New Bag, New Board, New 'Do

Just wanted to post a few pictures of some fun projects I've finished recently (for all my family who don't get to see them ;) )

 

First, I wanted to use up some material I've had for a few years and decided to attempt making a bag to keep our library books and whatever else I can in it.









Also, for about 3 years I've been looking for a frame that would do for an excellent chalkboard in our kitchen.  I had seen it done in a Cottage Living magazine, and ever since then I've been searching every yard sale and Goodwill I could to find that perfect frame.  Finally, it happened.  Our ward had a yard sale for the Boy Scouts to raise money and there it was.  So...

Before:

and after...

Don't judge me on painting over a picture of the temple.  I turned it over, ok?  I've already got a lot of pictures of the temple hanging up.

And, finally, my new hair cut.  I've been growing it out for the last two years or so and was finally ready for a change.  Actually, I've been ready for a change for a few months, but Tyler forgot how much he liked my hair long so he kept begging me to keep it.  This last week it's gotten really quite warm here and that was the last straw for me.  It's just too hot in Georgia to keep hair too long.  So...

Before-

 

Look how much came off!  (The pine straw was from picking it up off the ground outside.  I swear it wasn't growing in there)

and now...

HE MADE IT!!!

"And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and ^aprayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them...  And it came to pass that the Lord did ^avisit them with his ^bSpirit, and said unto them: Be ^ccomforted. And they were comforted."  -Alma 17:9-10


About the last year of our lives have been pretty crazy.  Realizing that we needed a more steady, reliable income, Tyler decided to go back to school and totally switch careers.  After a lot of thought and praying, the Radiology program seemed to be the best option for us.  While there are a lot of places that offer programs, the only one that was looking like it would be realistic for us was the University Hospital program.  Problem - they only accept 8 new students a year.  And right now, that program is what everyone wants to do.  

So, after A LOT of praying and A LOT of fasting from A LOT of people, we were answered this morning.  Tyler got a call from the school to congratulate him on making the program.  I cannot begin to describe the faith building experience this was for me.  The funny thing was that I wasn't fasting and praying for Tyler to get into the program.  I trust that my Heavenly Father knows what will be best for us, so I only wanted the faith to accept whatever that might be.  But isn't it wonderful when you get an answer that just brings so much comfort?  Like He's telling you that you and your happiness and your little life actually matter to Him?  In the eternal scheme of things, I don't know how much of a difference it will make that Tyler got into this program, but to us in this moment, it means the world.  And it is wonderful that He loves us that much to send us that comfort now.


The next two years (starting in July) are going to be ROUGH.  I thought I never saw Tyler now, but I'm about to really know what it's like to never see him.  Except maybe every other Sunday.  Oh, well.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel and that's good enough for me.  HOORAY!!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was our 5th anniversary.  Yikes!  It really doesn't seem like I'm old enough to be celebrating 5 years of marriage.  Then again... I guess I was pretty young when we got married.  ;)

We spent the day in Athens going through antique shops and the State Botanical Gardens, then went out to dinner and a movie.  Thank you to all our babysitters!!!  What a wonderful day it was to reflect over the last 5 years and see how much we've grown.  Thank you to my wonderful husband who has done so much for me and continues to try to make our lives better.  I love you!!!

A Few New Looks

The last few days we've had a few new looks.  The first was King Cadence and Princess Ali.  I think he got this idea from an episode of  "Go, Diego, Go" where there are some gorilla kings that need to be saved.  For days he has been telling us he is a king and then finally he asked for a crown.  And, of course, Ali needed one, too.  His king outfit is complete with crown, king gloves, king boots and a scepter.

Next, we thought instead of a king, that Cade would like to try to be a karate ninja master warrior.  He opted to settle for just a regular kid taking karate.

  

That's right.  Uncle Kirk is kind enough to let us give Cade a trial run on taking karate at the studio.  He usually doesn't start kids until they're 5, but since Cade is an unusually well behaved 4-year-old, we're going to see if he can handle taking classes.  Tuesday was his first day.  He did pretty well while he was working one-on-one with Uncle Kirk, but otherwise he just stood there with his fingers in his mouth a lot.  Tyler worked at home with him this morning practicing some things and he did MUCH better tonight.  He did warm ups with the kids, stood at attention and even got in his karate stance and threw some punches.  I was so proud of him!  I really love this picture of him practicing at home with Tyler.  He's wearing one of my headbands (because that's what warriors do).

Ali also has another new look.  Jana was trimming my hair the other day and we were discussing what to do about Ali's mullet.  Deciding there was no way to even it all out unless we shaved her bald, we decided to just give her a little trim.  I'm kind of sad her little curls are gone, but I think it will be better in the long run.  Hopefully her hair will start getting thicker now.  

She was so good while getting her hair done.  I don't know if she was still because she had just watched me get my hair cut, or if she was too freaked out to move, but either way, it worked.

(I think she was mid-yawn.  Pretty relaxed.)

Ta-Da!

(and, yes, that is hair spray.)

Chuck-E-Cheese

I got an email from some list I'm on and long story short, I found out that if you sign up to be a member of the Chuck-E-Cheese club (or something like that), they will send you a coupon for some free tokens on your kid's birthday.  I got it just in time and signed up - and what do you know?  We got 20 tokens free.  No strings attached.  Since Cade already had his big party, I thought it would be fun to just go as a family to Chuck-E-Cheese and let the kids play.  It was a blast.  Especially since Cade didn't realize he didn't get to use all 20 tokens for himself.  He was really great at sharing his tokens with Ali and letting her play games with him.  He was just excited to put the tokens in and take the tickets out.  He was even more excited when he found out he got a prize for all those tickets!

That car was fun.  This one, not so much:

They had a blast.  I'm really glad we were able to go.  And, luckily enough, we had just enough cupcakes left over that Ali and I could sing "Happy Birthday" to Cade and let him blow out a candle.  Just the "4" though.  Not enough room for all his years.

Karate Party

The correct pronunciation of that is, "ka-ra-tay par-tay."  Cade thinks that is the funniest thing in the world.  There were enough fun pictures I wanted to make it it's own post.

For Cade's birthday, Tyler was kind enough to do a karate birthday party.  We used to do those about 4 years ago when I was pregnant with Cade.  They were always a lot of fun, so we thought he would really enjoy it.  That, and the fact that the studio can hold a lot more people than our cozy little home.  Tyler did a lot of games with the kids and even did a little tiny mini-lesson so they could learn some kicks and punches.

All lined up for a lesson

Look at that excellent karate stance

They're making tough karate faces in the mirror

Ki-a!

At the birthday parties you get to cut your cake with a real ninja sword!  And, yes, that is a cheesecake.  When I asked Cade what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday I said, "Would you like a chocolate cake, or a vanilla one, or maybe one with sprinkles...?"  Silence.  After a few moments he said, "Mom, you forgot to ask me if I wanted a cheesecake."  So I asked him.  That's what he wanted, so that's what he got.  Well, that's what I made for him.  What he got was a cupcake.  He heard all the other kids shouting, "I want a cupcake!" so he decided that's what he wanted, too.  Oh well.  The adults were grateful for the cheesecake.

He also wanted "all the numbers - 1,2,3 and 4" because he is 4.  And, turn that 3 around.  I can't see it.

Opening probably his most treasured birthday present.  How do I know that?  Because this is what he has looked like every day since:

Thank you all for the great presents and great fun!  We're lucky to have so many good friends and family!

Busy, busy week

Life sure is crazy once you have kids.  That's why it's taken me a while to post about our fun adventures about two weeks ago when my parents came out for Cade's birthday.  So... here we are.

My dad flew out Friday morning and we spent the day just hanging out at home, showing Papa (or "Bobo" as Ali calls him) our little farm.  Cade introduced him to our rabbit, Table Paws Mitchell.  (Her first name is Table because she likes to hide under the table.  When I tried to get Cade to rename her something like "long ears" or "whiskers" he came up with "Paws" but informed me that was her middle name.  He was set on Table.)  Then, we moved on to see the chickens and our second batch of chicks outside.

The entire week was full of fun - making strawberry shortcake (with fresh strawberries from the strawberry patch... mmmm....), hunting for caterpillars, going for ice cream, seeing Monsters vs. Aliens and of course lots of reading books.  My mom flew in that next Friday and we had Cade's party on Saturday at the karate studio.  It was a fun week - thanks Mom and Dad!

strawberry shortcake

catching caterpillars

reading books

going down the slide 

playing with the new chicks

eating suckers