justimagineheaven

Fun in the Sun

2013-05-16T16:16:00.001-06:00

Our snowy spring seems to have jumped straight to summer with a side of thunderstorms. It has gotten difficult to stay indoors with the sun shining so brightly.

We decided to pack up a lunch, head to the park, and do a little exploring.

This playground was pretty fun.

This girl loves the swing!

David's getting a little help from Rebecca since he can't reach the spinner thing. This could make you dizzy quickly.

Anna still gets scared to go down the slide by herself.

Oreos for dessert!

Time to leave the park and do a little geocaching.

We have trails all around our home. It's great for bike rides, runs, and exploring.

This is a fake rat with a geocache attached to it. Yuck, right? It's a good thing I have children who aren't afraid of rodents and other insects. I never would have reached my hand in there.

The landscaping along the trail is quite fun for everyone. There's track with this old wagon thingy.

You can pump yourself along the track. . . or lift your sister up.

I've been practicing a little landscpe photography. More on that another time.

You might think this is an ordinary tree, but take a closer look.

That isn't a real pinecone. I'm sure that during pinecone season it might be a little more difficult to find, but when there is just one pinecone on the whole tree it makes it pretty easy.

Our last cache brought us to this view.

Rachel has the best eye in our family. She seems to find most of the caches.

They were super tiny caches on this hunt, but still a ton of fun. Now we're off to make it home before the storm rolls in.

Duck On a Bike

2013-05-14T21:46:00.000-06:00

Colorado has a literacy program, One Book 4 Colorado, to get children reading at a young age. The book chosen this year is Duck On a Bike. I'll admit that I hadn't heard of the book, so naturally, I was curious about it. Word on the street was that the author Daivd Shannon was coming for story time.

We weren't the only ones who had heard of his visit. Nevertheless, the children had a great time.

He asked questions and when I thought David wasn't listening he raised his hand. Maybe he's a good multi-tasker.

Not only was it story time for us, but they did a live web cast so people everywhere could watch too. The book was pretty entertaining and our children have been reading it daily to each other.

If you haven't heard of Duck On a Bike either, perhaps you've heard of the book called No, David! I can't say I was a huge fan of that book, but now that I've heard the story behind it, I kind of love it. It's pretty much all about my boys. :)

After story time Mr. Shannon taught the kids how to draw David. My children have been practicing their artistic skills lately.

Each of our children received a book and got them autographed too! The David in the No, David! book is actually David Shannon himself. My David is checking out the resemblance between the book character and the author.

We were treated to duck cookies for a snack!

Craft time was also a huge hit.

We invited Eisley and Violet to join us.

Rather than make a craft, Rachel was all about a duck scavenger hunt around the Anythink Library.

The ducks were pretty cute.

Anna didn't want any help and figured out how to make her duck all on her own. Adorable, right? Now you all need to check out Duck On a Bike. Run, don't walk. It's a fun little book. You can check out the live stream, which isn't live anymore, HERE. My children keep begging me to watch it everyday. They loved it!

Garden Party

2013-05-07T15:03:00.001-06:00

On Saturday my girls and I grabbed our favorite hats and headed to church for a Garden Party brunch.

It was a potluck, so I decided to bring deviled eggs. That's almost a no brainer since everyone loves them right? When you are a last minute planner deviled eggs are pretty quick and easy.

There were some pretty cute hats at the brunch along with a lot of visiting with some wonderful ladies.

Jane wore the same hat she wore in her wedding over 60 years ago. Isn't she adorable? I just love the ladies in our church. They're so fun and sweet!

They also work like crazy during the fall and winter months to make quilts that they donate to various places in Colorado.

This year they made 193 quilts that will be sent to area hospitals, nursing homes, and to others in need. I can't say enough about how wonderful our church is not only to our family, but also to people in the community. We had a great time visiting with all of the ladies and even won a few door prizes.

35

2013-05-02T22:06:00.002-06:00

Last week we celebrated my Lutheran Stud's 35th birthday. I wanted to throw a big bash, but he wasn't really on board with that plan, and his birthday fell smack dab in the middle of a week that was already a little hectic.

Since he wasn't even around for his actual birthday we celebrated the day after when the big plan was for him to come home early to work on the pickup. Good times, right?

We had a few church friends over to help with the pickup celebrate with us. Whenever there is cake, ice cream, and friends invloved our children couldn't be happier.

Thanks to Martha Stewart I tried a new cake recipe and tried to make it kind of stripey. It could not have been a better day with the sun shining and big birthday to celebrate!

Late Start

2013-04-29T22:51:00.000-06:00

With all of the spring snow we have been receiving there has only been a handful of nice days in between. Not only has the snow played a factor in our garden planting plans, but when the sun has been shining the garden is either too muddy or the wind has been crazy.

We finally found some time to get our garden started yesterday. We're planting a lot of the same vegetables that we've planted in previous years, but we're also trying some new varieties. Have you have ever eaten orange watermelon, red carrots, or white cucumbers? Neither have I. I'm excited to try them though.

We didn't start any seeds indoors. With our moody weather there's a chance that we could see snow again before our poor plants are strong enough to survive on their own. We have decided to try something new and with the help of our congregation we were able to collect many bottles.

Yesterday, we were able to plant over 70 tomato seeds. The weather stations currently say that we might get 2-4 inches of snow on Wednesday. The last two days the sun has been shining and the temperatures have been in the 80s.

The children have enjoyed the snowstorms that we had, but they're also excited for the summer.

My Lutheran Stud was able to plant some lettuce and spinach a few weeks ago. To be honest I have no idea if this is lettuce, spinach, or weeds. Only time will tell. Here's to hoping for a plentiful garden this year!

Pumpkin Muffin Donut Holes

2013-04-26T13:42:00.000-06:00

I am always looking for new recipes to try. Lauren made these cute little donuts and when I looked in my pantry for all of the ingredients and found ALL of them I figured I'd try them out too! They were very loved by my children and super easy to make.

I wanted to make them bite size for the children, so made little minis.

I also made a few bigger donuts. They turned out quite nicely.

Perhaps the reason they were so loved was because they were dipped in a bowl of melted butter,

or maybe, because after they were dipped in butter they were smashed into a cinnamon and sugar mixture. It was sweetness heaven right there.

The problem with these cute little donuts are that you won't be able to eat just one since they're so small. Before you know you've eaten 11 and by that time you might as well eat the whole batch because why not? You've already ruined all the work you did in your last workout. Now go on and try these lovely donuts. I hope that you'll love them just as much as I do.

The Big Snow

2013-04-19T11:17:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago a major storm/blizzard was predicted for our area. There was so much hype about it that school districts canceled school and activities. When the storm actually arrived there was hardly any snow. It seems that activities were canceled for no reason. Fast forward a few weeks and the meteorologists again put snow in the forecast. This time, however, we were told we would only get about 4 inches. The snow arrived and came down like crazy all day long.

After receiving several inches of snow the meteorologists began changing their snow predictions to fit the snow that we were receiving. Either way we ended up with a lot more snow than what they had predicted. We ended up with over a foot of snow when werwoke up the next morning.

School was never canceled. We figured it would be the perfect time to go sledding since the snow was fresh and kids were in school.

The only problem we ran into was that the snow was deep and there were no tracks in the snow yet.

We had to create some tracks.

This little one wanted to go sledding so badly, but when we actually let her sit on a sled she wouldn't go near it.

This little girl loved to just lay around like she was on the beach or something. It made me cold just watching her.

We decided to head to another, steeper hill.

Making tracks!

Thomas liked chasing everyone down the hill.

Throwing snowballs happened too.

Picking up speed in the deep snow was a little difficult.

After a cold morning we returned home to get warmed up. Hammond's Candies makes some pretty fun stir sticks.

Peppermint hot chocolate was a huge hit! Hopefully that was the last of the snow for this spring. While I loved the snow or moisture (as people call it around here), I'm ready for the sun to return and stay! We've got a garden to plant.

We Did the Zoo. . . Again

2013-04-17T09:40:00.000-06:00

The zoo is always a fun place to visit. You never know what you'll see the animals doing on a certain day, at a certain time. They're very unpredictable. When we arrived at the lion exhibit this lioness was roaring at something. Normally, all of the lions are just laying around taking a nap. We don't usually see much movement out of them.

Since the elephant exhibit is new to us we're still exciting to see all of the new things there.

Several years ago the Woodland Park Zoo, in Seattle, remodeled their elephant exhibit. Since the elephants had come from Thailand my mom was asked to help translate the signs, around the exhibit at the zoo.

When we first visited the Denver Zoo after the new elephant exhibit opened there was Thai everywhere. When I told my parents, they made it a request to visit the zoo while they were in town and it didn't disappoint!

The tigers were a little feisty during this visit. Unfortunately, my camera settings were a little off since we were outside just minutes before, and I forgot to change my settings. This tiger jumped on the glass. He was trying to break free, but he failed.

He wasn't too happy about that.

Benches are great places for photo opportunities.

I'm on my way to check out those crazy apes with my great son!

Did I mention that benches make for a great photo op?

And, when one person sits many are bound to follow.

Anna is a mama's girl. She doesn't like to share me with Elizabeth. Elizabeth is our moody little one. She was upset because she didn't want to be in the photo above. Then she was upset because she did want to be in the photo above.

So, we found another bench and Elizabeth was able to be part of the photo.

I have to wear heels to stay taller than Rebecca.

I love taking photos of my mom taking photos. It just cracks me up. I don't know why.

This is the first time I have ever seen the rhinos up on four legs at the zoo. Maybe it's because he has room to roam now? Some of the rhinos now share a home with the elephants.

I had a stare down with this guy.

The great ape didn't seem to be in a good mood that day.

This guy swinging on the rope also has a new home. He now swings from rope to rope while we walk underneath him.

My mom shot some video of him almost dropping his popsicle on us.

These two got to ride in style most of the day.

Rebecca is taller than Yei and Rachel isn't far behind!

The zoo is always a great place to go when you want to get out of the house. We always have a great time there.

When Grandparents Are in Town. . .

2013-04-16T15:33:00.001-06:00

it's rare for me to have my camera out. Can you believe it? My parents each have their own cameras and they aren't afraid to use them. This is one of the few shots I actually took with my camera while they were here. The rest of the photos, below, I imported from their cameras.

There was a lot of reading going on while they were here, not just in English, but in Thai as well.

My parents are like the paparazzi in Hollywood.

My dad liked to come up with drawing games to keep the children busy.

There was plenty of eating going on too.

Anna began practicing to be a hair dresser.

Or maybe she's going to be a doctor instead.

Well, maybe, who knows. :)

Braids were almost a daily thing for the girls.

A lot of posed photos were taken on this sofa.

Let's just say there wasn't a shortage on the photos while my parents were in town.

David Is Six

2013-04-11T15:28:00.000-06:00

The day after Easter we celebrated David's 6th birthday. There is no shortage of Christmas wrapping paper in our home, however, birthday wrapping paper is hard to come by.

The children took a knot tying class when we visited the YMCA and the instructor recommended this book.

I think fathers find gifts for their sons that they themselves would enjoy. What do you think?

My Lutheran Stud had been asking me to find "the boys" a slot car racetrack since Christmas.

Hours of fun. They're neck and neck.

David can't believe that he's 6 either.

Happy birthday to our new little 6 year old. We love you David!

Easter

2013-04-10T20:35:00.000-06:00

Easter evening we had friends over and we feasted!

There was defimitely no shortage on food. This was just appetizers and desserts. Dinner was wonderful with smoked ham and a generous array of sides.

The weather was gorgeous, so all of the children were outside for most of the day.

Even the littlest enjoyed a some time outdoors. Can you tell how dry it is in Colorado. Nothing can keep that hair down.

Since we're pretty tradtional around here, as with every year, there was cigar smoking and poker playing.

As the night wore on there was even some snuggling time.

Easter Morning

2013-04-03T20:46:00.001-06:00

I'm not really sure why, but the anticipation of Easter morning had me anxiously excited. I just couldn't wait. I waited as long as I could before waking up my children and making them pose for an Easter photo at 6:30 am when it was just 34 degrees outside. I don't think they were as excited as I was, but as we drove to church I could tell that their excitement was brewing.

We arrived just in time for breakfast. I don't know about you, but at our church green chile and tortillas is a staple along with the usual pancakes, eggs, and sausage.

This year we were even treated to water infused with fruit and mimosas. . . minus the alcohol. Had I known. . . well, I'll just let you think on that one.

After the sunrise service my Lutheran Stud was quickly in the kitchen whipping up some pancakes and personally delivering them to everyone.

After filling our bellies with an incredible meal my little baby started off the Easter egg hunt. Being the youngest participant in the hunt she got a head start, though she did't really need it. Anna filled her bag to the brim within minutes.

David even had a little time to decorate his bag before the hunt started.

Dainty, little Elizabeth got a little head start too, but had to wait until Anna got her start.

There were so many eggs that I had to cut my children off. Seriously.

Christ is risen! What a glorious day.

It could not have been a more wonderful service with my Lutheran Stud telling everyone to celebrate better than the Germans. He said we should celebrate like the Irish. I'm pretty sure we did that evening.

Happy Easter

2013-04-02T19:27:00.000-06:00

Christ is risen. Hallelujah! I hope you all had a blessed Easter. I know we did.

Maundy Thursday2013-03-28T21:10:00.000-06:00

Why Have You Forsaken Me?
22 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

4 In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

5 To you they cried and were rescued;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;

they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

10 On you was I cast from my birth,

and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Be not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

13 they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

it is melted within my breast;

15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

17 I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18 they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

20 Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog!

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

30 Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yetunborn,

that he has done it.

Snow and Eggs

2013-03-26T17:45:00.004-06:00

Another big storm was predicted for this past weekend. Since the last storm was a dud we didn't think this storm was going to be too big either, so we made plans with friends. This storm ended up being as big as they said it would be. We ended up with a foot of snow by the end of the day. Our plans with our friends were canceled. It was a good thing too because they would have been sitting in this and probably never would have made it to our house.

Our children were pretty disappointed that their friends couldn't come over, but they soon got over it when they got to go outside.

How can you not have fun when the snow comes up to your knees?

This is table in which all of my snow measurements get taken. The children call it the "cake table."

I have no idea why, but my children always feel the need to swim in the snow. Nothing makes me feel more cold than seeing them laying and swimming in the snow. It's like they're at the pool or something.

After their fun in the snow we decided it would be the perfect day to dye Easter eggs, since that was our orignal plan anyway.

Waiting is so hard when you're 3 years old.

We added some glitter to a few eggs too!

Chicken Soup

2013-03-21T12:27:00.000-06:00

We've eaten a lot of soup this winter. It seems to have been a staple around here. This soup though, has been well loved. I made this soup for our Lenten Suppers at church and every time I made it there was none left. I even tripled the batch this last time. I usually like to sample other soups at church, but knowing mine may disappear I snatched a small bowl of soup to eat at home later. It was perfect for lunch the next day.

This soup is chock full of veggies, so if you're planting a garden be sure to include these vegetables. They freeze well making it super easy to pull them out later for this soup! I think almost all of the ingredients in this soup were grown in our garden. The flavor from the green chiles and spices add a wonderful kick to the already succulent flavor. Your taste buds will thank you!

You'll love the ease that comes with making this soup too. Just put everything in a crock pot and walk away.

Enjoy!

Demons

2013-03-20T16:39:00.000-06:00

My Lutheran Stud spoke about demons on Issues, Etc. yesterday. You should check it out HERE. He also wrote an article about demons for the Around the Word Journal. It's a new journal for Lutheran laymen. I've heard great things about it, so you should buy it and read it.

Glazed Lemon Cookies

2013-03-19T12:41:00.001-06:00

Our church has a food pantry every 2nd Saturday of the month. While they give out a ton of food there is often some perishable items that are left, and can't be saved for the next month. My Lutheran Stud texted me a photo of a box of lemons and asked if I wanted them. Of course I wanted them even though I had no idea what I was going to do with them. After a little research on things that would use up several lemons at a time I found these Lemon Glazed Cookies.

Cookies are a staple around here, but usually on the menu are chocolate chip cookies. My children have told me that they have a new favorite cookie. I think the glaze on these cookies is what sold them . . . and me too! They licked the leftover glaze clean.

Seriously, if you love lemon anything you won't be able to eat just one. I've had to work hard to stop myself from eating 5 in one sitting. I made these cookies for dessert for our Lenten supper at church and they were disappearing before the meal was even served.

I think the fresh lemon juice really gives it the kick that everyone loves, so be sure to use fresh lemons and not that bottled stuff.

Now, if you're a lemon lover, like myself, get baking. You'll have to practice some self control, just like me.

Is It Almost Spring?

2013-03-16T13:24:00.003-06:00

Daylight savings hasn't been too good for us. It has made our children a little grumpy, so on Monday, we decided we needed to get them out of the house and into a little sun.

During the last Rockies season I won a zoo pass from Root Sports, the TV staion that broadcasts the Rockies' games. We hadn't had the chance to make it to the Denver Zoo, so we figured Monday was the perfect day.There was just a little snow left for the giraffes to enjoy and with the sun shining and temperatures rising it was an ideal day to visit the zoo.

The Arctic Foxes were even enjoying a little sun.

I'm that mom that makes her children pose for photos while they're trying to get a good look at the animals.
The sea lions were playing games with our children that day. Our kids try to chase them under water.

There's a new exhibit at the zoo and we were excited to see it. The elephants, along with some other compatible animals now share a new home!
The Toyota Elephant Passage a new, massive home to the elephants. They have a ton of room to roam around.

They even have a sky bridge that they can cross over while we walk below them.The openness of the exhibit is great. There is so much to see without many obsturctions.

A few of the elephants are from Southeast Asia. If you've ever been to Thailand you may have seen these little Tuk Tuks driving around. If a person didn't want to sit in a nice air conditioned taxi a Tuk Tuk is a great alternative.

We even had time to take in an elephant show!

The hippos have taken over the elephants old home.

The brown bears were quite active and playful. They were a hoot to watch since they are normally just laying around.

Hugs!

This baby orangutan was all over the place. Believe it or now he's just 3 years old.

We spent quite a bit of time in here just watching these guys swing around.

The camels finally woke up from their nap.

The boys really wanted to see some snakes, so we found some for them. Yuck!

Anna was pretty excited with every animal that she saw.

We found Nemo and Dori!

My Lutheran Stud and I had just watched the newest James Bond movie over the weekend. There was a Komodo Dragon in the movie just like this one, except it was probably 10 times bigger.

We were hoping this crocodile would something fun and exciting, but it didn't.

This tiny little frog is supposed to be one of the world's most poisonous frogs. Creepy!

The lions were enjoying a nice little siesta when we came by and yelled at them.

We spent just about the entire day at the zoo, catching some rays, and wearing out our children. You can check out some more photos HERE. It was awesome, so we'll probably be doing it again soon. Bring on spring now, please!

The Big Storm

2013-03-12T15:17:00.000-06:00

Last week the news stations around here told us to gear up for a large snow storm that would hit our area on Saturday with about a foot of snow. We were ready. It seemed like the perfect baking and crafting kind of a day. We awoke to about 4 inches of snow.

Edie had linked to a site that had made corner page bookmarks. They looked just like the thing my kids would want to make since they've been reading a lot lately.

After lunch it was time for chores. David couldn't wait to get outside because he really wanted to shovel that snow.

Ten minutes later he had given up and decided to make snow balls instead.

Rachel got the deck shoveled even though the snow was pretty wet and heavy. That's how it snows around here in March. In December and January the snow is light and powdery, but once March hits the snow is much heavier.

This little girl is hard to keep indoors when everyone is out and about.

Anna loves the snow too! She can get a face full of snow and think it's the funniest thing ever.

The wind was blowing and the snow was falling, but none of that seemed to bother any of my children. They love to play in the snow every chance they get.

And remember that massive snow storm we were supposed to get? I think we ended up with about 6 inches, not the 12 inches that the weather people predicted.

Lauren shared this muffin donut hole recipe, so we baked pumpkins to make puree and made mini pumpkin donut holes! Recipe to come later.

Sunday had the sun out and the snow melting quickly. Elizabeth desparately wanted to build a snowman.

Rachel was kind enough to help her and build a little one for herself as well. I have to say that the weather has been playing games with our meteorologists here in Denver. We had couple sunny days and last night the snow began falling again. This morning we woke up to another 3 inches that was never in the forecast. I think the score is Weather 2 and Meteorologists 0.

The Calm Before the Storm?

2013-03-08T12:58:00.002-07:00

Word on the street is that we are in for a massive storm this weekend. Around here, it is often the case that, before a storm rolls in, the preceding days are warmer than normal. This just happened to be the case yesterday. We had a few errands to run and then it was decided that a park day was needed since the weather was so nice. Since I had to drop off some papers next to this bakery we couldn't walk by without stopping.

The cupcake and cookie selection was overwhelming.

We finally decided on some mini cupcakes and frosted cookies to share with our friends.

The view at this park never gets old. It's pretty amazing.

These little girls were almost inseparable. They had so much fun together. It was so fun to watch them running around and giggling together.

David couldn't stay away from this rock except when a hot game of tag was going on.

Our oldest girls have turned into giants overnight.

Girls wouldn't be girls without their pens and coloring books! With the sun blazing and the weather in the 60s we all got our fill of Vitamin D. Now bring on the storm. We're ready!

Rich For A Day

2013-03-06T13:10:00.003-07:00

The children are given weekly writing assignments in their English books. They come up with some of the best stories. Rebecca recently wrote this short story and I thought I'd share it with you. The topic was: Rich for a Day. Enjoy!

Rich for a Day

"Any new news?" Mr. Maxwell asked as he came inside from shoveling snow.

"No, none that I've seen," replied Mrs. Maxwell as she placed a bottle of orange juice on the baby's tray. "Only more snow. But you watch for me now. I need to clean up this breakfast."

Mr. Maxwell sat down in a seat at the table and looked up at the small, cracked TV. The Maxwells couldn't afford to get a nice TV. They were running out money because they had been tricked and lost a lot of their money. They had lost enough money to pay for a house. It had been a huge loss.

The baby, Jenny, began to cry and Mrs. Maxwell picked her up. "She's cranky," she said with a sigh. "Jason's still asleep and Ellie just left to go to the mall. She'd better not spend much."

"Oh, don't worry," said Mr. Maxwell, not looking away from the TV. "She knows what state we're in."

Mrs. Maxwell didn't reply. "Jason!" she yelled. "Get out of bed or you won't get breakfast."

"I'm coming!" ten-year-old Jason yelled back. "Wait for me!"

"Shhh!" Mr. Maxwell suddenly shushed everyone up.

"Who want's to join a contest?" said a guy with a baseball cap on."We have a huge snow sculpture contest right now! Send us pictures of your snow sculpture and maybe you can win One thousand dollars!"

"We can win that," Mr. Maxwell said as he stood up and began to bundle himself up in a heavy coat.

"Go ahead and try," Mrs. Maxwell said, as she put Jenny down on the floor. "You won't come close."

"Oh, I guess not," Mr. Maxwell said carelessly. "But it can't hurt to try, can it?"

"No, but don't expect to win," Mrs. Maxwell said as she cleaned up Jenny's breakfast.

"Mom, can I enter the next Lego contest?" Jason asked as he came downstairs with a piece of paper in his hands. "If I win, I can get one thousand dollars! And you can use the money! You only get this reward every ten years!"

"Sure, but I doubt you'll win," Mrs. Maxwell said taking the piece of paper. "You know that."

"Yeah, but I still want to do it," Jason said hopefully. "It's free."

"I know," replied Mrs. Maxwell. "You can do it."

Mr. Maxwell and Jason had pictures to send by lunchtime. They sent the pictures before the mailman came, and waited.

Twelve-year-old Ellie came home right in time for dinner.

"How much did you spend?" Mrs. Maxwell asked.

"Only about eight dollars," Ellie replied truthfully. "And that was all for lunch. I had enough fun with just looking at all the stuff."

"Good," Mrs. Maxwell said in relief. "Maybe you can go next week, too."

"Yeah, that would be fun!"

The next day, everyone got a surprise. Mr. Maxwell had won the thousand dollars!

"You didn't tell me you'd entered a contest!" Ellie said, surprised. "Does this mean everything will be better now?"

"Much better!" Mrs. Maxwell said, hardly believing the news.

"Speaking of contests," Ellie said nervously. But she was interrupted.

"For the Lego contest," the contest guy shouted. "We have Jason maxwell!"

"Me?" Jason said in disbelief. "It wasn't even that good!"

"You did it!" Mr. Maxwell beamed at his son. "Wow!"

"Uh, wonderful!" Ellie exclaimed, looking at the TV anxiously. "We're rich now, right?"

"Yes, we can pay off the bills now, and actually live happily!" Mr. Maxwell said.

Mrs. Maxwell was speechless. Rich?! No, she was dreaming.

"The winner of the designer's contest is..." the guy on the TV unfolded a piece of paper. Ellie held her breath. No one else was really listening. "Ellie Maxwell!" The name caught everyone's attention. "For five hundred dollars."

"Ellie, does he mean you?" Mrs. Maxwell asked, looking at her daughter.

"Yesterday, I signed up for a contest and did it," Ellie could hardly believe it. "I won!"

Everyone was speechless.

That day, the Maxwells had a bunch of fun, spending all of their money so that they only had one thousand dollars left. They donated Ellie's five hundred dollars to an orphanage and to a few other places. They spent Jason's money on having a bunch of fun, and used Mr. Maxwell's money to get back to normal life. The Maxwells decided that they enjoyed being a normal family instead of being rich so they spent the leftover money on things that would help them. They had been rich for one day, which was enough for them.

10 in 10, 11 in 10, or 11 in 11?

2013-03-01T14:45:00.002-07:00

It's been forever since I've done a 10 in 10 or the like, so when Lauren suggested it I thought it would be fun to give it a go. I forgot how crazy things were yesterday. Often times the children are awake and eating breakfast before I even make it downstairs. Rebecca was braiding the babies' hair when I came down. (She is wearing my jeans and she looks way cuter in them than I do. We also wear the same size shoes now. Sigh!)

Since we had many activities for the day school was started a lot earlier than usual.

Once we school was wrapped up we needed to get lunch made because we weren't going to be home. Rachel volunteered to make peanut butter and jelly for everyone. This is when I'm super thankful for a friend like Kellee because of all the bread she brings us. We go through an entire loaf whenever we make sandwiches.

Then we had to make a quick stop at the library and the grocery store. Peanut butter filled pretzels are a great snack when you're out and about. They were also buy 1, get 1 free.

Then we met up with some friends for storytime at Barnes and Noble. They read a story, do a little craft, and even give the kids a little snack.

After David picked out his Easter outfit, the other day online, we headed to the store to find it. I had a coupon that needed to be used. They provide a little entertainment at Crazy 8 while parents shop.

After shopping around a few stores at the Orchard Town Center the children were a little restless. They needed to run around a bit.

We finally made it back home to finish up some school we didn't finish in the morning. Rachel and I played a few math games.

Issues, Etc. is on at the perfect time in the afternoon. They were discussing demons yesterday.

These little girls love their Little People.

Clean Pyrex is a beautiful sight, no?

School With My Babies

2013-02-28T16:03:00.001-07:00

My little girls, or "babies" as I like to call them, have been wanting to "do school" like their siblings. I was introduced to these fabulous workbooks while we were at the seminary in Indiana. (That seems so long ago.)

These books come from Rod and Staff Publishers and I love them right down to the covers. They're very simple.

The inside is also very simple. I love it because they don't cause over stimulation which can occur from super busy books.

The girls get to work on fine motor skills while learning about colors and shapes in the first book.

While I knew Elizabeth has an incredible attention span when it comes to coloring, I had no idea Anna would have the same stamina. She enjoys these books so much that she wants to keep going.

With just a year apart in age there is still a definite difference in the attention to detail department. Can you tell?

Violet, Dumbo, and Friends

2013-02-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we were invited to celebrate the 2nd birthday of this little firecracker, Violet.

This party was all about Dumbo. Have you seen the movie? I borrowed it from the library for my children to view before the party. Wow! It's been forever since I've seen that movie and I had forgotten about a lot of it. Like, how Dumbo drinks wine and gets drunk or when the black crows are all smoking cigars. That all must have slipped my mind.

Anyway, Heather made another fabulous cake right down to the cake topper. Amazing isn't it? I wish I had her artistic abilities.

A circus wouldn't be complete without popcorn.

The popcorn was a huge hit with the children. I know because there was popcorn all over the house when we left.

Nutter Butters, cake pops, and a little vintage elephant were also part of this amazing, sugar-high spread for the children.

Of course no party would be complete without cookies made by Kel. These Dumbo cookies were fabulous!

Heather even made this adorable Dumbo bunting. Not a single detail was over looked.

The children were all surprised when this guest showed up.

Violet felt a little safer in her dad's arms.

Rachel, on the other hand, loved helping out.

Justin was feeling a little "ill" so he needed to be checked out with Eisley's help.

It turns out that he was full of worms and bugs.

Rebecca and Eisley even helped do a little chicken dance.

Violet finally warmed up to Coconut the Clown when she was given a little pom pom. She promptly went around shaking her magic pom pom dust on everyone.

Cake time!!

While the cake was pretty great, Violet was more into her popcorn.

Kel insisted that I stop taking photos of the back of her head, so we thought a group shot would be better.

With all the goodies these children had already received they also went home with their very own copy of Dumbo. As always we had a fantastic time. My entire family, including my Lutheran Stud, all crashed in bed by 8:30PM that night. Now that's a sign of a good time. :) Thanks letting us join you in celebrating your birthday, Violet!! You can check out Heather's blog for more pics.

just*imagine*heaven