Nature Party 8th Birthday

Dorathea asked for a Nature Party this year.  My girl who studies bees for hours, and knows all the bird calls by heart, the one who fed a squirrel on her shoulder.  So I said yes!

A new use for Dandelions suggested by my friend Kristen.

A birthday party is a great excuse to get your yard all gussied up.  I set up the banners and ribbons early and enjoyed this view for days.  (You still might see it if you come over soon). We mowed, hung the porch swing and a thousand other little tasks.

I saw this idea of using stuffed animals as favors.  What a good alternative to goodie bags or candy!  I found dollar tree and thrifted woodland animals for around 7 dollars for 11.  The kids fell in love with them instantly.

Here is Dorathea making a last minute "Pin the leaf on the Flower" Game in the kitchen. 

The stage is set and we are ready for guests!!!!

 Here they are!! I let them choose a seat (and a stuffed animal) as they finished the pin the leaf game one by one.

We made this cute Ball jar raspberry lemonade drink with cupcake wrappers for lids.  See my Pinterest Parties pins here. So cute!

Then I passed out aprons and filed the kids downstairs to my new studio for a leaf printing craft.

They painted on leaves...

and placed them on a tree trunk I had drawn on some thrifted pillowcases.

They were so quite as they concentrated on their work.

they hung them up to dry outside.

Now it's time for a flower scavenger hunt.

They hunted for a list of flowers to pick from around the yard and then placed them on...

a vine "crown" I made from some random vine growing in my yard. 

 I was afraid the 3 boys might be repelled by the flowers but they liked it too.

Doesn't Jonathan look like Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream?

kids + flower crowns = adorable!

 Now cake time! My birthday girl graciously pretended to blow out the candles.  I couldn't keep them lit! Sweet girl.

 D opened some really thoughtful presents from her bffs as she calls them all

 notice the blue icing on the nose and crown?

after presents I called free time! and let them play all over the yard.  They all played so nicely together despite being full of sugar and in the hot sun.  

 All our friends all made the day so special!

 Dorathea felt very loved by them all!

 I should really think about taking the banners down tomorrow!
Happy Birthday Nature Girl!!!  Love Mommy

Jonathan's 5th Star Wars Birthday!

Jonathan enjoyed an epic birthday party yesterday!  

An aside about epic parties; sometimes I'll hear moms talk about how those crazy (other) moms who throw over the top children's parties (guilty) and are ruining it for everyone else who do more normal scale parties.  

In my defense;  I plan for children's parties months in advance because I love it.  It's one my favorite ways to delight in who they are and who they are becoming. 

We don't spend a lot, but I do spend a lot of time planning.  Planning a fun event is half the fun for me (maybe more), and I try to pull my kids in to that planning process so they can enjoy and anticipate the fun too.  So that they know I am celebrating them.  

Every parent has unique and over the top ways they love their child; things they say, or ways they teach them, or are silly with their kids.  I don't want to measure how those ways might be "better" or "worse" than mine.  

It's not possible or profitable to use these kinds of rulers to measure amazing things like how to parent. It is though inspirational for me to see the millions of incredible ways parents find to love their children.  

Rulers aside;  

Jonathan's dad introduced him to the older Star Wars Movie this year and Jonathan loved them as much as his dad did.  

So for his birthday this year I put together a Jedi-training party for he and all his young jedi friends.

I found a free Star Wars font to make lots of fun signs for the party.

 My current cake decorating philosophy is; just stick a bunch of plastic toys on it.

Jabba the Hummus was a big hit.  This is on way I use my Fine Art degree :)

The "Build a Droid" station with the kids of r2d2 shapes Jonathan and I made.

They all did a great job!

And now it's time to practice with the lightsabers!

 Ted led the Jedi training.  This is the obstacle course and eager kids ready to crawl in and bop balloons.

There they go!  This went on for a long time with no injuries or tears.  The kids with lightsaber balloons hitting balloons Ted decorated to look like storm troopers.

And trying to pop bubbles from the bubble machine.

 Time for cake!  Mommy forgot candles, so Daddy suggested blowing out the light sabers.  Great idea.

 And now presents!  Our wonderful guests gave Jonathan lots of cool and thoughtful gifts.  Here are some of the vintage star wars toys that were Ted's that he gave his very happy son.

The kids all had fun playing with the all the toys!

Thank you family and friends for helping make Jonathan's day special.  Jonthan and Dorathea had a sleep over in J's room last night so they could play with all the toys together.  

 May the force be with you!

Good Gifts (In a Painful World)

That Sunday was the car breaking down twice and none of the Keys family making it to the Christmas dinner because I forgot to drive the truck home.  Dorathea cried for an hour about missing the dinner and Ted and I had a heated discussion.  Then after the heated discussion was over Ted’s mom called.  “Happy Anniversary!” she said.  Anniversary?  Neither of us had remembered.

Really there have been lots of moments spent enjoying this season with my family this year. But, under the surface my spirit has been fighting for the joy of the season.  There have been so many sad things I’ve seen happen this year, people that have died, and evil has pushed at people I love and made us all tired.  Made me tired of pain and weary of the battle to persevere in spite if it.

But then a star day came.  I marked a star on the calendar each week in December.  These stars tell my kids they can open an early present. 

I picked the first week’s presents carefully: little Playmobile sets, one of a Pirates for Jonathan, one of a Pegasus chariot for Dorathea,both from Ted's parents.  

Dorathea was overjoyed.

Then she realized it wasn’t a Pegasus chariot, (a tragedy for the girl who hopes to be a Pegasus someday) it was just a plain old horse chariot.  

Slowly her tears began, they went on, and on, not whiney and loud, just terribly disappointed.  I held her and sighed,

“Oh God is this when they are not satisfied with the little joys I work hard to give them?”  I asked mentally.  There was the pain of this world again, present even when we celebrate.

I told Dorathea to pray about whether she wanted to take it back to the store.  A minute later she said, “I am going to keep it.”

She said, “Here Jonathan.  Won’t your pirates like to have these horses?” Handing him the horses from her set

Then looking at me, “That’s what God told me to do.”

My jaw dropped

Her face lightened and she began to put her set together enjoying the joy of her brother and the choice she had made.

I had been disappointed like Dorathea.  So I got the message He gave to her;

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

God was working in her. In her weakness, her disappointment as she leaned on Jesus.  She did something strong because of that.

The gifts of love I give on the painful days, show the strength of the one who never stops loving me. 

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12

I was the joy set before him. 

He choose to join in our pain by living and dying with us. 

He hated, (“scorned”) the pain, But he loves me.

He gives me good gifts in the midst of this world that supercede it’s pain.

I sat with D after she made her choice and helped her rig up a pegasus she had to the new carriage with pipe cleaners (I heart pipecleaners).

 “Look the carriage is even bigger and nicer than the pegasus one would have been!” I said.

And thought, “And we got to put it together, together”

So when I shake my fist at the pain of the circumstance I want verses the plain old disappointments I have, I know He smiles leans in and shows me how to put it all together with pipe cleaners. 

He and I laugh at the gifts he gives that are always perfect and laugh at this world’s circumstances which are always like opening something you don’t want.

Too bad I can’t take my circumstances, the car that doesn't work, the disappointments all back to the toystore.

I'm ready for a really good gift now God. 

  “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

“If you then, with all your human frailty, know how to give your children good gifts, how much more certainly will your Father who is in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" Luke 11:13

Merry Christmas!

Woolwine Apple Orchard Field Trip

Toward the end of September we had an amazing tour of a beautiful apple orchard with some other homeschoolers.  I.ve wanted for a couple years now to do a field trip a month.  Why homeschool if you aren't going to get out into the beautiful world and learn from it?  I managed to mostly sequester school to the inside of my house however, until few friends put together some great field trip plans for this year and opened it up to others families.  Yay!  Answered prayer!

 One of the three brother-owners telling us about his orchard.

 Handed the camera to Dorathea. She did well!

 Picnic lunch after we picked.

Dorathea surprised me by washing ever single apple and putting them in the fridge when we got home.  

Our friends the Barkers who we rode with on the drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway.

My fridge is still full of apples.  I see apple pie in the near future!
Thank you Shannon for putting together this great day.