Free Christmas Printables

I love the creativity that is out there on the internet. This is the second year that I have found cute, free printables to put in my regular 8x10 picture frames to display during the Christmas season. Here are two I am using for sure:

The first is from Today's Creative Blog and it features a print by SissyPrint. I love that it displays that Christ was born as this is central to our Christmas celebration!



The second comes from Little Birdie Secrets created by Sister Secrets



Of course their frames are way cuter than mine but I am trying to just keep my regular frames I use all year and update them with new photos and free printables throughout the year.

Happy Printing!!

Happy 7th birthday Will!!

My son Will just turned 7 this past friday. So to say that October is busy with two bday parties in two weeks would be an understatement. Yet what a great gift to be able to celebrate my two healthy children. For Will's party we decided at the last minute to have it Magic Mountain. They had this great special going if you had your party this past weekend, which of course worked out perfectly for us.

Will invited 12 boys and 7 were able to come. They had fun playing laser tag and running around in the huge play gym there. Mike helped out so much as we tried to keep track of everyone. The boys were all sweaty with red cheeks by the end of the party which in my book means they had a great time and hopefully burned off the sugar they had at the beginning of the party.

Will is so enthusiastic about life. He will talk your head off if you let him and he has a tender spirit that I think is contagious. Mike and I feel so blessed to have Will as our son and we know he will do great things.

The best birthday gift was this Sunday in church Will prayed the prayer and asked Jesus into his heart. While he as done this with Mike and I before it was so encouraging to know that when they were presented with the opportunity to do it at church he went up and told his teacher that he prayed that prayer. Thank you for this gift Lord!

Here are a few pics from his birthday



Here is Will reading the book all his classmates made for him on his birthday. They each made a page of the book and said where they would take Will on his birthday. His teacher is so awesome!



Here is Will standing on his chair at school while they listen to a special birthday song. It is the one time they are allowed to stand on their chair!

Happy 9th Birthday Abby!

Abby turned nine this past friday October 14th. It hard to believe that the baby girl born 5 weeks early is now one year away from the double digits, dare I say she is approaching the "tween" age!! For her birthday she wanted a fancy dinner at home with a few girls. She wanted her dad and brother to wear suits to serve her and her friends. Then the girls slept over and enjoyed a pancake breakfast. It was fun, they laughed, got silly, played games, got silly some more and then managed to wind down and go to sleep.
Happy Birthday Abby! Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces!!


Here is the birthday girl and me before the party got started.


Here she is as her friends and family sing her happy birthday, notice her little brother Will is the blur in the background.


Our lovely waiters for the evening.

Here is how the dining room looked before the girls arrived. I brought out the fine china and all things pink!

For party favors I found these adorable zipper pouches from RKEM designs Etsy and placed a lip gloss in each. The girls also got monogramed zebra print tissues from Michaels to take home as well. It was a fun way to celebrate my special girl.

I feel truly blessed to have the family I have. Thank you Lord for creating are little family, we are truly grateful!

Love my kids!

Well tonight was parent teacher conferences for Abby and Will. I am always amazed at my kids, how God is using them in their classrooms. So much focus is on academics these days and I agree it is important. However tonight the first words from each of my kids teachers was about their hearts and their character. How blessed do I feel. Now am I saying my kids are perfect, no way! Am I saying I am proud and want to give God the glory for the work in their lives, FOR SURE!!!

Both kids are right where they should be for their age and I left feeling confident in their teachers and the school they attend. Most of all I felt confident in my God and how he is shaping their character at such a young age. I am grateful for the positive feedback my kids received, I am grateful for the areas the teacher identified where they can continue to improve. How cool as a parent to witness the transformation of your children. To watch them grow into their own personalities, see them bloom where they are planted. I am excited in what God is doing in their lives and consider it a true privilege to be their mother.

I don't want to be boastful but I want my kids to know how proud of them I am. I tell them often but having it written down for them to look back on when they are older I hope will be very encouraging.

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

All of creation!!

My husband has been out of town for the past few days on a golf trip with his dad. I am so glad that he got a few days to relax and hang out with the guys. While he was gone we headed over to Glacier Ridge Park in Dublin for some observing of God's creation. We saw all sorts of bugs, frogs, turtles and my kids favorite... a wooly worm!!



What a beautiful fall day it was here in Ohio. Fall is my absolute favorite season and I am so excited for the changing of the temps and leaves. God is so good to give us so many beautiful things to look at and share with each other.

Teacher/Neighbor Christmas gifts and just a general update

I love the blogging world, no where else can you find such wonderful people willing to share their creativity with those of us who simply are not gifted with it. I love having unique and personal gift ideas for people and this homemade vanilla extract idea from WhipperBerry is awesome! Check out her fabulous blog for more great ideas, I just ordered my vanilla beans tonight and can't wait for her next post that tells us all about her cute packaging!! Stay tuned for the final product!!

Speaking of gifts, both my kids have birthdays this month. I still have no idea what I am getting them yet, I usually get their Halloween costumes as part of their gift and then something small. We are not having any big parties this year, Abby might have a few girls over for a sleep over and Will might take a few friends to do laser tag. I have been so busy lately filling in at a PT clinic, doing my CAbi job and volunteering at the kids school that I am so happy my kids are totally okay without a big birthday party. Abby is loving the Third grade and has the best teacher, the Math homework is a huge step up from second grade. I don't remember having this hard of homework in third grade, all I remember is playing around the world with our multiplication facts. Will has enjoyed first grade, being gone all day from me has been a little tough on him but he is adjusting well and his teacher is so nice and patient with him. I absolutely adore our kids school.

I am so excited to be studying the book of Acts this year in BSF. I know God has many things to teach me despite this busy season. I will be sharing more about what I learn as I go.

Lots of random thoughts in this post but that is what happens when I wait a month to blog!!

School Days!

Well school has finally started and I find myself with a first and third grader. It was very weird to have the whole day free today, and I can only imagine how it will feel next week after a whole week away from the kids. I know there will be some adjustment for all of us but in the end I believe it is going to be a great year. I absolutely love both the kids teachers and feel like they are both in the right class.

Abby got her hair cut last night and it looked adorable today for school, she also got two feathers put in her hair which are all the rage in our elementary school. I love that Abby loves to wear a dress on the first day and the past two years Target has really come through with some cute vintage style dresses. How you see Will is probably the most dressed up he will ever get, he loves his sport shorts and tee shirts.

I can't wait to see all that my kids will learn this year and I hope and pray that they represent their God well as they do it.