The Sparacino Chronicles

The last day of school 2013

2013-05-24T08:19:00.000-05:00

Another school year is over.

I never in my dreams imagined how emotional and attached to each teacher and grade and age that I would be.

I just want to keep hanging on because it all goes too fast.

Now, when I look at their toddler pictures I just can't believe they are the same kid!

They change SO MUCH from how they were at 2, 3, & 4 to what they are at 5, 6, & 7.

I'm sure I will be saying the same thing for 8, 9, & 10 and up.

During this school year, Tim has changed jobs, we have moved into a new house, both kids are reading amazingly, and have both learned and accomplished so very much.

I wish I could accurately portray how much my C Girlie has matured this year.

I can tell you, she is going to do some great things.

And she is SO FUNNY!

She loves making her teacher and friends laugh.

Everything academically has improved by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the year.

She never missed one spelling word, her handwriting is so neat now, and she is loving reading chapter books even at home now!

At the talent show this week, the 1st graders performed a couple of songs. C was sitting on the front of the stage with some of her friends and she was not nervous about being in front of the entire school and she just sang her heart out!

I am so, so proud of her!

B Boy had a wonderful kindergarten year.

He is a little smartypants.

He is already not too far behind C in his reading level.

Everything has just come so easy for him this year.

I hope it always stays that way.

He is a great friend too.

He had 7 BFF's this year in his class.

He even numbered them, like BFF1, BFF2, etc!

He loves teeball and playing basketball.

He loves to write pages out of books onto notebook paper.

He loves to write his own stories and illustrate.

He is sad about leaving his friends, but I know he will make lots of new ones!

He has grown up a lot this year too!

And gotten so tall!

Please don't think I'm bragging on my kids (well, maybe I am a little, but don't we all?).

I'm a proud momma trying to preserve memories of them.

Just to balance everything out, I give you this-

That's how taking a picture of her really went this morning!

And yes, I'm one of those moms that takes pictures of their kids crying or mad!

C Girl really doesn't look a whole lot different to me, but B Boy does!

He grew so much this year!

This week has been busy with all the usual end of school things- awards assemblies, Spirit Night, talent show, field day, tee ball game, and a tornado threat for good measure.

I sure am going to miss having a kindergartner and 1st grader.

The brand spankin' NEW Rogers Aquatics Center

2013-05-20T09:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I wrote about Northwest Arkansas, but specifically Bentonville.

Today I'm going to fill you in on another very awesome thing in Northwest Arkansas, the new Rogers Aquatics Center.

My family was invited to come this past Saturday to have a sneak peek of the water park before it officially opens to the public this Saturday, May 25th.

When we first arrived, I was instantly impressed by the size and layout of the park.

The kids could not wait to get in and play at Otter Holler.

It has slides, water cannons that you can shoot water from, and a giant bucket on top that dumps water every little bit!

My kids are 6 & 7 and this was perfect for pre-schoolers and up!

One thing I really loved was that there were lifeguards stationed all throughout the park.

We played in this area for quite a long time!

By this time, it was lunch and we hopped over to Wet Willy's kitchen.

They have general concession-type foods.

We had hot dogs, chips and drinks.

My only complaint was that all four of our hot dog buns were broken apart so they were difficult to eat.

They also have pizza, cheeseburgers, candy, ice cream, etc. all at affordable prices.

It would be nice if they allowed you to bring a cooler of food or drinks in, but they do allow you to leave the park and return as long as your hand gets stamped for re-entry.

The park has four private pavilions that can be reserved for parties.

The fee of $250 includes the pavilion, 12 park passes, and 12 beverage tickets and is good for a 2 1/2 hour time period.

This would be great for a birthday party!

Some of the rides for "big" kids include

the Tree Top Drop, steep side by side slides for racing,

Super Flush, a big ole spiral bowl that dumps you into an 8' pool of water,

and Hawk's Nest Falls, two winding flume slides with one being open and sunny and the other enclosed and dark!
After going down the "toilet bowl," you can swim over to the climbing wall!

I also cannot leave out White River Run.

It is a smooth, flowing "river" that you float through on inner tubes!

This is so fun!

I went around "the lazy river" twice!

They didn't leave out a place for the little ones to play!

Tadpole Hole is a fun area with a toddler pool with zero depth entry (like a beach!), sprinklers in the pool, a little slide, and a splash pad!

Bonus- it's a shaded area!

This here is the Cement Pond.

This is a competition pool for fitness and lap swimming.

This is a great time to mention that you can grab a $35/month membership for this pool.

The park also is now taking registrations for their Learn-to-Swim program

and the "Ballistic Bullfrogs" summer swim team!

Handicap accessibility was an amazing feature that is available throughout the park.

There are also lockers and shower facilities on site.

We really had a fantastic time visiting.

This is just another great thing to add to the list of things to do in NWA!

The park opens this Saturday, May 25th. Hours are Mon-Sat 11am-8pm and Sunday 12pm-6pm.

Admission prices, concession prices, special admission offers, facility rules and group reservation forms are available at the Rogers Aquatics Center website.

A 10-Pass-Punch Card is available and may be used multiple times by one person or for multiple family members and friends.

Punch cards are available for 50% off until the Rogers Aquatics Center opens on 5/25!

There is also no limit on how many 50% off Punch cards that you can purchase!

You can get these at the Rogers Parks Department, 113 N. 4th St.

I know that I will be purchasing some for my family to visit the water park this summer!

Follow the Rogers Aquatics Center on Facebook to keep up with additional discounts and special admission days that will be announced throughout the 2013 season!

The staff at the Rogers Aquatics Center will be identifying trends and attendance patterns to help choose the best deals and offers to issue in the future.

I'm looking forward to some season passes hopefully being offered in the future!

Thank you City of Rogers and Arkansas Women Bloggers for the opportunity to check out this cool place before the masses invade.

Let me show you around my town: a weekend in Bentonville, AR

2013-05-19T13:40:00.000-05:00

Northwest Arkansas is a really cool part of our state.

There are so many neat places and things to do and see.

It's just a cool place to live.

I live in Bentonville and there are some really great things here.

This weekend, we got out and enjoyed some of the things that make Bentonville unique.

Friday night after dinner, we headed downtown and stopped at this little food truck that I have wanted to try for a loooong time!

This is Crepes Paulette.

From their Facebook page- Authentic, delicious French Crepes, sweet and savory, in an open-air setting.

If you want to know more about crepes, go here.

I ordered a simple lemon crepe with butter and sugar. It was divine!

The kids and Tim shared a crepe filled with Nutella. They were in heaven!

They also serve a variety of other sweet and savory crepes. I can't wait to try a savory crepe!

Afterwards, we walked over to the square to listen to some music.

They call this Pickin' on the Square.

Lots of people had brought their lawn chairs and others were standing or sitting on benches.

The weather was perfect and we all had a great time.

Saturday morning, we visited the Bentonville Farmer's Market for the first time this season.

We purchased some great asparagus and broccoli and a jar of red plum jelly.

There are beautiful flowers, plants, jewelry, woodwork, hair accessories, bird houses, pet things, soaps, lots of produce and even baked goods.

A few food trucks are also there every week!

We also stopped by the unveiling of Artist Alley.

Bentonville Middle School and Junior High Art Student art work is featured.

This is located on Main St. just past the new French patisserie, Meridienne.

I cannot wait to try pastries from there!

This artwork captures some of the unique, awesome things that we are lucky to get to enjoy here in Bentonville.

a showcase, an anniversary, and a play

2013-05-17T12:02:00.000-05:00

The end of the school year is coming to a close.

It does make me sad in the fact that my babies are getting older.

BUT.

Hot dog, I'm looking forward to summer!!!

To have days without stuff on the calendar makes me ridiculously happy.

So, this is another long post. #sorry #notsorry

I've probably mentioned it before, but our district started a 21st century classroom program last year. It is a grant that teachers could apply for and if they were chosen, they would receive a classroom set of technology.

Last year, C's teacher applied and was a recipient!

We already had planned for B Boy to be in her class, so it was neat that he would get to be a part of this great new thing!

Grades K-2 receive iPads and all grades above receive laptops.

The recipients for this year's grant are actually being awarded this morning!

With last year's and this year's recipients, our district will have 47 21st century classrooms next year!

This past Tuesday evening, our district had a Technology Showcase to let these classes show off what they have used the technology for this year.

B Boy participated in his class's station.

Using his iPad that he used all year

Presenting his weather book that he wrote and illustrated online to our assistant principal

The class project was based on learning about weather. They blogged, had a meteorologist visit, wrote books online and lots more!

Yesterday was our 10 year anniversary, so we actually got to spend the day together kid free!

We finally got the opportunity to visit the Norman Rockwell exhibit that is at Crystal Bridges Museum until May 27th.

I didn't know what to expect, but I loved every minute of it!

It took us almost two hours to look through the entire exhibit. I could have easily stayed longer.

First of all, his paintings are wonderful.

Secondly, to me, it is almost insane to be able to stand right in front of the actual paintings that he painted.

Thirdly, I was shocked at how many covers of the Saturday Evening Post that he had painted for. They had every single issue that he had done in the exhibit. It was 362 of them or something.

Fourth, his broad range of styles is very impressive.

The paintings that he is most known for are the iconic Norman Rockwell style from the covers of the Saturday Evening Post.

But, he also did portraits of presidents, portraits of actors/actresses for movies, true historical paintings, and paintings for propaganda poster or advertisements.

His paintings are so detailed and some are so life like.

I love how a lot of the paintings depict a small moment during regular life.

He used models for his paintings, did lots of research, and did sketches and drawings before he even started a painting!

So, there is your history lesson for the day!

This was one of my favorites-

A Christmas Homecoming -Norman Rockwell, 1948

Last night, B Boy had his end of the year kindergarten Bugz play.

C Girl had the same one last year.

and now I've watched the videos from last year and am boo hooing!

Sweet little army ant

Such a cute play yet again!

Can I please bottle him up and keep him at this age?!!!

Ten Years

2013-05-16T07:09:00.000-05:00

Ten. Years.

That just blows my mind.

I was laying in bed the other night thinking about how I'm now 32, and how 22 seems so very long ago. But, yet, I still feel 22! (in my mind!)

So much life has happened in these past 10 years.

There is no way we could see what laid before us back then.

I wonder how the next 10 will play out?

Tim, you have made my life better in every way. I've grown up since we were married. The many things that have happened, we've faced it all together. I've never doubted you by my side, and you are who I always want by my side. The prayer of my heart is that somehow through it all, our kids will see a great marriage and have that as a foundation for their lives. I hope you know how loved and special you make me feel. Life has a way of getting in the way, but I'm so glad we keep making us a priority. I'm so glad you are mine.

And I thought I loved you then...

I'm feeling thirty two-oooh

2013-05-15T07:38:00.001-05:00

I keeping it really light today because I'm needing that.

I came across this video and thought it was kinda accurate and really funny.

And now, since I may or may not be this age, it's even funnier.

What a weekend! {hold on to your horses, this is a long one}

2013-05-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times: May is such a busy month. May 3rd was Tim's birthday and this past weekend was my birthday, Mother's Day, and my nephew's birthday.
All in the SAME day!
Tim and I also celebrate our anniversary this coming Thursday.

Saturday, B Boy had tee ball team pictures and a game. It was a PERFECT day. The weather was fantastic!
Afterwards, we hopped over to a "vintage" store I wanted to show Tim. We found a couple of treasures there!
Next, we decided to go to Tanyard Creek Nature Trail. It was a great little hike and the waterfall was insane from all the rain we have received lately.

I woke up Sunday morning to a counter full of gifts, cake, and cards! My favorite things are the cards that the kids made me and the gifts that they picked out for me. Tim said they did not hesitate when they got to Walmart, they went straight for what they wanted to get me.

We had to get around and get to church. They played a video in service about Mother's Day and I have literally never cried as much in church as I did during that video. They are lucky that I didn't break out into a full on ugly cry.

Tim took me to brunch at Fred's Hickory Inn after church. It was so nice and delicious!

We then headed to Ft. Smith to go to my nephew Noah's 2nd birthday party! He is my little birthday buddy :-)

I was overwhelmed on Sunday from all the love I was shown. There were so many Facebook birthday/Mother's Day wishes, the same on Twitter, texts, calls, cards, and emails. I even got birthday gifts and cards in the mail on Friday and Saturday. It just makes you feel good to know that someone has taken time to think of you. So, thank you. It really made my day special.

C Girl painted this pot at school and planted the flower for me. I love it.

How could I ever have imagined how blessed I would be?

This picture is the epitome of C Girl. She is such a clown! Those close to her get to see this silliness.

My bubbas. Please tell me that I will never get too old to call them that.

Mom and I.

Sweet birthday boy.

Oh this friend. I love her so. She brought me a birthday donut since it was my birthday too. And she brought a singing candle! I loved it!

It kills me how much they look alike!

Little cousins. My twin brothers had boys 5 months apart.

I REALLY think he enjoyed everyone singing to him.

And I basically had to wrangle these two to try and get a picture with each of them!

And a final shout out to my brother Kevin who made the Sesame Street (Noah's Street) sign all by himself! It looks great!

Saturday, I'm so glad to see you!

2013-05-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

I haven't been so happy to see a Saturday morning in a long time!

I don't talk about PTO too much on here. I'm not sure the particular reason why. It has been a lot of work, but I love being able to serve and give back to the school.
This past week was National Teacher Appreciation Week. Along with the big goal we want to do for the school every year, Teacher Appreciation Week is the big deal of the year.

We have been planning this for months. It was a HUGE success! I was literally at the school all day everyday this week. We fed the teachers lunch Monday and Tuesday, we did breakfast, goodie bags with school supplies, chair massages by a local spa, Mary Kay treatments by a Mary Kay rep. & a chocolate fountain all on Thursday, and another big lunch on Friday.
We would not have been able to do all of this without the help of all the awesome parents at our school. So many brought in food and supplies and others donated time and services. It was simply amazing.

Along with all of this, I also had a volunteer breakfast, Mother's Day program, Bible study, a game that ended up being rained out, Tim was gone 2 evenings, and our school's Leadership Day. It has been a very, very full week.

It was a fulfilling week though. I have grown to love the teachers and staff at the kid's school. They are what makes the school so awesome. What they are doing in empowering kids through the Leader in Me program is astounding.

Last night, we went out to Shogun to celebrate my birthday. It's not actually until Sunday, but since that is also Mother's Day and my nephew's birthday, we celebrated last night. It was really good and the kids LOVE it.

We are headed to watch B Boy play tee ball and have his team picture made. It is a gorgeous day and since we have had so much rain (7 inches on Thurs night!) and business lately, we are going to enjoy a hike afterwards!

I hope everyone has beautiful weather and gets to enjoy this lovely weekend! Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommas!!!!

A big ole crying mess

2013-05-08T13:33:00.001-05:00

I remember a day when the kiddos were very little and I thought, it is 3 more years until B Boy goes to school. That seemed like FOREVER to me.

And here we are, the end of kindergarten.

I'll be honest. I'm a crying mess.

Last year, I still had a preschooler that was coming to kindergarten.

Watching him graduate preK was hard, but oh, this is SO much harder.

After the volunteer breakfast this morning, I got to go to the Mother's Day program that his class had for the mommas.

Everything was good and fine through the songs. I was happy. The singing was sweet.

Then.

Then they showed the end of the year slideshow.

And this is what happened.

And please don't get me started on the fact that C Girl will be a 2nd grader next year.

2nd Grade????!!!

It just seems so old! And it goes too fast!

They are just not babies anymore.

I'm holding on to just a few words that they still say incorrectly.

I just can't bear to correct them.

They'll figure it out eventually right?!

these little guys are SUCH good buddies. I pray he always has wonderful friends.

And his teacher. Oh, how I will miss her. She was C's kindergarten teacher as well. I've been around her weekly for 2 years! It just won't be the same!

And I LOVE that our new art teacher this year was a mister. The kids all ADORE him. He's been a great addition to our school.

Oh my sweet boy, I love you too.

(excuse me while I go cry in the corner. NOTHING beats a writing like that.)

Please, oh please, still look at me like that when you are 25.

And yes, as a matter of fact, I AM 50 lbs!!!

These things kill me.

And I really die when he says I'm pretty as a diamond.

Ladies, this boy is definitely going to be a keeper.

Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

My little Girl in Action

2013-05-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

It was a very uneventful weekend around the Sparacino house, but that was a nice enjoyment. I even took a nap!!!

C Girlie had her GA (Girls in Action) Mother/Daughter Tea and Awards this evening. I am so proud of my girl. She is growing up and I'm treasuring her personality (most of the time!).

I'm just so proud of how much she learns at church and I pray continually that God is touching her heart and one day she will find a true relationship with Him.

I love you to the moon, C Cat.

weather in Arkansas

2013-05-03T07:48:00.003-05:00

Anyone who has lived in Arkansas for more than a season can pretty much tell you that the weather here is nuts.

You can have a day that is 30 degrees and then one that is 80 degrees, all in the same week.

We can have a tornado one day, and be wearing sweaters again the next day.

This year has been no exception.

We have yet to be able to change out our closets because we will have 2 days of pretty weather and then it will drop back into the 30's, 40's, or 50's.

It has rained more this spring than I can remember in a long time.

And now?

We received our first ever recorded snow in May in Arkansas history.

And it was not just a dusting. Some places in our county have up to 3 inches!

Nuts, I tell ya!

My pretty spring flag with snow all around it.

Today is a special day at the Sparacino house. It is Tim's birthday!!! Happy birthday Tim, my love!

These two kids and that man

2013-04-29T21:38:00.001-05:00

They make my life joyful.

B Boy had a ball game tonight and the weather was perfect and it's just so fun watching him play ball.

Today, I was out shopping for clothes for a photo session and I happened upon a nightgown set for C Girl. It was not just any set. It was a set that had a matching gown for her baby doll! She was beside herself happy!

This day and this week is really busy with planning and tasks for events coming up. Tonight, I'm so thankful for a husband who helps me keep up on household duties so that they don't pile up. He's a rare jewel.

A field trip and a date night

2013-04-28T14:30:00.001-05:00

It is a GORGEOUS sunny Sunday and I am about to head outside and enjoy it, but I wanted to do a post really quick!

I love watching them do homework. They always do it on Thursday afternoons since it is due on Fridays.

This past Friday, the kindergartners had a field trip to the fire station!

We were supposed to go to the park too, but it rained and was cold.

It rained last year when C Girl went and they missed out on the park part as well.

Sad.

BUT, they had a blast checking out the fire station!

They asked SO many questions.

B's teacher said that she has never had a class that asked the firemen so many questions!

There is a group of about 7 or so boys in B's class that are great little friends! They always want to sit by each other and B talks about them non-stop when he comes home!

I'm so thankful for our firemen and all other service members for what they do.

We got to watch them leave out on a call.

It was a great trip!

Last night, Tim and I got to go out!

We were going to check out the Norman Rockwell exhibit at Crystal Bridges, but the line was insanely long.

Instead, we hopped in a few stores and then went to dinner at Doe's Eat Place. It was so, so yummy. I ate almost the entire basket of drop biscuits all by myself.

We also got donuts at Krispy Kreme and watched a movie at home after the kids went to bed.

It was the first funny movie we had watched in a while. We have picked some deeper movies lately. I was thankful for the laughs!

This week, I will be very busy getting ready for teacher appreciation week, May 6-10.

May is just SUCH a busy month.

And seriously, HOW is it almost May?!!!!

This year is going by waaaay too fast.

Friends and AWANA

2013-04-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

This week has been a pretty great week.

I've had the pleasure of being with friends and that always puts joy in my heart.

On Monday, I got to visit with my best friend from high school who was in town.

The kids and I also went to the park after school with our friends April and Ryan.

Tuesday was Bible study and I am really enjoying the study I am in right now.

The ladies who are in this group are making it so fun!

We are doing Desperate: Seeking Simplicity, Finding the Cross.

Wednesday I had the joy of eating lunch with my friend Kelly. She and her husband joined our Sunday school class at about the same time I did. Their family is great. Tim really enjoys talking to her husband! We ate at PF Chang's and I don't know why it's been so long since I have eaten there! It was delish!!!

Last night was our final AWANA night for this year.

We had an awards ceremony for each group.

I help with Cubbies and since they are the youngest, we all went first.

I sure am going to miss those little ones!

My kiddos are in Sparks and they both were honored for finishing the first year book!

C Girl is already into the 2nd year book and B Boy will start it in the fall.

I am SO proud of how much my kids and all the other kids have learned!

Photo credit: my friend Melissa

Getting my attention

2013-04-24T14:00:00.000-05:00

Probably a year ago, God put something on my heart for me to do. In honesty, I think I've had a nudge towards this for longer than that, but last year the feeling was much stronger.

This thing is not easy for me to do, and it takes time and thought. And, well, it just hasn't been done.

I don't know about you, but when I disobey what He wants - He has a way of getting my attention.

It started with one small thing. It was just a conversation where someone brought up the very thing I was trying to avoid.

And after that?

Well, it has shown up everywhere. A song, a Bible verse, words in a book, another person talking about it, a blog post, etc. The list goes on.

I mean, how much more obvious can it be?

Maybe you don't believe in things like that.

I do.

God knows that tangible reminders really get my attention.

So, I'm putting this out here because I want to be accountable and obey. It's going to take some time to finish this project, but this time?

I'm finally starting it.

Weekend in review: April 20-21

2013-04-22T18:40:00.000-05:00

We had a packed weekend.

My brother, Jessica and Parker came to visit! Sweet little Parker was not feeling the best :-(
We did have a good visit though and they were able to watch B Boy's 1st tee ball game of the season!

I took B Boy to a birthday party of one of his friends at Jump Zone on Sunday. There were 5 boys from his class there and it was so fun to watch them run around and play together. They are so rough and rambunctious and yet it's sweet to watch them together.

C Girl had her spring choir program on Sunday evening. It was so good! She did such a wonderful job and we are so proud of her!
Videos from the weekend:

Middle of the night ponderings

2013-04-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

We had a tornado warning last night from about 2:30-3:30 am. Everything ended up being fine, but when I laid back down in bed, my mind would not shut off.

I started thinking about the Boston Marathon bombing and the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that both happened this week.

As I was thinking about these awful things, I realized that we keep C Girl and B Boy in a bubble of protection from the world for the most part. We rarely ever have the TV on, and we try not to talk about subjects like this in front of them if we can help it.

I know they are still pretty young, but I've been wondering- am I doing right by keeping them so sheltered? Are they going to see something awful as they get older and it completely traumatize them because they haven't been prepared?

I will work to teach them that awful things will happen and we just have to trust in Jesus. However, we are all human and we worry. I don't want them to be worried all the time that something bad may happen to them.

With all of the media in our faces about the awful things, we have to be extra diligent to show our children all of the good that is around us everyday.

I know a day is coming soon that I will not be able to shelter them.

How do I prepare their sweet, innocent hearts for the reality of our world?

This world is not my home I'm just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh Lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
- This World is Not My Home

Dump and Run

2013-04-14T17:09:00.000-05:00

It seems like I haven't been blogging much lately and when I do, I just dump a ton of pictures and run.

Well, I'm doing that again today. #sorry #notsorry.

First I want to let y'all know some exciting news for our family- we officially joined our church today.
This may not seem big to most people, but we are very excited. We have went to this church for about 2 1/2 years and we love it so much.
We have found the best Sunday school class and our children are being brought up in the Word of God by such wonderful teachers.
It's just the place we want to be and the place we want to raise our family in.

B Boy is FINALLY feeling better. He was sick ALL week with bronchitis :(

We did have some fun here and there though. We blew bubbles in the backyard, had tee ball practice, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather!

We went to Park Springs park and hiked today. I love the trail and seeing the water that comes from underground into the creek.

We also hung out at the square for a while and enjoyed the fabulous tulips. The weather was perfection.
I hope you guys have a fabulous week!!!
dump and run:

Things I don't want to forget

2013-04-09T13:24:00.001-05:00

My little buddy has been sick the past couple of days. I've gotten to stay home with yesterday and today and C Girl is home today as well. It makes me miss the days I was home with them before they were in school!

I just wanted to share some things that I do not want to forget.

Last Friday, B was King of the day in his class.

He got this crown and all the kids in his class wrote about him and made it into a book for him to keep.

This kids have also started getting an allowance every week.

On Friday night, Tim took them to Walmart so they could spend a little of their money!

B Boy finished his first Sparks book on Wednesday night!

We are so proud of him for finishing!

He will start the next book in the fall.

I'm SO proud of all the scripture he has memorized, C Girlie too!

Tim took B to his tee ball practice on Saturday since I wasn't home from my girl's weekend yet.

He said that B had a couple of plays where he looked like a major leaguer!

Of course, there were also plays where he absolutely did NOT look like one! Ha!

After practice, I caught up with them and we went to the school near us (the school the kids will go to next year) to shoot hoops and play on the playground.

It was a gorgeous day, but extremely windy!

B Boy is obsessed with basketball right now.

He is also obsessed with country music.

As soon as a song comes on, he knows what it is and he can LITERALLY sing every word.

Some of his favorites are Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley.

C Girl had her first standardized test at school last week and she did great!

She is growing up so much lately.

Her true colors, lol.

She told us that a boy was picking on her during class the other day.

Tim asked her what she did about it.

She said that she didn't tell her teacher because it was something she could handle on her own.

gah, growing up I tell ya!

I adore the relationship between her and her daddy.

Big news- the training wheels have came off.

I repeat- the training wheels have came off.

However, we have a loooong way to go! Ha!

Flat billed caps are "in." Sigh. (obviously momma has tried to bend it...)

And please don't mind our grass. We are in the process of killing the weeds!

Spring! Trees are flowering!!!

There is so much beauty in this world if you stop and look around.

A place to plant our roots

2013-04-08T13:54:00.001-05:00

I have big dreams of writing eloquently.
I also have big dreams of not being terrified to speak in front of people and to be able to be a good storyteller.
But alas, I am not an eloquent writer, I am terrified to speak in front of people (even people I know), and I am a terrible storyteller.

I want to share about my weekend, but I feel like it will fall short of how I envision the words in my head.

So, here goes-

Shortly after Tim and I were married, he applied for a new job. He had wanted to progress his career. He got that job and we moved. He continued to be promoted and had a wonderful job. However, we knew that there was more out there for us. We knew that where we were at, was not where we would be planted forever.

Doors were opened, and although it was hard at the time, we knew it was the choice we were supposed to make.

I say all of that to say, we feel like we are finally settled. I believe that the town I live in now will be the town that I will grow old in. For me, that is a big deal. I'm planting roots and watching them grow. Now, I know that we aren't privy to God's plan, so I can't say for sure that I will always live here, but I have no plans to ever go anywhere!

We have lived here for 2 and a half years and I feel like we are finding "our place" here. We have finally found and bought a house we love, we are a part of great schools, I have great friends, we have found a wonderful church and we have the BEST Sunday school class that I have ever seen or been in.

I don't know how to adequately describe how welcomed we have been in this church. Being plugged in to Bible study and Sunday school and AWANA has been tremendous for me.

This weekend, the ladies in our Sunday school class had a "Night of Nothing" at a cabin owned by the family of one of the couples in our class.

This was SO wonderful to me. I love getting to know these ladies. I feel like they are my "people." They are the ladies that I will spend years with and fellowship with and learn with and watch our kids grow together.

We left Friday afternoon and some of us met for lunch at a delicious Mennonite restaurant. It was my first time eating there and I enjoyed it very much!
We spent the next 24 hours just visiting and eating! There was SO much great food!

There were 15 of us who came. I truly wish that every lady in our class was able to make it. It takes time to get to know so many people, but I sure am working on it! It was great to be able to go around and tell stories about ourselves and get to know one another better. Some of the ladies I knew hardly anything about until this weekend.

This weekend, those ladies, and our Sunday school class are such a blessing to my life and such an answer to prayer.

Prayer requests

2013-04-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight I am burdened for families in my Sunday school class. Right now, there are very urgent needs for 4 families.

One has a 2 year old daughter who had a fever this morning and as they were waiting at the clinic, she had a seizure. She was airlifted to Children's hospital and they are awaiting results of tests.
One has a daughter at the ER with possible appendicitis.
One has a one year old boy who has struggled with not gaining weight and not eating. They have been to hospitals and had so many tests and still do not have any answers. God has answered prayer today and he has actually eaten more than he has been, but he still is not eating the amount that he needs.
One family has a 7 month old daughter with early onset scoliosis. They are flying to an out of state hospital this week to seek answers.

I was planning on posting something totally different tonight, but these needs are so heavy on my heart. Tomorrow I will post what I was going to post tonight and it explains what these friends and this Sunday school class mean to me.

If you don't mind, will you join me in prayer tonight for my friends?

This week, I did some things

2013-04-05T08:20:00.000-05:00

I got my hair done on Monday. I always enjoy time at the salon. It's the only time I read People magazine!
Tuesday I cleaned my house all day and had a PTO meeting in the evening.
Wednesday I had two of my friends over for lunch. One has a sweet 7 month old girlie. It was so awesome to see all of them and get to visit!
Yesterday, I had a dental appointment.

For those of you who don't know, I got my braces off this past August after wearing them for 4.5 years. There was space that had not totally closed up, nor was it ever going to, and I had lots of tooth wear from years of grinding and clenching.

This dentist is a new one for me after my orthodontist, so she had went over my history and I explained issues that I still had and we formed a treatment plan.

Yesterday was supposed to be a 2 hour appointment where I had some teeth restructured and "built up." This is going to help my teeth last longer and make my bite better.

Well, the 2 hour appointment lasted almost 4 hours! It was so hard laying there that long!

I am very happy with how it turned out though!

After school, I took the kids to Academy to get B Boy some things he needed for tee ball and then we went to Chuck E. Cheese for our school's spirit night. Of course the kiddos were in heaven! B Boy had two friends from his class there. I LOVE watching how my kids are when they see their friends outside of school. It's SO funny and cute!
Today, I'm getting packed and ready for a GNO! Ladies from our Sunday school class are meeting at a cabin to have a "Night of Nothing." It is basically a grown up sleepover! I'm so excited!
I'm also VERY excited about the weekend weather! It's going to be SO nice today, Saturday and Sunday. B Boy has tee ball practice on Saturday and we are also going to have to do SOMETHING outside this weekend. I'm ready for Spring weather to stay!

Happy Weekend!!!

Easter 2013

2013-04-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

Did you have a good Easter?

We sure did.

I love Easter so much!

We had a very busy weekend full of family, friends, food and fun.

The kids had Easter egg hunts at school on Friday.

Saturday, we drove down to my mom and dad's house to spend time with my family.

It was so nice to be with them and get to see all 3 of my nephews.

The two toddlers were so precious and funny!

Sweet little boys!

This is what happens when you try to photograph two toddlers at the same time!

The kids loved hunting eggs again! It was a little soggy, but that didn't hamper the fun!

Quality cousin time over the iPhone, lol!

We stopped at our favorite restaurant, Cracko Barro, on the way home :-)

The obligatory posed family Easter photo ;-)

I want to be completely transparent for a minute.

Yes, we had a lovely weekend.

However, not all was lovely the entire time. We did have disciplinary issues with a certain child. I don't like to put many negative things about the kids on here because I have to be careful how I tell their story. As the kids have gotten older, I've been trying to be careful what I post and what I don't post. What you read here will always be just a portion of our lives. I love to share about our lives for our friends and family to see, so of course, I love to share the good things.

But please know that we have struggles and issues just like any other family.

Back to regular programming...

GORGEOUS spring weather on Easter Sunday morning!

Celebrating Resurrection Sunday at church.

This was our 3rd Easter at our church and we are so blessed to hear from Bro. Junior Hill a 3rd time.

The backyard egg hunt

Woohoo! Full baskets!

B is obsessed with his new basketball

Yesterday afternoon we were invited to the home of a couple in our Sunday school class.

They hosted an egg hunt and appetizer dinner. There were SO many families from our class there. God bless them for having all of us in their home! We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone.

B Boy was is in HEAVEN with this drum set in their house!

Reflections

2013-03-29T08:01:00.001-05:00

I haven't been in the space as much as I normally am, and yes, that does make me sad. I know that I wrote recently about shifting my focus, but things like that do not always happen overnight.

I still have commitments right now and I am one of those people who follows through with what they say they will do. I find that to be a great trait until I'm at this point where I was wishing I could just quit!

This week coming back from Spring break has been super busy. I've not been home much and my house is a mess. The new has worn off and it is time to clean this pretty new house. Boo.

I told y'all how I had not looked at Facebook for a few days last week. I had actually de-activated my account and really did not want to re-activate it. I ended up re-activating it and I do like seeing updates from a few people there, but for the most part I just don't care anymore. I have noticed since re-activating it, I only go on there maybe twice a day. I cannot tell you how refreshing that is to me.

I sometimes feel like all the stuff I see and ingest from online "clogs" up my head. I don't know if you have any idea what I mean or not, but that is the only way I know how to explain it.

I love blogging and Twitter and Instagram, but sometimes, it is just too much. Too many opinions and too much negativity. I really do try to weed the negativity out, but it's hard to get it all.

A friend of mine posted a link to this post on Twitter yesterday. I was torn from wanting to give her a standing ovation to running in the corner and crying from being guilty. Seriously, ALL of us have posted a photo to Facebook or Instagram and secretly hoped that we get "likes" on it. When you really stop and think about it, how silly does that seem?

Or maybe you have never done that, I don't know. I know I have.

Today is Good Friday. I wrote this post about Good Friday last year. When I really sit and reflect on what Jesus did for us, I almost cannot take it. Every year, I make myself dig deep and really think about what He did. It's really hard for me to go to a place to experience such emotions.

What really gets to me the most is that He did not just die for me and for you. He also died for murderers and rapists, He died for Adolf Hitler and Jeffery Dahmer, and He died for all the other evil people that have walked this earth. He died for them. He died for me. He loves each and everyone of us so much. We are all sinners. Even though we see certain people as more sinful than others, the truth is that we are ALL sinners.

^"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

2013-03-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

When I take a meal to a family, it is almost always chicken pot pie or chicken and dumplings. This is definitely an "old-fashioned, takes some time" recipe. But it's so good that I don't mind taking the time to make it. This makes a pretty full pot and we rarely have much left over.

Chicken and Dumplings

Broth-
2.5-3 lb whole chicken 2 cups chicken broth
water
Dumplings-
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
5 T butter
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk

Place the chicken into a large pot. Add chicken broth and water. Make sure the chicken is covered with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmering. Throughout cooking, skim away any foam that forms in your pot. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours until chicken is done and tender. Remove chicken from the broth and allow to cool. De-bone the chicken once it is cool enough to handle. While de-boning the chicken, discard the undesirable parts. Cut de-boned chicken into bite sized pieces.

To prepare dumplings, mix flour, salt, egg, butter, and milk in a stand mixer. Continue to mix until a ball forms. Form your dumplings by rolling out the dough to about 1/8 inch on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut your dough into bite-sized pieces.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil. Drop dumplings into the broth, ensuring that they submerge. Add all of your dumplings to the broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 8-10 minutes. Add chicken and simmer until chicken is heated. You can also thicken broth with a cornstarch/water paste to your liking.

Chicken and dumplings do not photograph very pretty, but I added the picture anyway.