendar - (FREE Download Printable)

2013-11-24T12:35:00.002-08:00

Our children ADORE when our Elf, Jingle, arrives and love that he has a Facebook following. The girls have actually been asking about Jingle's arrival for some time now. This year, I have made a calendar for Jingle's shenanigans of what he has up his sleeve to entertain the children this year. A few are repeats of favorites from past years, but most activities are new.

You can download a copy of the calendar in PDF HERE on Scibed. Below are some pictures of Jingle's fun from previous years.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the daily Advent plans for this year with daily scriptures & daily family or service projects starting Dec. 1st.

Hope

2013 Elf on the Shelf Calendar

Snow Angels with Flour

On a sleigh ride with Barbie

Battling the Dark Side with light sabors

Going bungee jumping

Drew mustaches and wrote 'Ho! Ho! Ho!' on the children

Left a message in M & Ms

Worshiping baby Jesus at the Manger scene

Playing a game of Candyland with the other toys


A boys vs. girls snowball fight with marshmallows

Disney - Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom - Tips & Tricks for your new gamers for the fun interactive game

2013-11-23T09:50:00.001-08:00

This post was planned for much later but bestie ‘A’ is headed to Disney for the holiday and in need of some info for her littles who are dying to play Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom. C-man has undoubtedly been sharing how much he has loved the game with ‘A’s’ girls and even gave them all of our extra spell cards to get them started.

About the Game -

If you have a child age 7 or older (especially if they are gamers like my C-man), they will love the new Interactive game ‘Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom’ at the Magic Kingdom that was rolled out in spring of 2012. The game allows kids of all ages to become an apprentice sorcerer and help the wizard, Merlin, protect the Magic Kingdom from Hades, the god of the Underworld, and his gang of villains. Hades wants to take over the Magic Kingdom and has recruited Disney villains to help him. Your job as an apprentice sorcerer is to help Merlin by battling the villains.

The game is free with your park admission ticket and you can register to play at the Firehouse located just before you enter Main Street on the left or just behind Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square. I suggest you register at the Firehouse for your first time to play the game so that you can see the portals on Main Street. After that first time of play, the Liberty Square location usually has a shorter line.

The Map to find portals

The Map for Frontierland and Adventureland

The map for Main Street U.S.A. and Fantasyland

How does it work?

Each person in your party can use their admission ticket to register and obtain a pack of sorcerer spell cards. If you have a member of your party who really wants to play, I would suggest that your entire party go with their admission tickets to obtain the card packs, even if they don’t play. The more card packs that you obtain, the more fun your player will have using different spell cards. It is important to know that you can’t just take 10 admission tickets with two people and get 10 card packs. Each person obtaining a card pack must be present to obtain said pack and you can each obtain new card packs each day you attend the Magic Kingdom.

I know having your entire party do this sounds very inconvenient, but I believe the inconvenience is worth the time for a few reasons. Last fall and this spring, C-man absolutely LOVED playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. It made his trip even more magical and he would tell you that it was his favorite part of both trips. Also, he and his sisters have enjoyed pouring over the cards and devising plans for card combinations for our upcoming trip. (Hours y’all.)

What do you put all of those cards in without ruining them? (Those Florida rainstorms usually pop up out of nowhere.) There are a few options. On our fall break trip, Honey treated C-man to a Disney Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom book that can be found in the Emporium and other shops around the MK. I will warn that the these books are pricey. In order to save a little money before the trip, I picked up a trading card book at Target that works just as well protecting the spell cards. After C-man upgraded, the girls were thrilled to receive his leftover book.

Once you are registered, have your cards and sorcerer map, you will be sent to one of four areas in the Magic Kingdom for game play. The four areas are Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland. There are portals in each area with a Key Box that your player will place their key card on to start or continue their game. Your player will hear a beginning story by Merlin where you will learn which Villain you are battling and then be led to other portals in the area to use spell cards to defeat the Villain. There are 9 villains, including Hades, to defeat. Once your player has defeated all 9 villains, your player can go to the Firehouse and obtain a new card set and ring the firehouse bell. C-man really enjoyed ringing the bell and we were lucky that the cast member working at the time made a really big deal out of completion.

A Key Card Box

C-Man is loving it

How do the spell cards work?

There are a few things to remember when using the spell cards -

Make sure you gamer stands directly on the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom gold crest. The camera and computer are designed to read the spell cards with the player standing on the crest.

Hold the card by the outer edges so that the reader can adequately read the card. (Another reason the books are a good idea.)

Hold Card on the outer edges if you don't have a book

Don’t reuse the same spell card when battling the same villain. The game makers designed this game well and the program is designed to weaken the strength of the card’s spell if it is used more than once against the same villain.

You can use more than one spell card at a time - Up to 6 at the same time from what I understand. My kids loved seeing the different spell combinations.

C-man says that cards from the same movie work well together. (ex. - Eve & Wall-E; Tiana & Prince Naveen; Flynn Rider & Rapunzel; Princess Aurora & Prince Philip; etc.)

There are 3 levels - Easy, Medium & Hard. Your first time player will start at Easy. When your player is only level 1, any spell will defeat any villain. As your player reaches the ‘Medium’ or ‘Hard’ levels, defeating villains is more difficult and time consuming. (C-man has worked up to the ‘Hard’ level and even beat ‘Hard’ last trip.

There are 70 different spell cards that can be collected. The card packs that they give you when your register for play include a key card and 5 spell cards. You can collect up to 60 spell cards in mix of cards given at registration or if you complete the game. The last 10 cards can be purchased in packs sold at the Emporium and are very rare cards known as 'Thunder' cards. Each pack contains only 1 'Thunder' card.

The more your use a spell card against different villains, the stronger the spell card becomes.

If your gamer reaches the 'Medium' or 'Hard' level have them listen carefully to the storyline. The villain will usually mention something in the storyline that reveals their weakness and give a clue as to what type of spell will work best to defeat that villain. (i.e. - Warrior, Hero, Princess, Fairy, Toy, Machine, Animal, Monster, Mystic.)

How long does it take to complete the game?

It depends on if you play continuously or take breaks for rides and character greetings, but it usually takes about 4 plus hours. In May, Honey and I switched off with the girls and C-man so that C-man could play. Both of us will readily admit that we enjoyed the one on one time with C-man and I doubt C-man will ever forget getting caught in the rainstorm or my lost iPhone. (I REALLY REALLY REALLY love the Find My Phone app!)

All 3 of my littles are very excited about spending some time at the Magic Kingdom playing sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom during our upcoming Christmas trip. We usually have them wait until the 3rd day to play so that many of our ‘Must Dos‘ have been checked off the list before we take time out to play. That said, it is a fun addition to the Magic Kingdom that our family has truly enjoyed.

Hope

Operation Christmas Child

2013-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Did y’all know that it is ‘Shoebox Collection Week’ for Operation Christmas Child? You can STILL pack and turn in your shoeboxes filled with goodies for a impoverished child until Monday, November 25th.

Honey and I have packed shoeboxes for at least 13 years and have loved this ministry. Operation Christmas Child is a branch of Samaritan’s Purse ministry founded by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. My sweet cousin and her husband have worked for Samaritan’s Purse in North Carolina and have shared heart-warming stories about the glee and happiness that the shoeboxes bring the children who receive your lovingly-filled shoeboxes. Most of these children would not otherwise receive a Christmas gift and many have never received a gift from anyone.

Packing Shoeboxes

I try to buy things on sale after the back to school rush to keep costs down so that we can pack as many boxes that I can and stay in the budget. I also grab some of the hotel included bar soaps and save the dental samples to include in boxes. (See Honey, I do try!) We head to the dollar store for the other needed items. This year I printed off the list of gift suggestions from Operation Christmas Child and gave a copy to each of my children. The Baby can only read about 18 sight words but I don’t want to leave her out. With lists in hand, we headed to the local dollar store to buy gifts for these special children.

What do you need to pack a shoebox?

It’s simple. You need a shoebox (or plastic box with lid). You can wrap the box (wrap top separately) but wrapping isn’t required at all. Decide whether your gift will be for a boy or girl and the age range (2-4, 5-9 & 10-14). We usually pack 2 girl boxes and 2 boy boxes so that each of my children can pack a box for a child their age and gender. Next, fill the box with goodies!

What should you put in your shoebox?

Toys - Include items that the child would immediately embrace such as a doll, toy truck or stuffed animal. Other fun toy suggestions are kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, balls & toys that light up.

School Supplies - Pens, pencils and sharpeners, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring books, etc.

Hygiene Items - Toothbrush, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag) (*I often use fund Mickey head soaps from Disney.), comb, washcloth, etc.

Accessories - T-shirts, socks, ball caps, sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights. (The girls and I also usually make sweet little purses for the girls boxes as well.)

A personal note - You can include a note to the child and family photo. I have each of my children write a note and try to make this a family event. I also include a family Christmas card photo from the previous year because I always have extras and it saves a trip to the store for photos.

What not to include - Used or damaged items, war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out of date candy; liquids or lotions; medicines or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans.

After you packed your shoebox, go online here and pay $7 per box to help cover shipping and other costs related to delivering the shoeboxes. You can write a check but we LOVE keeping up with where our boxes are delivered. In the past several years, our shoeboxes have been delivered to children in South Africa, Congo, and the Dominican Republic.

Four of the packed shoeboxes

Last, find a drop off location near where you live and drop off you gift filled box. You can look up local drop off locations HERE.

There are so many things that I love about this ministry and I hope to someday go on a distribution trip. Receiving a shoebox shows these precious children that someone across the world loves them and cares about them. I love that the process teaches my own children how fortunate and blessed they are and how important it is to give to others who are less fortunate. I love how making these boxes connects my children to other children all over the world. My children get so excited when we receive that email that tells us where our boxes have been delivered. I use that time as a learning opportunity to teach the children about the country and how children live in that part of the world.

How sweet is this?

You have until Monday November 25th to drop off your gift filled boxes. You will not regret including your sweet littles in this process and you absolutely can do it within a budget. You have all weekend too. :)

Hope

A Letter of Encouragement for Young Moms

2013-11-21T19:48:00.004-08:00

The Princess at 18 months. As recall the tears are because she didn't like the pigtails

Yesterday the Baby and I visited a friend who has a barely 3 year old and 3 month old. At the end of our visit, the 3 year old son had a on the floor, crying, screaming meltdown. Y’all all know what I’m talking about. Those meltdowns caused by the perfect storm - a mixture of badly needing a nap, the end of play time and not getting to do what they want. My friend held her infant in her arm and calmly, with tears in her eyes, tried to talk to and calm her crying, screaming 3 year old. I lovingly told my friend that she is NOT alone and we have ALL been there. As I quickly packed our stuff so she could put her son down for a nap, I continued with assurances that it does get better and that she is doing a fabulous job.

It later occurred to me that I had sort of forgotten how really really REALLY hard that time was as a mom. I hope this post encourages moms with small children.

First, you are not alone when you have a child who throws a tantrum or has a meltdown. They ALL have meltdowns. Seriously, they ALL have meltdowns. If a mom tells you that her child, “Never did that!”, she is either lying or the incident was so traumatic that she has forgotten about the meltdown. Your child will not remember the meltdown or be traumatized for not getting what they want. They will remember that ‘No’ does mean 'no', and that although Mommy does love you, the world does not revolve around the their wants or wishes.

C-man at age 3 upset about having to take pictures at my brother's wedding.

Second, ignore ugly looks in the grocery store when your child throws a fit about not getting what they really really want at that very moment. You have to shop for food sometime and when you have young children, there is really isn’t the perfect time. If you are one of those people who give dirty looks, shame on you. Think back to when your children were young and how sleep deprived and weary you were sometimes. It often seems like a constant cycle of feed and clean up. Remember that a kind word or smile can make the world of difference to a young mom who usually needs some assurance and encouragement.

Several years ago when my littles were about 8 months, 2 1/2 and 4 1/2, I needed to get out of the house and took the kids to Chickfila for lunch. I sat in the play area and my children had a blast. Yes, they were loud. No, they weren’t running all over the restaurant, screaming or throwing tantrums. After I packed up, I lugged the carseat and diaper bag with the Baby and had the other two holding my hand and elbow. An older lady who had been sitting about 3 tables away from me reading a book stopped me and said, “Ma’am, the next time you think about taking your children out for lunch, you should just stay at home. They are just too loud and shouldn’t be in a restaurant.” I was stunned and had my eyes on C-man who was breaking for the car. My response was, “My children love the play area here. I hate that they bothered you but there is another section of the restaurant away from the children’s area.” Sadly, I could never forget her comment. Please think about what you say to young mothers and how your opinions can affect them.

The Baby at her 1st birthday. I'm not sure why she was crying. Good Lord - she has a fist full of cake in her hand. It can't be that bad!

Lastly, I promise, it does get better. You will be able to sleep again. Your children will be able to dress themselves and not need your help in the bathroom. It seems like it will take forever, but it doesn’t. Do the best you can in the moment, take deep breaths when you feel like you are losing it, and make time to have at least one night away a month with friends. You NEED grown-up time that does not involve diaper changes and Playdoh. Moms who are now on ‘the other side’, don’t forget how it felt when you were in the trenches and offer kind words and support to young mothers whenever you see them. They need the encouragement that they are doing a great job.

The 'other side' - I promise it will be here before you know it.

Please pass this along to any young mom that you think might need this today, especially during the holidays that can add even more stress.

Hope

Custom T-Shirts for Disney

2013-11-20T15:35:00.002-08:00

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I promise to share three more recipes before Thanksgiving, but the Baby and I have been busy doing school work and making sweet sister-in-law's baby bedding for the new bundle of joy that will join our family soon. (More posts on the baby bedding to come.) With all of this learning and sewing going on, baking just hasn't been in the cards. I know I promised frequent Disney posts so I thought I would share how the idea of matching t-shirts came to light.

I'm not normally a matching t-shirt kind of girl because, let's face it, they aren't always cute. I am also fairly certain that Disney World is the only place on the planet that Honey will agree to wear matching shirts, but you guessed it. The t-shirt idea was Honey's. I'm sure he will deny it, but he mentioned the idea of matching t-shirts after one of those evenings he read through the 'Dis Boards.' (aka the website devoted to all things Disney run by Disney fans.)

We were taking Honey's parents, Mimi and Pappy, with us that trip and I actually thought it would be a fabulous way to keep track of everyone. After scouring the 'Creative' section of the Dis Boards I found several designs that I liked. You can find a few of my favorites HERE on the DIS Board. I found designs I loved from Marion HERE with all of the family names. You can find Christmas designs by Marion here that we are using for an upcoming Christmas trip and Halloween designs Here.

For a few of the t-shirts, I contacted the designer and requested our family's names on the design. The designers are so very kind and will email you the jpg image for your use for t-shirts and more. Please note that you cannot sell these images. On the other t-shirts, I had an idea of what I wanted and took my ideas to a local print shop and had the shirts made. We had a fabulous experience with our local print shop and really love that they have an in house graphic designer who helped me create what I wanted.

It had rained just before this picture!

Sweet Cousins!

No, we don't have shirts for each day but it was really nice to have two days where I knew I could find everyone in our group! I have a really cute Christmas themed shirt planned for our Christmas trip and will post for y'all soon.

Now we are off to the Church Advent workshop to prepare our wreath for the season of Advent. Have a good night!

Hope

A Tale of Two Pecan Pies - Chocolate Pecan Pie & Caramel Pecan Pie

2013-11-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved Thanksgiving and especially loved dessert, but didn't love pecan pie because, "It gets stuck in my teeth and on the top of my mouth!!!". The little girl grew up and decided to make her own pecan pies WITHOUT the sticky syrup stuff. And so begins the 'Tale of Two Pecan Pies'.

I have worked on and tweaked this recipes for a while before sharing them with y'all. I imagine I will continue tweaking them because, well, that's just how I roll. Thankfully, Honey and the children don't seem to mind. I always know when I've found the 'perfect' combination because my taste testers always let me know. This weekend, I found what I think is the perfect combination for one of these pies and pretty darn close for the other.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon milk (I use skim because that is what's in the fridge)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecans
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy and stir in melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and flour; mix well. Last add milk, vanilla, and nuts; mix well. Place prepared pie crust into a greased deep dish pie plate. Evenly distribute mini chocolate chips on top of the pie crust. Pour sugar, butter, pecan mixture into your unbaked pie shell on top of chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and 325 for 20 minutes or until done. Make sure you place your pie toward the bottom 1/3 of your oven so the top of your pie doesn't burn.

If you are feeling a little adventurous add about 3 tablespoons of bourbon to your mixture before baking.

What you will need

What your pre-baked pie will look like


Baked Chocolate Pecan Pie

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I think that this recipe has just the right combination of chocolate, pecans, and buttery goodness without the sticky syrup. Hope y'all enjoy!

Caramel Pecan Pie

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup of Smucker's Caramel Ice Cream topping
1 1/2 cup pecan halves
1 9 inch unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine caramel sauce, butter and milk in a saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually mix in melted caramel mixture. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and the pie sets.

What you will need for your Caramel Pecan Pie

Baked Caramel Pecan Pie

Caramel Pecan Pie

Both Pies Side by Side

So how do the two compare? The Caramel Pecan Pie looks prettier baked and slices easier, but the taste of the Chocolate Pecan Pie wins. I distributed slices of both to the neighbors for their opinions. Honey and the neighbors loved both pies but declared that the Chocolate Pecan was just a little better.

Y'all let me know what y'all think! Now, I'm off to clean house.

Hope

A Turkey Painting Play Date

2013-11-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer - I did NOT grow up drawing or painting and tried my best to stay as far away from visual art as possible. I loved performance art and music. I did not enjoy coloring and used to have a hard time drawing a stick figure. Thankfully, things have changed. A few years ago, I took a painting class and fell in love with painting. I write all of this to assure you that no your art background, you can absolutely pull off the following.

The 'Sample' Painting (I wasn't at all happy with the feather colors & created some different colors for the girls)

A couple of weeks ago I let the Princess invite 6 classmates over for a 'Painting' play date. The Princess and the Baby LOVE to paint and I had been wanting to have them paint Thanksgiving Turkeys for a while to hang in the house during November. Having a big group paint would be fine, right? Thankfully, it was. The girls had a blast and were so very proud of their creations.

First, I purchased eight 16 x 20 canvases from Hobby Lobby that sells 2 packs for $8. I also purchased acrylic paints, foam brushes to paint the background color, and a few small brushes (I already owned several medium sized brushes). You will need the following paint colors, Burnt Orange or Georgia Clay (background), Dark Chocolate (Turkey body), Medium Green (Feather), Santa Red (Feather), Banana Cream (Feather), Jack-O-Lantern (Feather), Black (eyes and outline). The paints I chose were all 'Americana' brand simply because they were the cheapest.

I set the paint area up in our garage with four card tables. Thankfully, the paint came off of my tables but, in hindsight, I should have placed cheap vinyl tablecloths on top of each table. Mom fail! Each place had a canvas, cup of water, 3 brushes (foam, medium brush & small detail brush), a paper plate with the globs of the paints needed for their painting, a piece of white chalk, and several paper towels for dabbing. I also had a hairdryer plugged in close by to help with the drying process at the end of the paint session. Everything except the paint was set up and ready when I left to pick up the Princess and her friends from school.

As soon as we arrived from school I had the girls deposit their backpacks, quickly get aprons on, and sit at a place for instructions. I showed the girls the 'sample' and explained how they would paint their turkey. The first step was to paint the background color. I went around to each girl and squirted some of the burnt orange color directly onto their canvases and had each girl use a foam brush to paint the color all over the canvas and onto the sides of the canvas. It is important to have your painters spread the paint out or you will use a TON of unnecessary paint and it will take forever to dry.

Have each painter paint the background color all over the canvas

Once the girls were finished painting the background color, I had them come inside to have an after-school snack. I then prepared each girl's paint plate with all of the colors needed to paint their turkey. *Note - Acrylic paint dries very quickly which is good for quick drying on the canvas, but that also means you can't prepare paint plates too far in advance because the paint dries on the plate making it harder to use.

Paint plates

Before you use chalk to outline the turkey, you will need to make certain that all of the canvases are dry. I had a couple of girls who had a few spots on their canvas that were wet and used the hair dryer to quickly dry the canvases.

Next, I had the girls use chalk to draw the circle for the body and a smaller circle for the head. You will need to use one canvas to show your painters where to draw their circles. I also went around and checked to make sure their circles weren't too large or too small. The brilliant thing about using chalk is that it wipes right off after the painting dries!

After each painter has draw the turkey's body, have your painters start at one side and draw feathers on the turkey. They will need help getting started but it was fun seeing their creativity take over!

Use chalk to outline the turkey and feathers

Now the fun begins. Have your painters paint the turkey's body with brown first using their medium sized brush. They need to try to get two coats of brown paint on their turkey's body to cover the burnt orange background. Next, have your painter use their medium sized brush to paint the turkey's feathers. My group wanted to paint the feathers in a pattern like the sample, but I did give them free reign to paint the feathers however they felt led.

Please excuse the garage. :) A garage overhaul is planned for early spring with much better organization.

Once all of the feathers were painted I had the girls draw the turkey's legs and feet (yellow), eyes (black), beak (yellow), and waddle (red) with their detail (small) brush. I also taught them how to roll the brush into a point after you dip it in a small amount of paint to create a finer point. My painters were only 7 years old but were very attentive, except when they were giggling about this or that.

The last detail to add to the painting is a coordinating color outlining each feather and black outlining the body of the turkey.

The Princess, the Baby and their friends has a really great time. I won't lie. It was slightly stressful at times, but I was so blessed to see them interact, have fun learning, and hear their sweet laughs. I am very glad that I hosted the painting play date. In fact, the Princess has asked for a Snowman paint next so stay tuned.

Their masterpieces

The Baby's Turkey has a super hero mask!

Preserving Family Memories - A Family Recipe Book & A Grandmother's Journal

2013-11-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

Family Recipe Books -

Over 10 years ago, Sister and I set out to collect the family recipes. Our father's mother had just passed away and we realized that neither of us had her famous biscuit recipe. Sister and I were both newlyweds and wanted to make sure we could learn how to cook the family dishes that we had grown up loving. Thanksgiving and Christmas just weren't the same without the family sweet potato casserole or our dad's Asparagus casserole.

Thus, the idea for a Family Recipe Book evolved. We wrote everyone and asked each member of the family to send us their top 4-5 recipes along with a story about each recipe. We gave the family a month to send in their recipes and then started typing away. It was a labor of love, but oh so worth it. Sister and I printed the books onto card stock and placed a family picture on each book. I bound the books myself, but would suggest having them spiral bound at a local office supply/copy store because the comb binding has proven a BIG PAIN. Sister and I purchased card stock in a bulk pack and printed all of the books ourselves. The cost of the books was probably about $3 per book which included the paper, ink, picture and binding comb. Sister and I would also recommend laminating the cover to help with the wear and tear. Sister had the brilliant lamination idea when we made a family recipe book for my mom's side of the family.

Love that my grandmother, Dear's, chicken recipe was found!

The stories that go along with the recipes are almost as good as the recipe itself!

These books are my first go-to books and I rely heavily on them. You will not regret making time to put these together for your family. They are a treasure and Mama Jane and I have been happy to present a family recipe book to each new bride who has joined our family.

I'm embarrassed to show how much wear my book has had but you know it's a good book when there is a burn mark!

Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to gather recipes from everyone in your family! I would love to hear if y'all put one together for your own families. Keep me posted.

A Grandmother's Journal -

Shortly after my mom's mother ('Nanny') passed away I realized that we didn't have have hardly any of Nanny's memories preserved. We each had bits and pieces but nothing written. It made me sad and I practically kicked myself for taking for granted the time that I wasted not journaling the stories she had shared.

I decided that I would not waste any valuable time with my great Aunt Virginia who was in her late 80's at the time. I purchased a 'Grandmother's Journal' book, gave the journal to her at a family gathering, and asked her if she could record as little or as much as she wanted about her life in the journal. She very lovingly agreed. Aunt Virginia gave the completed journal back to me Christmas 2008. I have loved and cherished the book since. It had been on my 'To Do' list to take the book to a copy store to have copies made for each of Aunt Virginia's grandchildren for a while, but after her death this summer my parents took the task for me and created these beautiful copies for each grandchild and more. (I was in the middle of teaching swim lessons at the time.)

I really love that this is in Aunt Virginia's own handwriting

My Favorite part of the whole book!

The Stories in this book are amazing and truly a treasure

The memories in this book are simply priceless. The entire family learned things that we never knew from this book. The book is kept in my bedside table and I look over from time to time. It brings tears to my eyes each time I read it. I have loved learning more about my precious Aunt Virginia and love having her memories in writing.

You can find similar books on Amazon HERE for less than $10. I am so very thankful to have purchased this book and look forward to having Honey's mom and Mama Jane fill one out. I have also found a Grandfather's Journal HERE and plan to ask Honey's grandfather if he would record some of his memories. Honey's grandparent's are our children's only surviving great-grandparents and I would love for my children to learn as much about their family as possible.

I believe that precious memories from our ancestors can help us appreciate them, their lives, their struggles and the lessons they learned. I also believe that even though some life-lessons have to be experienced, we can learn from the mistakes and triumphs of our ancestors. Please let me know if you have any other ideas for ways to record family history or memories.

Y'all have a great weekend!
Hope

A Special Chapel Service and the Fall Vocal Recital

2013-11-16T10:54:00.004-08:00

The Princess with a picture of the Cottages and children at the TN Baptist Children's Home

Chapel - Yesterday was a big day for the Princess. Her first grade class gave their mission report to the school during the chapel service. Earlier this fall, the entire first grade took after school snacks and laundry detergent that they had collected to the TN Baptist Children's Home. It was a great field trip and a chance for them to learn more about serving others.

Yesterday the class shared what they had learned about the mission and how they had served. The Princess had a pretty long speaking part that we practiced all week. It was a great excuse for her to work on projection and enunciation too. I am happy to report that she did fabulously and I was so very proud of her.


My three babies

Fall Vocal Recital -

The Princess also had her fall vocal group recital. Yes, the Princess is only 7, but she LOVES singing and has had so much fun with her vocal group.

Sweet Sisterly Love

The Princess's Friend 'J'

The Princess is an 'Early to bed, early to rise' kind of girl and could not make it for dinner after the recital

The Baby is the exact opposite - 'Night owl & late riser'. She was in rare form last night in her new Christmas dress that she just could not hold off on wearing.

I will end with some great news. A dear friend came to my rescue and let me borrow her sewing machine and so in front of the machine is where I will be much of this afternoon making that baby bedding for sweet sister-in-law.

Hope