Praises of a Wife and Mommy

 This year, my husband’s birthday looked so different than we imagined. Pain, recovery, and the weight of our daily changes made it hard for it to feel like a “normal” birthday. Even with a birthday sign and balloons to bring cheer, and pizza ordered in place of going out, the day carried a heaviness. I wanted so much to keep everything light and joyful, but as the evening went on and we reached for ice cream, emotions I had been holding back surfaced. My heart ached, and I cried on my husband’s birthday. But in that moment, my husband showed who he really is. Gentle. Patient. Kind. Understanding. He didn’t brush off my tears or make me feel guilty for them. Instead, he met me with compassion and grace—the same way he so often does. His quiet strength and steady love continue to remind me of God’s goodness in giving me a partner who reflects His heart so well. Birthdays aren’t just about cake, balloons, or big celebrations. They are about honoring the person God made—and my husb...

How old am I again?  Thirty something!   Darn Covid-19 has us getting creative for my birthday too  It truly was a great day for me.  We had takeout from a new Mexican restaurant. Then I had sweet notes and a dance party!   The dance party even had amazing glow balloons!  Then we followed it up with some praise and Worship time!  It was a great day!     

This birthday is one we will remember for ever!  I put my mom hat on and worked hard to create a birthday that we would treasure forever.   Since it is Covid-19 we were not allowed to plan a birthday party or see friends.   So our day consisted of many things!   Birthday Door Decoration!  Asking friends and family to drive by and honk!!!   Monopoly- his request Google Hang Meetings- 2 set up!  Even his teacher showed up!  Lazer Tag in the church!    We also still had breakfast donuts!   Had Scratch cupcakes that I had ordered weeks prior!    I think we succeeded in making memories and during a worldwide shutdown we had a great time! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SELAH!!  We had a fun "Minute to Win it Celebration!"  Selah had a lot of friends show up and have an amazing time celebrating with her!    We also did an DQ ice cream cake which was her first one she has ever eaten... she is a fan!   I remember having ice cream cakes a lot growing up.  The birthday girl also requested dinner at Hu Hot!   I was so excited she picked that place... YUM!  9... its like childhood needs to freeze at this age.   You still love playing make believe with your American girl dolls.   You love to play school, ride your bike, and play any sort of game!   You are an includer in everything you do!   I love your heart and passion in everything you do.   I am so excited to see you grow.   This last year you ran several races and continued to leave us speechless!   WE love you so much girl!      

Happy Birthday Selah!!!! As you turned 8 this year my heart jumped a few beats... you are half way to getting your license, only a few years before we enter the tweens stage, and I'm sure only a couple more years before you ask if you can have a boyfriend... cause you will ask and we will discuss this!  This year we had tons of fun with a huge group of friends by creating an interactive Lego movie.  So we had one screen that showed the movie and a smaller screen to show actions throughout the entire movie.   IT WAS SO FUN!!   My husband gets all the props for his techy way!   I could have never pulled off an epic party without him.  WE truly made a great team and made our 8 year old have the "best birthday ever."    I was extremely happy purchasing some molds from Amazon to make Lego people and bricks.  I used them for cupcakes and a little snack to eat during the movie.   So when the movie started each friend had a bag...

Happy Birthday to ME!!!  Thanks Vitalicous for sending me your Birthday Sampler !  I was surprised and so excited when I got home and saw this box on the porch.  The shipping was so super quick, I really did not believe it would arrive on my birthday but it did!!!  What a great Birthday present for me!   Vitalicous sure made this birthday girl feel special with birthday ribbon, candles, card, and of course the yummy taste in every bite!  The fun with the sampler is being able to choose 5 flavors for the Vita Tops and then another flavor of another product, muffins or brownies.  :)    I was so excited that I did not even know what flavor to eat first!  Banana Nut won!  YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!   I have reviewed Vitalicous in the past and firmly suggest you try them out!   Go read my past review on Vitalicous  and read why I love them so much.   They often have special deals on their site but Vitali...

What a fun celebration we had this weekend to celebrate my little 2 year old!  It's sad to admit my baby is truly a big boy now!  We are on our way to potty training, more talking, and more fun!   HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! This year we had a ball themed party.  It fit perfect for my little pitcher, he loves throwing balls!   As you can see we had a ball pit cake and cupcakes, and little ball pit bars to hand the kids as they were leaving to say "thanks for coming"  and "Hope you had a ball."   I will admit the cake was kinda messy.  It was stuck in the pan and I had a terrible time trying to frost it.  :(  I made it look as best as I could.   I used gumballs in the cake and the cupcakes had either gumballs or Trix cereal.  I also used the Trix cereal to created Marshmallow treats that looked like a ball pit.  They were yummy!  :)  The games were my favorite part!  We had a lot of...

Singing Happy Birthday to Daddy was fun for my kids.  They love their daddy so much and he loves them!  My daughter made an adorable card which I will blog about next to give you the step by step instructions.  :)   The kids and I went to JcPenny's for a free photo shoot a couple weeks ago.  I had them in superman and supergirl costumes.  :)  It was fun even if my son was not a fan and very crank during the photo shoot...he had to have his paci just so we could get a few shots in.   The framed worked looks great and it says "Daddy's Lil Superheroes"  I love it!  We also made daddy a chocolate cake and but chocolate covered raisins on it.  A bit different then your usual sprinkles but it was good.  :)   Here is to another great year for my husband!  :) 

Dear amazing husband of mine, I love you!  I love you more then when we were dating, I love you more then when we said "I Do."  I am so happy to be your wife, your soul mate, your one and only!   I pray that this is a year of blessing after blessing for you!  I know you are a faith leader and seeker in our family and I thank you for that.   So I hope today is a great day and this year is beyond good, great, fantastic!  God has his hand upon you and is going to continue to guide and direct you!   SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... I will always love you!   We actually went out last night to celebrate his birthday.  We went shopping to try to find some new shoes for him but left empty handed.  Oh well!  Then we went and ate some dinner followed by some frozen yogurt down town.   It was an interesting evening down town.  As we were eating our treat we witnessed a young guy steal a pizza and tip jar from t...

DAY 28 CHALLENGE:                          CREATE SOMETHING                        FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL DAY 28 CHALLENGE: Take a moment to discuss ideas with your child about what you'd like to create and for who. How can you make it special?  How can you make it personal? If Papa is reading this then stop you will be seeing it in a couple days!  :)  Selah's papa is having a birthday this week so it was perfect timing for the play challenge to tell us to create something special.  :)   We created a pop out card for him. If you look you can see it is a birthday cake with candles that pop    out.  The cake is also a confetti cake because it is Selah's favorite.  :)  Selah is coloring the letters.   Here is Selah's hand written message to her papa.   Here is my translation message from Selah...