Valentine Goodies...FFN

Remember how I said we were still going to finish all the things on the advent calendar? Nursing home? finished. Thanking the trash man? not yet. Goodies to grandpa's work? became a family night event

I made some sugar dough, let the kiddos cut out all the shapes, then popped them in the oven during the day. That evening, after dinner, I drug out all the little bits of icing I had in the freezer. I also sat out some sprinkles, pearls, and dipping chocolate. They love decorating cookies so this was a really fun night.

A sidenote: Last year we made cookies, with royal frosting, made to look like scrabble tiles (Bake 350). They were gorgeous. Then my grandma had a heart attack and we didn't enjoy them until a lot later. This year we made them, wrapped them up, got ready to deliver them the next morning and then my grandma passed out and spent 3 days in the hospital. No more making cookies for us!

Thankful Thursday

Another week almost gone. The time just seems to be flying. I can't believe it is March already. Spring is right around the corner.

So I will just hop right into the reason I am thankful this week.

-that Brown Bear has finished all his labs to graduate from high school. He loved these last 2 days. He really enjoys science and hands on stuff.

-that Lioness has finished all those same labs. She hated every.single.second. All the more reason to be thankful she is done.

-more gorgeous weather. I these kind of days.

-that I haven't regained anymore of the weight I lost. Now to just get the rest off.

-yummy girl scout cookies. I am also thankful they are almost gone so they will no longer be a temptation!

Have a Thankful Thursday!

Crazy, Conflicted, and Confession

Crazy- That is who I am right now I think. My grandma is more whiny, more demanding and requires a LOT more supervision because she thinks she is still able to get out of bed, etc. on her own and has fallen several times. This would be very easy to handle if I didn't also have a whiny toddler and teenager (I am sounding kinda whiny now too.). I don't handle whiny too well. Which makes me crazy! So if you see me wandering around talking to myself or laughing maniacally just ignore me please or feed me some chocolate!

Conflicted-Saturday, while waiting patiently for all the teams to finish at the zoo, I had a chance to really people watch. So many of them looked unhappy, angry or just down right weird. In a land with so much, how come so many are sad? Why are so many without hope? I had such an opportunity to share my hope and I didn't. Even Christians seem to be losing sight of their hope too. Why?

Confession-I am trying so hard to completely eliminate HFCS from our diet altogether. It is much harder than I first thought it would be. I made sure that the snacks I took to the zoo didn't have dyes or HFCS. Want to guess what they had to drink? Pepsi! Full of all the junk I was trying to stay away from. Someone gave us a case and I couldn't see it going to waste. Then we ran through McDonald's and grabbed fries and Dr. Pepper on the way to soccer practice. When I start thinking about it then it makes me crazy. hmm...I am starting to see a pattern here.

Family Fun Night....Bucket List

I like having direction. It gives me purpose and I like that. I also like having a list, which is like direction.

I decided the kids needed some of that in the form of a bucket list. I wanted them to see where they might be or doing in the not to distance future. For Brown Bear that future is very, very close!

When we sat down at the table and I told them what we were going to do he was the most excited. He told us that he thinks about all the things he wants to do all the time. He also likes having these hard copies to look back on. He is very careful to put our lists up when we are done.


I decided to set the timer for 30 minutes and let them list all they could think of in 30 minutes. That worked good for us. We also encouraged Lion Cub to draw pictures of what he wanted to do since he is still learning to spell.


It was another fun night of listening to their dreams and having some good quality conversation that was more than what song is in the top ten right now. I was surprised with some of the Zookeeper's choices too. His even mentioned grandkids!

Here are a few from mine:

1. watch my kids get married

2. guest blog on We are THAT family

3. ride a bull (a really old one!)

4. learn to ride a motorcycle

5. finish a marathon

6. finish this relay race in 2013.

7. be published (even if it is something small)


What is on your bucket list?

P.S. If you haven't ever seen the Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman you might enjoy it. We did. Just don't hold me accountable if you don't ok?

Amazing Race, Journey Style

Last Saturday the kids Journey group had a fun outing at the zoo. One of the mom's put together an Amazing Race Challenge for them. I have never actually seen the amazing race so it was fun for me to be part of this. I had planned to take just the ones that actually participate in Journey, but when I came home from running and saw the little guys with their shoes on and ready to go I couldn't say no!

So basically the broke the kids up into 4 groups. Then each group got a paper with clues on it. They had to find the answers in the Bible and then go to that part of the zoo. The adult at that stop checked to make sure that they had finished all the stops until that one correctly, had them do the challenge at that station as a team, and then they were off to the next one.

We were at the lions. For the first 30 minutes or so the little guys played on the lion statues and climbed on the rocks. Then the male lion came down to the glass and that was entertaining for awhile. 2 teams came through. Then we waited and waited and waited. The female lions came down to the glass. Some more time whiled away watching them. More waiting and waiting and waiting. We sat there for about two and a half hours. But the weather was beautiful, the zoo was packed, so lots of people watching, and I brought snacks.

Everyone had a blast! Lioness and Monkey were on the winning team. They won movie tickets to the really nice (and very expensive!) movie theater in town.

Group picture before everyone scattered!

Waiting

And waiting

First team to come by

Second team to come by

Fourth team

Third team. They lost by 30 seconds.

Thankful Thursday

What a beautiful week it has been! The weather is almost perfect.


-for the beautiful weather

-that I was able to run a couple of days and walk a couple of days with my friend

-for Sunflower Market. We love going over there after guitar lessons

-for honey sticks. My mom used to buy them as a special treat for us when I was a kid and now my kiddos love them too.

-for coconut water. It is my new favorite after-running drink. Good for you too! (just not a good price)

-hospice. My grandma is being transferred to their care today and they are just the greatest group of nurses and aides (she will still live with us though.)

-for cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. And for the yumminess it can create together.

-for date nights with the Zookeeper, even if it is just getting an ice cream cone and sitting in the driveway, in the car, eating it in peace and quiet!

-for the reminder to take some time to appreciate things instead of rushing, rushing, rushing

Have a great Thursday!

Thankful Thursday

I used to do these quite a bit. Then I became busier. Then I became less thankful and more grumpy. So I decided that I needed to get back to being more purposeful about thankfulness.

-that I have been able to pick up several caterings. That extra money is always so helpful

-that my husband is so serious about providing for our family. He works so hard!

-that my 3yo is mostly potty-trained. Diapers are so over-rated!

-that we have had some tasty food lately. I have gotten back to trying some new recipes and being more prepared for life's curve balls.

-that there is Pinterest! Man I love that site.

-that there isn't a shortage of chocolate.

-that the weather is warming up

-that we finally had some snow. I know that is a contradiction to the one above but I always like at least one good snow.

-that my kiddos have been well for awhile now. With six kids that isn't always easy!

-that I was able to go watch the younger ones sing at a local assisted living center. The ladies loved it and so did the kids.



Have a Happy Thursday!